Saturday, April 29, 2017

Under the Tents: Funko, The Geeky Hooker, James Silvani, Karen Hallion

In the words of the brilliant poet, Justin Timberlake, “It’s gonna be May,” which means we’re one more month closer to Comic-Con. We’ll be watching our email for hotel announcements, press announcements, parking announcements. We’re just watching for a lot of announcements — but first, let’s catch up with news about artists, a returning Funko offsite, commission lists, and much more.

Here’s a look at what you might have missed:

  • BroadSword Comics announced they will be at SDCC at Booth #1715. They’re offering SDCC exclusives, new comics, original art, and more. Plus, you’ll get a free Quick Sketch with every purchase. Let them know you’ll be there with an RSVP to their Facebook Event.

  • Ben Costa and James Park are excited to bring Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo to SDCC this year. This will be their first convention with their new book, Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo: The Road to Epoli. Find them at Small Press Booth #O-7.

  • LEGO artist Dan Veesenmeyer announced via Twitter that he will post his SDCC commission pre-order info on May 1. If you’re interested in one of his commissions, get your order in fast.

  • Freelance artist Karen Hallion has SDCC on her con schedule in her FAQ, and we look forward to grabbing some more of her adorable artwork at the convention.

Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, drop us a line, or tweet us at @SD_Comic_Con.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/under-the-tents-funko-the-geeky-hooker-james-silvani-karen-hallion/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/under-the-tents-funko-the-geeky-hooker-james-silvani-karen-hallion/


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Thursday, April 27, 2017

Under the Tents: Mattel, LEGO Ninjago, Amy Mebberson, The Ninjabot, Patrick Ballesteros, Dan Veesenmeyer, Kymera Press

Congratulations on surviving Hotelpocalypse (or, well, the first part anyway – have any of us really survived until we know for sure we’re not sleeping on the concrete or Tijuana?). Hopefully, onPeak is processing our forms as we speak. While we wait, which we hear is the hardest part, let’s look at a few announcements that came out while we were trying to avoid sleeping in the Hall H line.

Here’s a look at what you might have missed:

Instagram Photo

Instagram Photo

  • And speaking of Ninjabot, you can also score your SDCC Commissions from them beginning June 1. Spots fill up fast, so make sure to grab one to get yourself Pop Cat-ified, or to grab s headshot of your favorite character.

  • Artist Dan Veesenmeyer, best known for his work with LEGO, will be announcing information about his commission list for SDCC “very soon”.

In the very near future, we’ll know where we’re staying and where we’re parking. We’ll report on those topics as we hear about them. For the lucky San Diego locals who take the trolleys, don’t forget to buy your MTS SDCC block pass when it becomes available. We know the waiting is hard, but it’s worth it in the end.

Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, drop us a line, or tweet us at @SD_Comic_Con.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/under-the-tents-mattel-lego-ninjago-amy-mebberson-the-ninjabot-patrick-ballesteros-dan-veesenmeyer-kymera-press/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/under-the-tents-mattel-lego-ninjago-amy-mebberson-the-ninjabot-patrick-ballesteros-dan-veesenmeyer-kymera-press/


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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Comic-Con International’s 12th Wave of 2017 Special Guests!

COMIC-CON SPECIAL GUEST MONDAY!

Comic-Con International’s 12th Wave of 2017 Special Guests!

Comic-Con 2017 Special Guests

As April winds down, we have 4 more Comic-Con International 2017 special guests to announce!

Read more


via https://www.comic-con.org/toucan/comic-con-international%E2%80%99s-12th-wave-of-2017-special-guests


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Hotel Reservations Open Wednesday, April 26 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time!

GET READY FOR COMIC-CON 2017!

Hotel Reservations Open Wednesday, April 26 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time!

Comic-Con International 2017 Hotel Reservations

Comic-Con International 2017 Hotel Reservations open Wednesday, April 26, at 9:00 AM Pacific Time! Get ready now by reviewing our complete hotel list for 2017!

Read more


via https://www.comic-con.org/toucan/hotel-reservations-open-wednesday-april-26-900-am-pacific-time


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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Cryptozoic San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Exclusives [UPDATE APRIL 25]

Cryptozoic Entertainment kicked off San Diego Comic-Con exclusives season this year with their amazing Golden Goddess DC Comics Bombshells, but that’s not all they’re bringing to the con. You can find them at Booth #115.

Let’s take a look at this year’s exclusives:

[UPDATE April 25]

It’s a big year for Harley Quinn as she celebrates her 25th anniversary in 2017, and Cryptozoic is celebrating by going a little crazy (in a good way).

We’ve got the exclusive details on Cryptozoic’s second San Diego Comic-Con exclusive: the Metallic Red 25th Anniversary Harley Quinn Lil DC Bombshells Figure. Cryptozoic’s regular DC Lil Bombshells Harley Quinn figure is re-imagined here in a variant, solid red with a metallic finish, and each piece is stamped with a “Harley Quinn” 25 logo on the base to help commemorate the occasion. Each figure will also be individually hand-numbered from 1 to 500 (the lowest run Lil’ DC Bombshells figure ever produced!), and will retail for $25.

Similar to the Golden Goddesses, Metallic Red Harley will be available in limited quantities in a pre-sale starting May 5 at 10AM (and we’ve been assured the kinks from the last pre-sale have been worked out). You’ll be able to pick-up on-site at their booth during the con – or if you’re shut out in the pre-sale, they’ll be saving some figured for on-site sales.

We’ll share the link when it’s available.

[UPDATE April 3]

Now that WonderCon is behind us, it’s time to turn our full attention to San Diego Comic-Con — and with badge and hotel sales happening so late this year, it can be easy to forget just how close the convention really is. So close, in fact, that we’ll get our first San Diego Comic-Con exclusive pre-sale this week, courtesy of Cryptzoic Entertainment.

Cryptozoic will be offering 7″ SDCC exclusive DC Comics Bombshells, the Golden Goddess Series. There are three vinyl figures in the series, including Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, and Catwoman. Each figure is limited to 250 pieces, and will retail for $40 each, or $100 for all three.

You’re be able to get your hands on all three right now on Cryptozoic’s website, for pick-up at the convention. A $25 deposit is required, and you’ll pay the additional $75 (plus California sales tax) at Booth #115 on Thursday-Sunday 10AM-4PM when you come by to pick them up. [UPDATE] These are now sold out. You can still pick up one of the remaining 200 sets at San Diego Comic-Con, available Thursday-Sunday (but not Preview Night) at their booth..

Here’s a look at the figures:

Will you be making this your first San Diego Comic-Con 2017 exclusives purchase? Let us know in the comments.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/cryptozoic-san-diego-comic-con-2017-exclusives/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/cryptozoic-san-diego-comic-con-2017-exclusives/


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Monday, April 24, 2017

POLL RESULTS: The Top San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Hotel Choices & What It Means For You

Over the last two days, we asked our readers to vote for their #1 hotel choice for San Diego Comic-Con, to get a very rough, completely un-scientific idea of what the most popular hotels in Wednesday’s General Hotel Sale will be.

Although several of the results seem like common sense (the closest hotels to the convention center are very popular!), some of the results did surprise us a bit. So first, let’s take a look at the downtown hotels (click for larger):

Most hotels have at least one vote, but the top four (all with over 40 votes) are probably pretty obvious: the Hilton San Diego Bayfront (25.66%), San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina (15.59%), Hard Rock Hotel San Diego (12.47%), Omni San Diego (10.07%). These are the four closest hotels to the convention center, meaning the shortest walk, and they’re all also close to the Gaslamp District. Shocking, right?

The next few hotels though show a significant decrease in people’s preference. The Manchester Grant Hyatt clocks in with 33 votes (7.91%), the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is next with 21 votes (5.04%), and then it drops down to the Residence Inn Gaslamp Quarter with 12 votes (2.88%).

What does this mean for you though?

As you’re hopefully already aware, when the General Hotel Sale goes live on Wednesday. At 8AM PT, the site (accessed either through a link on CCI’s site or through the e-mail some have received – hopefully more e-mails are forthcoming) will turn into a randomized waiting room. You’ll have between 8AM-9AM PT to enter, than at 9AM PT, we’ll all be randomly scrambled into an order to be let through to fill out the form. You must select a minimum of at least one hotel (in either downtown or otherwise), or you can submit a maximum of six hotel choices downtown and six hotel choices elsewhere (so 12 hotel choices total).

onPeak is still assigning rooms based on timestamp of when you gain access to the form, but the randomization is going to determine whether your timestamp is 9:02AM or 9:32AM. Unfortunately, we’ve got no idea anymore what constitutes a “good submission time”, after last year’s multiple issues with forms being tossed for being “duplicates” and seemingly arbitrary decisions (which weren’t helped by last year’s bizarre “if my hotel isn’t available” options — this year’s options seem designed by someone who actually decided to care). Some in 2016 who reported getting access to the form at 9:01 were being placed in Mission Valley. Some who got access to the form at 9:04 were being placed in the Westin Gaslamp downtown. How? We’re still scratching our heads.

All of that is to say, this year is a big, giant question mark in that area. However, we can still offer a few recommendations.

The best news, really, is that they revamped their options this year for if your preferred hotel choices aren’t available. You can either choose to be booked into the closest available hotel, regardless of rate (meaning if a suite is all that’s available, you’ll pay for the upgraded room); you can choose to be booked into the next lowest rate available hotel; you can choose to be booked into at any hotel at all, so long as you’re not sleeping on the cold hard concrete; or if you don’t get what you want, you can choose that you don’t want anything they have to offer. Here’s a look at the options:

These options are going to solve a lot of problems for a lot of people, but there’s still some strategy involved in choosing your top six. Since onPeak presumably tries to slot you into your order of preferred hotels (if the first one’s full, they’ll move on to the second), we recommend that on your list of six, you select at least one hotel that isn’t one of the top six hotel choices above. Our theory being that if most people are going to choose those six, at least by choosing a slightly less popular option that you’re still happy with, you’ve got a potentially higher chance of getting it. After all, maybe you’d be perfectly happy at the slightly less popular The Bristol Hotel for $205 per night, but they put you in the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s Grand Club Room for $370 per night because it’s a block or two closer. That’s a big price jump, and maybe you’d have been happier walking the extra block and spending that extra money on Hasbro exclusives.

We also recommend looking at how many rooms total are available at each hotel — which can be useful for helping to strategize.

We also asked our readers to rank their most popular options in Mission Valley (unsurprisingly, Town and Country came in at #1 with 21.9% of the vote, followed by the the Doubletree by Hilton San Diego Mission Valley (14.61% of the vote), and the other areas (Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina proved popular with 22.45% of the vote, followed by the Coronado Island Marriott Resort with 13.27%



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/poll-results-the-top-san-diego-comic-con-2017-hotel-choices-what-it-means-for-you/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/poll-results-the-top-san-diego-comic-con-2017-hotel-choices-what-it-means-for-you/


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Guide to Parking at San Diego Comic-Con 2017

Parking is the last major pre-convention hurdle for attendees leading up to San Diego Comic-Con. Whether you’re a local resident or not staying at a downtown hotel, where you park is very important.

Ace Parking (who owns most of the parking in Downtown San Diego) moved to a lottery based system two years ago, and is using the same system this year. You can view our Visual Guide from 2015 to (re)familiarize yourself with the process.

You can still sign up for the lottery through April 24 — with the drawing happening on April 25, to place people into one of six groups. On May 1, the system will be opened and restricted to the people in Group 1 only. Each week thereafter the system will be opened to the next group until all groups have had a chance to purchase their permits. At the end of the six-week period, the system will be opened to the general public.

Before we get started on details for this year’s sale, remember that the lottery system is only for a select number of the total parking spaces available. Even if you didn’t get sorted into a group there will be parking available in the public online sale. We are projecting the date of the public sale to be June 12, as each group’s sales start on six consecutive Mondays beginning May 1.

Also of note is that a limited amount of spaces “will be available for drive up parking the day of the event” at “the majority of the lots included in the online sale and others that are not included.” For more details about the parking sale Ace has info and a FAQ on their site.

We also want to remind everyone that the San Diego Trolley has two stops downtown right across the street from the convention center. It’s a great alternative for those who don’t want to deal with parking.

But what about the parking? What lots are available? Below is the list as well as the Google Map Ace created for this year’s lots. There are now 13 lots, up from 10 in 2016.

There will also be a service fee on top of the above prices.

Finally, the decision on which lot to choose looms like a Galactus cloud in a bad Fantastic Four movie. For most, the convention center is the most convenient place to park. Not only is it the shortest walk, but you can easily store purchases and even bring a cooler with your own food and drink to enjoy during a long day. There’s a reason it will likely sell out by the end of group two despite having double the number of spaces of any other lot except Horton Plaza: It’s prime real estate.

The good news, though, is that the Convention Center lot and Tailgate Park were the only two to completely sell out in last year’s lottery-based parking system before it opened up to the public – and there are lots of other lots to choose from.

The next most popular lot is the Hilton Bayfront with easy access to the Hall H side of the convention as well as the foot bridge over Harbor Blvd. to Petco Park and other offsite events. From there each lot is either across the street like Diamond View Towers or further into downtown like Horton Plaza.

Since you buy each parking pass by the day, you can choose different locations if needed. If you don’t have a badge for one or more days you may want to get parking in Tailgate or Diamond View Towers that will allow you quick access to the majority of offsite events.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/guide-to-parking-at-san-diego-comic-con-2017/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/guide-to-parking-at-san-diego-comic-con-2017/


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Twelfth Wave of San Diego Comic-Con Special Guests Announced

We are under 90 days until San Diego Comic-Con 2017, which means that the announcements are only going to pick up steam. And today we’ve got some more news for you — on another round of Special Guests you’ll be seeing at the convention.

The Toucan Blog has shared the next round of Special Guests headed to SDCC 2017:

  • Arthur Adams • Artist, Longshot; Writer, artist, Monkeyman and O’Brien
  • Joyce Chin • Artist, Marvel covers, including America, Deadpool the Duck
  • R.L. Stine • Author, Goosebumps series, Fear Street
  • Ron Wilson • Artist, The Thing, Super Boxers

Special guests typically receive a special “Spotlight” panel during the convention, so attendees have a chance to hear their favorite authors and artists speak live.

According to CCI, they’ll announce additional guests next Monday – so keep your eyes peeled for more exciting announcements. You can also catch up on tons of other things and people who will be at San Diego Comic-Con in our Under the Tents updates.

Are you excited about these guests? Let us know in the comments.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/twelfth-wave-of-san-diego-comic-con-special-guests-announced/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/twelfth-wave-of-san-diego-comic-con-special-guests-announced/


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Comic-Con International’s 12th Wave of 2017 Special Guests!

COMIC-CON SPECIAL GUEST MONDAY!

Comic-Con International’s 12th Wave of 2017 Special Guests!

Comic-Con 2017 Special Guests

As April winds down, we have 4 more Comic-Con International 2017 special guests to announce!

Read more


via http://www.comic-con.org/toucan/comic-con-international%E2%80%99s-12th-wave-of-2017-special-guests


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Sunday, April 23, 2017

Hotelpocalypse 2017: San Diego Comic-Con Hotel Size Guide

Convention Center Hilton Bayfront Hotel Coronado Bridge Traffic Street ViewHotelpocalypse is almost upon us, and soon, the Comic-Con Gods (and time stamps, whatever) are going to determine your fate. Come May 1 and May 8 when placements are revealed, thousands of attendees will be scratching their heads, wondering, “How did I end up at that hotel?”

So, for fun (and to keep you more informed), we’ve broken down the numbers on hotel rooms at all of the hotels in the Comic-Con hotel block. It’s important to note that these are total number of rooms, and at most if not all the hotels, a certain percentage of rooms is left out of the room block – though those rooms not in the hotel block often go for insane rates (looking at you, Hilton Bayfront). Even if we knew what that percentage of non-room-block rooms was at one hotel, there’s no guarantee it’s the same at each hotel – so we’re just going to suggest you subtract at least somewhere around 10% from these numbers, and take all of this with a grain of salt. But, it’s an interesting experiment anyway.

For downtown hotels only, there are 11,205 rooms total (up slightly from 11,058 rooms total in 2016 thanks to the new Residence Inn Downtown/Bayfront) – with the Manchester Grand Hyatt (1,625 rooms), the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina (1,360 rooms), and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront (1,190 rooms) being the only hotels to feature over 1,000 rooms. The Hard Rock Hotel has 420 rooms and the Omni San Diego Hotel has 511 rooms – meaning it’s not hard to imagine both the why and how of why those rooms get snatched up so quickly.

Here’s a look at the breakdown by hotel:

Area Hotel Name # of Rooms
Downtown Andaz San Diego 159
Downtown Best Western Plus Bayside Inn 122
Downtown Courtyard San Diego Downtown 235
Downtown Courtyard San Diego Gaslamp 90
Downtown Doubletree Downtown San Diego 333
Downtown Embassy Suites San Diego Bay 341
Downtown Four Points by Sheraton 207
Downtown Hampton Inn San Diego Downtown 177
Downtown Hard Rock Hotel 420
Downtown Hilton San Diego Bayfront 1,190
Downtown Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter 283
Downtown Horton Grand Hotel 132
Downtown Hotel Indigo 210
Downtown Hotel Palomar 211
Downtown Hotel Salomar 235
Downtown Manchester Grand Hyatt 1,625
Downtown Omni San Diego Hotel 511
Downtown Renaissance San Diego 258
Downtown Residence Inn Downtown San Diego 121
Downtown Residence Inn Gaslamp Quarter 240
Downtown Residence Inn San Diego Downtown/Bayfront 147
Downtown San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter 306
Downtown San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina 1,360
Downtown The Bristol Hotel 102
Downtown The Sofia Hotel 211
Downtown The US Grant San Diego 270
Downtown The Westgate Hotel 223
Downtown Westin Gaslamp Quarter 450
Downtown Westin San Diego 436
Downtown Wyndham Bayside 600
TOTALS 11,205

We’ve combined all the other areas (Airport, Coronado Island, Mission Bay, Mission Valley, Old Town, and Shelter Island) into one list. Of those, only the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina offers over 1,000 rooms (1,053 to be precise) – though Town & Country comes in close with 940.

There are 7,922 (down from 8,429 in 2016, due to the loss of Comfort Inn and Suites Zoo Seaworld and Best Western Seven Seas) rooms total at these non-downtown hotels – which we’ll be honest, we were a bit surprised to see is less than the number of rooms downtown. However, these are only rooms in the hotel block negotiated by CCI, meaning there are any endless number of both hotels and rooms available outside the system.

Here’s a look at the breakdown by room:

Area Hotel Name # of Rooms
Airport Courtyard SD Airport/Liberty Station 197
Airport Hilton San Diego Airport Harbor Island 211
Airport Holiday Inn San Diego Bayside 237
Airport Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina 1,053
Coronado Island Coronado Island Marriott Resort 300
Coronado Island Hotel del Coronado 679
Mission Bay The Dana on Mission Bay 271
Mission Valley Courtyard San Diego Mission Valley 317
Mission Valley Crowne Plaza San Diego 416
Mission Valley Days Inn San Diego Hotel Circle South 280
Mission Valley Doubletree by Hilton San Diego Mission Valley 300
Mission Valley Doubletree by Hilton SD Hotel Circle 219
Mission Valley Hampton Inn San Diego Mission Valley 182
Mission Valley Handlery Hotel San Diego 217
Mission Valley Hilton San Diego Mission Valley 350
Mission Valley La Quinta Inn Mission Valley 166
Mission Valley San Diego Marriott Mission Valley 350
Mission Valley Sheraton San Diego – Mission Valley 260
Mission Valley Spring Hill Suites by Marriott Mission Valley 135
Mission Valley Town and Country Resort 940
Old Town BW Plus Hacienda Hotel Old Town SD 199
Shelter Island Bay Club Hotel and Marina 105
Shelter Island BW Plus Island Palms Hotel and Marina 227
Shelter Island Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn and Suites 182
Shelter Island Kona Kai Resort Spa and Marina 129
  TOTALS 7,922

Even assuming that most folks in town for San Diego Comic-Con are going to be rooming with other attendees, and that some get their rooms outside the system, there are only 19,127 total rooms available in the hotel sale (and that’s best case scenario, if every single room at each of those hotels was made available to attendees – and we’re very sure that’s not the case). There are well over 130,000 attendees, and while 19,127 isn’t a lot to squeeze them into, it becomes even more difficult when most of them want to stay downtown. That’s why every year after the cancellation deadline, there are still hotels available in Mission Valley and the Airport. It’s not that attendees can’t find somewhere to stay, it’s that it’s just not downtown.

Math is hard, but it’s not hard to see why Hotelpocalypse has become the monster that it has: Supply and demand, baby.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/hotelpocalypse-2017-san-diego-comic-con-hotel-size-guide/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/hotelpocalypse-2017-san-diego-comic-con-hotel-size-guide/


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READER POLL: What Is Your #1 Hotel Pick for SDCC 2017?

With the final confirmation from Comic-Con International that the hotel sale will take place on Wednesday, April 26, it’s time to start thinking about which hotels you’ll be ranking as your top six choices.

But what hotels will everyone else be choosing?

Through 5PM PT tomorrow, we’re asking our readers what is your #1 hotel choice for San Diego Comic-Con? We’ve broken out the options into areas — including Downtown, Mission Valley, and then everything else — and we’d love to hear from you. Although it won’t be exact science, the results should give a decent indication of which hotels are the most popular, and which will go the fastest.

After all, while this year you’re only required to submit one hotel total, you can submit up to six hotels downtown and six hotels elsewhere — and there can be a big difference between getting something two blocks away and a mile away. It’s always a good idea to add in a few “less in-demand” downtown hotels that you still like to your list — and this list may help with that process.

We’ll share the poll results at 6PM tomorrow night.

You can find the complete list of hotels, prices, and more information in this PDF.

Which is your #1 preferred hotel near Downtown?

Which is your #1 preferred hotel near Mission Valley?

Which is your #1 preferred hotel near the airport, Coronado Island, Shelter Island, Mission Bay, or Old Town?

Don’t forget to check out our Visual Guide to the General Hotel Sale, to familiarize yourself with the new process.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/reader-poll-what-is-your-1-hotel-pick-for-sdcc-2017/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/reader-poll-what-is-your-1-hotel-pick-for-sdcc-2017/


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Friday, April 21, 2017

Visual Guide To The San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Hotel Sale

If you thought getting a badge to San Diego Comic-Con was tough, you better buckle in for the bumpy ride that is the General Hotel Sale, or, as we lovingly call it, Hotelpocalypse. On Wednesday, April 26, attendees will try for a hotel, and just like with badge sales, some attendees will walk away disappointed.

Back again this year is most attendees’ least favorite words: randomized waiting room. Yes, the hotel sale will utilize a randomized waiting room again this year – which means that speed is no longer a determining factor in getting a hotel.

According to onPeak last year, the order in which they process your form is based on the timestamp when you gain access to the form from the waiting room. This is clearly stated on this year’s page, “The order in which requests are processed will be based on the time a guest was granted access to the form. No further randomization will take place throughout the process.”

So how does all of this work? How can you help make sure that you get the downtown hotel of your dreams (and if you’re wondering why staying downtown is so great, check out our Case for Staying Downtown and In the Gaslamp Quarter)?

So here’s a look at how it works (on the sample form), as well as how the randomization process will work.

The Process

You can view the list of hotels and prices by clicking here, with prices ranging from ranging from $180/night for one person at the Handlery Hotel, up to $352/night for the Hotel del Coronado. Most attendees will be trying for a downtown hotel in the Gaslamp, but the General Hotel Sale also includes hotels at both the airport and in Mission Valley.

onPeak requires that attendees select up to six hotel choices, in order of preference, in both Downtown and Non-Downtown sections. You are allowed to select a minimum of one hotel in either section, up to a maximum of 12 (six each in both). Research which hotels you’re interested in before the sale begins, so you’re not wasting valuable time. Before the sale begins, plan on having the following information handy:

  • Your list of hotels for each section, in order of preference (write the name exactly as it appears on the Comic-Con hotel list)
  • The amount of people staying in your room
  • The names of any roommates who are staying with you

You should have received the e-mail with a link to onPeak’s SDCC site on April 21, though it won’t go live until 8AM PT on April 26. While there is nothing on the hotel page about a limit to how many sessions you can have running, we have checked multiple email links and confirmed that they are different once you click the link. While it should be ok to share the link address in the email (https://cci.onpeak.info), we suggest you not share the address after you click the link.

Here’s where things get interesting. Just like last year, that link will take you directly to the onPeak Waiting Room. You can enter anytime between 8AM-9AM PT, though there’s no advantage to arriving early. At 9AM PT, you’ll be sorted into a random order.

When it’s your turn, you’ll be taken to the form. Here’s how the form will look:

You might be greeted with this screen:

You’ll need to select the Click Here to Start Your Request button. You’ll then be taken to the actual hotel request form, which will first give you a rundown of all the hotel options again:

Once you’ve scrolled down past this info, you’ll begin filling in your information, including your first and last name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

You’ll then be able to enter your hotel choices, with a drop-down menu for each section (Downtown or Non-Downtown). Put them in your order of preference. So if the Hard Rock Hotel is your first choice, select that hotel first. You’ll also have the option of selecting a box to indicate that if the con rate at your hotel is unavailable, if you’d like to be upgraded (at an unspecified amount) to a “higher nightly rate” room. If you don’t want to select this option, simply don’t click anything.

Once you’ve entered all of your hotels, you’ll have to choose the worst case scenario: If none of your hotel choices are available, what would you like to happen? You have four options:

  • Book me at a hotel that is closest to the convention center, regardless of rate.
  • Book me at a hotel with the lowest available rate, regardless of location.
  • Book me at any hotel that is on the shuttle route, regardless of rate or location.
  • If none of my preferred hotel choices are available, disregard my request completely.

Choose the option that makes the most sense to you, but it is worth mentioning that typically, some downtown hotels do open up after cancellations, though there’s no guarantee that will happen. This is a different set of choices than previous years so make sure you’ve read them over.

The next step is filling out the information about the kind of accommodations you’ll be needing. You’ll select the number of total rooms you’re requesting, and then for each room, the amount of beds/people. You can choose between Single (One person with one bed), Double (Two people, one bed), Twin (Two people, two beds), Triple (Three people, two beds), or Quad (Four people, two beds).

Once you’ve selected this, you’ll be prompted to enter in the first and last name for each occupant. In years past, you’ve even been able to make changes to the names and amount of occupants in a room even after paying a deposit, but there is no guarantee it will be the same this year. You’ll also need to enter your arrival and departure date.

Finally, you’ll need to checkmark all three boxes at the bottom of the screen:

  • I will provide a deposit equal to two (2) nights’ room rate by the published deadline on my reservation confirmation email or my reservations will be automatically cancelled.
  • I understand the number of beds in a room cannot be guaranteed.
  • I am submitting one form for all of my rooms.

All reservation requests last year were processed in order of the timestamp that you gained access to the form, with phone reservations being processed in a random order.

Once the maximum number of requests have been received the form will shut down and callers will no longer be able to submit a request.

Then comes the waiting game. Confirmation emails will go out in two groups on May 1 and May 8. If you choose to accept the hotel, you’ll need to pay a full two nights’ deposit plus tax before the following deadlines:

  • For reservations confirmed on May 1 the required deposit must be provided by Friday, May 5 at 12:00AM PT.
  • For reservations confirmed on May 8 the required deposit must be provided by Friday, May 12 at 12:00AM PT.

If you and a roommate each received a reservation, and your names are on both forms, onPeak will alert you that one of these reservations needs to be canceled, or they will cancel one for you.

Last year’s hotel sale was met with a lot of confusion and the “tossing” of “duplicate submissions” – though we attempted to clear some of it up with onPeak and Comic-Con International after the sale. We confirmed with onPeak that last year, duplicate submissions were based on three factors: phone number, e-mail address, or a unique identifier associated with the user’s queue/waiting room session (likely the QueueID at the bottom of the waiting room). So if you have multiple roommates working together to try to secure a room, make sure you’re using unique information.

For the last several years, the General Hotel Sale has been an absolute disaster for most attendees, full of confusing and conflicting information, a general lack of communication, and a lot of unanswered questions. Will 2017 be the year that we buck that trend?

It’s also important to note that each year, after the hotel sale, some hotels do open back up as there are cancellations. Those on the waiting list are placed first – and these usually don’t include many downtown options, but there’s always some hotels in Mission Valley or by the airport, and every year, some report being waitlisted to downtown hotels.

If Comic-Con International or onPeak reveal additional information about Wednesday’s sale, we’ll update. For right now, have all of your information on hand prior to the sale, and maybe start praying to the onPeak hotel gods.

Also be sure to read all of Comic-Con International’s FAQ.

Will you be trying for a hotel? Let us know in the comments.



from San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/visual-guide-to-the-san-diego-comic-con-2017-hotel-sale/
via http://sdccblog.com/2017/04/visual-guide-to-the-san-diego-comic-con-2017-hotel-sale/


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