Make A Wish and Comic Con
Abby went to Comic-Con in San Diego for her Make A Wish wish! Actually, all 5 of us went! And Abby got to meet the cast of The Flash and Arrow!
Comic Con ran from July 18 – 22. Make A Wish flew us down on Wednesday, July 18, and back on Monday, July 23. We were a little concerned about the heat, but it was about 25 degrees Celsius every day, which was warm enough but could have been worse.
The short version is: Abby got to meet the cast of The Flash and Arrow, we were a part of the 130,000 people who go to Comic Con, we went to the San Diego Zoo, some museums, the USS Midway, a beach, dad got us in a little trouble at a naval base, and we did a whole lot of walking. It was fun, crowded, busy, and a great trip.
The longer version is:
Emma flew from Fort McMurray to Calgary where we all flew from. We arrived at the San Diego airport at after 10:00 pm and we were greeted by a Make A Wish representative to help get us a van and sent to the right hotel. Crazy busy airport with everyone arriving for Comic Con!
Thursday, August 19
Thursday morning we had to be at the Marriott next to the Convention Centre by 8:00 am so we could get our passes and itinerary. We took the bus that went around hotels in our area and down to the convention centre. We were early and there were so many people! We had to walk a fair ways, but Make A Wish had provided a wheelchair for Abby that helped not tire her out. Make A Wish told us that Abby and one parent were going to meet the cast of Arrow! Logan was very disappointed that he couldn’t go. Abby had watched the Flash, but hadn’t started Arrow yet, so she was a little concerned about not knowing anyone in the cast. That night they binge watched several episodes of Arrow of the next 2 days to help Abby know everyone. The star had also been in Heartland, which Abby loves, so we had seen him before.
Turned out Make A Wish had nothing planned for us on that day so we stood in line in the heat for a while waiting to get into the main building. Convention staff very kindly let us in early to wait so Abby wouldn’t have to be in the heat.
We went on the exhibition floor where all the vendors and comics and movie studios had booths. It was so packed! There are about 130,000 people who attend Comic Con, and another 40,000 that attend events in the few blocks around the Convention Centre. The exhibition floor can hold about 20 some thousand people, and it felt like it as we were pushing our way through to see various booths. We only lasted about 2 hours on the floor there, and then split up so some could walk to booths and Dad took the wheelchair out into the hall.
We split up that afternoon to go to different panels. Dad and Emma went to a Snoopy and NASA panel and Mom, Abby and Logan went to a Digital Effects and then a Writer’s Panel. The popular panels even in the smaller rooms had big waiting lines where you often had to wait for over an hour standing or sitting on the floor. The panels were very interesting and it was cool to have experts in those areas talk about what they do.
While were waiting we were people watching, or more accurately, we were costume watching. There were many, many amazing costumes! People put a lot of effort and time into these, and it was impressive. It was also impressive how they could stay dressed up in the heat, walking and standing around. Abby took a lot of pictures of Cosplayers.
We met up again and walked the long, long path back to the buses. There were displays outside and huge wall coverings on the business buildings promoting movies and TV shows. The bus stopped at about 5 hotels, but dropped us off right at our hotel. We were very tired and hot, and hungry. We ended up walking several blocks to a diner that served some very yummy, if not healthy, food and made their own soda. A few tried multiple flavors, with vanilla pineapple being Mom’s favorite. Dad liked the black cherry.
Friday, July 20
We chose not to go to Comic Con on Friday. Instead we went to Belboa Park which has several museums and the San Diego Zoo. Mom and Dad rented a jeep, early that morning, we loaded up water bottles, umbrella and wheelchair and headed off to the zoo. They brought along a GPS map unit that we used in Florida. It was very handed, except for one thing that we’ll talk about later.
The San Diego Zoo is very cool! And huge! They have so many displays and animals in a large valley. Fortunately they also have a guided bus tour that helps show and explain the animals and the history of the zoo. They also had a sky tram that carried you from the entrance to the far end. There was a lot of information about the animals, but also about the zoo and their care. The zoo actually has a large farm outside the city that helps them grow 40% of all the food for the animals.
We took the tram t the end and back just to see what we could, and then were told we could take the wheelchair on the tram too, so we did that again later.
By the time we had done the bus tour and the tram tour we were getting hungry. We decided to leave the zoo and come back alter when it was a bit cooler. Dad wanted Subway so he could have some veggies to make up for no vegetables the day before. Traffic was vey busy, and we were following the GPS unit’s directions to a Subway. We took a turn onto a road that was blocked by concrete barricades partway up the hill. Turns out the GPS unit was trying to taking us on a Naval base, and the armed guards weren’t fans of that. Dad explained they were just following GPS directions looking for a Subway. The Guard asked “You mean an eat fresh Subway?” We all responded “Yes!” They asked for Dad’s license and spent a few minutes on a phone and checking the vehicle over. They then stopped traffic on the other side of the sentry station and asked us pull through. The guards asked where the driver’s license was from we said “Alberta, Canada,” he handed it back and waved us through. We ended up eating at McDonalds.
We went back to Belboa park and decided to go into a couple of the museums, hoping they were air conditioned. Turns out there are historical buildings, so they were not air conditioned. The Automotive museum had some very cool older cars and a display of vehicles made for a Steam Punk Exhibit. Abby loves older cars and took a lot of pictures. Next door is the Air and Space museum. This building had many fans set up so it was slightly cooler. There were many displays about the history of flying, the development of aircraft during WW1 And WW2, and the space program. It was very cool! We stayed until they closed.
We decided to go back to the zoo in the cooler part of the day. We walked down some paths to see various animals. The kids really wanted to see the Capybara. The problem with walking down is that you have to walk up, and it was a very steep up. Abby had to get out of the wheelchair for this part. We lucked out in passing the panda exhibit just as they were starting to eat. Very cute, and big teeth. We ended up taking the sky tram to the entrance and headed back to the hotel. Dad had hoped for a more restful day with not as much walking but we probably went as much as the day before.
We ate a restaurant called Stacked, where all the food is custom made. Each table has an iPad, you order a burger and choose every topping you want on it. You also order the fires and size separately. Dad finally got his salad. Emma ordered mac and cheese, and Mom said it was the best she ever tasted.
Saturday, July 21
Back to Comic Con on Saturday, the busiest day of the convention. We had to be there early to meet with Make A Wish and go through the plans for the day. Only Abby and Dad were going to meet the celebrities but we all wanted to be there. Dad, Abby and Logan took and Uber, first time ever, down to the Convention Centre and Mom and Emma took the bus with Abby’s wheelchair. We met together near the Make A Wish Office in the Marriott next door. It was very nice to have a room to go to throughout he convention just to rest and get a break from the noise and walking. Abby put on her Agent Peggy Carter costume and we took some pictures, but it was too hot to keep it on for long.
The Make A Wsh team took us into the Nintendo Room where we go to play games before they were open to the crowds, including a game that wasn’t released to the public yet. A bunch of people did Just Dance together. The kids had lots of fun, and Nintendo gave us some nice items.
We split up with Mom, Emma and Logan going off to try and get in on some panels. Abby and Dad went with Scott from Make a Wish and another young man and his mom to meet the cast of Arrow. We had a fair ways to go in the wheelchairs. The convention centre is so crowded that media companies use yachts parked in the bay next to Comic Con to do all their interviews. Make A Wish had teamed up with IMDB to meet the cast on their interview boat, the IMDBoat. It was very cool and a very large ship. We had to leave the wheelchairs behind in order to walk up the steep stairs. We felt a little like celebrities with all the people and security.
Once we got onto the second floor they had TVs showing the interviews on the deck of the third floor, live. The cast of The Flash was being interviewed. Scott then revealed a surprise, that Abby was going to meet the cast of The Flash! She was so excited she could hardly sit still, smiling so big and shaking in her seat. She had to wait while they were doing their interviews, but eventually they came down to talk with some people, and then suddenly the ladies of the cast of The Flash were in front of Abby asking how she was doing, where she is from, and what she had been able to see! Abby was thrilled! And then Grant Gustin, the Flash himself, was sitting on the couch next to her saying hi! It was very exciting. The actors were very kind and spoke with us for about 10 minutes. The newest member of the cast told us she is from Calgary and has been through Rocky Mountain House to visit relatives. They then got some group photos and moved on to the next yacht to do more interviews.
After The Flash cast left the cast of Arrow was doing their interview. They also came downstairs and came right over to greet us and ask where we were from and what we had seen. We mentioned that while Abby hadn’t seen much of Arrow she had seen Stephen Ammel in Heartland. When asked where we were from we said Rocky Mountain House, or about 1.5 hours north of the Heartland filming area. Again, all the actors were very kind, and Abby had a group photo with them, as well as getting some autographs, with Stephen Ammel signing a poster for Logan. Then we left and went back to the Make A Wish room to rest for a bit. We ended up talking with a few other families about what they had done and seen. While they were resting too.
Meanwhile Emma went her own way and went to a panel where she got to ask an actor from Supernatural a question. She loved it. Logan took Mom to Ballroom 20 and got in early so they could see some panels he wanted later in the day. They ended up in that room for over 6 hours just so they could watch the last 3 panels, which were Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash. Emma waited in a very long line so she could join them for the last few panels. Despite the room holding 3,000 people, many were in line for hours and not able to get in.
Dad and Abby wandered around, taking lots of pictures of cospalyers and Sat in a panel for Marvel toys. It was interesting, but watching the excitement of the crowd was even more entertaining. Eventually they made their way to Ballroom 20 where they had a special media pass to sit in on the final panel, The Flash, which Abby thoroughly enjoyed. We all met up after the panel and went back to the buses to go to the hotel where we had leftovers from the past 2 nights.
Sunday, July 22
For our final day we decided not to go to Comic Con. Dad and Abby really wanted to tour the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier not far from the Convention. We took an Uber because we did not want to mess with parking. The USS Midway is huge. Our Uber driver had actually served on it some 20 years earlier. So much history, and the tour provided portable audio devices that could tell you about each station, plane and helicopter. There were many retired aircraft parked on the hangar deck and on the flight deck. Dad and Abby were the only ones that toured the Island, or the command tower, as it involved a lot of steep stairs and tight, hot rooms. We spent over 2 hours looking at everything and didn’t even go below deck to see the crew quarters, wardrooms or other displays.
After the USS Midway we took another Uber back to the hotel and drove to Old Town in San Diego, which is the oldest section of the city. There are a lot of older shops and houses there, but we didn’t see much. We went tot eh Mormon Battalion Historic Center and took a tour. There was a line outside in the hot sun, but fortunately we didn’t have to wait long and were able to tour in the air conditioning. Logan and Emma ran over to a haunted museum, but didn’t get really excited about that. Abby, Mom and Dad stayed at the Historic Site and panned for gold, which was nice and cool in the shade.
After that we decided to go to the beach. We used the GPS again, and chose a beach not far out of the city, at about 5:00 on a Sunday afternoon. We arrived but it was so packed we couldn’t find anywhere to park. Dad chose to go to a beach further away. We drove along the cost for 20 miles and ended up at Cardiff beach, known for its big waves for surfers. It was a lot of fun, but Abby didn’t last long in the sun and ended up hiding under an umbrella. The surf was strong so after about an hour the lifeguards recommended people get out of the water because the undertow was getting strong. As we drove back to the hotel we passed by the San Diego Temple and took a very fast interstate picture.
Monday we sorted through everything trying to make sure we had room in the luggage to take all of our stuff back. We landed back in Calgary close to 10:00 pm and drove back to Rocky Mountain House so Dad could work the next day.
It was an incredibly busy, crowded 4 days. The kids loved it, and Abby got her wish of meeting the Flash. We saw so and did so much.
Thank you to Make A Wish for making this possible. The casts for both shows, The Flash and Arrow, were very kind and engaged with Abby. We would also like to thank IMDB for working with Make A Wish and the casts to make the visit happen. It was so exciting and Abby’s smile says it all. All the kids got to see panels they wanted, Mom and Dad got to see some of the things they wanted. It was a very good experience for us.
Comic Con ran from July 18 – 22. Make A Wish flew us down on Wednesday, July 18, and back on Monday, July 23. We were a little concerned about the heat, but it was about 25 degrees Celsius every day, which was warm enough but could have been worse.
The short version is: Abby got to meet the cast of The Flash and Arrow, we were a part of the 130,000 people who go to Comic Con, we went to the San Diego Zoo, some museums, the USS Midway, a beach, dad got us in a little trouble at a naval base, and we did a whole lot of walking. It was fun, crowded, busy, and a great trip.
The longer version is:
Emma flew from Fort McMurray to Calgary where we all flew from. We arrived at the San Diego airport at after 10:00 pm and we were greeted by a Make A Wish representative to help get us a van and sent to the right hotel. Crazy busy airport with everyone arriving for Comic Con!
Thursday, August 19
Thursday morning we had to be at the Marriott next to the Convention Centre by 8:00 am so we could get our passes and itinerary. We took the bus that went around hotels in our area and down to the convention centre. We were early and there were so many people! We had to walk a fair ways, but Make A Wish had provided a wheelchair for Abby that helped not tire her out. Make A Wish told us that Abby and one parent were going to meet the cast of Arrow! Logan was very disappointed that he couldn’t go. Abby had watched the Flash, but hadn’t started Arrow yet, so she was a little concerned about not knowing anyone in the cast. That night they binge watched several episodes of Arrow of the next 2 days to help Abby know everyone. The star had also been in Heartland, which Abby loves, so we had seen him before.
Turned out Make A Wish had nothing planned for us on that day so we stood in line in the heat for a while waiting to get into the main building. Convention staff very kindly let us in early to wait so Abby wouldn’t have to be in the heat.
We went on the exhibition floor where all the vendors and comics and movie studios had booths. It was so packed! There are about 130,000 people who attend Comic Con, and another 40,000 that attend events in the few blocks around the Convention Centre. The exhibition floor can hold about 20 some thousand people, and it felt like it as we were pushing our way through to see various booths. We only lasted about 2 hours on the floor there, and then split up so some could walk to booths and Dad took the wheelchair out into the hall.
We split up that afternoon to go to different panels. Dad and Emma went to a Snoopy and NASA panel and Mom, Abby and Logan went to a Digital Effects and then a Writer’s Panel. The popular panels even in the smaller rooms had big waiting lines where you often had to wait for over an hour standing or sitting on the floor. The panels were very interesting and it was cool to have experts in those areas talk about what they do.
While were waiting we were people watching, or more accurately, we were costume watching. There were many, many amazing costumes! People put a lot of effort and time into these, and it was impressive. It was also impressive how they could stay dressed up in the heat, walking and standing around. Abby took a lot of pictures of Cosplayers.
We met up again and walked the long, long path back to the buses. There were displays outside and huge wall coverings on the business buildings promoting movies and TV shows. The bus stopped at about 5 hotels, but dropped us off right at our hotel. We were very tired and hot, and hungry. We ended up walking several blocks to a diner that served some very yummy, if not healthy, food and made their own soda. A few tried multiple flavors, with vanilla pineapple being Mom’s favorite. Dad liked the black cherry.
Friday, July 20
We chose not to go to Comic Con on Friday. Instead we went to Belboa Park which has several museums and the San Diego Zoo. Mom and Dad rented a jeep, early that morning, we loaded up water bottles, umbrella and wheelchair and headed off to the zoo. They brought along a GPS map unit that we used in Florida. It was very handed, except for one thing that we’ll talk about later.
The San Diego Zoo is very cool! And huge! They have so many displays and animals in a large valley. Fortunately they also have a guided bus tour that helps show and explain the animals and the history of the zoo. They also had a sky tram that carried you from the entrance to the far end. There was a lot of information about the animals, but also about the zoo and their care. The zoo actually has a large farm outside the city that helps them grow 40% of all the food for the animals.
We took the tram t the end and back just to see what we could, and then were told we could take the wheelchair on the tram too, so we did that again later.
By the time we had done the bus tour and the tram tour we were getting hungry. We decided to leave the zoo and come back alter when it was a bit cooler. Dad wanted Subway so he could have some veggies to make up for no vegetables the day before. Traffic was vey busy, and we were following the GPS unit’s directions to a Subway. We took a turn onto a road that was blocked by concrete barricades partway up the hill. Turns out the GPS unit was trying to taking us on a Naval base, and the armed guards weren’t fans of that. Dad explained they were just following GPS directions looking for a Subway. The Guard asked “You mean an eat fresh Subway?” We all responded “Yes!” They asked for Dad’s license and spent a few minutes on a phone and checking the vehicle over. They then stopped traffic on the other side of the sentry station and asked us pull through. The guards asked where the driver’s license was from we said “Alberta, Canada,” he handed it back and waved us through. We ended up eating at McDonalds.
We went back to Belboa park and decided to go into a couple of the museums, hoping they were air conditioned. Turns out there are historical buildings, so they were not air conditioned. The Automotive museum had some very cool older cars and a display of vehicles made for a Steam Punk Exhibit. Abby loves older cars and took a lot of pictures. Next door is the Air and Space museum. This building had many fans set up so it was slightly cooler. There were many displays about the history of flying, the development of aircraft during WW1 And WW2, and the space program. It was very cool! We stayed until they closed.
We decided to go back to the zoo in the cooler part of the day. We walked down some paths to see various animals. The kids really wanted to see the Capybara. The problem with walking down is that you have to walk up, and it was a very steep up. Abby had to get out of the wheelchair for this part. We lucked out in passing the panda exhibit just as they were starting to eat. Very cute, and big teeth. We ended up taking the sky tram to the entrance and headed back to the hotel. Dad had hoped for a more restful day with not as much walking but we probably went as much as the day before.
We ate a restaurant called Stacked, where all the food is custom made. Each table has an iPad, you order a burger and choose every topping you want on it. You also order the fires and size separately. Dad finally got his salad. Emma ordered mac and cheese, and Mom said it was the best she ever tasted.
Saturday, July 21
Back to Comic Con on Saturday, the busiest day of the convention. We had to be there early to meet with Make A Wish and go through the plans for the day. Only Abby and Dad were going to meet the celebrities but we all wanted to be there. Dad, Abby and Logan took and Uber, first time ever, down to the Convention Centre and Mom and Emma took the bus with Abby’s wheelchair. We met together near the Make A Wish Office in the Marriott next door. It was very nice to have a room to go to throughout he convention just to rest and get a break from the noise and walking. Abby put on her Agent Peggy Carter costume and we took some pictures, but it was too hot to keep it on for long.
The Make A Wsh team took us into the Nintendo Room where we go to play games before they were open to the crowds, including a game that wasn’t released to the public yet. A bunch of people did Just Dance together. The kids had lots of fun, and Nintendo gave us some nice items.
We split up with Mom, Emma and Logan going off to try and get in on some panels. Abby and Dad went with Scott from Make a Wish and another young man and his mom to meet the cast of Arrow. We had a fair ways to go in the wheelchairs. The convention centre is so crowded that media companies use yachts parked in the bay next to Comic Con to do all their interviews. Make A Wish had teamed up with IMDB to meet the cast on their interview boat, the IMDBoat. It was very cool and a very large ship. We had to leave the wheelchairs behind in order to walk up the steep stairs. We felt a little like celebrities with all the people and security.
Once we got onto the second floor they had TVs showing the interviews on the deck of the third floor, live. The cast of The Flash was being interviewed. Scott then revealed a surprise, that Abby was going to meet the cast of The Flash! She was so excited she could hardly sit still, smiling so big and shaking in her seat. She had to wait while they were doing their interviews, but eventually they came down to talk with some people, and then suddenly the ladies of the cast of The Flash were in front of Abby asking how she was doing, where she is from, and what she had been able to see! Abby was thrilled! And then Grant Gustin, the Flash himself, was sitting on the couch next to her saying hi! It was very exciting. The actors were very kind and spoke with us for about 10 minutes. The newest member of the cast told us she is from Calgary and has been through Rocky Mountain House to visit relatives. They then got some group photos and moved on to the next yacht to do more interviews.
After The Flash cast left the cast of Arrow was doing their interview. They also came downstairs and came right over to greet us and ask where we were from and what we had seen. We mentioned that while Abby hadn’t seen much of Arrow she had seen Stephen Ammel in Heartland. When asked where we were from we said Rocky Mountain House, or about 1.5 hours north of the Heartland filming area. Again, all the actors were very kind, and Abby had a group photo with them, as well as getting some autographs, with Stephen Ammel signing a poster for Logan. Then we left and went back to the Make A Wish room to rest for a bit. We ended up talking with a few other families about what they had done and seen. While they were resting too.
Meanwhile Emma went her own way and went to a panel where she got to ask an actor from Supernatural a question. She loved it. Logan took Mom to Ballroom 20 and got in early so they could see some panels he wanted later in the day. They ended up in that room for over 6 hours just so they could watch the last 3 panels, which were Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash. Emma waited in a very long line so she could join them for the last few panels. Despite the room holding 3,000 people, many were in line for hours and not able to get in.
Dad and Abby wandered around, taking lots of pictures of cospalyers and Sat in a panel for Marvel toys. It was interesting, but watching the excitement of the crowd was even more entertaining. Eventually they made their way to Ballroom 20 where they had a special media pass to sit in on the final panel, The Flash, which Abby thoroughly enjoyed. We all met up after the panel and went back to the buses to go to the hotel where we had leftovers from the past 2 nights.
Sunday, July 22
For our final day we decided not to go to Comic Con. Dad and Abby really wanted to tour the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier not far from the Convention. We took an Uber because we did not want to mess with parking. The USS Midway is huge. Our Uber driver had actually served on it some 20 years earlier. So much history, and the tour provided portable audio devices that could tell you about each station, plane and helicopter. There were many retired aircraft parked on the hangar deck and on the flight deck. Dad and Abby were the only ones that toured the Island, or the command tower, as it involved a lot of steep stairs and tight, hot rooms. We spent over 2 hours looking at everything and didn’t even go below deck to see the crew quarters, wardrooms or other displays.
After the USS Midway we took another Uber back to the hotel and drove to Old Town in San Diego, which is the oldest section of the city. There are a lot of older shops and houses there, but we didn’t see much. We went tot eh Mormon Battalion Historic Center and took a tour. There was a line outside in the hot sun, but fortunately we didn’t have to wait long and were able to tour in the air conditioning. Logan and Emma ran over to a haunted museum, but didn’t get really excited about that. Abby, Mom and Dad stayed at the Historic Site and panned for gold, which was nice and cool in the shade.
After that we decided to go to the beach. We used the GPS again, and chose a beach not far out of the city, at about 5:00 on a Sunday afternoon. We arrived but it was so packed we couldn’t find anywhere to park. Dad chose to go to a beach further away. We drove along the cost for 20 miles and ended up at Cardiff beach, known for its big waves for surfers. It was a lot of fun, but Abby didn’t last long in the sun and ended up hiding under an umbrella. The surf was strong so after about an hour the lifeguards recommended people get out of the water because the undertow was getting strong. As we drove back to the hotel we passed by the San Diego Temple and took a very fast interstate picture.
Monday we sorted through everything trying to make sure we had room in the luggage to take all of our stuff back. We landed back in Calgary close to 10:00 pm and drove back to Rocky Mountain House so Dad could work the next day.
It was an incredibly busy, crowded 4 days. The kids loved it, and Abby got her wish of meeting the Flash. We saw so and did so much.
Thank you to Make A Wish for making this possible. The casts for both shows, The Flash and Arrow, were very kind and engaged with Abby. We would also like to thank IMDB for working with Make A Wish and the casts to make the visit happen. It was so exciting and Abby’s smile says it all. All the kids got to see panels they wanted, Mom and Dad got to see some of the things they wanted. It was a very good experience for us.
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| Abby dressed as Agent Peggy Carter |
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