How to Enjoy Comic-Con Without a Badge

If you don’t have a badge for Comic-Con, don’t worry.

On Wednesday, San Diego’s largest and most celebrated convention celebrating pop culture, comic books and entertainment comes to town and the annual festivities will begin.

Fangirls and fanboys looking left without a badge can still come enjoy the fun from outside the convention center.

Get ready to pull out your geekier side for the second annual Her Universe “Geek Couture” Fashion Show, where finalists’ designs will walk the runway in front of an esteemed panel of judges at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Harbor Ballroom. The audience and judges will vote to pick a first and second place winner that will go on to develop a collection to be sold at Hot Topic. The show will take place Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Put on your running shoes for "Assassin’s Creed" Experience, a life-size obstacle course built from the upcoming video game "Assassin’s Creed Syndicate". Give the course a run-through or play the game or perform the Leap of Faith for no charge, Thursday through Sunday starting at 10 a.m. and heading into the late afternoon. 

Step into new worlds and new spheres in the FX Fearless Arena from Thursday to Sunday at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Lawn. Live through "American Horror Story", escape vampires in "The Strain"’s virtual reality mission, put on your winter coat for "Fargo"’s blizzard. On Thursday, the area will be there from noon to 6 p.m. On Friday and Saturday it will go from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

From nightly screenings to live-streaming events, this year’s Adult Swim on the Green is back at Comic-Con. Step into the Carnival Midway and The Meatwad Full Dome Experience, feast of daily live-streaming events, nightly screenings and more. The area will be behind the Convention Center from 9:30 a.m. onward all four days. 

Jump into the worlds of some of your favorite pop-culture phenomenon events around the city. NBC’s "Heroes Reborn" and "Blindspot" will be on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Square, Fox Television’s "Scream Queens" will be spread throughout downtown and the "Game of Thrones" Experience the Realm will be across the Omni Hotel. Gamers can head over to the Marriott Marquis & Marina for the Nintendo Video Game Lounge.

Last, but not least, "Conan" bingo - a game and party rolled into one, organizers promise - will take place Wednesday and Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at an undisclosed location as well as Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. There is a waitlist for the event you can join.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article listed the Xbox Lounge at the Hyatt as an option, but officials say you do need a badge for that event.

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