It is little less than five hours from the ticket sales for San Diego Comic Con 2015, and here is our final check-list before the moment of truth. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably gotten things like the price, the dates, and the number of people you are buying tickets for down to a science. You’ve definitely gotten your registration code ready and the link to the (not-so) EPIC landing page ready. But we’re here just to give you a little refresher, and a final checklist before boarding the train to crazy town. Also follow this page for updates as the ticket sales start!
So, if you haven’t bought SDCC tickets in a few years, some things have changed. You now are required to have a registration code that is attached to your member ID. This keeps people who might not have member IDs from even attempting to buy tickets, thereby decreasing the absurd amount of traffic the EPIC landing page gets on the fateful day Comic Con International decides to sell their tickets.
If you are wondering where to get a member ID, you are about a week too late. Member ID registration is still open, but anyone who registered after February 13th are not eligible to register for tickets for 2015’s SDCC.
To find your unique registration code, simply go to the member ID login page and click on the “Registration Info” tab. Under your member ID and last name is your registration code. This is what you need when you open the EPIC landing page. This is what will get you in the door.
EPIC will begin picking people at random at 9 AM PST (12:00 PM EST) from the waiting room to register for tickets. The waiting room opens an hour before at 8 AM PST (11:00 AM EST). When they say random, they mean it. Multiple people have gotten tickets through this lottery method who entered into the room only 10 minutes before registration opens and even more have found themselves without a ticket despite having been in the waiting room for the whole hour.
That part is out of our hands.
If you still aren’t sure about the basic logistics of SDCC (price, dates, length of trip) don’t forget to check out the main site and calculate what is within your budget. Just as a quick summary, the entire four days plus the preview night ticket costs $220 while without the preview night ticket, it is $185 for an adult guest. When calculating for SDCC don’t forget to include important funds like meals, snacks, hotel fees, plane tickets, travel expenses (you could even check out our article devoted to the topic).
Ok, so if you are buying tickets for friends the limit is three people per registration. This includes yourself plus two friends. If there are more than three people in your group, they must be registered the next time you get into the room. My suggestion is have everyone on to buy tickets with you. Make sure someone is using a credit card that is ready to pay for all three tickets.
When purchasing tickets for others, make sure to have their member ID and your last name, as well as their ticket choices (i.e. four-day versus friday/saturday). Having credit card information ready on to go as well as your friends ready to chat on the phone is also very helpful for the process.
Of course, make sure to check Twitter and the real time tag #SDCC for all the updates from your fellow ticket buyers (rivals, really, if your think about it) and even the official Facebook for updates from CCI.
In the past, if you encounter an issue with your browser or some kind of unfortunate technological hiccup, the best thing to do is open up a new browser (or window) and reenter into the waiting room. Using the same registration code might bump one of your spots out of the room, so be aware of that. I would not recommend calling CCI or their hotline for help or emailing them. They often respond after the buying period is over and respond only with an apology. Have backups.
Speaking of browsers, I’ve found the most effective browser in the past to be Safari or Firefox as far as loading the page fastest and just getting you into the waiting room. After getting in, I’d say just stick with what is working and close the others in case they are slowing down the connection.
We’ll be livetweeting through our twitter; you’ll also find some updates (or less professional rants) from me and Sam! Updates will be found also on this page as events unfurl, so keep up with us and get yourselves ready! Any questions should be directed at us on twitter or in the comments section, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Update 8:45 AM: The panic has started! Join us with SDCC Badge Buying Bingo!
9:00 AM The advertising is hilarious, and unhelpful.
9:30 AM Preview Night is sold out!
9:43 AM Saturday is sold out!
9:45 AM Friday is sold out!
9:55 AM Thursday is sold out!
9:59 AM Sunday is sold out and we are officially done!
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