STEFANI DIAS: Trying to do it all at San Diego Comic-Con

In many ways, going to Comic-Con is like visiting a giant amusement park. The annual pop culture extravaganza lives up to its convention title, with panels on television, films, comic books and more, but it also offers a plethora of off-site activities for badge-carrying attendees as well as the general public — as long as you're willing to wait in line.

Having attended the show for well over a decade, I can say that every year feels a little different. Facing a number of news deadlines before each show, my prep often falls to the last minute and I rely on emails from PR reps and companies to help direct my attention to what is new.

Highlights this year included the off-site activations Paramount+'s The Lodge, #FXSDCC and Stern Pinball Pop-Up Arcade as well as being in the Hall H panels on that Saturday.

Since the early 2000s, Hall H has been the site of high-profile panels with studios and networks highlighting upcoming releases. If you've seen photos of the show other than the convention floor or people cosplaying, it's likely been of celebrities on stage inside the 6,500-seat hall waving.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes kept many performers and writers away from the show (they were only able to promote projects not affected by the strikes).

Most returned this year, promoting a number of shows and films throughout the con including numerous "Star Trek" projects ("Lower Decks," "Strange New Worlds," "Section 31" and "Starfleet Academy"), "The Boys," "The Penguin," "Alien: Romulus," "Interview with the Vampire," "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" and more.

The buzz for Saturday's Hall H lineup was heightened by the fact that Marvel Studios would discuss its cinematic universe plans, which were overhauled from a Kang-based arc after Jonathan Majors, the actor who played the titular villain, was fired when he was convicted of assault.

That high level of interest made it a big draw as indicated by the line that began late Thursday/early Friday morning. Yes, it is like you've seen online; people wait many hours, sometimes days to guarantee a spot in the hall.

This year, I clocked plenty of line time for both the Thursday special screening of "Deadpool and Wolverine," which was supposed to only be for lottery winners and their plus-ones (including me) but became a free-for-all line, and for Saturday, which was a team effort with other attendees who organized a group through Discord.

(One could devote an entire column to how to best navigate the Hall H line but there are better people to do that than me.)

It is cool to see the big announcements and watch the celebrities take the stage. Yet in this day of immediate news, most big reveals — such as Robert Downey Jr. announcing he will play the Marvel villain Doctor Doom for the Russo Brothers' upcoming "Avengers: Doomsday" — are online in nearly the time it would take to text the news to a friend. And much of the footage unveiled also seems to end up posted within a few days (or leaked by someone illegally recording it).

Get activated

This was the second year for the Lodge, which promotes shows featured on the streaming service with activities and giveaways.

The "Ink Master" tattoo parlor featured a new selection of temporary tattoos that guests could have airbrushed on themselves. (I chose sigils from my favorite series "Evil.")

Based on the wait time, the most popular station was to customize your own "Starfleet swag." Visitors used a touch-screen tablet to select a trio of "Star Trek"-franchise-inspired insignia that were then heat-pressed on a shirt along with your choice of catchphrase. The only downside was that an attendant warned the T-shirts ran small and to "size up" but they were the usual unisex sizing that ended up a little boxy.

Attendees could also get a slice of pizza and flavored lemonades from the "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"-themed pizza parlor and cocktails from the "Tulsa King"-themed saloon.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of "Spongebob Squarepants," you could use "Ol' Reliable," SpongeBob's most trusted jellyfish net, to catch jellyfish in hopes of earning special jellyspotting gear.

The Lodge also included a Ferris wheel photo-op related to the film "IF" and an olfactory atelier inspired by "Ghosts."

An AR scavenger hunt, in which players scanned designated images inside the convention center and at Petco Park, was also fun, with a prize bag including cards and a heat-activated mug.

Also back this year was #FXSDCC. This year it offered immersive elements and photo-ops for "The Bear," the "American Horror Story" universe, "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "What We Do in the Shadows."

One of the best bits of swag this year was customized "Shadows" umbrellas that included your name or word up to 10 letters that was hand-lettered in front of you. That was a bit of a wait though as well.

"The Bear" included a photo-op in a booth and the presentation of an apron wrapped like a beef sandwich presented by a chef Carmy stand-in and his staff.

I ran out of time to try the FX Fearless Hellevator, which was supposed to offer a glimpse into the world of the new series "Grotesquerie," in order to get in line for the film screening on Thursday.

Attendees could enjoy more hands-on gaming at the Stern Pinball Pop-Up Arcade.

The pinball machine maker had a booth in the convention center but also offered a pop-up inside the nearby Marriott Marquis Hotel that was open to the public.

I received a press invite and was able to have a hands-on demo with two Stern staffers for the new "John Wick" and "Godzilla" 70th anniversary machines. Pinball has come a long way since I was a kid but the Stern machines still offered classic game play with exciting bells and whistles based on the intellectual properties.

I wasn't skilled enough to activate much beyond multiball but it was cool to see the possibilities.

The machines also use Stern's Insider Connected system, for which players scan in to be able to track progress across any Stern machines and earn special achievements. For "John Wick," players can take on special quests and accept limited-time faction contracts to increase their "assassin" ranking.

Keanu Reeves, who was there to promote his "BRZRKR" comic book series, even played the "John Wick" game on the convention floor.

Going back to that amusement park metaphor, activity fatigue is a definite factor at the con. You'll never be able to do it all so it comes down to a matter of deciding what's most important (or easiest) to attend. With a little more energy, I could have done more but there were certainly days when standing mostly still in a line for something won out against hustling to check something out then getting back in line.

However exhausting it may be, the con is always a good time and I'll go back as long as I'm able to put into those miles.