Are you ready? SDCC Open Registration: Saturday, April 8th

In the words of Ray Arnold in Jurassic Park, “Hold on to your butts!”. On March 27th via Twitter, Comic-Con International announced the date for Open Registration for SDCC 2017.

Open Registration will launch Saturday, April 8! Get all the info you need to participate @ https://t.co/ERwH9XY2mw #SDCC #OpenReg2017

— San Diego Comic-Con (@Comic_Con) March 27, 2017

The Prep

In order to be eligible for Open Registration, you must have a valid member ID created prior to 6:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on March 24, 2017. Other special groups (Trade Professionals, Press, and Volunteers) will have their registration scheduled for a later date. Double check your eligibility by logging in to your Member ID to see if you are eligible for Open Registration. Once you’ve verified that you’re eligible, be sure to have these items ready during the registration process:

How many badges you are buying (you can buy up to 3, including one for yourself)
Credit card/Debit card Information – I have it copied and ready to paste in the notes of my trusted computer.
Note the Last Name and Member ID of the persons you are buying a badge for (each person must be eligible for Open Registration) – I have it noted and ready to copy in the notes of my trusted computer.
Note your Registration Code (available within 48 hours before the sale; it will be e-mailed to you and in your Member ID tab of the CCI site) – I have it noted and ready to copy in the notes of my trusted computer.
The link to the EXPO Logic Registration Waiting Room (available within 48 hours before the sale; it will be e-mailed to you and in your Member ID tab of the CCI site) – Once received, I bookmark it on the web browser that will be used for the registration.

The Tech

Check out the Toucan (Comic-Con International’s official blog) for more detailed steps to ensure there are no technical snags during your registration process. These are a few bullet points to follow to help smooth the process of Open Registration.

Have JavaScript cookies enabled. There will be a “Precheck” link on the EXPO Logic Registration landing page where attendees can make sure their browser is compatible with the EPIC Waiting Room. Run the browser test right away once the link becomes available!

NO mobile devices. Best connection and compatibility is a desktop/laptop setup with a LAN connection. Albeit, some users have successfully entered the registration process using mobile devices, but I do not recommend the chance. Commence at own risk.

Enter the waiting room once; DO NOT share your Registration Code. Submitting one registration code amongst a group of people will get you kicked out the original session. If you get kicked out of the waiting room prior to the registration starting, (which can happen) you should be able to re-enter the session and remain in place.
DO NOT refresh the window. The days of the constant refresh are over. The waiting room will automatically refresh every 120 seconds. The blue spinning circle represents the life force of your browser. It is alive!

DO NOT use multiple browser tabs. If you are a family with multiple eligible attendees using one computer, use a whole different browser for each Member ID.

DO NOT use the back button. This may result in your session being removed from the waiting room.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that those who are eligible to participate will get a badge purchase session. The demand out weighs the actual number of badges that will be available for purchase. This is where forming buddy groups can greater your odds of purchasing a badge.

Are you attending solo and do not have anyone to buddy up with? Start socializing with an online SDCC group. Check out the Friends of CCI forum and SD COMICCON: Badge Holders Facebook Group for buying group information and tips.

A 4-Day badge has increased by $20 compared to the 2016 season which was $245. The price for a 4-Day will be $265.

Check out this resourceful visual guide to Open Registration via the SDCC Unofficial Blog. Refer to the Official Comic-Con Blog – Toucan for more detailed information. Follow us on Twitter for live coverage of the 2017 SDCC Badge Registration process. Let’s get ready for San Diego Comic-Con 2017!