In life there are tax returns, Saturn returns, and the inevitable return of your most evil ex. And even more stressful than those events is the annual return of the San Diego Comic-Con badge sale. But now we SDCC regulars who've been awaiting Pre-reg have been dubbed a return ourselves. Specifically, returning attendees who have our own badge sale called Returning Registration.
Why did they change the name from Pre-registration? Honestly, who can fathom the CCI mind. I think most of us know they've had some administrative and vendor changes. But really, Pre-reg hasn't fit as a name since the days - let's all sigh together with nostalgia - that you could buy next year's badge up in the Sails Pavilion. Since it moved online (I'm ignoring the hellish year it was in the Hyatt with that farce of a scoreboard) it's been more like Registration Part I.
Here's what we all really want to know: will the ratio of badges shift between sales? It's a bit ominous that CCI's post opens with "Out with the old, in with the new" but that isn't what concerns me. Nor do I dislike waiting until "early 2017" for the sale - I appreciate not having to endure the election and Pre-reg in the same month. However, I have a hotel booked already for SDCC 2017. Attendees who were waiting to get a badge before booking a room now have to wait another 2 months.
What I think could be tough mentally is having the 2 sales - Returning and Open - in quick succession. Open Reg will allegedly occur "shortly" after Returning. So if you come up short in the first sale, you won't have much time to come to terms with it before rolling the dice a second - and final - time.
Since we have at least 3 months of SDCC nothingness ahead of us, this might be a good time to check out other Cons. Recent conversations have taught me that more and more attendees are already doing this, either because they've gone off the SDCC madness, they're worried about not getting a badge, or they're just thirsty for new Con horizons. So remember that the ECCC sale is 19 October (and I know you want to hang out with me in Seattle) and you can think about WonderCon and Silicon Valley Comic Con and other spring events too.
Plus ca change, nerds. Be ready for Returning Reg, but try to also enjoy having a few months' reprieve from this craziness.
You already have a hotel booked? Is it walking distance? If so, I thought it would be blacked out knowing that SDCC 2017 will be on those dates. Anyways, thanks for keeping us informed Valerie.
ReplyDeleteI do indeed, and it's thanks to Miss SDCC Expert below. I'm at the Hyatt and there was a very narrow window of availability - before this year's SDCC even occurred, in fact. And because I stayed at the Hyatt this year, they took next year's reservation for a dupe when I checked and almost cancelled it. Oh, the precariousness of our Comic-Con fates.
DeleteSome hotels are already booking, although you'll pay more and it might not be cancelable. Check out your favorite travel search engine. I just did a quick look on Orbitz and saw the Westgate, the Quality Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Red Roof Inn, Ramada, etc. They're all downtown, although not super close to the convention center, but close to shuttles, and walkable if you have some energy.
ReplyDeleteC2E2 is another good choice for a spring con.
I hate that CCI is making us wait until 'early 2017'! Now I get the spend the next 10 weeks worrying that the sale will be during my holiday trip the first week of January. :-( But historically CCI has steered clear of holidays, so hopefully that will be the case again this sale. *crosses fingers* But what really concerns me is the reason for the delay. The last time they took this long to hold pre-reg (uh... returning reg) it was because they were creating the waiting room and working with that new technology. Anything new in the badge-buying process is going to cause me stress. I'm just a worrier by nature.
Ugh, I can't even contemplate the possibility of "new technology" in the context of a badge sale. It
DeleteI think they'll give us a holiday reprieve before Returning Reg. You're right, they have always steered clear before. But any way you slice it, it turns the first quarter of the year into almost constant worrying about the 2 badge sales, the hotel sale, etc.
Folks at my LCS who will be trying for returning and open reg badges raised the financial aspect of having the badge sales in quick succession to one another and hotelpocalypse surely to follow shortly afterwards. It's going to be significant hit to the credit cards and checking accounts in a relatively short amount of time. Now would be a good time to plan ahead and make sure that we all have the necessary funds and credit ready for the first part of 2017.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. Especially for people who'd like to do Early Bird, which means paying for all of it upfront.
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