008: Navigating the Exhibit Hall
As the premiere pop culture and comics destination, Comic-Con uses over 460,000 square feet of exhibit space for attendees, artists, and collectors to explore. From Halls A to G there are bound to be crowds, and sometimes you may experience the issues that come along with large amounts of people. We’re here to help you navigate this massive space with the tips below. Please keep in mind that safety is always our major priority, and following these pointers will allow everyone to have a safe and fun convention.
Face Covering Requirements
Everyone attending Comic-Con 2022 is required to wear a face covering. All face coverings need to fit properly, and close to the face, with no gaps along the edges or around the nose. Masks must fully cover one’s nose and mouth, and remain secure under the chin. All attendees must wear a face covering at all times regardless of vaccination status, unless in an outdoor space or while actively eating or drinking. These requirements apply to all attendees, guests, professionals, press, industry, staff, volunteers, and cosplayers. All guidelines and requirements are final.
Not Permitted:
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Neck Gaiters
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Face coverings with exhalation valves
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Costume Masks
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Face coverings that can not be secured under the chin (including bandanas)
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Face coverings that include holes or are considerably damaged
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Mesh materials
Download the CLEAR app to verify Health Status
To get through your COVID-19 screening as quickly as possible, we highly encourage you to download the free CLEAR app. Using the CLEAR Health Pass means that you won’t need to fumble around with your negative COVID-19 test result or vaccination card and photo ID when verifying your health status. Show us your green Health Pass to acquire your wristband and start exploring everything Comic-Con 2022 has to offer!
For COVID-19 Verification Wristbanding Locations please CLICK HERE.
If your wristband is lost or stolen, you will need to return to a verification station to be reverified.
NO RUNNING!
Our #1 rule is absolutely No Running anywhere and anytime at Comic-Con! From programming rooms to the Exhibit Hall to the outside of the Convention Center, we need to maintain a cool, calm, and safe space for all badge holders. The most important time you need to remember our no running rule is when we first open the doors in the morning. We totally get that you want to be first to your favorite merchandise booth, autograph session, or anime screening, but running is a safety hazard for everyone! People caught ignoring this rule run the risk of having their badges taken away and being ejected from the convention.
Keep To Your Right!
For the easiest and quickest way to move through the Exhibit Hall, remember this: No matter where you’re going, please try to keep to your right. Particularly in crowded and congested places, such as the hall and lobby spaces, a streamlined flow of traffic prevents bottlenecks and potential safety hazards. If at any point you hear one of our Comic-Con Floor Managers ask “Please keep to your right”, we’d appreciate it if you follow through as quickly as possible.
No Sitting in the Aisles
There are several areas around the pillars in the Exhibit Hall which must remain clear at all times by order of the fire marshal. Please remember to not block or sit in these locations, or in any aisles in the Exhibit Hall. We have established designated lounge areas throughout the Exhibit Hall to use at your leisure—feel free to use these areas to meet up with friends or just chill out for a bit! You can locate these areas by referencing the Exhibit Hall map in the center of the 2022 Quick Guide once you’re on-site.
No Oversized Strollers, Rolling Carts, or Oversized Costumes in the Exhibit Hall
Due to safety reasons, we can not allow strollers that fit more than one child, such as double and tandem strollers, in the Exhibit Hall at any time. Plan ahead for when and where to park your stroller. You can locate the stroller parking areas on the maps included in our Quick Guide Areas – designated for “Stroller Parking” are indicated by a red oval. All stroller parking is free of charge and follows a first-come, first-served basis. Please Note: Comic-Con does not provide security for strollers.
Other items not permitted in the Exhibit Hall due to safety concerns include carts, rolling luggage, and oversized costumes, so please plan accordingly. At certain times, people in oversized costumes may be asked to leave the Exhibit Hall.
Take a Picture, and Keep it Movin’!
From amazing cosplays to fun booth displays, we understand there are many moments that’ll you want to capture and remember forever. To ensure that everyone gets the same opportunities, we ask that when you do take a pic, you keep it moving right afterwards. With hundreds of people around you, all going in different directions, stopping and clogging up the aisle to ensure that you’ve taken the perfect picture from every single angle can start to break the magic of Comic-Con for others. There may be numerous photo ops within merch stalls, so be mindful of others, take that picture, and keep it movin’!
Look Up! Pay Attention to Aisle Signs
The Exhibit Hall is a vast sea of activity, and we’ve all tried unsuccessfully to find that one booth with that perfect item we saw but now can’t remember where it was. Use the aisle signs hanging above each aisle to your advantage. As you make your first, second, or fifth pass through the hall, jot down the aisle numbers of the booths you want to return to. Be sure you take note of whether that aisle marker number is in the front, middle, or back of the hall. Compare aisle signs to booth numbers on the Exhibit Hall map in the Quick Guide, or in the Official Comic-Con App in the App Store for iOS and on Google Play when it comes out roughly a week before Comic-Con.
No Smoking
No smoking of any kind is allowed at any Comic-Con event at any time and in any location. This includes traditional cigarettes, vapes, pipes, cigars, or E-cigarette devices and products. This policy includes the Exhibit Hall, all programming rooms, and event spaces at the San Diego Convention Center and additional Comic-Con venues. You are welcome to step outside the Convention Center to smoke in designated smoking areas only. This policy is in place not only for the comfort of attendees but also to comply with San Diego city ordinances prohibiting smoking at public events near any doorway, entrance, exit, or operable window. Noncompliance may result in ejection from the convention.
No Retail Sales Outside of Purchased Exhibit Space!
Unless you have purchased or were allocated an exhibit space, there are absolutely no outside retail sales permitted! The includes, but is not limited to: the Exhibit Hall, lobbies, program rooms, outside venues, the Horton Grand Theatre, San Diego Central Library, and all surrounding hotels featuring our programming and event (namely: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Manchester Grand Hyatt, and the Omni San Diego). Retail sales are strictly limited to the exhibitors in the Comic-Con Exhibit Hall. Actively not following these guidelines may result in your badges being confiscated as well as being ejected from the convention.
No Handouts
No handing out of anything—including flyers, stickers, cards, or any promotional item—is allowed in any area inside or outside the San Diego Convention Center, except from within a booth in the Exhibit Hall or when pre-approved for placement on the Freebie Tables in the Sails Pavilion. We are crafting an experience for our attendees, we ask that you please respect that.
No Market Research
Comic-Con does not allow market research, surveys, or information-gathering in any public areas – indoors or outdoors – of the San Diego Convention Center, or any other affiliated venues featuring Comic-Con events.
Code of Conduct.
Attendees must respect common sense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Comic-Con reserves the right to revoke, without refund, the membership and badge of any attendee not in compliance with this policy. Persons finding themselves in a situation where they feel their safety is at risk or who become aware of an attendee not in compliance with this policy should locate the nearest member of security, or staff member, so that the matter can be handled in a prompt manner.
Exhibitor Lists and Exhibit Hall Map
Our complete Exhibitor Lists and the massive Exhibit Hall Map for Halls A through G at the San Diego Convention Center are all linked below:
Comic-Con reserves the right to change or modify any policy or rule at any time and without notice.
Join us over the next few weeks as we post more Toucan Tips to help you enjoy and navigate Comic-Con 2022!
Bookmark Toucan for the latest Toucan Tips as we gallivant towards Comic-Con 2022, July 21-24 at the San Diego Convention Center!