How to plan an MCM London Comic Con trip with friends for 2026

MCM London Comic Con returns to ExCeL from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October 2026. Build the trip around the ticket held by each friend, then place panels, cosplay, shopping, meals and recovery inside the hours that ticket unlocks. Friday general entry starts two hours after priority entry, while Sunday general admission leaves only five show hours. Those differences can break a shared plan before anyone reaches the venue.

Give Triplore the dates, companions, budget, pace, fandom priorities, cosplay plans and anything you want to avoid. It generates a complete, well-researched itinerary within 5 minutes. Friends can comment on the same days, request focused chat edits and keep the original version while the guest schedule develops.

Buy the day that fits your group's priorities

The official ticket page lists a £98 weekend ticket and day tickets across general and priority entry. VIP and VIP Legend passes are already sold out, so this October trip has a live booking window.

Current entry times are:

• Friday: priority at 10:00, general at 12:00, with the main show closing at 18:00
• Saturday: priority at 09:00, general at 11:00, with entry until 19:00
• Sunday: priority at 10:00, general at 12:00, with entry until 17:00

Friday tickets also include After Hours until 21:00. A friend attending only that day has a different trip shape from somebody using a weekend pass, so compare the usable hours before buying matching tickets out of habit.

Add each person's ticket type as a fixed constraint in Triplore. The first generated version can protect shared sessions during the overlap and give priority holders useful independent time earlier in the day. This prevents the general-entry friends from beginning their weekend with a stream of messages about things they have already missed.

Treat MCM as several trips happening inside one venue

A comic convention group can share accommodation while wanting completely different days. One friend follows celebrity panels, another spends hours in Artist Alley, while the cosplayer needs changing and repair time. A casual attendee may care more about one fan meet and dinner afterwards than a full weekend on the show floor.

Put one or two must-dos per person into the trip brief. Triplore can generate complete days around those anchors, with room for queues and food, then show where the group splits and reconnects. Comments keep objections attached to the affected session and out of the stream of new guest announcements in the group chat.

The SPIEL Essen trip guide uses the same convention principle: shared attendance does not require identical movement all day. MCM adds cosplay, photo requests and a broader mix of stage programming, which makes explicit meeting points more useful.

Choose an ExCeL travel plan before choosing a London hotel

MCM directs public-transport visitors to Custom House and the Queue Hall on ExCeL's west side. Its travel page identifies the Elizabeth line, Jubilee line and DLR as the main routes. ExCeL also says Custom House serves the west entrance, while Prince Regent serves the east entrance and ICC.

Choose accommodation against the whole weekend. A central London hotel can suit friends who want restaurants and nightlife after the convention, but it adds a repeated journey to Royal Victoria Dock. A room near ExCeL reduces the morning commute and makes costume changes easier, while limiting spontaneous central-London plans.

Generate both versions in Triplore before booking. Compare the hotel cost alongside departure times, Friday After Hours, costume transport and the final train or flight home. The route with the cheaper room can still consume the more expensive part of the weekend: usable convention time.

Anyone driving needs another fixed decision. MCM says ExCeL parking fills quickly during the event and advises pre-booking. Keep the parking reservation, vehicle-height rules and the designated group meeting point on the relevant itinerary day.

Give cosplay its own time and transport constraints

Cosplay changes the day before the first panel begins. Dressing time, prop checks, cloakroom queues, repairs and crowded public transport all compete with ticket hours.

MCM's current costume and prop rules require every prop gun or blaster to receive a security marking each day. Airsoft guns, BB guns, deactivated guns, metal gun props and several related items are banned. The organiser also tells attendees to keep realistic props completely hidden while travelling.

Put prop check and changing time into the generated itinerary as scheduled parts of the day. If a costume makes Friday After Hours impractical, ask Triplore to swap the evening plan while preserving Saturday's priority panel. Original versions let the group compare the altered weekend without losing the first arrangement.

The official first-convention guide says Cosplay Central has a Cosplay Hospital for repairs. It also warns that cloakrooms can become busy. A hotel within easy reach of ExCeL earns more weight when the group has large costumes, delicate props or a planned outfit change.

Budget for the convention beyond admission

Admission sets the floor. Travel, accommodation, food, autographs, photo opportunities, merchandise and costume transport determine the actual spend. Friends who arrive with different limits can agree on the same event and still experience constant pressure once optional purchases begin.

Set a shared budget for the hotel, local transport and agreed meals. Keep autographs, collectibles and premium experiences personal unless the whole group chooses them. Triplore can generate a viable base itinerary first and then place higher-spend options around it without making one friend's budget the default.

The group trip budget guide explains how to protect shared anchors while keeping optional spend visible. For MCM, the anchor may be Saturday admission and one dinner near the hotel. The merchandise hall does not need a group spending target.

Plan food, rest and sensory recovery before the group is tired

MCM's first-convention guide advises bringing snacks, a refillable bottle and a battery pack. It also describes designated seating and a Reset Room for attendees who need time away from the show-floor intensity. Those details belong in the itinerary because fatigue changes every decision made after lunch.

Give each day a proper food block and a reconnection point. A friend queuing for a panel can skip the shared lunch without forcing the rest of the group to wait. Another person can use the Reset Room or return to the hotel, knowing exactly where the group will meet later.

Use Triplore's pace input to create a lower-intensity version for Sunday. Moving general-entry friends through shopping, two panels and final photos between 12:00 and 17:00 leaves little margin for queues. A focused closing day protects the experience the group still cares about and keeps the departure journey realistic.

Keep the official MCM app and the trip itinerary in separate roles

MCM recommends its app for the live schedule, floor map, exhibitors and reminders. Use that event detail at the venue. The wider trip still needs to connect tickets with hotel check-in, London transport, meals, costume preparation, independent plans and the journey home.

Bring useful announcements into the shared Triplore plan when they change a day. A newly confirmed panel can trigger a focused chat edit, while comments settle which existing activity moves. This preserves the full weekend around the live convention schedule and avoids a fragmented rebuild.

Saved creator clips can help shape the plan too. Paste an MCM or London TikTok into Triplore, add the group's real constraints and generate the itinerary around the useful idea. The TikTok travel itinerary guide shows how to turn a clip into a complete route while filtering out its camera-ready shortcuts.

Build the weekend before more ticket types sell out

Start with the ticket days each person can attend, the entry category they can still buy and one convention priority per friend. Add accommodation area, cosplay needs, budget, pace and travel times. Triplore will generate the complete first itinerary within 5 minutes, ready for the group to review together.

Share that version with everyone travelling. Use comments for specific objections, request chat edits when the schedule changes and retain the original if a revision overloads the weekend. Confirm tickets, opening hours, transport disruption, prop rules and accessibility arrangements on the official pages before travel.