After ducking out of the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves panel in Hall H at SDCC 2022 a couple minutes early, we headed straight over to the site of the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Tavern experience so that we could make it on time for our 1:30pm reservation.
Backing up a bit, if you are unfamiliar with San Diego Comic-Con, there’s a lot more to the con than just the convention itself. Rather, there are a lot of things going on outside of the convention center promoting different shows, movies, and more, that you often don’t even need a badge in order to participate — and they’re usually free. Sometimes, advance reservations for these “offsites” or “activations” are required, while other times, you just get in line. The D&D Tavern Experience was one for which you could obtain advance reservations, though there was also a standby line for those who were unable to obtain a reservation, in case people who did obtain reservations ended up not showing up.
So how did we get reservations? In early July, it was announced that not only would there be a Hall H panel for the upcoming new D&D movie, but that there would also be an offsite activation “Tavern Experience” promoting that movie. The @DnDmovie twitter account tweeted that you should follow their account so that you could find out when the RSVP site launched in order to get a reservation to the Tavern experience. So I followed them and turned on notifications so that I would be alerted anytime they tweeted.
Join #DnDMovie in kicking off the in-person return of @Comic_Con with the FIRST Hall H panel of #SDCC2022. Visit @IGN now for all details! https://t.co/ktcVaO8u6l
— DnDMovie (@DnDMovie) July 6, 2022
A few days later, they finally tweeted that reservations were now available, and I immediately clicked the link to go book our reservation. For some reason, I was thinking that the Hall H panel was 11am-12pm on Thursday, July 21, so I booked 12:30pm reservation. But then I realized that the panel was actually 12pm-1pm (which seems like a late start for the first panel of the day)! If we stuck to the 12:30pm reservation, we would completely miss the panel for the D&D movie!
Luckily, the reservation included a plus one, and there were still plenty of reservation time slots still available, so I was able to go back in and get a different reservation under Josh’s name for 1:30pm. Problem solved! (And it would free up some space for people in the standby line at 12:30pm.)
Anyway, back to the day of the reservation, Thursday, July 21. We were able to make the half mile or so trek over to the site of the D&D Tavern Experience (NOVA SD nightclub on 6th and Island) within about 10 minutes. As we reached the corner, we encountered a long line, but we quickly figured out that it was the Standby Line, and that there was a separate Reservation Line further down the street, closer to the venue.
Our friends Pablo (@elmachas) and Jason aka “Corgi” (@CorgiKohmander) were also attending the 1:30pm reservation time, so we wanted to meet up with them and go in together. They were finishing up their lunch at the BBQ place right across the street, but we still had a little time. While we waited, the Tavern staff called for 1:15pm reservations, and then 1:30pm reservations. They quickly checked people’s bags before going in.
Pablo and Corgi hurriedly made it over shortly after 1:20pm or so, and most of the 1:30pm group had already been checked in by then. The process went very quickly and smoothly. After checking your bags, they checked to make sure you had the correct reservation time and confirmed your plus one. If you were going to be drinking alcohol, they checked your ID to make sure you were of legal drinking age, and gave you a black wristband to wear. If you weren’t going to be drinking alcohol, like myself and Josh, you were given a red wristband.
After shortly waiting in a holding area, they then had us line up on pre-placed numbered circles on the ground, and then let us into the Tavern!
Once inside, we walked down a dark hallway, where we encountered several D&D monsters! Josh and Corgi seemed excited about the mimic.
But once we got to the end of the dark hallway, we were let into a pub. We quickly found a barrel to stand around, and were served our drinks right away.
The drinks were called “Dragon Brew” and were made with fresh lime juice, orange extract, ginger beer, simple syrup, and “protective elixir essence.” The alcoholic versions also contained vodka. The servers were easily able to tell the alcoholic versions apart from the non-alcoholic version because the green, glowing cube in the non-alcoholic versions flashed on and off!
After a few minutes, one of the actors stood up and said some inspirational words over a megaphone, and led us in a toast. Not long after that, he went over to the barrel table next to us and was teaching them a drinking song! There was also a gelatinous cube in the back, but by the time we got in and noticed it (we were among the last in), there was already a long line to take a photo op in it.
Suddenly, on the video screen, we saw a dragon flying angrily towards us! It “breathed fire” at us and the room darkened and rumbled. After the dragon flew away, a black light effect revealed the slime his breath had left behind. The effects were pretty cool!
Unfortunately, right after this occurred, they began to usher us out of the building. Sadly, we did not get to keep the cool D&D themed mug from which we had drank the Dragon Brew. The only souvenir we got was the coaster (pictured above). But that’s okay, because it was a fun, well produced experience where we got to hang out with friends in an immersive setting, drink a free drink, and watch a little show. The whole experience was only about 15-20 minutes, but having reservations, it was not much of a time investment, and well worth it.
I have to admit, before SDCC, I was not sure how much interest I would have in the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. However, after attending the panel, and then going to the D&D Tavern Experience, I’m definitely interested. Great job to the promotional team behind the movie!
Stay tuned for more of our recaps and photos of our experience at SDCC 2022!
