SDCC 2013

JohnathanConstantine

Okay, what the hell is going on? I've already posted on the SDCC 2012 thread but I thought this might need to be discussed on its own.

So, SDCC is preventing registration at the Con. Fine.

You can get preorder tickets if you have this year badges. Right?

But tickets for those who did not attend will open up much later.

To me that means that everyone that will be attending this year will be able to get a majority of tickets and new people who want to come will be out in the cold.

I don't even live in North America so I have to plan way ahead in order to get to SDCC 2013, it was going to be by first American con. So how am i able to get tickets for the entire Con if I didn't attend this year?

It's not really encouraging new people to attend.

I'm looking for any knowledge or help to understand how this thing works because I still want to attend.

Perhaps I should just choose another con and go to that.

Trev

Book flights and hotel ahead of tix. They are more easily altered or canceled. Coming from England you might also check out nycc. Shorter flight and easier to get tix for.

Also check out friendsofcci.com

It's a board focused on sdcc. Lots of excellent tips and advice there. I post there a bit too.

Flagwaver

Because Comic-Con is so massive, they book up all the hotels in the downtown area and many in the outlying areas. If you try and go through sites like Expedia, Travelocity, etc, they will show them all booked up for the week of the con even a year out. The Con uses a site called Travel Planners (which I HATE with a passion) to sell rooms at discounted rates. Until a couple years ago, getting tickets was a snap compared to trying to get a hotel room. Now it is about even in terms of being a humongous hassle to get a place to stay because all the choice hotels sell out in less than an hour. All I can say, is keep a watch for the hotel registration announcement and cross your fingers. I don't know what the time difference is for you but they generally open up reservations around 12:00 pm Pacific Time, though they have made it a little earlier for unannounced openings. Oh, how I miss the days when it wasn't such a headache to just attend the con ... before the dark times ... before the Twilight.

EarthGBilly

I think, all told, I've been to SDCC seven or eight times. As it stands now, that is probably it for me and that show.

I love going to it, but it has so obviously outgrown the San Diego location that I expected them to move it. They opted not to do so, and have attempted expansion to other nearby venues with various degrees of success.

If you are a panel-goer like myself, you end up spending the majority of the Con in lines, or sitting through panels you aren't really interested in just to secure your position in a panel you actually want to see.

The crowds are miserable. The convention floor is a mass of bodies, constantly bumping into each other.

I'm on the hunt for a new major con to go to each year. I went to Wondercon this last year, in Anaheim, and if they moved there permanently, I'd probably switch over to that. It is about the level of San Diego ten years or so ago.

My big problem is that my "con buddy," my best friend who I usually attend cons with, lives in California with a wife and two kids, and I (bachelor) live in Michigan. It is so much easier for me to go out west than for him to get away, so we kinda gotta stick to the California based conventions.

Trev

No. It means the same as last year. A LIMITED number of tix are available for folks that have tix this year and they can buy them earlier than the general public. This has been a tradition since pretty much the first SDCC afaik (though they were only limited as of a couple of years ago).

There will still be plenty available in the regular sale.

But yes, if you don't want the hassle, pick another con.

JohnathanConstantine

Thanks @Trev.

I tried to get answers from the official website and what was there sounded really confusing.

Flagwaver

Like Trev said, those who attend the con this year will be able to pre-register for tickets in August. Last year they only sold a limited amount of tickets at the con each day so that 4-day plus preview night would not sell out before non-attendees had a chance to get them and that is likely what they will do in August. Bear in mind, even though all the passes will not sell out in August, when the go on sale they will go VERY quickly and it is possibly you will not get passes for the days you want. It isn't like it was when I first started attending when they actually sold tickets for each day at the convention center. Those days are loooong gone. And don't even get me started on the headache of trying to get a decent hotel. If you are a comic book fan, it is well worth going to San Diego at least once in your life (I've been nine) so I would say give it a shot and maybe have a backup con, maybe New York, just in case.

JohnathanConstantine

Thanks @Flagwaver. I just wanted to go and my holiday time sort of matches up for next year. It just seems like I'm leaving it to the last minute if I wait until tickets go on sale then have to book all the rest of the stuff like flights and accommodation.

Anyone got any hints or advice for a newbie to get accommodation for SDCC 2013?

JohnathanConstantine

Thanks @EarthGBilly, what I really started this thread to do was see if it was really feasible to get to SDCC next year. If not I had the alternates of Emerald City Con, Heroes Con or perhaps one of the Canadian cons. I really want to go to San Diego at least once and thought I could tick it off my list early because we all know that it will be even more insane in 2014, 2015 and so on.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Well, I was going to get my passport and plane tickets ready as soon as possible (thanks @flagwaver & @trev for that advice) and be ready on the day for tickets and accommodation. Perhaps I could organise sharing a room with a few people closer to time, but that is the extend of my plan so far. What I really want is to find out as early as possible so I can make alternate plans if for another North America con.

Trev

You can make it happen but it takes some work and excellent timing now.