Designed to be a celebration of the community-like atmosphere that pervades the show, the Abbott Elementary Block Party invited revelers to ride a ferris wheel, enjoy some refreshing Philly “water ice,” have an AI – generated caricature printed into a poster, select some swag (hats or crossbody/fanny packs) personalized and also pick up some character pins.
The dichotomy of experiencing San Diego Comic-Con as a member of the press vs that of an attendee may have hit its zenith in 2025 with the Abbott Elementary Block Party. What I experienced is certainly not what you experienced, and neither was probably what was intended when Creative Riff and ABC/Disney TV planned it.
The initial groups through the gates on Thursday, including myself, were able to experience most, if not all of the offerings, but even from the jump there were issues that would foreshadow how the rest of the weekend would be at the Block Party.
The “Lost and Found” swag station was hampered immediately by kiosks that were unavailable due to overheating, having been placed in the direct sunlight with no shade, an issue that made even the working kiosks difficult to read. A crowd quickly formed in the area, with folks waiting for an available kiosk, and others waiting for their hat or bag to be hand-personalized by the small group of artisans and then be dispatched to another person who would use a megaphone to call the person forward to claim their property.
It was a cute idea and the swag was very thoughtful (and useful!), but the delivery time was not sustainable. Much like the personalized FX umbrellas of 2024, it was difficult for the artisans to keep up the pace as well as the quality of handwriting. My initial solution would be to suggest a “non-personalized” line, which would provide an option for those who want to wait and those who would rather not.
The “water ice” stand offered a surprising array of flavor options, and while they were quickly serving people early on Thursday, we saw reports later of an exceedingly long wait, flavors being mixed up, servers taking orders but never fulfilling them, and even closing early in the day. Unlike last year’s “treats” which were pre-packaged and ready to go, making attendees choose between two options, the water ice was labor-intensive, another chance for things to “go wrong.”
The AI-generated caricatures had their own issues, with faulty equipment that couldn’t keep up with demand and inconsistent fulfillment of promised products, including lost prints that couldn’t be replaced. We heard reports throughout the week of 2+ hour waits for prints at peak times. Those that did get a print enjoyed a very sweet souvenir (though don’t get me started about the use of AI) suitable for framing.
Once again, the things that the Abbott Block Party got right were the vibes. Every corner of the block was decorated, even street markings and crosswalks which would be appreciated from the heights of the centrally placed ferris wheel. The clever queue signs, the character-appropriate artwork which included the photo-op perfect statues at the entrance which were recreated in enamel pins for attendees to collect.
Which brings us to another problem. The pins.
Enamel pins are a coveted giveaway and early attendees were gifted a complete set in a display box. Later attendees earned pins by completing the activities (or, as we were told, by simply running around to the different stations to get them stamped, rather than actually doing the activities).
Pins weren’t guaranteed, said some employees, but we heard reports throughout the week of the pins running out within mere minutes of the offsite opening to the general public each day. As nice as the full set was (and the packaging was adorable), why not hand out single pins instead, so that more attendees could experience getting a pin?
Sometimes the Emcee handed out the pins randomly. Sometimes the pin station, located behind the ferris wheel, was mobbed, sometimes it wasn’t. Little rhyme and little reason surrounded the pins, which created hurt feelings after what was already a long wait to gain entry (up to six hours, at times).
When compared to last year’s activation, and it’s impossible not to compare it, there seemed to be fewer things to “do” which made the lines for everything longer, causing back-ups and issues that made the whole experience inconsistent across the breadth of attendees.
How can these problems be solved? That’s a job for higher-paid and higher-educated people than me to figure out, but simplifying activities, increasing passive entertainment, reducing the level of personalization, and making sure any tech is working well seems…well. Elementary?
