LEGO at San Diego Comic-Con 2023: An AFOL’s Experience

Today’s guest article comes from fellow AFOL Chris Castagnetto who shares his experience with LEGO at San Diego Comic-Con 2023.

SDCC 2023

San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest fan events in the world, was hosted from July 19th to 23rd. In classic form, LEGO showed up with a collection of fan activations and experiences throughout the weekend for fans of all ages. I’m an AFOL and as such, I am also a huge fan of pop culture. I have been attending Comic-Con since 2002 and have been lucky enough to have been witness to LEGO and their fan experiences and activations over the years—and this year was definitely one of the best. Not only did LEGO host their annual animation panel, but they also hosted activations on the IMDB boat and showed up in a very different way when it comes to their annual LEGO booth presence on the show floor.

BrickNerd has talked about fan activations in New York before, so it is time to take a look at what they do on the West Coast. I went to SDCC 2023 on behalf of BrickNerd and wanted to share my experience from the nerdiest of all fan conventions.

LEGO Animation Panel: DreamZzz About Ninjago

To kick off the weekend, LEGO hosted their traditional LEGO animation panel on Thursday morning. The line thankfully was not too crazy, and the room was about 50% full (which for Room 6BCF is saying something as that room is huge). The panel kicked off with Keith Malone (head of entertainment development for the LEGO Group) along with head of LEGO production Asa Tait, and Doc Wyatt and Kevin Burke, head writers of Ninjago Dragons Rising. They all introduced the great voice talent of these great shows, Sarah Jeffery (Zoey), Marcos Cardenas (Mateo), Vincent Tong (Logan, Kai), Brian Drummond (Mr. Oz, Nightmare King, Ras, Riyu, Lobbo), and Larissa Dias (Izzie).

There was some great discussion and introductions to both DreamZzz and Ninjago: Dragons Rising as well as some trailers and clips shown for the upcoming second half of both shows. The crowd loved the trailer, and the second half of both shows are looking to be jam-packed with excitement and adventure.

Following the clips, the panel opened up to some Q&A, and there were several fans who had an opportunity to ask the panel some fun and interesting questions. The first question that was asked was regarding old characters from the past like the Uply and if we would see a lot of cameos in Dragons Rising—there was no firm answer, although the writers were very clear that they love doing cameos when able. But they reiterated that the new show really is that opportunity to tell new stories with new heroes and characters which is a great “reset” for the show (which I’m personally excited about).

Another question that was raised was regarding Morro and if the elemental power of wind was passed down to a potential family member, but it sounds like it did not and it found the “right” host for the power given the time and need of Ninjago. They also mentioned that there will be a ton of new elemental powers this season and that answers to hot questions about “Wildfire and what her power truly is” will be answered this season, so keep an eye out for it! There were also some fun costumes including the appearance of a real-life child-sized Venomari J.

To close out the Q&A the final question was regarding the power of brown and is it real and what does it do which was quickly shot down as that answer is not appropriate for the children in the audience. It was a fun panel and everyone left excited for the new season.

IMDB Boat Has LEGO DreamZzz

Image via SDCC

Behind the convention center on the dock, the IMDB boat made its annual Comic-Con appearance, and this year LEGO DreamZzz was one of their main partners. (Make sure to check out what BrickNerd did with the new Dreamzz sets—both from the light side and the dark side!) Attendees who were lucky enough to get the ability to visit the IMDB boat after signing up online or waiting in a standby line were treated to a number of fun LEGO DreamZzz activations.

Upon entering the boat guests were welcomes by brand ambassadors who were giving out the latest LEGO Life Magazine along with a special LEGO DreamZzz comic book. Attendees were also able to see some of the upcoming sets on display in addition to being able to participate in a giant mural build where you were given instructions and able to build a small plate to then attach to the larger mural. You were then provided with some special DreamZzz stickers and able to take a photo of yourself captured inside of one of the monsters in DreamZzz.

Following the activation, you could grab a drink at the bar in a DreamZzz branded cup and grab a snack or two with a DreamZzz branded napkin. They were also handing out DreamZzz eye covers and doorknob hangers to some lucky attendees in swag bags along with some other partner goodies. Outside of the boat at random times during the convention, there were also DreamZzz branded brand ambassadors hosting a “guess how many bricks” challenge and giving out swag bags if you guessed close to the total. (BrickNerd will have a giveaway soon for you to potentially get your hands on some of this fun swag, so keep an eye out!) Overall, it was a great mini experience and a nice break from the summer sun.

DreamZzz Sleepover Themed Watch Party

On Thursday night also on the IMDB boat, LEGO hosted a Dreamzzz sleepover themed watch party. Fans could RSVP on Twitter (or X if you want to call it that) or wait in the standby line for a chance to get on the boat and watch the first episode along with the voice actors from the show.

The event was a ton of fun, the activities were the same as the daytime activities on the IMDB boat but this time we got to hang out with fellow LEGO fans while grabbing a drink and chatting with the voice actors for the show. We could grab some DreamZzz-themed popcorn boxes and gelato and chill while waiting for our screening. There were two screenings of the first episode then there were some fun blankets and pillows you could cuddle up with while watching the show in a fun and relaxing environment.

The folks who watched the first screening also walked away with a cool branded DreamZzz tote bag, the previously mentioned swag, and a small micro build. I was part of the second screening so they were all out by the time we exited. I’m unsure what the build was but everyone seemed to have had a great time and were excited about the opportunity.

LEGO Brickbuster Booth

LEGO’s show floor presence this year was a huge change in direction and appearance than previous years. This year the booth was all decked out as a classic Blockbuster store but with a LEGO twist calling the store Brickbuster.

The booth was full of fun activations and mini-moments for all attendees to enjoy. There were big reveals of new sets from Asoka and a huge collection of other upcoming releases for fans to view and get hyped about. There was a LEGO Sonic videogame play section as well as three photo opportunities, Star Wars speeder bikes, Captain America and Sonic.

Unlike past year's photo-ops, there were a few twists. The Sonic was a traditional brick-built character but the other two were a very different 2D style of creation allowing for multiple “walls” of bricks to be strategically positioned to create a 3D look and feel. I personally prefer the traditional brick-built characters, but this was a fun deviation and change of pace. Also at the back of the booth was a fun brick-building space where you could build your favorite movie covers to be displayed on the wall.

When it comes to swag, the first few attendees every morning were able to get laminate Brickbuster cards reminiscent of the original Blockbuster cards. In addition, if you took a photo at the booth the previous day with some of the photo-ops, you could show the image to get a collectors pin with each day having a different pin to collect. Also, if you had your Blockbuster original card on you from the 90’s, you also could get an exclusive Brickbuster pin.

One additional activity was that LEGO hid around 30 VHS tape cases all throughout the gaslamp district and if you ever found one during the weekend and brought it to the booth, you would receive the full pin collection. This is basically impossible as there are hundreds of thousands of people in the gaslamp daily but still it was a fun thought, and congrats to those that found them!

Image via akenei12

As for retail, there was also a very limited early-release retail store open Thursday to Sunday for limited hours each morning for folks to pick up some upcoming LEGO sets. Personally, I like that there was no exclusive SDCC set like in years past because there was no rushing or arguing in line or crazy ticket grabs. Everyone was able to get some sets early before normal release but everyone could get them if they just wanted to wait a few weeks.

“Be Kind Rewind” Exclusive Torso

The final element of this weekend was the limited edition exclusive Comic-Con 2023 “Be Kind Rewind” minifig torso. This is a story, so let’s jump right in.

So in general, every day of the show from Thursday onward, there was a QR code at the booth that attendees could scan to fill out a form then and reserve a space to come back to the booth later in that same day to pick up a minifig torso and then choose other general pieces to complete the fig. This process was a mess and a nightmare BUT even then, it was WAY better than any previous year’s exclusive minifig giveaway.

For context, in years past, LEGO used to give away highly exclusive minifigs that people would go nuts over. Each day there would be a different fig and people would have to line up super early in the morning for 4+ hours in the hot sun to then walk through a giant line to tap a button on an iPad for a 20% chance at getting a free exclusive minifig. This was crazy but everyone did it because the figures were so rare and expensive and could be easily flipped online after the show for hundreds of dollars. I always hated this process because waiting three or four hours during a fun convention for a 20% chance to win was a significant sacrifice of time. I would always prefer to do other things.

This year LEGO did their minifigure giveaway completely differently which was very thoughtful… but it was also a broken mess. This year, once you got to the booth you could get the URL for the entry form. At 9:30 AM each day, the online queue opened and you could register for a time… if you could get through the system. I don’t know how many of you have ever tried to access LEGO.com on a release day, but this was a similar experience refreshing the site over and over trying to get it to load. The page itself had too many clicks, one to see the schedule, then you had to click times (which might already be full), then you had to confirm and enter personal information with more clicks and drop-down menus. Each click forced the site to reload again and again, causing it to crash multiple times due to all the traffic. In all honesty, it might have been less than a 20% chance of even getting through the site!

image via Beyond the Brick

I was finally able to get through on Day 3 which felt like a small victory. All that said, I much prefer this system to waiting in line for 4+ hours in the sun for a chance at nothing. Even though the site was overwhelmed, I could keep hitting refresh from my phone during panels, getting food, or wandering the convention. It’s a far better spend of time and conceptually the right thing to do if the site worked a bit better. I’m sure the tech stuff will get worked out for future shows with traffic limits tested and lifted, but in general, it was a much better experience than in previous years.

A Comic-Con For The Bricks

Altogether, San Diego Comic-Con 2023 was a ton of fun and a great change of pace for LEGO. The panels were exciting and full of energy, the boat was a fun and relaxing activation, the booth didn’t have crazy lines and had some fun building and photo-op experiences, and the exclusive minifig experience was vastly better than in the past.

I hope this progress is a trend that LEGO continues at other events in the future! Special thanks to LEGO, their event and PR team at Golin, and to BrickNerd for the experience. I hope you can experience a LEGO activation yourself at a Comic-Con or another community event in the future. In the meantime, keep an eye on BrickNerd’s Facebook and Instagram pages for a Comic-Con swag giveaway!

Have you ever been to LEGO’s official booth at Comic-Con? Share your memories in the comments below.

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