Until San Diego Comic-Con 2017, I took attendance for granted. From 2009-14, I obtained a (deserved) press pass, and when later it wasn’t reverified, I luckily bought full-event passes for 2015 and 2016. But this year my luck ran out during early and open registrations—as it did this morning for next summer’s Con. One other opportunity will come next Spring.
Unexpectedly, Saturday of SDCC 2017, I was able to obtain a legit pass for Day Four—not to explain how. I knew one benefit could be opportunity to participate in 2018 advance registration, as I did this morning. Last year, the session ended with my disappointment. Today, I feel grateful to have participated at all.
I am not the most-deserving Con attendee. I have little interest in comics and none in doing cosplay. Similarly, I don’t worship at the altar of Hollywood adoration. But I am a storyteller, and the aspiration that inspires people participating in Comic-Con compels me. See my previous posts “The Roles We Play” (July 23, 2010) and “The Heroes Are Us” (July 7, 2015) to understand why the real stars are the 130,000-plus pass holders.
Recapping the morning, Comic-Con International offers two registration opportunities for people wanting to take part in the San Diego event. The first is for past participants, who must check in between 8-9 a.m. PDT. Registration begins at 9:01; in theory people randomly move from the waiting room to the purchase queue. SDCC starts on a Wednesday evening and continues for four days; passes can be purchased for any or all, as long as they’re available.
Here’s what I saw unfold, with the time, which is approximate because the browser refreshes every two minutes:
- 9:24: While I wasn’t paying attention, Preview Night sold out.
- 9:49: “Saturday badges have sold out. Badges for other single days of Comic-Con 2018 are still available!”
- 9:53: “Friday badges have sold out. Thursday and Sunday badges are still available”.
- 10:01: “Thursday inventory is running low. You may not be able to purchase a Thursday badge if you are selected for a registration session”.
- 10:03: “We are sorry to keep you waiting! The servers are processing purchase requests as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience”.
- 10:07: “Thursday badges have sold out. Sunday single day badges are still available”.
- 10:13: “All Returning Registration badges have been sold. Comic-Con thanks you for your continued patronage and support. If you were unable to purchase a badge today, you will be eligible for Open Registration later this year. For more information, please visit www.comic-con.org/cci/purchase-badges”.
I shot the Featured Image on July 24, 2011 at 2:55 p.m. PDT, using the Fujifilm X100. While in the waiting room, I picked out several pics from past Comic-Con sojourns to illustrate registration success or, in this case, failure. Vitals: f/2, ISO 1250, 1/160 sec, 23mm.
Perhaps I am not so bummed for feeling good about successfully preordering iPhone X yesterday. In theory, the thang arrives on official launch day, November 3.