San Diego Comic-Con gives fans the chance to see their favorite celebs in panels or at crowded autograph signings, but we think we might have found a better way, without the lines!
Of course, that’s why we travel to events and filming hotspots, to find the best places for average people to see celebrities. At Sundance it’s Main Street, in New York City it’s Broadway, and at Comic-Con it’s definitely the Omni.
As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, we happened to be passing by the Omni Hotel, across the street from the San Diego Convention Center, as the cast of Fringe was leaving for an autograph signing and well most of the cast rushed into a waiting van, John Noble spent a long time posing with fans, which was much cooler than just shuffling by him on the convention floor. And that was just the beginning.
We didn’t really spend much time hanging out at the Omni, but had to pass by it on our way to our parking garage everyday and EVERY time we saw a celebrity. The hotel is not only a popular place for celebs to stay during Comic-Con, it’s also a popular place for parties and press events, making it the perfect place to do a little star-gazing.
The first time we passed by we saw Jon Favreau crossing the street to the Hard Rock Cafe, we saw Colin Hanks arriving for an event the same night, the next day we randomly saw Anna Torv taking a smoke break and Glee’s Harry Shum Jr getting into a waiting car. One day we even saw The Avengers’ Clark Gregg signing endless autographs for fans.
From what we’ve heard things change little from year to year, so the Omni should still be the place to be during Comic-Con 2012. But if you’re thinking of booking a room for next year you’re already too late, there’s no availability for July 11- 15, 2012.
If you don’t have luck at the Omni, the Hilton is a good location for celeb-spotting too since they hold press conferences, panels, and interview sessions with celebs there and it’s easy to find where they’ll be exiting the building, just look for the line of black SUVs and paparazzi. It’s also pretty easy to wander around the hotel as long as you have a badge.
And, speaking of badges, the absolute best way to get up close and personal with celebs is to have a press pass, which are notoriously easy to get for Comic-Con. If you have a blog or website that is updated regularly and occasionally mentions comics or comic book movies, it’s definitely worth applying for press pass. Press registration opens a few weeks before Comic-Con and compared to other fests we’ve covered is pretty easy to navigate (and get excepted). If you score a press pass, you’ll have opportunities to attend round table interviews, press conferences, photo calls, etc.
And one last tip, we saw a few fans waiting across the street from the back exit of the Convention Center, kind of between the Hilton and the Convention Center. They were waiting with signs, hoping that as celebs left, they would stop. They said they had had luck, they at least got a few waves, so if all else fails, that might be an option too.
Some of these tips can be applied to any fest or con: find out what hotels are popular with the stars and stake them out, look for a back exit or entrance where celebs may be coming or going, and always follow the paps (they have their own very reliable networks of tipsters).
If you have any tips for meeting celebs at an annual event, let us know about it at olv@onlocationvacations.com!
Just an FYI, Press badges are getting harder and harder to get for Con. This year they cracked down, and people are expecting it to get even worse next year. As the Con’s popularity increases more and more press comes from around the world, so I don’t think it’s going to be so easy going forward.
I don’t know, they said they were cracking down this year but based on a lot of the “press” I met while I was there, I don’t think they did. OLV is obviously not a big operation either but I looked up some of the other bloggers I met in the press room and at press conferences, etc and they made OLV look like HuffPo.LOL
Which, don’t get me wrong, I think its great, I think that its a great opportunity for smaller blogs to get exposure and make contacts, and the more coverage for Comic-Con the better.
Just so you know, it’s not that the Omni is already sold out for Comic Con 2012, it’s that they haven’t made the dates available for reservations yet. If you try a block of dates in June 2012 you’ll get the same result. Mind you, given that their room rates are going to be at LEAST $300 a night, you’re going to have to pretty dedicated to the idea of meeting a celebrity that way. I think I’ll just stand in line.
Oh right, I see what you’re saying, someone said that they already booked a room at Hilton for next year and that it was already booked so I guess that’s what I was thinking for Omni too..yeah, I know its kind of pricy, good spot though, would be worth it…not that I could ever afford it 🙂
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