3 MARCH 2012
Update: All badges are gone. Four day, single day, everything. Comic Con sold out in 90 minutes, a record.
The good news: the system didn't crash. I know many people experienced initial delays, but ultimately the morning proceeded somewhat smoothly.
The bad news: a lot of people with Member IDs aren't getting badges at all. My sympathies if this is you - I can only imagine how frustrating that must be. Remember that people do turn badges in for refunds (I think I saw mid-May as this year's deadline) and those all go up for sale around June. Also, usually Comic Con will sell off hotel and badge packages in late June that are really convenient, although the hotels tend to be Mission Valley ones. Oddly, last year's packages did not sell out right away but took several days, I expect due to lack of publicity. So don't think the Con is out of reach for you yet.
The glitches: Apparently the email link didn't work for some people and they had to cut and paste, a delay that probably bumped them back ten thousand in line.
The main surprise was how fast four-day badges sold out. They were gone immediately, with or without Preview Night. Which we knew they would, but they were unavailable even for people who entered the waiting room at a low number.*
And as much as I complain about CCI's incompetence, I think they made a smart move in announcing the badge sale date only after the Member ID registration period closed. The media couldn't run with the Registration Day news until it was too late for anyone else to get in, which probably cut way down on the contenders. At this point, Comic Con attendance is basically the survival of the (most organized and zealous) fittest.
Hope everyone got the badge they wanted.
* Matt McGloin of Cosmic Book News entered the room at around 9500 and was able to buy two Preview Night Badges but not a third; people entering around 10,000 weren't able to get four day badges at all. That provides an idea of when they sold out. Apparently people really teamed up, which made the badges go fast but also probably helped the system function more smoothly.
Started to hit the registration site at the stroke of 8:00 PST. Did not get into the waiting room until 8:14. (Kept getting various server error or no answer until then). Entered waiting room at no. 28778. Watched 4-day passes sell out. Then Friday and Saturday. Finally got to front of line at 9:14 with warning that inventory was running low. Purchased my two tickets for Thursday and Sunday. Selected option to purchase tickets for my son, and only option left was Sunday. Completed that and by the time I switched to my wife, it was all sold out. Time: 9:18PST.
ReplyDeleteMy page is still refreshing and I am reading this in another window! This hurts my feelings!!! I was dying to see if Det. Stabler (Chris Meloni) would show for True Blood! :(
ReplyDeleteOh god, Chris Meloni showing up for a True Blood panel would just make the lines even worse! He's so popular. I wonder if he'll be there.
DeleteIf you didn't get a badge, don't lose hope. There will definitely be refunded badges and packages available come June.
That's brutal. It sounds like anyone who encountered server errors or problems up front lost any chance of getting a good badge.
ReplyDeleteHopefully your family can get some of the refunded badges.
Comic-con messed up again. Big suprise. Every year it's something. This year it was the link, next year will be something else.
ReplyDeleteWe started clicking the link as soon as it opened, and got the same server error as others for about 3 mins, just kept closing the browser and clicking again (Like it said in the e-mail) then got in just shy of 16,000. Had a second laptop going and copied and pasted the link on that one, about a minute later got in at 19,000. By the time we got in 4-day was sold out, but got 1-day badges for every day for two people. While it definitely was more complicated than 2 years ago, it was much smoother than last year.
ReplyDeleteGlad both of you got the same badges.
DeleteIt was a smoother process and probably, from CCI's perspective, a success in that all badges got distributed quickly and registration doesn't need to be rescheduled.
This year really was the year of the (Computer) Geek in reference to getting passes online. If you knew how to identify and bypass the shitty link they sent out in the email, you were good to go. I got in at 0800 in position 422. Purchased 3 X 4day with preview for my wife and best bud. No issues, no slowdowns.
ReplyDeleteShitty for the people that didn't have that knowledge but, for what it's worth, I'll bet it won't happen again next year.
Damn, you definitely got in faster than anyone else I know. 0800 is quite an accomplishment.
DeleteYou are correct, they won't make the same mistake next year. But they will almost certainly make different ones.