San Diego Comic-Con 2024: A Spotlight on Offsite Installations

San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is renowned not only for its jam-packed convention center but also for its immersive offsite installations that bring fans closer to their favorite shows and franchises.  This year’s SDCC, held from July 24th to July 28th, featured a plethora of engaging and interactive experiences from major networks and studios, including Adult Swim, FX, Hulu, ABC, and Paramount.  Here’s a look at what each brought to the table:

Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty

Adult Swim continued its tradition of hosting an offsite festival filled with quirky fun and unique experiences.  Located at the San Diego Convention Center’s neighboring park, the Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty on the Green offered fans a blend of music, comedy, and exclusive show previews.  Highlights included:

• AEW x Adult Swim “Battle for the Booty” Wrestling Tournament – A collection of AEW wrestlers faced off in a tag team tournament against famous Adult Swim faces for a no-holds-barred event as each competitor vied for the chance to win the “Battle for the Booty” title–Orange Cassidy & Willow Nightingale defeated Johnny TV & Taya Valkyrie.
• Adult Swim’s Night of New – Comic-Con attendees were the first to experience a collection of brand-new Adult Swim series at a special screening event featuring the full-length premiere episodes of Common Side Effects, Rick and Morty: The Anime, Invincible Fight Girl, and Women Wearing Shoulder Pads.
• Fun with Zach and Michael – Smiling Friends co-creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel held a special live-draw and fan Q&A event.
• The first 1,000 attendees to join the “Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty” at 1pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday got exclusive giveaways.
• Live Music and Comedy — The festival featured live performances from popular bands and comedians.

FX

Over on the Hilton Bayfront Lawn, fans were able to enjoy activities and collect exclusive merch from some of FX’s new and popular shows.  This year’s attractions included:

• The Bear Restaurant Pop-Up:  After taking photos inside the interior of The Bear restaurant, guests were treated to a daily special presentation of exclusive merchandise.

• Paddy’s Pub photo-op from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

• The FX Fearless Hellevator:  A descent through scenes from the American Horror Story and upcoming new FX horror series, Grotesquerie, with a blood-red slushie afterwards as a reward:

@justjeanine1

A ride on the FX Fearless Hellevator at their 2024 San Diego Comic-Con activation. #FXSDCC

♬ original sound – JustJeanine

• Personalized Umbrellas:  Guests got to choose a symbol for the talented artists to draw onto an official FX parasol along with your name to ward off the sun’s rays.

Hulu’s Animayhem Factory

Hulu’s offsite experience, aptly named Animayhem, was a paradise for animation enthusiasts.  The factory-themed installation featured activities and previews from Hulu’s animated lineup:

• Cutawayland Storage with Family Guy (FOX/20th Television Animation)–The first area of the factory was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Family Guy.  In Cutawayland, fans were prompted to select a 2D object and take it to a viewing station.  Once the object was placed onto the factory machine, retro TV screens were triggered to display the object’s corresponding cutaway scene from the show’s impressive history.

• Take a “Goobler Stress Test” with Solar Opposites (Hulu Original/20th Television Animation)–The Solar Opposites “Goobler Stress Test” machine measured fans’ stress levels by having them place their hands on a ‘stress sensor’ that determined how stressed they were.  After getting the result, a corresponding Goobler stress ball was dispensed to dispell their frustrations:  Purple for sorta stressed and red for really stressed. 

• Find the “Bonsai Master’s Sword” from Hit Monkey (Hulu Original/Marvel)

  In the all-new season of Hit Monkey, fans learn that the monkey assassin’s katana has an ancient sister sword.  Guests were challenged to find the “Bonsai Master’s Sword” in the Hit Monkey Katana factory, where they were given a chance to choose one of several katanas stuck in a forge.  Only one released and revealed itself to be the true sister sword, and the guest who pulled the ancient sister sword won an exclusive pack of Hit Monkey pins.

• Put Roger the Alien from American Dad Back Together at the CIA Lab (FOX/20th Television Animation)–Visitors were transported into a CIA lab, where Roger the Alien lay in some distress on an operating table with his dissected organs scrambled about.  Guests teamed up to try and put Roger and his organs back together in an “Operation-inspired” challenge!  Win or lose, fans got a chance to take a photo with Roger’s Golden Turd at the end of the game.

• Enjoy a Sweet Pick-Me-Up from The Simpsons “LardLad Donut Factory” (FOX/Disney+/20th Television Animation)–Guests got a look into Springfield’s LardLad Donut factory, where the donuts (in partnership with SoCal’s cult-favorite donut shop Randy’s Donuts) were large and hand-glazed with “toxic waste” icing. 

• Take a Break with The Great North, Krapopolis, and Grimsburg–In the factory break room, guests were invited to take some “R and R” time.
  • The Great North (FOX/20th Television Animation)–Visitors in the break room were able to get a break from the San Diego heat and enjoy some fresh Alaskan air in the fridge from The Great North.  By opening the refrigerator door, fans got treated to a cool breeze while getting a peek at Tobin’s iconic house.
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• • Krapopolis (FOX)

    • The area also featured a custom Krapopolis vending machine in the style of the show’s ancient Greek world.  The vending machine was filled with memorable items and easter eggs from the show for guests to select and use to trigger the machine to play the corresponding film clip.

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  • Grimsburg (FOX)
    • Fans of Grimsburg got a close-up look at a ‘Crime Board’ filled with suspect pictures, maps and clues from Detective Flute’s latest mysteries.
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• Sing Your Heart Out at “Bob’s Record-O-Matic” from Bob’s Burgers (FOX/20th Television Animation)–Famously known for their huge catalog of end credit songs, Bob’s Burgers had ‘Bob’s Record-O-Matic,’ a recording studio where fans could dance and lip sync to a song of their choice with characters from the show.  Once their performance was complete, participants received a shareable video of it.

• Tour the Slurm Factory from Futurama (Hulu Original/20th Television Animation)–As a final room to the factory, fans got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour the Slurm Factory from the hit show Futurama.  A larger-than-life Slurm Queen and thirsty Bender will welcome fans into the space, where they can see first-hand how Slurm is created and have a taste for themselves.

 ABC’s A.V.A. Fest (A Very Abbott Festival)

ABC’s A.V.A Fest was a must-visit for fans of the network’s popular series Abbott Elementary.  This carnival-themed activation zone featured a variety of engaging activities, including Gregory’s Garden Goofballs–where guests could make a little flower dedicated to mentors in their lives and plant the seeds of inspiration.

Beyond that, A.V.A. Fest offered carnival games and rides, and even free personalized hats or tote bags with your choice of patches.

Paramount+’s The Lodge

Paramount+’s The Lodge offered a cozy yet exciting retreat for SDCC attendees, featuring exclusive content and themed activities from Paramount’s biggest franchises:

• Create a Custom T-Shirt on a STAR TREK Starship–Fans were able to customize their very own t-shirts with options from a curated list of Star Trek franchise-inspired insignia.

• Olfactory Atelier Inspired by Ghosts–In the CBS Original Ghosts, scents are one of the strongest connections ghosts have to the living world.  The Lodge featured Woodstone Manor’s Olfactory Atelier, where guests could enter ‘The Livings’-own living room workshop (filled with easter eggs from the show) and experience a variety of perfumes paying homage to the ghosts in the series.

• Solve a Case for Criminal Minds: Evolution Behavioral Analysis Unit—The Lodge had an in-world office inspired by the series’ Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), filled with a chaotic spread of evidence, paperwork, unpredictable clues, and more  Guests were encouraged to pin their own red lines of deductions to help make sense of the clues.

• If’s Cozy Ferris Wheel Photo Op–With an inviting Luna Park marquee complete with carnival lights, guests could line up to “ride” the ferris wheel with their very own If companion for the photo op.

• Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–Themed Pizza Parlor–Turtle Power Pizza brought the connection between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their true love, pizza, to life as the pizza parlor dispensed slices and lemonades inspired by the colors of the four Turtles.

• Jellyspotting in Bikini Bottom–As part of the 25th anniversary celebration of Spongebob Squarepants, guests were invited to partake in “jellyspotting” throughout the day and catch jellyfish using “Ol’ Reliable,” SpongeBob’s most trusted jellyfish net.  While in line, fans might even get a photo with Spongebob or Patrick themselves.

• Ink Master Tattoo Parlor–Expanded from last year’s Ink Master-themed space, The Lodge included a tattoo parlor set that allowed guests to step inside the series and get a temporary airbrush tattoo.

• BRED2BUCK Saloon from Tulsa King—Tulsa King took over the Happy Does indoor bar with a themed ‘BRED2BUCK Saloon’ that took elements from the series with props, graphics, neon lights, and exciting Season 2 references.

These were only a subset of all the different offsite attractions SDCC had to offer this year.  Perfect for fans who were unable to get badges for the convention, San Diego Comic-Con 2024’s offsite installations provided unforgettable experiences and allowed guests to step into the worlds of their favorite shows and movies.  Whether they rode carnival swings or a terrifying elevator, fans left with cherished memories and a heightened anticipation for what’s next in their beloved franchises.