SDCC 2024 Open Registration – Mostly Smooth
by Transmute Jun
San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2024 open registration as held on Saturday, November 18. As in prior years, fans were able to enter a waiting room at 8:00 am Pacific time, and then get put into a randomized queue at 9:00 am. For the most part, the sale went smoothly. Unlike the 2024 returning registration sale, people were let into the buying screen at a slow enough pace to keep everything moving, and the buying system did not crash. Badge types sold out at a pace similar to last year’s open registration sale, suggesting that the system was working for everyone who got in to purchase.
| Open Registration | 2024 Sellout | 2023 Sellout |
| Preview Night | 9:28 | 9:32 |
| Saturday | 9:42 | 9:45 |
| Friday | 9:51 | 9:54 |
| Thursday | 10:13 | 10:17 |
| Sunday | 10:14 | 10:21 |
There were a few glitches for people who only needed Preview Night badges (ie: those who had purchased 4 days in returning registration but had not been able to secure Preview Night). Comic Con International (CCI) had sent out an email to these attendees before the sale, instructing them on how to purchase Preview Night. They had to click on a tab that said, ‘Buy Preview Night’ and then validate their badges. Unfortunately after this step, many people were not able to add Preview night to their cart, even though it had not yet sold out. FoCC Blog spoke with a number of people who were trying to purchase Preview Night only, and only 20% of them were able to successfully add Preview Night to their carts. The remainder were frustrated as they were unable to purchase the add-on, even though they had reached the buying screen on time. The system for buying Preview Night is different from buying other days, which clearly was causing technical issues. Hopefully, in the future, the Preview Night option will be listed next to the other days, to avoid this confusion.
Regardless of this glitch, many attendees were able to purchase badges, and are now eagerly looking forward to next July.
Did you participate in SDCC 2024 open registration? Join the conversation on the FoCC forums!
