Alright, I've been thinking about heading to SF for wondercon this year. I have some vacation days I need to use. The problem is I'm not quite convinced yet. I figured this would be a good place to get opinions from like-minded people. Besides the obvious, where do you like to go? What touristy/must see places do you guys dig? Any "insider" information would be appreciated.

Gargamel show at S7. Enough said.

mitchell brothers and their crunchy carpet

Place to eat: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=32569

yes. all you can eat & you get way more than you bargained for.

...and a stroll down Polk Street can get you ANYTHING you want afterwards. If that's not a selling point, I don't know what is.

I figured this and the WC panel "How to: Fairy Cosplay For Cheap!" would have been assumed as obvious. But in all seriousness you are absolutely right. I'd want to go to that show even if it was headlining at a Juggalo Gathering.

For me, WonderCon itself isn't as much of a draw. It's a pretty small con and I've been every year since 2004. But I've never found a need to attend more than one, or even a full day, for that matter. But Super 7 and vinyl in general is starting to make a better showing, though it still barely a fraction of what's at SDCC. The floor of the con itself can typically walked and viewed in full in about two hours. It's definitely more of a comic centric convention still. Lots of comics, lots of random toy booths of your standard toy fare and then a handful of select toy retailers like Super 7, Cardboard Spaceship (no Rotofugi this year as they'll be at a local Chicago con instead).

What makes it worth it for me moreso than the con is enjoying the city and hanging out with friends. Plus the Gargamel show at Super 7 the Saturday of the con is an awesome draw for this year. But early at the con, lunch somewhere in the city, head back to the con to revisit booths you wanted to hit again, and a night on the town with cool folks is what makes it awesome.

So I'd say you'd want to look at it as a trip to San Francisco and the Super 7 show with just one highlight being the convention going in at the same time.

Honestly if you like touristy stuff in the least, you won't run out of things to do here in SF. Anytime I have friends come into town we do touristy things, but I still haven't run out of places to go with them. Alcatraz, chinatown, union square, chrissy field/Golden gate, coit tower, the wharf(museum mechanic!), the MOMA, haight st, the mission, twin peaks are just examples of touristy things that locals shy away from but are popular for a reason. Although I think the boat ride for Alcatraz is the best part.

The Academy of Science and the Japanese Tea garden are some of my favorites that I don't think people usually suggest right off the bat. Also for the ferry building farmers market on saturdays is great for food lovers. While we're at it, something that's not mentioned in the food thread much is the amazing food cart culture we have in SF. It gets national press but once again SF locals are spoiled and don't mention it much.

Honestly San Francisco is amazing, I've lived here short fo 3 years and I'm still in awe.

Not to be rude, but why would those of us who are going want to "convince" you to come? It is growing more overcrowded every year. If you asked, "is it fun?" or "What does it offer?", then I would probably tell you why you should come. If you search the topic on this board, you will see where I have posted in past years urging people to come, but "convince" you? "Sell" you?

Go if you like comics and that medium. If you are stictly a toy fan, don't bother. This is a comics convention, not a toy convention. Go to S7 on the Saturday night of the Con to see the Gargamel show, then go home.

(boat ride to Alcatraz)

I love tourists.

I apologize if my thread/thread title sounded haughty or cavalier at all. Using words like "sell" or "convince" was completely misleading. All I really was asking was about places to go and things to see besides the obvious, wondercon and the Garg show I am, of course, fully aware of I wanted to hear about your guys' favorite hangout spots or places unique to SF which like-minded (for the most part) locals would be kindly enough to share with me. Thanks Alex, I appreciate your reply, it is awesome to hear touristy stuff can still be fun! Everyplace I travel I feel like I am that one dude with the big novelty hat, Hawaiian t-shirt and a camera around his neck. I hope my 3 day trip to your city doesnt inconvenience anybody If any of you guys head to Tucson, I will be first in line to let you in on the best Mexican food places in town.

Jobber I think you'll have a good time here. There's definitely no shortage of things to see or do. You'll probably enjoy WonderCon but as a friendly bit of advance advice, you might want to lower your expectations. It's not ComicCon, you know? It's really much more about comics than toys, although besides the S7 presence there are usually some aspiring "Western" toy designers showing their up-and-coming protos. It gets seriously overcrowded so be prepared for some slow-motion browsing.

one thing not mentioned here, if you're a Disney nut at all check out the new Disney museum out in the presidio. we had a great time there on our trip in january.

there's so much to do there, you won't run out of things to keep you occupied.

Yeah, I was definitely surprised by the crowds last year. Normally I'd roll in to San Francisco around noon-1pm, park across the street, cruise the entire con floor in about 45 minutes, catch a panel or two, grab some food, cruise some more, and head home.

Last year I got there at noon and drove around for 30 minutes to find a lot with space available within walking distance. And the con floor was so packed I could barely move around in some aisles. I felt like I was at SDCC just with crappier booths.