SDCC 2025 Final Recap

Hank Hill walking around outside the King of the Hill Offsite 

SDCC 2025 was just as epic as preview years. This year we focused on a lot of the offsite activation that were held all around the convention center and throughout the Gaslamp / downtown SD area. The exhibition hall is huge every year. Most companies that have exclusives have their own rules/handling of how their exclusives will be sold. All of that is usually announced through their socials or website. The big ones that attracts the biggest fan base with highly sought after exclusives were Mattel, Funko, Pop Mart, 100% Soft, UCC Distributing and more. 

One of the most epic things we saw inside the exhibit hall this year was at the LEGO booth! They built SDCC, convention center and booths!!! 

Below is our slideshow that we posted on our Instagram account.  

Magic The Gathering x Spider-Man Activation at SDCC 2025 Recap

The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-man activation was pretty cool. We stopped by preview night which was a preview for press/media to check out. They had 5 different welcome decks that you could possible get. They had a comic book room where you can play the game or if you wanted to learn how to play they could teach you as well. They also had the Daily Bugle newspaper, comic book and plenty of photo ops. For press/media night, they served drinks, food and had a DJ. Overall it was a fun experience. Check out all of our pictures below:

Twisted Metal Bumper Battle Activation at SDCC 2025 Recap

We checked out the Twisted Metal Bumper Battle Activation during SDCC. You had to be 18+ to participate in the Bumper Battle and also had to sign a waiver. The standby line moved fairly quickly. Once you get inside there were photo ops featuring some of the cars and vehicles from the show as well as the Twisted Metal ice cream truck which meant free ice cream. They also handed out free masks and posters. Check out the pictures below:

Coca Cola x Star Wars Holocreator Activation at SDCC 2025 Recap

Coca-Cola x Star Wars Holocreator activation at SDCC. It was a different experience but something Star Wars fan would enjoy. We were able step inside an augmented reality experience to record your own holographic message with memorable backdrops. We also received a limited edition Star Wars character designed can. There were photo ops with C-3PO as well as the menacing Darth Vader. Check out more of our photos below:

Pac-Man Cafe Pop-up at SDCC 2025 Recap

Photos by A.L.

The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-up opened a couple of weeks before SDCC and stayed open until early August. They had a special themed menu as well as exclusive merch and also had giveaways. See more pics below:

Sonic the Hedgehog takes over K1 Speed at SDCC 2025 Recap

Photos by Tracy

 

Sonic the Hedgehog took over K1 Speed during comic con this year. This was the first year that K1 Speed themed up their facility during comic con. Perfect collaboration too! Check out more pics below:

Brawl Stars Starr Park, Fountain of Tears and Street Team Activation at SDCC Recap

Supercell’s Brawl Stars showed out this year with their Starr Park Activation, Fountain of Tears as well as a street team with Spike the Cactus for photo ops and handing out Limited Edition Starr Park Mr. Beast Feastables chocolate candy bars. One of the most fun activations this year. The Starr Park employees at Starr Park were very in character and very engaging. While you wait for your group to board you are given a lanyard and badge holder along with a card to clip to your lanyard which is later used to collect star stickers if you are able to win the games inside Starr Park. Then you meet more Starr Park employees and finally you board the Starr Rail to Starr Park but not without some hiccups along the way thanks to Spike. 

More Pics of the activation below as well as our visit to the Fountain of Tears and a quick pic of Spike with the Brawl Stars street team. 

Hulu's King of the Hill Activation at SDCC 2025 Recap

Hulu’s King of the Hill offsite activation during SDCC was a really fun and unique experience. Once you get through the line you are given a King of the Hill card that tells you what activities there are inside Arlen, Texas as well as tickets for a trucker hat and bbq food. There were various photo ops as well as several games to win prizes such as a can koozie, pin sets etc.... Pick up your trucker hat at Mega Lo Mart, food at the Hill House Backyard BBQ and stop at the Water Tower to pick up your can of Alamo water. 

Check out all of our pictures from the activation below:

Super7 Godzilla Station Pop-Up at SDCC 2025 Recap

Super7 always has one of the most creative offsites / pop-ups during SDCC. This year they transformed their San Diego store location into the Godzilla Station. They put up a temporary facade featuring Godzilla attacking the train station and always dope artwork on the side of their store. Inside the pop-up featured exclusive Toho Godzilla merchandise. There were exclusive apparel and collectibles. They had a signing with Director Shinji Higuchi. There were lines every day they were opened for SDCC. By Saturday, the store looked pretty empty. One of the sought after items is the Godzilla Station coin which you could pick up at their booth inside the convention center or at their pop-up. See pics below of their pop-up. 

Little Nightmares III Pop-up Speakeasy at SDCC Recap

Bandai Namco teased a themed pop-up speakeasy for Little Nightmares III during SDCC 2025 and to be on the lookout on their social media for more information and how to access to this immersive activation. As time got closer to the start of the con, we were all anticipating for more details to drop! 

The Eventbrite link was posted on Wednesday, July 23 afternoon and tickets sold out pretty fast. Luckily we were able to score two tickets! This free one day event took place on Saturday, July 26 at the SideBar Nightclub in San Diego with day time (12pm-5pm) and night time (6pm-11pm and 21+) admission time slots. Those eager to experience this speakeasy were able to easily gain access through a standby line. 

At the entrance a huge blown up Monster Baby welcomed guests to the candy factory. Upon entry we were given a ticket that granted those with ticket reservations 1 complimentary drink and everyone was given a scavenger hunt sheet to participate in to receive a prize at the end. Inside was dark, glowing in green, and spooky with music blasting. The bar was covered in candy and there were special drinks that we got to partake in. We chose “Employee of the Year Bonus” and “The Dynamic Duo,” both topped with candy and were pretty delicious. Drinks did take a while as there was only 2 bartenders at the front bar and 1 at the back bar with attendees streaming in. 

For the scavenger hunt we had to complete at least 4 out of the 6 missions to earn a prize. This included playing a game demo, taking a photo with Low & Alone, completing the crossword puzzle, finding the hidden wrench (which seems so obvious now after we found it!), looking into a mirror, etc. We completed 4 of the 6 of the tasks and received a lanyard as a prize. There was also tote bags, but they ran out. 

Overall it was an enjoyable immersive pop-up! Check out our pics of the speakeasy:

Shudder’s Clown in a Cornfield Immersive Experience at SDCC Recap

Shudder’s Clown in a Cornfield experience was one of the best immersive offsites during comic con this year. If you enjoy going to Halloween Horror Nights or similar Halloween mazes this one did not disappoint.

This maze was just as unpredictable as any other ones with dead ends and an appearance by Frendo. Once we made it thru the maze we find ourselves inside a room. We needed to find the right key to unlock the door in order to escape.

Once we exited, survivors entered a twisted carnival type area that had areas for photo ops, carnival games, and was given tickets for food (gummies) and drink (slushies). On our way out, we were given a swag bag (popcorn, bag, poster) before our experience ended.  Check out our pictures from this experience below:

HBO Max Peacemaker's Peacefest Immersive Fan Experience at SDCC Recap

One of the best offsites this year was Peacefest. What is Peacefest? Inspired by the show’s chaotic, glam rock–fueled world, the immersive event will feature live musical performances, interactive character-themed booths and games, including Harcourt’s KO Corner Bar, Vigilante’s Hero S* Merch Shop, Adebayo’s Hero Test Photo Booth, and Economos’ Ops Mortal Kombat station, along with exclusive giveaways and larger-than-life photo opportunities.   

The reservation system for this offsite before comic con didn't go very well as the website kept crashing but we can overlook that because the pain and suffering of wasting a day trying to get a reservation paid off big time. Once we arrived for our time slot, we were given a Peacefest bandana and a Peacemaker mask. We had unlimited drinks and got to see some of the Peacemaker props from the show as well as purchase exclusive Peacemaker merch. Upstairs was the bar and an area to play video games featuring none other than Peacemaker himself battling it out with anyone else from other shows or games. We got treated to a concert featuring a live band playing 80's Hair Metal music such as Guns 'n Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle", Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". The live concert lasted about 20 minutes with the whole experience lasting over 30+ minutes.

DesignerCon 2022 Recap

DesignerCon 2022 was back in full force with a huge turnout of exhibitors and attendees at the Anaheim Convention Center. VIP night was held on Friday night November 18th. There was a good amount of VIP attendees ready to purchase exclusives and to get first dibs on what exhibitors had for sale. Some of the popular booths were Medicom as well as 100% Soft, Secret Handshake Toys, Creature Bazaar, Science Patrols, Unbox Industries and many more. Super7, Joe Ledbetter, The Beast is back, Pop Mart, illest, Kidrobot, 3D Retro, Panels, Leen Customs, Gravy Toys, Rampage Toys, Paul Kaiju, My Plastic Heart, Toy Tokyo are just a few of the hundreds of exhibitors at Dcon this year. So many artists, companies from outside the USA like Punk Drunkers and Medicom teaming up with DCon for collaboration show merchandise. NFT's, NTWRK, Out of Order Art Show, Movie/TV inspired Vehicles were in the building like Ecto-1, TMNT Party Wagon, Pizza Planet Truck and Sally from Cars.

There was pretty much something for almost everyone at this show. Sofubi/Japanese Soft Vinyl Toys, vinyl figures, resin figures, plush, apparel, enamel pins, stickers, art prints, nfts, exclusives, limited edition drops, panels etc... 

If you're not a fan of lines or crowds then VIP Night is definitely worth it besides getting first dibs on most exclusives and releases.

Check out our pictures at the links below:

DCon 2022 Part 1

DCon 2022 Part 2

As always thanks to the Collecting Toyz team and shout out to V for the assist! See you guys at the next DesignerCon which is December 15-17 2023 in Anaheim.

Detective Pikachu Activation Recap

The line was always long for the Detective Pikachu activation. We decided on one of the days to get in line there early instead of getting in line for the exhibit hall. It was pretty much just a walk through of the movie. At the end you get to spin a wheel to try and win prizes. You get something either way but if you landed on a yellow spot, you'd get the coveted Detective Pikachu ears and it has the little Detective hat too! You also got 2 plastic rings. If you landed on another color, you would get a Detective Pikachu comic book and 2 plastic rings.

FOX Fan Fair Recap

FOX Animation Domination Fan Fair was pretty neat. We saw them still setting up on preview night and testing the ferris wheel below.

Good Grief! Peanuts Pop-Up Gift Shop! Recap

Super7's Good Grief! Peanuts Pop-up Gift Shop during SDCC 2019 took place Friday evening until the end of SDCC. LOVE this pop-up event! Yes, there was another Snoopy/ Peanuts shop in the Gaslamp district which was opened throughout comic-con but this here is all about unique and awesome exclusives like no other. We were able to get a sneak peek (press preview) before the event opened later than night. Love the original '50 looks of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang. They even painted the side of their building with Charlie Brown's Zig Zag shirt pattern.

Petco Interactive Zone SDCC 2019 Recap

The Petco Interactive Zone had quite a few activations inside. They had a Ripley's Believe it or Not Car Lot, Gundam, Carpool Karaoke, The Twilight Zone, Shark Week, Pepsi, Food Trucks, Impractical Jokers, Spongebob Squarepants

Shazam Chilladelphia Carnival Recap

The Shazam Chilladelphia Carnival was probably the quickest activation line. Basically you get a ticket and pick which game you want to play. If you win, you got a foam Shazam hand. If you lost, you got nothing.

Revenge of the Boodega Recap

Super7 brought the Revenge of the Boodega Pop-Up Store back to SDCC 2019 for a couple of days which meant brand new and exciting spooktacular Universal Monsters exclusives which you could only get at the Boodega which was located at their San Diego store which is a few blocks away from the convention center. The great thing about the pop-up shops is that you don't need a comic-con badge to attend.

Amazon Prime Video Experience Recap

Amazon Prime Video Experience featured threes of their original shows, The Expanse, The Boys and Carnival Row. Upon entering the press/media preview we picked up our wrist bands and was handed a bag of coins/tokens. We were also offered a mini churros in a small take out box to eat too which was nice! They also had bottled water.