BassGMan

You know, I live just outside of Seattle and would have definitely gone on Friday, but I didn't even hear about this con until Saturday morning, and had a full weekend of plans so it was too late. Can't believe how terrible their marketing and promo was, as I am part of the prime target audience and never even heard about this show until it was in process. And that wasn't from promo, but rather a friend of mine who posted pics on Facebook.

There is alot of talk in various places about how people get around the passes that have specific member IDs. First off, though I have heard of it happening, in all of my 25 or so years going, including the last several with scanned badges, NO ONE has ever checked my ID to match with my badge. So odds are if you can score any badge you will be fine. In the odd chance you were asked for an ID, you could just say you don't have your wallet, and back away and leave, then just use another entrance to get in. So basically, if you can find any legitimate pass, you will be fine. I have heard that alot of badges do go on sale in the San Diego Craigslist leading up to the con. Legit passes, but I'd be careful as I know some people have created fake badges too, though that is tougher now with the scanned system. Basically, if you are willing to pay jacked up prices, you will be able to get a ticket and get in with no problem. But one other complication. You may find a legit badge that has been deactivated. For example, someone receives their pass in the mail, but claims he didn't receive it, then requests a new badge, which they will give him, but then they deactivate the first one (the one he has to sell but says was lost). So now when the deactivated badge is scanned an alert will go off. So if you buy a pass, get all kinds of info and if you can, vet the seller to make sure the pass he is selling is not deactivated.

All that is coming. May not be out until about two weeks prior. We are a month off now. At this point they have just started mailing out passes, and we are supposed to receive an e-mail with tracking info about the shipment, though I have not received notice yet though. Update: Just received notice that my pass was mailed. Apparently this is the second year that passes are mailed in a nice little collectible box with goodies inside.

Bad move bumping Daryl up to the top. He was all about mystique, short in dialogue and not overly used in scenes. Some people really didn't like Rick Grimes, the character, as a leader or Andrew Lincoln's sometimes overly dramatic acting and expressions, but this was his show. It was all about Rick and everything that sprung from his world. I may be surprised, but my thinking is that season 9 will be the last.

Lucked out and my buddy and I were able to pick up PN, Friday and Saturday. Hope you all did well! Thinking we may cancel WonderCon since we now have the full SDCC.

Make sure to check your e-mail, or at least look up registration info at comic-con.org. You need the link they will provide a day or two before in order to get into the waiting room and then take your chances on tickets.

If you are already registered, open registration has not happened yet, so you are not too late. It is next Saturday, the 9th at 9:00 am. Of course it is a lottery, but everyone has an equal chance to get passes.

Not at all true. I have done this several other times and many others have as well. During open registration you can buy any or all days you missed during returning registration. In otherwords, if you bought your Sunday pass before, if you get through in time during open registration, you could then add Wed-Saturday. Of course assuming they were available when you got in. So.... you blew a guaranteed Sunday by not taking it. Hopefully you'll get in next time before all the passes sell out. My buddy and I were only able to purchase Thursday and Sunday passes, so we'll be trying on the 9th for Preview night and Friday and Saturday. EDIT: I just read through the official "rules" on Comic-con.org. There is one small shred of truth to what you said, which is really not going to apply to practically anyone (or at least barely). Those that purchased a Preview Night pass during returning registration are not allowed to purchase tickets in open registration. I guess that is because they were let in so early that they could purchase anything, so they don't need a second chance. So unless you already purchased PN, then you can participate in the open. That is the only exception.

Agreed. I would have done this already too, though with only a Thursday and Sunday pass now I'm not sure if I'm going for the full show, or Thursday only. If I can't get Fri/Sat later then I'll cancel Sunday. Of course this puts me on hold for the hotel as well.

Last year Full passes and Saturday sold out fairly soon as well (though not this fast). Anyway, full pass and Saturday tickets were abundant on Ebay leading up to the show, and some just slightly over original price when it got real close. I wouldn't worry about it, but keep your eyes peeled on Ebay as we get closer and when passes have been mailed out and are in hand. These are very easily sold as no names are involved on the ticket and they all look the same.

I'm going. Already purchased my tickets. I haven't gone since it left San Fran. Hoping Anaheim is nice. I'm not going to Disneyland, but anything else nice around the area within walking distance? I'm used to SDCC where everything you can think of is right outside the convention doors.

Yes, in open reg they offer a limited amount of Preview passes as well, just like during presale. Whatever days you do not get during presale you can add during the general, if you get in while those days are still available. In otherwords, yes you still have a shot at Preview night, but good luck! Of course scoring any tickets during the general is even more of a challenge than during the presale as there are more people competing for the tickets. I don't bother with exclusives so maybe someone else can answer better, but I do know that each vendor has their own exclusives policy. I have seen some vendors selling during Preview Night and some only selling exclusives on the four regular days. There is a smaller attendance during Preview Night so I'd imagine fewer people rushing for the lines when they open the doors.

That sounds great, thanks for the info. But I'd assume these must go quick and there are people just waiting for these to be offered?

My buddy and I were able to buy Thursday and Sunday only. If we can't get any other days in general we may cancel Sunday and make it a one-day event. Has anyone had any luck buying single day passes on the secondary market? I know that alot of sales ads go up locally on Craigslist in San Diego nearing the date of the event, but I don't know how many are legit and how many are scams. I know this has worked for some.

Just bought Thursday and Friday here.

Keep in mind SDCC is not airport security. As a dealer I'd never risk my spot with sharing passes, but as an attendee if I didn't have a pass I'd buy one on the secondary market without hesitation, though I'd make sure it was on the up and up otherwise so that I wasn't being ripped off. Considering that no one has ever stopped me for anything in the almost 25 years I've been going to the con, I really wouldn't worry about being there with a real badge that just wasn't IDed to me. If there was a random check and I couldn't ID myself to the badge and they took it, well that is the chance I took, but odds are slim that would happen. Regarding selling, I would never buy a ticket with the intention of selling, but if it was past the point of no refund and for some reason I had to cancel, I'd sell it. While I agree that is against the rules, if I can't get a refund and someone will buy my ticket, I'd sell. I know that some people are in this exact situation and that's what ends up happening. Of course there are scalpers out there too.

Oh, there are all kinds of warnings released by the con about selling passes or using someone else's badge and all that kind of stuff. And though there may be a random check here and there (though I have never seen one or heard of a first hand experience ever) by my experience last year, it would have been the easiest con ever to sell a badge or lend one out. It would have been a bit more difficult in previous years, at least during badge pickup as THEN you had to show ID to pick up your badge, but after that you could have given it away or sold it easily. As of last year they started mailing them out, thus eliminating an ID check during pickup, as there is no badge pickup, at least not for the majority who received their badge in the mail. By writing this I am not advising selling or buying passes at all, but rather talking about the reality of the situation based on what we have seen. However, if I am unlucky enough any year not to be able to purchase a pass through the normal system I would absolutely look for a legit pass to purchase in the secondary market.

If that happened it was for the purpose of making sure everyone just received one, or whatever the allocation of exclusives were per person and had nothing to do with convention management, as exclusives are strictly run by the exhibitors and not the convention itself, of course except for the official SDCC shirts and etc.

Looks like regular passes to me. Last year, which was the first year they used these new scanner passes, I received my pass in the mail and could have given it to anyone. No checks, no ID, nothing. Of course you do scan the badge when entering, and they like you to scan when you are leaving too, but absolutely nothing that I encountered that required the person and the badge to match. Did anyone need to show ID and for any reason? Literally anyone could have used these passes. Maybe they randomly check people for ID, I don't know, but I surely did not see or hear of anything like that.

I just looked at the San Diego Craigslist and there are alot of passes for sale there. As far as how legit they are I'm not sure, but one person above said that's how some people get tickets last minute. Of those listings I read, most asked to meet there at the con to do the exchange. At least that way you know you won't be ripped off (assuming you meet in public place and the passes aren't fake) but if the person shows up at all is the big question. Anyway, worth the effort if in need of a ticket.

I have said this before so I may be sounding like a broken record. You can absolutely avoid almost all lines. I have never stood in line for more than two minutes to take a whiz and usually there is no line at all. Do not use the restrooms on the main exhibition floor as those are the ones usually more crowded. Go upstairs to the mezzanine level or the level with all the programming and go to the restrooms at the ends of the hallways. As far as lines to get into the con, do not line up early, plan on arriving 15 minutes after the open and no line. For food and snacks, try to avoid around noon and around 5-6 (typical meal times) and some of the snack and pretzel stands have practically no line while others have long lines. There are really three kinds of lines you cannot avoid, if you choose to stand in them: popular programming, highly sought after exclusives, and popular autographs. No real way around those, but otherwise you can avoid lines altogether if you choose to.

I don't think guys like you are who he was referring to as enjoying the thrill of the hunt, but rather the newbies going there to see previews, celebrities, and to get exclusives. I do think this is what attracts most attendees as it certainly isn't the comic books. As much as I love the entire San Diego experience, this will be my 25th year and I am stressed every year about the ticket process. At least going with early bird hotels I can get that taken care of easily. I would definitely support a move to Las Vegas as long as the SDCC experience stays relatively the same, other than the location of course. I'd also actually like to see the con extended in days. Instead of four days plus PN it would be great if they could add a few more days onto that, which would give more people the chance to go, especially since the longer it is, many will not choose to buy tickets for the entire thing. I know exhibitors would need to support a longer con, so if there is enough support there I'd love to see it, and if not, at least Las Vegas could support the masses, allow higher attendance and certainly getting a room would be an easier experience.

That is one of the reasons people line up before the open, but many have lined up for hours in advance and ended up disappointed as well. Yes, if you go stand in line hours in advance of the open you MIGHT have a better chance of lining up inside (yay, another line!) at a booth before others but there is no guarantee. A few things to think about. Plenty of people are roaming around and getting in line at vendor booths before the show opens. Other dealers, dealer helpers, and others who have somehow just got in. Believe me, plenty of people get in before the open though most have some kind of connection. Sometimes the masses that crowd up front who all arrive at 9:30 are let in at the same time they start letting in the line of everyone who has lined up in advance. For example, you get in line (I think in flag pavilion) around 8:00 am, and as the first of this line is slowly starting to be let in, sometimes they open the doors in front also at 9:30 and the masses pile in. Other times they wait until 9:45 or so until much of the upstairs line has already filed in before opening the main doors. I've seen it both ways. Also, for those in-demand exclusives, I have heard quite a few times that they are sold out of that day's allotment even before the open. What am I saying here? Sure, go spend an hour or two in line before the open and it MIGHT increase your odds to get some nifty exclusive, but no guarantee. With so much to do there I usually advise that our time is more valuable than a nifty toy, but that's just me. Do whatever suits you. Just remember, if you aren't so eager you really can avoid most lines at the show.

Exactly. Hall opens at 9:30 so if you want a full day plan on arriving about 9:45. Lining up before 9:30 is an utter waste of time, and you'll only be let in a few minutes before those who waltz right up at 9:45. Sometimes they even let the masses in up front right at 9:30 too. Much of the time people stand in lines can be completely avoided if not being so eager to get a few minute jump.

Yes, this will be my third year doing that. About $250 per night at Sheraton San Diego Marina three miles away. Easy cheesy, get it done early and no stress, no mess. No hotel phone raffle.