There is no greater rush than the few minutes before the door opens to the Comic-con exhibit hall for the first time on Preview Night.

The anticipation, the expectations, the excitement. It all bubbles over to a nerd boil when fans are finally granted entry into this magical place.

For many, the first stop is the FOX booth where they will collect the always in-demand poster tubes, along with posters from the networks most popular shows.

The masses pick up their poster tubes and posters at the FOX

booth during Preview Night, 2011 Comic-con.

Photo by: Stephanie Holland.

Next stop is THE WALKING DEAD booth, where attendees can have their picture taken in a replica of one of the show’s memorable scenes. Participants are handcuffed to a Michael Rooker figure as bloodthirsty creatures burst through the door.

THE WALKING DEAD booth at 2011 Comic-con on Preview Night.

Photo by: Stephanie Holland.

No preview night is complete without a trip to the CBS/Showtime booth for a green-screen photo that places fans in the cast of their favorite series, like THE BIG BANG THEORY, NCIS: LOS ANGELES and DEXTER.

During the 2011 Comic-con Preview Night,

attendees get their picture taken at the CBS/Showtime booth.

Photo by: Stephanie Holland.

A downfall of the Wednesday Preview Night is that everyone congregates into one place. This can make the exhibit floor chaotic and slightly unbearable, but it is always cool to get into the hall before the rest of the masses arrive Thursday.

Though organizers try to control the flow of traffic, it inevitably becomes a mad dash to the most popular booths for the best merchandise.

In the past, it was all about the Warner Bros. booth and their giant bags. However, those bags are now given to everyone at check in.

Among this year’s bags are THE BIG BANG THEORY, SUPERNATURAL, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and FRINGE. With that important item taken care of, fans can move on to the next must-have exclusives on their list.

Some of the already buzzed about exclusives include the Comic-Con International T-shirt with Jim Lee’s new Justice League artwork, a SUPERNATURAL 2011 road trip T-shirt and a DOCTOR WHO River Song action figure.

One of the great things about comic-con is that fans can find plenty of exclusives and giveaways by just doing a little investigating throughout the hall.

A walk around the exhibit floor will lead to unpublicized freebies like show exclusive DVD sets, “Captain America” screening passes and surprise autograph sessions.

These are just the start of the giveaways, as many shows will hand out t-shirts, buttons, bags and DVDs at their panels.

Preview Night is just the appetizer that warms fans up for the main course that comes on Thursday. That is when the real excitement starts with panels for shows like GAME OF THRONES, PSYCH and DEXTER.

Stephanie Holland is a pop culture junkie, award winning journalist and proud nerd who also writes about the latest entertainment news with a geek slant for Inscaped.com.