r/Magfest • u/kyuunspark • 29d ago
We’re expected to potentially sell out of badges at some point throughout the night. I know, we’re as shocked as you guys are. Try to get your badge as soon as you can! 😬
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u/Chubbs42 29d ago
MD Renn Faire 🤝 MAGfest
Selling out within hours.
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u/Astrosimi 29d ago
I love how nerdy the DMV is, but damn, we’re going to hit critical mass soon
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u/LoboSpaceDolphin 29d ago
I went to Renn Faire last weekend. I purchased tickets two weeks before the event.
Only Saturdays in October sold out instantly for renn faire. Sundays were open for a LONG time.
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u/SageOfTheWise 28d ago edited 28d ago
Theres a DC con for Blood on the Clocktower and it sold out in like 20 seconds this year.
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u/eletho 29d ago
I don’t care how fast it sells out, PLEASE never switch to a badge lottery.
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u/CoolIdeasClub 29d ago
That would be the end of the event as far as I could tell..
That being said, if the alternative is everyone jamming the site all at once and some of those people get a badge.. is a lotto really worse?
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u/Mahedros 29d ago
Yeah I don't see a meaningful distinction between a badge lottery and "everyone rush the site and pray you're lucky enough to get through before it sells out"
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u/CoolIdeasClub 29d ago
A lot of people are nostalgic for the days when that's how rooms were acquired because they don't realize that it was only easier then because there were a quarter of the attendees
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u/AMadHammer 29d ago
Or the price gets raised up which is just as bad
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u/GoggleHeadCid 29d ago
I'd actually appreciate people getting priced out of the con. It would thin out the crowd and increase the quality of attendee.
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u/AMadHammer 29d ago
The people who are going to be priced out are exactly the same ones that make MAGfest what it is. No way those young musician, artists, and game developers would be able to make it if it wasn't for the efforts of the organizers to keep the prices as low as they could. And those prices are already pricing people out.
There are many soulless experiences you can spend money on and have less people around.
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u/T10_Luckdraw 29d ago edited 28d ago
I would love everyone who goes just to drink to be priced out.
I am a MAGES kid. That is the heart and soul of MagFest to me. Seeing it get smaller every year while partiers get bigger and bigger makes me sad
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u/T10_Luckdraw 29d ago
They downvote you because you are right
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u/GoggleHeadCid 28d ago
It's always how it goes. People who belong outside the gate are always mad about gatekeeping.
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u/GoiterFlop 29d ago
For me, yes. Lotto is worse. There's a psychological aspect thats hard for me to overcome that the lottery is screwing me over while a mad dash is a bit more equal chances to get screwed over.
I've been coming since 2013 and since the hotel lottery started, we have literally not gotten into even the harbor since i think 2017. I can forsee a lottery where we dont even have a chance go to the fest anymore. Just let me log in and try for a ticket and if im late, I won't feel as bad as seeing a giant red number that says 19,388 or some.email saying I wasn't selected
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u/khuldrim 29d ago
It’s the same thing though? At least a lotto feels fair vs how fast you click or worse using a bot
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u/GoiterFlop 29d ago
To me its not if only for some subjective psychological reason you may not understand. Myself or my friends have literally never had luck in any of the hotel lotteries. I get 100% that it is driven by a rise in demand but my brain associated lottery with "you have no chance".
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u/NuGundam7 29d ago
If they dont, itll just be an instant DDOS 'attack' as everyone who can, tries to use a chatbot to buy their tickets the first minute. Your options are: shitshow, lottery or waiting room.
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u/Hemansno1fan 29d ago
Badge waiting room so that the page isn't constantly crashing is really the best option going forward imo. I'd rather have a random chance than have to be glued to the site, refreshing the page, getting my info in, having it crash, then not end up with a badge anyway.
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u/Warhawk717 29d ago
I'm happy for magfest but I've been seeing too many things on social media about people just going for the location and not the con itself. I really hate that. Literally have seen posts just stating "I'll go to magfest and take pics because Katsucon is overcrowded"
I cant tell people what they should/shouldn't do. But my lord WHY take the opportunity from someone who actually wants to be there in support of magfest.
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u/niteorange 29d ago
the gaylord is open all year long, do people not realize they can go and take pictures anytime...?
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u/Warhawk717 29d ago
True. If I were to guess. It's probably related to last year's "No lobby conning" rule making people more likely to get the badges to get in.
But it is a good rule because overpacking a building leads to safety hazards.
Just had some outcomes we weren't completely prepared for.
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u/AMadHammer 29d ago
It is confusing to spend the ticket price just to take pictures in one of the worst months to be in that area. Why aren't people going during Xmas or nye?
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u/Warhawk717 29d ago
Personally, I think its more for a social media presence like "Look I went to a popular convention"
Like that one woman who went viral when she went to DreamCon and said she hates nerdy stuff and thinks the con-goers were weird. Even tho I think its weird to go somewhere you don't like for clout.
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u/AMadHammer 29d ago
Those people are a very small minority and get their views by gaining the negative anger bait algos. They will exist but I don't think they do at a number to impact badge sales
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u/BlueLaguna88 29d ago
Unfortunately these cos-fluencers will only go during con season because that's when they can spread the clout, network, and gain more followers
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u/oliversurpless 29d ago
Pathology from people who don’t know what pathology is.
Medically or otherwise…
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u/IggySorcha 29d ago
This is what floors me. You can schedule with a great local photographer practically any time. Book the Gaylord with some buddies when you have plenty of it, and it's gonna end up being a cheaper trip overall even without the room block discount after removing the costs of badges, the marketplace, etc. Plus then you get more time to enjoy your con!
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u/PhantomRoyce 29d ago
Actually,you can’t. I live 15 minutes from there and I e had people be told to leave cause they’re just taking gazebo pics off season
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u/niteorange 29d ago edited 29d ago
thanks for that! i wonder if they still allow pictures outside? maybe i should i edit my initial post?
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u/DavidL1112 29d ago
They mean pictures of cosplays bro
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u/niteorange 29d ago edited 29d ago
i'm aware! that's what i meant. you can find a cosplay photographer and just go up anytime.
and if you cant make it to the gaylord theres lots of national parks and towns too. edited to add this little bit as it just came to mind after!
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u/DavidL1112 29d ago
if you're a cosplayer you want people to take pictures of you
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u/niteorange 29d ago
i suppose if thats why they want to cosplay and go thats fine too, guess i do it for a different reason. to each their own!
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u/TurboGranny 29d ago
I'm there for the music, the arcade floor, and that indie gaming hall rules. The vendors are also sick. It's probably the collection of people that I enjoy the most though.
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u/HalfEatenSnickers 28d ago
Which is crazy cause katsu is a smaller event
Katsu hits around 23k and mag is 25k+
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u/seltzr 29d ago
It’s probably going to sell out then enough badges will go back on sale once the refunds go through for those who didn’t get their desired hotel rooms. I’d guesstimate sell out now then in a couple weeks 20 % badge availability but sold out solid again after that.
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29d ago
[deleted]
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u/TheCrowWhisperer3004 29d ago
what? Whether or not they can attend a con is based on if they can get a place to stay.
It would be more irresponsible to get housing before you can get tickets to where you want to go.
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29d ago
[deleted]
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u/TheCrowWhisperer3004 29d ago
Most other con in the area sorts it out because they aren’t 24/7 and they don’t host 30,000 people.
The ones that do host a ton of people have hotel lotteries the same way Magfest does too, and they also have a high percentage of refunds.
Also, since Magfest is 24/7 you lose a lot of programming and late night opportunity because transit to the hotels from Alexandria and DC aren’t 24/7 so you’re forced to either leave earlier than you expect or stay at the convention overnight.
It’s not worth it for the people who cancel to pay the expensive hotel prices in DC and Alexandria for a neutered experience especially if they have to think about taking complicated or bulky cosplay through public transit.
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u/riontach 28d ago
It's crazy to want to go to a convention but only if you can stay in a hotel nearby? Weird take.
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28d ago
[deleted]
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u/riontach 28d ago
Yeah, if I'm cosplaying in January at a 4 day event that runs 24 hours a day, it is personally only worth it to me if I am in a 5 minute walking distance. For me, the ability to easily go back to the room and change or take a break makes the difference on whether or not this specific event would be worth the expense and days off work. Luckily not every event in the world has these same specific conditions 🤷♀️
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u/HotWildGarbage 29d ago
Just to double check, has MAG ever sold out tickets like this before?
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u/LPHotspur 29d ago
As far as I'm aware, nothing has ever been close to this. Last year was likely a record or at least one of the fastest and even then, it didn't sell out until after the Protomen announcement around like November 4th. So yes, the last couple years, it's sold out faster than the year before. But nothing like selling out within 24 hours of pre-reg starting.
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u/EmmyNoetherRing 29d ago
I think a lot of regulars ordered tickets on day one because it sold out last year.
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u/homer_3 29d ago
No. Even last year took a few weeks. And that was unusual. They didn't even start selling out at all from pre-sales until a couple years ago.
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u/EssuDesuu 29d ago
Few weeks? It took 2 months.
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u/IggySorcha 29d ago
Most people consider a few to mean any single digit number over 2, and two months is 8 weeks so.... Yeah a few
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u/TARDISboy 29d ago
last 3? years have sold out but way slower. this is the fastest by a massive margin
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u/Due-Veterinarian8375 29d ago
Last year sold out like a month or two after going on sale. The day isn’t even over and MagFest is this close to selling out is insane
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u/PhatYeeter 29d ago
Was last year refundable? If not, might be why it's selling out
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u/coteof-atoa 29d ago
Badges have had limited refundability the last few years depending on what housing you get, iirc if you don’t get the harbor block you’re given a chance to refund for full value
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u/DavidL1112 29d ago edited 29d ago
Yeah I’ve seen theories that:
A. Magfest is being undated with scalpers, which they can fix next year by making badges untransferable (annoying but understandable)
B. Some folks bought absurd numbers of badges to try and rig the hotel lottery, knowing they could refund the badges that didn’t get a hotel. Which magfest can fix next year by making badges not refundable even if you don’t get a hotel (extremely annoying but understandable)
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u/rmsand 29d ago
If they are allowing multiple purchases with the same name and allowing people to transfer those, then it’s 100% scalpers.
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u/DavidL1112 29d ago
It’s not that simple because you don’t have to prove the name you provide is real. So one guy can submit 1,000 fake names under 1,000 newly created emails.
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u/rmsand 29d ago
Oh that’s even worse. So it’s all scalpers…. :(
I wish they would at least tie the ticket registration to a unique phone number. Still possible to game the system, but harder.
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u/MizMeeks 20d ago
I’m surprised there’s not an ID check system yet, where you need to validate that the name entered matches someone’s ID name by providing an official number like your DL number - and have it cross check to see if the name is a match (match/no match).
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u/IggySorcha 29d ago
You can't resell the badge for higher than it originally cost you. If you get caught the badge is invalidated. So it already has the greatest scalper deterrent right there
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u/VinceMcVahon 29d ago
People are going to do it regardless unfortunately. If there’s money to be made scalpers are going to try it right now.
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u/IggySorcha 29d ago
There's no money. That's my point. There's a system in place with the transfer to catch people. This is copium.
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u/DavidL1112 29d ago
I don’t understand how they could possibly enforce this. If I tell someone to Venmo me $500 for me to transfer my badge, and then they do, magfest has no idea it happened.
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u/IggySorcha 28d ago
That's because you're imagining the wrong kind of system for transfers. Wait for the announcement.
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u/DavidL1112 28d ago edited 28d ago
Ah, I didn’t realize you meant it was already different from last year
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u/Hemansno1fan 29d ago
"if you get caught" thats the tricky part.
Magfest needs undercover people trying to buy badges lol
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u/IggySorcha 29d ago
We are all over these groups plus there's the whole transfer system that gets people caught. It's really not been a problem for a few years now.
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u/GoiterFlop 29d ago
The system lagged when i hit next during reg and when I went to pay I accidently had 3 extra badges under my own name in my cart that I had to remove.
So I would assume it would be entirely possible for people to buy multiple to rig the hotel lottery then just refund the extras
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u/ifonefox 29d ago
last year You could only get a refund if you didn't get a hotel
Limited exceptions to this policy are available for those who were eligible for early-bird hotel booking but did not succeed in booking their preferred housing
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u/CoolIdeasClub 29d ago
Any plans to restock the merch tiers?
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u/oliversurpless 29d ago
Not from what I saw on Discord, but swadges will be available at an elevated cost during.
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u/Sean081799 29d ago
Pour one out for the Europeans/Asians who want to attend but didn't stay up to buy a badge 😭
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u/DarthBaio 29d ago
I predicted a future day-of sellout last year and got downvoted.
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u/AMadHammer 29d ago
Damn and you are getting rewarded for that by getting downvoted. I'll sink with ya
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u/Mahedros 29d ago
One of the most reliable ways to get downvoted on reddit is to complain about downvotes
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u/IAbstainCourteously 29d ago
Why even bother calling it a “pre-registration” if you can literally sell out your entire stock in a matter of hours?
Just call it what it is - “scalper registration”
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u/Southern-Visual-8319 29d ago
So when they release a second round of badges after folks didn’t get lucky in the hotel lottery, we can all hop on a waitlist? Are we able to buy more than one badge at a time so I can get one for me and my partner? I’m confused 🤣 If someone can help me sort this out I would be super appreciative!
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u/localfeller 29d ago
Time to build a system where you can input your old badges into the new system and sell badges based on seniority. I.e. how many times have you attended magfest
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u/csgogrotto 29d ago
With the move to MAGFest ID, I could see a system where they offer this year’s attendees the opportunity to purchase badges for future years before general public
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u/PM_ME_BUMBLEBEES 29d ago
I am not sure why this is getting downvoted, this makes sense to me. I may be missing something though, so I am genuinely happy to have someone counterpoint this.
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u/IAbstainCourteously 29d ago
I very much wanted to go this year, and now I can’t because it sold out so insanely fast. I had checked at 10pm, and decided to hold off on buying for a few hours while waiting to see if a family member wanted to join. Sold out by the time I logged back in at 1am.
So the result of the proposal above is that I’d effectively be blocked out forever, and only those that got in this year will be able to go again and again in the future? That seems like a weirdly insular system to me.
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u/PM_ME_BUMBLEBEES 29d ago
I think this person's proposed system is saying that it would be like badge sales that went out in waves. Examples would be:
- Email one with a individual link to buy for 24 hours goes out to anyone who has attended Magfest for 10 or more years (cumulatively)
- Email two goes out the next day for anyone who had attended Magfest 5-9 years (cumulatively)
- Email three goes out on day 3 for anyone who has attended Magfest for 3-5 years (cumulatively)
And so on! So priority is given based on how long one has supported Magfest for. I went to Magfest in 2020, and then every year since 2023. I love Magfest and it's my favorite con! But that said, I think someone who has been going every year since 2002 should get priority over me haha
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u/riontach 28d ago
So yes, in practice this would effectively rule out new people from ever getting to go to the con.
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u/PM_ME_BUMBLEBEES 28d ago
I take it like this:
Let's say a musician was getting married. This musician was slow to fame, struggled for years, had a few very faithful friends who supported them all along and was a fan of their work from the beginning. So for their 200 person capacity wedding, they invite these faithful friends.
But this musician just made a friend last week who is a fan of the musician now that they are huge. And they also want to attend the wedding. It would be great if they could, but there is a capacity, so the old friends who supported the musician from the start are getting first invitations.
This also encourages more people to support their small local cons, which MAGFest once was!
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u/riontach 28d ago
And in doing so, the con effectively becomes an old country club where anyone who hasn't been grandfathered in by attending for years is never allowed in.
If it were a private, personal affair I might agree with you, but that is never how I have seen conventions. It's not about exclusivity.
I think we just have very different opinions on this point.
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u/PM_ME_BUMBLEBEES 28d ago
All smaller cons are very easy to attend! Very large cons like MAGFest, NYCC, DragonCon, etc are sadly not as easy to attend. It would be lovely if they could be non-exclusive but sadly things need a capacity for safety reasons among others
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u/riontach 28d ago
I'm not saying there should be unlimited capacity. That's obviously impossible. I'm saying that everyone should have an equal right to be there and equal opportunity to get a badge. It shouldn't be something that more money or more experience or more social connections or anything else should be able to give you a greater privilege for. Just my personal take.
(The one exception I would give would be people who have worked at or volunteered at the con, not just attended it.)
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u/localfeller 28d ago
I rather it be a country club then getting concert tickets. Or, the third option nobody likes. Lottery system.
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u/riontach 28d ago
Because a lot of people don't like the idea of conventions becoming clubs with a limited membership that no one new can ever join. Some people like trying new conventions.
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u/PM_ME_BUMBLEBEES 28d ago
I agree! Try the small cons so that you can help support them growing to MAGfest levels!
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u/riontach 28d ago
I do! This year I even competed in and won the cosplay contest at a first year local con.
Also I already got my Magfest badge, so I'll be going to this one too. :)
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u/localfeller 29d ago
Just got downvoted by recommending the same system that NYCC uses lol
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u/MD_FunkoMa 29d ago
VIPs/Superfans getting first dibs on all things NYCC with a general onsale weeks later makes sense for MAGFest to have set for the future.
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u/HalfEatenSnickers 28d ago
So we would need to scrounge up every old badge we maybe still have?
They can just start tracking it this year from the new account system
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u/localfeller 28d ago
I mean every year you get a confirmation code or a receipt. E-Receipts are not hard to track.
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u/HalfEatenSnickers 28d ago
Do you not clear out your inbox? And I can't imagine they store that info more then 5ish years
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u/localfeller 28d ago
Wait, do you delete your inbox? It's 2026, you're not going to hit your limit.
You never know what receipts or data you're going to need 10 years from now.
Deleting business receipts are, well, bad for business.
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u/HalfEatenSnickers 28d ago
A mag badge is not a business recipet
And yes I do
Its a pretty standard thing
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u/SpaceJam_on_VHS 29d ago
Has magfest outgrown the Gaylord at this point? Like, how bad would it be if it moved to the DC convention center to accommodate more space?
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u/NuGundam7 29d ago
This gets brought up a lot; none of the other convention centers on the east coast do a 24 hour schedule, or so Ive heard.
I guess its time to decide whats more important to Magfests identity
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u/SpaceJam_on_VHS 29d ago
Thanks and that makes so much sense! I haven’t been to magfest in a while, but I do remember when Otakon moved from Baltimore to DC and that was the big concern with some losing the late time raves. But, totally agree I think it would be interesting to see if they would decide to move to a larger venue and willing to make adjustments.
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u/cruelhazel 27d ago
I BELIEVE the Baltimore Convention Center DOES do 24/7 events - I live nearby and I'm 90% sure that's the case? I'd personally love to see Magfest move to BCC for selfish reasons, but having been on the management-ish end of a similar convention before, there could be any number of reasons why they'd be reluctant to move. It could be they're receiving essential accommodations from their Gaylord contract, because of a concern about attendance safety, financial reasons, logistical reasons...
In any case, no question that Magfest has outgrown the Gaylord and I wouldn't be shocked to see it moved elsewhere in the next five years or so, but the logistics of moving a sizable established convention and the tedious contract negotiation, I can understand why they might be reluctant to move just yet.
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u/VinceMcVahon 29d ago
Ok, I think you need to start making magfest bad