culture conventions in the worl,
and it's happening right
now in downtown San Diego.
Welcome to the fore on this Thursday.
I'm Marcella Lee.
Heather Meyers has the day off.m
Carlo Chicato. CBS8's Kelly has it all.
Joins us live from the Conventin
Center, where Comic Con is
well underway this afternoon.
Kelly, how's it going down ther?
Well, you know, we've been out e
since this morning, and the cros
continue to get bigger and bigg.
Take a live look here outside of
the Convention Center right now
or outside of the exhibit hall.
C So we've been talking to
people from all over the world.
You know, I talked to a woman from Australia.
She made her first trip to Comic Con.
I talked to a lot of locals
who come down here every year.
But probably my favorite intervs
of the day came from a family
dressed as Greek gods and godde.
They not only coordinate
costumes together every year,
the mom actually makes them.
What's your favorite part
about Comic Con seeing
all the costumes?
I love the creativity and the
people's work because a lot
of what's out here right now,
it's people's own work.
It's not just usually like,
you know at Halloween.
A lot of it is just quick
purchase bagged costumes.
The family time is you're making
memories and memories are the
only thing we take with your Its
the one time of year Joe Averag.
You do a nice outfit and
you can be a movie star,
feel like a movie star because
everybody's stopping stopping
you take your picture.
I mean,
and that's that's the
that's what's cool for me.
And everyone wanted to
take pictures with them.
That is the Ring Guard family.
Originally from Poway,
but they moved to Nevada.
But they come back for Comic Con every year.
This is the 11th one
they've attended together.
They were up at 5:00 AM getting ready.
Daughter Kristen spent
three hours in makeup today.
Her mom spent weeks hand
sewing their costumes.
So just really incredible work.
We also spotted Iron Man out he.
We saw Wonder Woman taking phots
with people Obi 1, Kenobi.
So a lot to see out here.
And of course inside the Convenn
Center on the exhibit floor we w
everything from Transformers tht
move just at the sound of your e
to the Lego Brick Busters store
to those old school video games.
Now all of this,
the tourist dollars spent here brings
in a lot of money to the city.
Amir, Todd,
Gloria talked numbers this morn.
He had his dog Diego with him dressed up.
The city says last year 135,000
people attended Comic Con,
bringing in about 3 million in
hotel and sales tax revenue.
Of course,
the hope is this year the numbes
are even bigger.
This
is truly a fun, exciting and iconic event,
and I could not be more proud that this
international phenomenon is a homegrown San
Diego tradition right here from our city.
And so here's another live look at the
crowds outside the Convention Center.
Now besides what's happening
here at the Convention Center,
so many other free amazing thins
are happening around this area.
All the restaurants downtown have kind
of Comic Con esque themes going.
A lot of Comic Con cocktails
happening as So even if you aret
able to come inside at the exhit
hall or anything like that,
if you don't have a badge,
there's still plenty of things to do and see
here in downtown San Diego.
Carcel and Carlo Kelly, we know
because of the Hollywood actors.
Strike that. A lot of actors
won't be there this year to promote events.
Is it putting a damper on thing?
Are you noticing any
difference in the excitement
of people out there today?
You've been there in previous y.
Yeah. I mean, I will say I think
it's something a lot of people
are kind of wondering about,
especially if they're not here,
if it's going to feel the
same and I feel like.
People are still definitely
excited to be here.
I do feel like there maybe is
a little disappointment that
some of the big name celebrities
aren't going to be here this ye.
But overall, I do think a lot of people,
you know, did mention that maybe they
didn't see as many people dressd
up this year as in previous yea.
I could maybe agree with that,
but I think people are just
excited to be a part of all thi,
part of it being a part of
downtown San Diego in general.
Looks
like a fun afternoon,
a great way to kick off Comic C.
Thanks so much, Kelly.
All right. And Kelly kind of mentioned it.
If you don't have a badge for Comic Con,
you can still get in on the fun.
Beyond the panels, parties, and vendors,
the official Comic Con events, there are
plenty of things to do during the event.
If you can't get into the Convention Center.
Yeah, there's one thing called
the Petco Park Interactive Zone.
You'll be able to find fan favos
like the Hello Kitty Cafe truck.
Serving up sweet treats and mer.
You can dive into the world
of SpongeBob SquarePants.
So the Transformers, even Futur.
Petco Park Interactive Zone is n
today and tomorrow from 10:00 Ao
5:00 PM and then on Saturday frm
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM And don't forget,
admission is free.
You do not need a badge.
Still so many things to do
downtown to get into the spirit
and enjoy the mood of Comic Con.
It is a lot of fun and we've
seen that grow. It's kind of.
It's outgrown the Convention Ce,
but it hasn't outgrown San Dieg,
especially downtown.
It's a it's a whole party in the whole city.
Yeah, we hope we can keep it here too.
I think it's only a contracted through 2024.
It belongs here.
It says today we are working for you,
sharing your best options for
transportation to get to and frm
Comic Con, the number one tip.
Do not try to drive there.
W Harbor Drive is closed
near the Convention Center.
Parking is very limited as you can imagine.
A lot of lots around the Convenn
Center are being used for popup.
Street parking?
It's likely to be full.
You might get lucky if you trie,
but probably not worth it.
Seven lots downtown and the
Convention Center garage.
Those are all reserved for
Comic Con attendees. Another
question, another option for yo.
Use the free shuttle bus servic.
It's free. If you have your offl
Comic Con badge, there are 6 ro,
each with pickup spots near the
hotels around the Convention Ce.
Here's a map we're showing you t
now which gives you all of the stops.
The buses come about every 15 to 30 minutes.
There's also the trolley and I
really recommend that option.
MTS is running a special Comic n
Express line from the Balboa Av.
station to the 5th and Imperial stops.
That brings you right to
the Convention Center.
The green line also takes you
there on the blue or orange.
Make sure you get off at 12th and Imperial.
If you use the Pronto at you can
get discount passes or you can t
purchase tickets at the stationA
lot of ways to get around.
And yeah, don't drive. Maybe.
I don't know, pay your.
Neighbor in in a pizza or
something to drop you
off. They have to deal with the traffic
around it to get you down there.
So that's that's why I like the trolley.
It drops you off right there.
Perfect option. And we've been
asking you all day long to sends
your photos from Comic Con. Yea,
we thank you for doing so.
We've gotten a ton.
You can see just how many photos that
we have gotten from the downtown area.
Let's check it on a few right n.
Check out your costumes.
Here's Maleficent Vector from Despicable
Me and Beetlejuice and Lydia.
We got another one, Luigi.
We're going to click on there.
There's Luigi.
Hope the accent's better.
Lot of lot of fun things going .
You can send yours into
us to look at these guys.
Mando and Grogu from Mandaloria.
Look, they pulled this one off.
They even got the little floating Grogu.
That is impressive stuff.
Awesome costume, great effort.
We want more photos if you're
going to Comic Con this year,
If you're downtown,
send us your pictures.
Of the cosplay you see out ther,
maybe yours.
So we can feature them right here on CBS8.
Go to the CBS8 app and go
to the near me section.
Make sure to tell us your name
and what you are dressed up as.
I
love all the creativity we
see out there this year.
Kind of got a little get a litte
creative and how to keep cool. h
boy, that's one thing And we wew
how many hours they put into it.
That family that used to live in
Poway that Kelly talked to you there.
They're in Vegas now.
Hours and hours today of makeup.
3 hours. I think they said
doing your makeup today.
I'm sorry because I feel like fr
some people. I just melt off.
Hopefully they stayed in shade and maybe
had a umbrella while getting over there.