So there I was, elated as all get-out to be heading to San Diego for Comic Con. My hotel has been reserved for a while, and I’ve been keeping an eye on airline tickets prices and availability of passes for the con itself. The 4-day passes sold out a couple weeks ago, but individual day passes were still advertised as available on the sidebar of every page of the Comic Con website.
I started to register for passes, knowing that I would have have to buy individual passes for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On page 3 of the registration process, there is devastating news next to the check box to buy a pass for Saturday:
THIS SELECTION IS SOLD OUT.
I couldn’t quite believe it. I’d been so patient and finally had all my ducks in a row, and then at THIS STAGE I find out that my plans are all crap?
Then I checked eBay for secondary marketing pricing… we’re talking about $200 for just an adult Saturday pass, that originally cost $35, and double that for the 4-day pass that originally cost $75. The trip is going to be expensive enough as it is, and I detest the idea of paying several times the original cost of anything on the “gray” market.
WTF am I going to do? Ben felt really bad when I told him yesterday, and probably worse because I was pretty upset about it. It’s not the end of the world, so in that respect I feel my attitude is immature… but it’s been a long time since I really had my heart set on something and then had it ingloriously yanked away from me.
Thursday and Friday tickets are still available at the original price, but I know that Saturday is the biggest day and I’m still trying to figure out if it’s worth going for just the first two days. I don’t have long to decide, because Friday tickets are closer to being sold out. How do I know this? Oh, there’s this hidden page on the Comic Con website (that I found yesterday after spiraling into panic) that is quite helpful because it shows the percentage of tickets sold for each individual day. WHY DIDN’T I FIND THAT SOONER? Oh, beacuse it’s conveniently bypassed when you click on the “Register Online Now” link that’s on the right, which takes you immediately to registration form. Did I mention that under that link, on every page, there’s a bright blue banner that advertises One-Day Memberships Still Available! and lists Saturday with no mention of being sold out. Frustrating, to say the least.
In any case, I don’t have long to make my decision. I’m still leaning towards going, but it’s going to be very tough knowing that I will be forced to skip all of Saturday’s events.
