SDCC - 15 Days and counting...Offsite Events

This year will be my first foray into the offsite events at SDCC,  Last year, I stayed with a friend, which was awesome and cost effective.  This year, I booked a hotel to be able to hit the later events and try for some of the big panels that require a very early departure.  I also had some friends who were going to come with me, but had to bail due to family obligations.  Luckily, I was able to find some some cool roommates to help with the cost of the room :)

Anyway, back to the point:  Offsite Events.  Below are the events I have planned, followed by some other cool events.  The best place to look for events is SDCC Unoffical Blog's calendar:

Wednesday - HopCon
I heard from a friend about an event Stone Brewery is holding called HopCon.  Stone, partnering with Wil Wheaton, are releasing a beer called w00tstout, tying into Wil's event w00tstock on Thursday night, which is co-hosted by Adam Savage (from MythBusters...more on that in a second).  Anyway, Stone is tasting the w00tsout along with some other beers.  Something about drinking beers with Wil sounds fun...he is a home brewer as well, so there is some common ground to talk with him about haha.  I was a little bummed about not getting Preview Night...but upon reflection, I know all I would have done is do a quick walkthrough of the Exhibition Floor, bought a couple of things, and then watched all the TV previews.  I'll see the shows either later during the rest of the Con or when they air...so nothing really lost (no real exclusives that I NEED).
http://www.stonebrewing.com/hop-con/ - $49, Stone Brewery Liberty Station location, Wed 5pm

Thursday - w00tstock
I have heard nothing but good things from my friends who have gone to this event.  Lovingly referred to as Nerd Church, it is a big variety show hosted by Wil Wheaton and Adam Savage with special guests.  Not much has been released on who the special guests are, but this is one of the premier events.
http://w00tstock.net/ - $44.90, Balboa Theatre, Thurs 7pm

Friday - The Walking Dead Escape
This event I did last year and was a lot of fun...and exercise haha.  Held at Petco Park, the organizers of this event transformed the stadium to a zombie apocalypse with ruined cars, cargo nets, trash cans, hundreds of people dressed up as zombies or other denizens of the world,, and other debris.  It was more tiring than I anticipated, but I made it through and survived...my friend did not.  Some of the zombies has blacklight reactive paint that can mark you as being infected if you get hit enough.  I had a couple grazes...one in my short from the cargo net and another through a cheap section where you have to crawl through an area that is covered in blood (that kind of stained my shorts haha) and the zombies converge on you.  Being big and tall did not help me much, but this year I have been training through NerdFitness (probably future post on Health and SDCC, which would include this).  Last year we got the 100th issue of the Walking Dead as a bonus to the price of admission.  This year we get a book revolving around the Governor from the series.  And a special little treat was that my bag check number of #666, which I was really fond of haha.  You can also participate as a normal zombie or step it up and be a zombie "hero" that will get you professional zombie makeup!  You can also pay a small fee to spectate and watch it all.   Takes place Fri and Sat from 6pm to 10pm.
http://www.thewalkingdeadescape.com/sandiego.html - $75, Petco Park, Fri 8pm (for me)

As of now, I don't have an plans for Sat or Sun.  There are a couple things that would be worth checking out, like:

NerdHQ 
Zac Levi's Nerd Machine's event held during SDCC, now at Petco Park.  In addition to their Conversations for a Cause with the various who's who of geek fandom (Joss Whedon, Nathon Filion, etc.), their location has the newest games and tech to play with.  Schedule is not out as of yet, but tickets can go quick...so pay attention to their site.
http://www.thenerdmachine.com/nerd-hq/ 

Geek and Sundry
Felicia Day started G&S with a number of segments on YouTube covering her personal vlog, Tabletop games with Wil Wheaton, and many more.  Felicia has been busy building this brand and adding new segments.  During Comic Con, they will be hosting their festivities at Jolt'N Joes.  No official news on the events yet, but I'm hoping some boardgame time with Wil and some beer will be on the agenda haha.
http://www.geekandsundry.com/forums/discussion/2421/geek-sundry-sdcc

There is more, so here is a link to SDCC Unofficial Blog's calendar: http://sdccblog.com/events/2013-07/

Here is a quick list of my highlights:

• PSYCH the musical - Wed at 12am
• History's VIKINGS Interactive Waterway - Thursday/Friday/Saturday 2pm to 2am
• 30min Musicals: JURASSIC PARK in 4D! - Thursday 6pm
• Distand Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy -  Thursday 8pm
• Aquabats! Live - Thursday 8pm
• Veronica Mars Fan Event - Friday sometime
• ...and more!

Musical tie-in

Any excuse to use one of the music videos from The Guild, staring Felicia Day :) 

The Guild - "Wanna Date My Avatar"