Comic-Con 2025: How activations can be testing grounds for theme parks | Analysis
150,000+ fans swarmed San Diego for Comic-Con from July 24-27, 2025, but the convention itself tells only part of the story. Beyond the convention center, studios transformed every hotel, storefront, parking lot, and available space into a themed experience.
Photo by Richard Harbaugh / Disney
What struck me most about these themed experiences at Comic-Con wasn’t the scale, but the convergence happening before our eyes. Theme parks are increasingly leaning into experiences driven by intellectual property (IP), and so, it seems, are conventions like Comic-Con. While theme park scale remains unmatched, they require significantly more investment and time to produce — constraints that pop-up activations at events like Comic-Con don’t suffer from.
Photo by Steward Cook / Disney
Temporary activations are popping up everywhere, from the “Harry Potter” touring exhibits to the DC-themed Universe of Light at Gaylord Texan and the IP houses at Halloween Horror Nights to even Universal’s Fan Fest Nights and Disneyland’s hard-ticket parties like Pride Nite and Star Wars Nite. Connecting fans with IPs in the real world by creating experiences that can only happen in person is a powerful trend and a hedge against digital competition. So, what can attractions learn from events like Comic-Con? How to test fan engagement.
Photo by Valerie Macon / Disney
The activation landscape
Let’s first explore the diversity of the Comic Con pop-ups.
Disney operated four major waterfront experiences at Comic-Con 2025:
- “Abbott Elementary” inspired “A Very Abbott Block Party” and featured authentic Philly water ice, a Ferris wheel, and exclusive premiums from the school’s “lost and found.”
- “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” invited guests into the “Sea of Monsters” to discover which gods claimed them and trade exclusive drachma for mythological swag.
- FX’s “The Wreckage” from “Alien: Earth” offered an immersive walkthrough of the USCSS Maginot ship, complete with interactive thrills and alien specimens.
- “King of the Hill” recreated the Hill family’s backyard BBQ with lawn games, photo ops, and cold cans of Alamo water.
Here are our videos from all four of those Disney activations at Comic-Con 2025:
Beyond Disney, formats for activations at Comic-Con 2025 varied dramatically. Peacock’s “Twisted Metal Bumper Battle” transformed show vehicles into functional bumper cars for a post-apocalyptic derby experience. The PAC-MAN Café celebrated the character’s 45th anniversary with themed food, arcade games, and nostalgic photo opportunities. Paramount’s “The Lodge” (video below) housed multiple activations: a “Dexter” vault shrine, “Star Trek” holodeck experiences, a “Landman Texas” café, “NCIS” safehouse, “Mission: Impossible” photo recreation, and a CBS Sports stadium clubhouse.
Each activation tested different engagement models. Some focused on merchandise and photo opportunities, others on interactive storytelling, immersive environments, or nostalgic recreation of familiar settings.
Testing fan engagement
For theme parks considering IP partnerships, Comic-Con activations offer a unique research opportunity. Organic buzz always trumps paid media, and these events certainly generate valuable earned coverage, but the real value lies in observing guest behavior patterns.
Which IPs generated the longest waits? What types of activities kept guests engaged versus those that moved people through quickly? Which merchandise disappeared first? How did guests interact with different formats — passive walk-throughs versus interactive experiences versus character encounters?
Photo by Scott Kirkland / Disney
Photo by Richard Harbaugh / Disney
These observations won’t definitively predict success, but they provide behavioral data that traditional market research cannot. Streaming numbers or box-office receipts don’t reveal whether fans will wait in lines, engage with immersive environments, or convert enthusiasm into repeat visits — the metrics that actually matter for attractions.
Implications for themed entertainment
Themed entertainment professionals should watch this space closely to understand what elements work and how fans react to properties in real life. The key insight isn’t just which IPs generated buzz, but how different activation formats resonated with audiences.
Photo by Valeri Macon / Disney
Small, fast tests — similar to Comic-Con’s model for activations — can help gather crucial data before committing to permanent installations. These fan events could potentially disrupt larger attractions by demonstrating that temporary experiences, despite lower investment, can meet fan demand by adapting faster to trends.
The market clearly exists for identifying new IPs with strong fan bases and activating those fans through immersive experiences, and it doesn’t have to break the bank. Before investing millions in permanent themed lands, operators can experiment with seasonal overlays, limited-time events, or partnerships that allow them to measure genuine fan passion versus perceived market demand.
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