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Comic-Con is so much better with the Comic-Con app

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Assuming you can even get into Comic-Con via their crazy lottery system, there is no better way to attend than using the official Comic-Con app, which can be downloaded from the Apple of Android app stores. The app easily cruises all of the programming, guests and so much more where you can check times, show/convention floor location with an interactive map and so much more. You can also favorite any of these so you can

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Comic-Con 2013 – Impossible to Get Tickets

comic-con-logoAnd here it is folks, another year in a row where it has been impossible to get tickets to Comic-Con. A few years ago I personally broke a 20 year record and stopped attending because tickets were impossible to buy. Either the site would always crash into oblivion or the tickets would sell out within as many minutes as I can count fingers on one hand.

Personally it feels like this happened over night. Buying tickets to the con used to be a an easy, painless process. There was no rush, there was no panic. You simply logged in within a 3-4 month window and said, I’m ready to buy my tickets. Then one year…that ended. Since that year it’s as though within that one year….the attempting number of people trying to register has multiplied by a factor that feels impossible causing an *immediate* end to that stress-free feeling.

I haven’t gone since because of this. I think a lot of people are attending for a lot of wrong reasons and a lot of the occupancy is being taken up by press more than true fans and industry affiliates. The magic has been lost and to this day still hasn’t been found. Honestly I don’t really think they are trying. They sold out a long time ago, giving into the world of mass marketing and media chaos.

Kind of sad really. It all started for me as a REAL young child going with family. We used to have so much fun.

They need to admit defeat and  move it to a city that can handle it’s excessive size and try a little harder at a registration system. If conventions like CES can go without a problem…there is no reason for any of this.

Comic-Con will be missed in my heart as I have so many years of memories of attending. My family and I are friends with a lot of the annual artists (both inside and outside of the con) and have met many other great individuals throughout the years.

20 year record of attending sounds like it has been replaced by a lengthy record of being locked out and unable to. I guess it’s just that time to hang the badge holder in the closet, throw the switch and let the memories be memories and the con be a thing of the past 🙁

Comic-Con 2012 Registration – Has It Gone to Their Heads?

I used to attend Comic-Con each year, trying my best not to skip any as every year brought something new and fresh. The last two years however I have been unable to come anywhere near getting tickets.

Now we are approaching 2012’s comic-con and they haven’t even opened online registration yet. I’m going to assume that 2011 on-site registration probably filled them up mostly. So maybe they are waiting until the last second to determine what they have free.

What I don’t understand, is how expensive it has gotten. A little $5 jump here and there….sure, but it started taking $20 jumps, and then *poof*, this year took a massive jump and they are asking $150-175 to attend. At this rate, if they keep that up, you will be able to buy the next generation Xbox for less than it will cost to attend comic-con. Comic-con is supposed to be a down-to-earth event for fans of all types to attend. Instead I think they are beginning to lose their focus.

I prefer the $50-60 price for a 4-day pass. Beyond that I only started to feel as though I am not getting anything from my money as crowds grew too big and I wasn’t able to access any panels, or breath for that matter. The last couple of years I attended, I skipped going the 4th day because I could’t take it any longer. Now they continue to pack the same/small convention center (don’t get me wrong…i LOVE San Diego….it’s just too small for it now), and jack the price all the way up to $150-175…..what? It’s as if they are trying to drive the hard-core fans that made comic-con what it is….away. Are they wanting to replace everyone in the crowd with solely press and spoiled rich kids?

They need to bring comic-con back to it’s roots, bring it to a larger venue if needed, drop the price…else another convention is going to wind up claiming the glory it once had and comic-con can be renamed to “Expensive Cluster***k Con” 🙂

Comic Con 2011, Then/Now and Their Horrible Registration Approach

“It’s no longer about the fans, it’s only about the money”

4 years+ ago you could hesitate for months before getting you tickets to comic-con (and a 4-day at that). Getting there was easy, attending was very little stress and you could get into just about any panel you needed to.

Now? Within the last few years the convention has become horrible. The tickets sell out fast, the location of the convention is way over a comfortable/reasonable capacity, price went through the roof, there is no room to breath or move and most of the panels are pretty much impossible to get into unless you come 3+ panels early into a room and sit there the rest of the day (and some people do this which is why its impossible to see anything). Don’t get me started on the badge pickup line….WOW was that a hike in 2009 winding all over and then around the building down to the back hitting the docks and following them all the way down through to the hotel. I could just imagine what it was like last year or will be like this year. Then if you want to attend any “good” panel, you have to jump right back into a line just as long almost (Hall H…).

For 2011, the registration has been a nightmare since EVERYONE knows registration is going to be a problem, so EVERYONE jumps on all at once to get their tickets. I have seen this happen for concerts and small local events that are considered “limited time only”…but one of the west coast’s largest conventions….server crashes, failed registration dates, and now that the tickets have finally gone on sale via their final attempt…..sold out in ONE DAY.

An entire convention (of that size), sold out in one day. That’s pretty amazing….however, what’s not amazing..is that I ( as well as so many others ), should have been part of that crowd. Instead, I received nothing but “Website is over capacity” error messages from “TicketLeap” and it remained like that for hours.

Finally, it let me through and I chose my 4-day pass and entered all of my information (including payment information) and made it as far as the screen to confirm the information and ……….website is over capacity. Going back to try it again, it claimed it couldn’t complete the process because 4-day tickets were no longer available (sold out).

So much for you having “15 minutes” from the time you add them to your cart. You would think that means you have a guaranteed ticket in your cart (for 15 minutes)..kind of like how TicketMaster works, and the server would prioritize you in it’s load since you have an active sale. Nope….even though you have gotten your cart filled, your no one special.

So after many screens of over capacity warnings, I finally got back to the start and the day by day passes were still there. I chose Thurs, Fri and Sat (no point in adding Sunday since I’m already being forced to spend more than I was with the 4-day passes). I once again made it far into the checkout process and……oh look…….over capacity warning. Going back to try and submit it again…..error…..tickets no longer available. Both Fri and Sat was sold out. Of course, the moment of time spent in shock sitting there wondering “wow…did that really happen”….the remaining tickets sell out and *poof*….another year without the con.

Now I feel not only have they gone out of their way to really wreck this convention into the mess that it is and make it very difficult on you from registration to the end of the event, but they have to kick you where it hurts a few times and leave you on the side of the street with nothing.

I used to go every year, and when I was a real young boy, I remember the El Cortez. Now however I have missed last year and this year. Meanwhile, they keep piling more and more people into that building without expanding (preferred) or moving to a larger location, they continue to raise the price, and they use what’s obviously the lowest bidder for ticket sales/registration partners (i.e., TicketLeap)…even though we pay so much. It’s no longer about the fans, its only about the money.

I don’t think I have ever been so disappointed in something. A long-time tradition officially squashed.