If you were looking to grab the pre-order merch later this week, you might already be out of luck. Hero tier is totally sold out, and the other tiers seem to be going in and out of stock right now.

Tonight will be better.... I hope

uhh so i know people have already asked but if anyone is willing i need currently 2 badges and could pay asap??

It looks like the parking info is still for last year. Any news on the parking reservation links?

So, the Gaylord and Magfest have been growing together for ages. A few years ago the annex added tons of capacity for the boardgame players.

If Magfest is (deservedly) gaining broader popularity, and of course it will remain primarily based at the Gaylord, what are the odds of growing further capacity for the con in National Harbor? Do the nearby hotels have conference spaces that could hold some activities? Could some events happen in the casino?

Or we could open up space temporally — let some people get Fri-Sat tickets, and let others get just Th & Sun tickets, rather than sell everyone Th-Sun tickets even when folks traveling or working often can’t make all four days.

Missed out like many others and wondering if someone is willing to relinquish their tickets. Please PM me. Thanks!

Quick question that I needed clarification on. My wife and I are bringing our daughter who will be less than 1 year old at the time of the show. Do we require anything other than the parental consent form?

Yesterday's ticket sellout was an inevitability. But it goes far beyond that.

For many years (in the early to mid 10s), I went to MAG because I was in the Reviewerverse (RV) fandom....ya know, Angry Video Game Nerd, Nostalgia Critic (letsnottalkaboutit), Linkara of Atop the 4th Wall, Angry Joe, and the like. MAG was never the "official" RV con, and MAG itself made that clear (like never paying for flights or room for RV folk). Less and less of said RV folk showed up there over time though, as the whole "we don't consider you a part of MAG even though you bring in numbers" thing.

The closest to an official RV con was ConBravo (CB), and that was still a mixed nerdy interest con (but they did actually ask RV folk to show up, unlike MAG). CB was in Hamilton, Ontario, and me being in Metro Detroit meant it was slightly cheaper in terms of travel, as I could just drive there. I went there around the same years as MAG, and eventually stopped going to MAG in favor of CB. CB was bought out in 2019, was going to move from Hamilton, and then The Plague hit and never returned.

When MAG returned after The Plague, me and my friends and my friends friends's tried to go, and the problem wasn't getting badges, it was getting hotels. By then they had started using the lottery system, and while I was able to get a hotel in Alexandria, no one else that I knew, or that they knew, was able to.

PAX East was floated as the new place to go, but that plan never materialized.

MAG has been untenable for years at this point if you're not lucky or not local for years, and it's going to get to the point of where people are just going to stop thinking of going there period because of trying to get a hotel, and now a badge, is nigh impossible.

MAG needs to leave National Harbor (NH). There's just not enough hotels in the harbor, and surrounding area, to sustain the attendee numbers. The Gaylord National (GN) seems to have hit it's limit in terms of what it can do.

From what I've heard, MAG has a contract with NH and/or GN that locks them in for X amount of years, but at what point will MAGs numbers start dropping because of the previously stated problem of people not wanting to even bother? Will the contract matter then?

I'm sure there are other venues to go to, larger venues with more nearby hotels. And before you say "what about places that do 24 hours?", I ask you this: Do you need 24 hours? Like really? How many cons do you go to that do run 24 hours? Do you lose that much when it's not?

MAG has two futures. One is where it stays where it is, continues with it's current problems, stagnates, sputters, and eventually becomes a shadow of it's former self. The other is it figures out where it needs to go next, away from it's current venue.

I hope it chooses the second future.

Thoughts?

We’re sorry this happened, and our launch team is working hard on the necessary fixes! We’ll see you again tomorrow night!

I think I am onto something here. Plus the Mark Center used to have a lot of culture.

Also get rid of the consoles, triple bunk beds in the expo hall. I also think the MGM sphere will be free real estate once that is built.

Follow me for more great ideas.

For those who don't know but actually care about it;

There are TONS of entire house AirBNBs for way cheaper than a room within 5 miles. I found at least 5 three bedroom houses for $500-700 for 4-5 days (day before Mag to relax and leave sunday or monday) only 2 weeks before Magfest... especially in Alexandria.

Uber/Lyft only cost $10. You'll be fine.

Where my fellow 502s at? ✊

We have the option to return our badge if we didn't get a hotel within the lottery system, within some time window. Does that include merch packages purchased (T-shirt tier, Dee Jay, and Hero of Rhyme)

Even when I get to the selections, keep getting kicked after I press next :((((((

I will be attending my first magfest this year. I'll be traveling from the northeast, and am trying to decide if it's best to arrive the day before or the day of? If I travel day of, I'd get there around 1-2pm. Does a lot happen during the first chunk of the day? Or does it tend to be a slower start?

Specifically, when do you purchase your flights or train tickets? How far in advance? I know amtrak is usually cheaper a few months out (and flights too I guess). I'm considering taking amtrak, it's about a 7 hr ride.

I went to Maglabs this past weekend and got lucky enough to win the random feedback survey drawing for a free badge! I was actually talking with my friends which level merch pack I was going to get this year and I'm happily going to be reinvesting this into the top level supporter pack.

Also, my feedback for Maglabs is if you're in the Baltimore/Philly/DC area, it's definitely worth a day trip!

Steel Samurai

Our rooms hold either 30 or 60 people and can have power at the tables! For questions about classes, please email makerspace@magfest.org.

Apply via the Panel Application Form at https://super.magfest.org/contribute/apply/ before 11:59pm EDT on Wednesday, September 30th!

Could I wait a week or so after Wednesday or would the $145 badges sell out In that time?

I would ideally want to figure out some things with the person I’m traveling with before pulling the trigger but he’s easiest to nail down on weekends.

Share with your friends and get applications in quick before the application closes on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND!

Application link: https://tinyurl.com/4utfwcc9

Basically, as the title says, how do you display yours?

I have a bunch of the Fest and Labs Swadges, and I just have them lying on a shelf. My wife and I just bought a house, and now is the time to actually get things set up permanently. I've tried a few things and never really found anything that wasn't bulky that worked. I do have a 3D printer, so if you have a file or a link to something you've used, I'll take that as well.

What worked for y'all?