Well, I'm going back to Comic Con! I had a terrific time in 2011 but last year funds were committed to WrestleMania in Miami. This year, my buddy and I opted to skip WrestleMania and go back to San Diego.
There was the usual amount of complaining from the many thousands who were shut out for whatever reason, but I can only speak for my own experience. Outside of the stress of hoping and trying to get in, my process was amazingly smooth. Especially compared to the clusterfuck when I tried to get badges in 2011, with the servers shutting down, the sale being rescheduled twice, and I was shut out of 4 Day badges and had to settle for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with no Thursday.
This time, I was stunned how easy it was. Followed the instructions given on the Registration Page (and watched the very helpful YouTube video they added). At exactly 12:00pm eastern on the dot, I clicked the Register link and... did nothing. Just waited.
For nearly 20 minutes I saw a circle waiting for the page to load and stared at a blank screen. Some people, including my buddy, saw a page that said they Timed Out and Badges Are Sold Out, but that wasn't the case at all. I just watched the blank page load and lo and behold, 23 minutes later, I got into the Waiting Room. I had a number in the 25,000 range, but it kept dropping at the rate of about 1000 people a minute. By the time I got under 10,000th in line, it was leaping forward at 3000 a minute served.
At 12:50 I was in the purchase page and bought 4 Day Badges for myself then went back to buy my buddy's. And it all worked! According to my Twitter feed, we got in right under the wire. 7 minutes after I finished buying, 4 Day Badges were sold out. 3 minutes after that, Saturday Single Days were sold out. Fridays followed soon after and by 1:33pm eastern, Comic Con was sold out.
I understand the frustrations of everyone who failed to get badges, and I was mentally prepared to be one of them, but wow, what a shock to get in and get in so easily. Again, compared to 2011, it was smooth sailing. The other thing I appreciate about Comic Con is they don't charge processing or service charge ("rape") fees. A 4 Day badge is $150 and that's what I was charged (twice).
So, whoever else will be at Comic Con, see you in July! Let's hang if you're going.
(edited by John Orquiola on 16.2.13 1239) "Cody, I mustache you a question." - The Miz
Certainly on my list of things to do before I die, but with a young son who's birthday is on or around this event every year, it might not be until he's old enough to go with me or old enough to hate my guts before I go ;-)
I'll have to get by on the area shows that go on around here which are GREAT for buying comics, but not near as great for the potential of meeting some of the bigger names in the industry (and Hollywood too I suppose)
Enjoy!
"You are going to get a certain amount of snarkiness on the Internet no matter what, and my rule is that you don't post anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face." Marc Andreyko (Writer of DC Comic's "Manhunter")
I'm always curious about it, but I'm planning for HeroesCon to sell my own comics ( my site (robotwonderboy.com)) and DragonCon to once again rock out as Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
I really should have gone to SDCC years ago, but it looks to be at a size where I would hate it.
We've had exponential growth issues with our own Calgary Expo. Last year, with the reunion of the cast of Star Trek:TNG, the fire department shut it down due to the crowds.
This year looks to be equally insane with the Game of Thrones/X-Files/Terminator cast members coming (along with WEIRD AL!) - I will be leaving the wife and kid at home and braving the floor by myself this time around. I plan on going to see Stan Lee, but the Expo doesn't have the "must see" creators that I've made a point of visiting the last few years (George Perez, Bruce Timm, Kate Beaton).
- I was almost late, got there at 9:50. - I got to meet Ray, who replaced Denis. Ray and I talked about Philly, as he went to LaSalle. - On the plus side, I was there on 24 recap day. On the minus side, Bob Ryan was not in his Wednesday slot.
Thread rated: 7.19
#
#