Before we resume: Here's a link to Part 1 and here's a link to Part 2.
Now then: We left off with me telling you I couldn't tell you how to be sure you obtained a badge for the convention. Now, I'm about to tell you that there's no surefire way I can tell you how to ensure you have transportation or lodging…and the only thing I know about parking is that if you don't have a hotel room, you ought to think about ways you can get there without having a car to park.
The one thing I can tell you with some certainty is to Plan Early. You'd be amazed how many calls and e-mails I get in the last few weeks before the convention asking how they can get a hotel room. They're asking this long after all the hotels around the convention center have been sold-out for months and they're also asking a person who hasn't had to book his own room there for a few decades. One thing I can tell you: A lot of folks find it wise to try and book a room before they know if they'll score admission badges and before hotel rooms go on sale through the convention. Of course, you only do that if you can find an affordable reservation which can be canceled without penalty.
I also know folks who've found it easier and even cost-effective to get a room miles from the convention center and then take the trolley or an Uber to and from the con each day. My friend Phil Geiger sent me these thoughts to pass along here…
For travel, I've done the trip both driving and flying and here's my two cents worth. If someone is out of state, I recommend flying to San Diego rather than driving. Driving requires a place to park your vehicle, which can be difficult and definitely will be expensive. You can find hotels further out that have free parking (I've done that), but those are usually out of the range of public transport so you have to drive in and pay for Comic-Con parking every day of the Con (done that, too).
Parking is done by lottery (what a surprise) through ACE Parking and is independent of the Con. It's $25-$35 dollars a day (PLUS a $7.95 "convenience fee" per day) depending on the lot. Be aware there are no in-and-out privileges. Walking to breakfast or lunch this year I saw a couple hotel lots charging $50 for daily Comic-Con parking, but I do not recommend anyone drive to Comic-Con without parking reservations. They just might end up driving in circles for hours trying to park. It's better to bite the bullet and get reservations for parking when driving in.
Flying in? I tell people don't buy airfare until you know you have badges. I usually get plane tickets about 6-8 weeks before Comic-Con unless I have badges and I see a really good airfare sale earlier than that. I don't remember a sale ever happening, btw. If you can, fly in the day before your first badge and fly out the Monday after the Con. You don't want flight delays to keep you from getting to the Con when you want to and chilling out Sunday night (and sometime Monday) is pretty nice after that busy, busy con. I fly in Tuesday and out the following Monday or Tuesday (If I want an extra day in San Diego). Of course, I don't have to get back to a job so it's easy for me to add a day or two.
If I lived anywhere on or near the coast of CA, I'd probably be taking the Coaster train down to San Diego and back.
So there are some other views to consider. I'll have more tips — some from me, some from friends — in Part 4.