Author Topic: WonderCon Tips  (Read 54809 times)

Offline rabbitwarren

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WonderCon Tips
« on: February 19, 2013, 11:38:18 AM »
I have a meeting in Los Angeles and decided to check out WonderCon.  I've been to SDCC before and some smaller cons, but never to WonderCon.  I was wondering what to expect in terms of lines. I want to see the Superman animated feature  Do I have to line up 3 hours in advance to see it?  If there is some entertainment production there like I saw community and Ridley Scott were last year, what are the lines for those? 

is the Swag any good at WonderCon? 

Offline oneroomdisco

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2013, 12:25:36 PM »
Swag last year was very lacking.  Marvel gave out two different kind of Avengers posters and Viz was giving out the bags they give out at SDCC as well as lanyards for various series (they had a Blue Exorcist one, which made me super happy as it's one of my all time favorite series).  HBO also had a Game of Thrones photo booth where you head would appear on a pike.  The Sound of My Voice was also giving out buttons/pins, but the panel was super weird, so I didn't go after those.  I actually got more/better swag from the Saturday movie panels, where we got lenticular Prometheus and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter posters, Battleship sketch posters, and Weyland Industries cards.

Last year, Saturday was movie day (all done in the main ballroom, which has a capacity somewhere near Ballroom 20)--The Sound of My Voice, Prometheus (which what Ridley Scott was there for), Snow White and the Huntsmen, Battleship, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Lockout, and The Amazing Spider-Man (which, along with Prometheus, was the bigest draw of the day).  I got in line around 8:30 a.m. and ended up six or seven rows from the front (which was awesome).  From what I remember, you didn't absolutely need to line up early if you got there just before/during The Sound of My Voice (which was the first panel of the day).  As it got closer to Prometheus the room started to really fill up and there did end up being a substantial line of people who couldn't get in for it.  A fair amount of people left after Prometheus/during some of the other panels and more people did manage to get in, but by the time the Amazing Spider-Man rolled around, the room was once again packed and people were being asked to identify where empty seats were (since there were tons of people outside).

This is very specific to last year and the way things were scheduled (the two most popular panels being on opposite ends of the day), but in general, I would recommend looking at the schedule and trying to gauge how popular certain things are + how close you want to be (which, if you want to be close, close, requires effort, but a lot less than at Comic Con).  Also, it's worth noting, that if you want to be right in the front, you'll probably need to be there well before the hall opens irregardless of what you're interested in.  From my experience at WonderCon and SDCC, the vast majority of people in the very closest section camp the room for the entire day.

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Re: WonderCon Tips
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Yzrfan

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2013, 04:21:31 PM »
Yes, last years WC swag was kind of lacking. Hopefully since this is WC second year in Anaheim the swag will be better. With the rumors of CCI possibly moving SDCC and their desire to  have a spring con, you would think CCI would ask for the vendors to break out the swag. Bring the swag and the nerds will come.   

Offline perc2100

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2013, 04:44:37 PM »
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Yes, last years WC swag was kind of lacking. Hopefully since this is WC second year in Anaheim the swag will be better. With the rumors of CCI possibly moving SDCC and their desire to  have a spring con, you would think CCI would ask for the vendors to break out the swag. Bring the swag and the nerds will come.

I don't know; it seems logical that the vendors (many of the big ones who give out free stuff also go to Comic-Con) save their stuff for the higher-profile San Diego Comic-Con. 
I wasn't expecting a lot of swag, but the Game of Throwns thing was pretty damn cool, the Marvel posters were awesome (as were the "take a pic with Captain America's shield + Thor's Mjölnir), DC & Marvel were giving out a ton of comics like Comic-Con (including first print New 52 No. 1's), and I snagged a pretty rad Amazing Spider-Man t-shirt as well.  I missed that panel, but they were handing them out outside of the convention center.

Offline perc2100

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2013, 04:50:53 PM »
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I have a meeting in Los Angeles and decided to check out WonderCon.  I've been to SDCC before and some smaller cons, but never to WonderCon.  I was wondering what to expect in terms of lines. I want to see the Superman animated feature  Do I have to line up 3 hours in advance to see it?  If there is some entertainment production there like I saw community and Ridley Scott were last year, what are the lines for those? 

is the Swag any good at WonderCon?

I attended Wonder-Con last year for the first last year and it was a blast.  The crowds were no where near as huge as Comic-Con.  The programming was fun: it reminded me of what the programming was like in the really early 00's when I first started going to SD Comic-Con.  There were some good movie panels (LOVED the Prometheus panel + footage), there were some new/intriguing film panels (the SOUND OF MY VOICE panel was weirdish, but the movie is pretty great), there were some great comic panels, etc.  The vendors were OK: no where near as massive as Comic-Con but much more respectable than most smaller/local conventions I've attended. 

I really enjoyed myself last year, and I look forward to attending next month!

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2013, 05:34:24 PM »
DC usually hands out buttons and comics first thing in the morning. DC should always be your first stop when you enter the show!

With WonderCon, if you follow the 'get there 1 or 2 panels in advance' rule, you will get in and probably get a pretty good seat. For the movie premiere, I don't think you need to line up 3 hours in advance. If the room has been cleared beforehand (i.e. if it's not immediately after a panel) then an hour should be plenty! I'm betting the room won't even be full.

Offline kappolo

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2013, 08:13:12 PM »
Last year at WonderCon I entered all the panels, movies, ... I wanted couple of minutes before they started. In some of them I didn't get great seats, but good seats nonetheless.
It was way more relaxing than comic con!

Offline Hidajunshin

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2013, 03:40:01 PM »
I only went on Saturday last year but it was so easy to get into a panel room.  I mean, I just walked into the ballroom for the Prometheus panel, the way you used to be able to at SDCC many many moons ago.  And we got a really close seat for the Masquerade, too.  As far as the swag goes, it's pretty light, much like the same way SDCC used to be back in the day.

Yzrfan

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WonderCon Tips
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2013, 04:13:25 PM »
The longest lines last year seemed to be for the HBO/GOT photo of your head on a spike and the one to get your picture with Captain America's shield and Mjolnir.

Offline perc2100

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2013, 05:02:09 PM »
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I only went on Saturday last year but it was so easy to get into a panel room.  I mean, I just walked into the ballroom for the Prometheus panel, the way you used to be able to at SDCC many many moons ago.

Last year Wonder-Con really seemed to have that old-school Comic-Con vibe from the late 90's/early 00's when I first started going.  I think that might be why I liked it so much: if the weather wasn't so crummy I think it would've been perfect

Offline rabbitwarren

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2013, 06:51:53 PM »
Thanks for all the tips.  I'm already looking forward to a leisurely stroll through the exhibition area without having to worry about crowds or trying to get into this panel or that. 

Offline Hidajunshin

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2013, 04:49:54 PM »
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Last year Wonder-Con really seemed to have that old-school Comic-Con vibe from the late 90's/early 00's when I first started going.  I think that might be why I liked it so much: if the weather wasn't so crummy I think it would've been perfect

Exactly! 

Offline theresamather

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2013, 10:27:39 AM »
I was an exhibitor at WC last year. Some of the reasons swag may have been extra scarce: there was very little time to plan for the con. The location was secured pretty late in the game, and people didn't even know if there would be a WC until pretty late. You had to put in an exhibitor interest form with no dates or locations, and it wasn't a commitment- when everything was finalized, you decided to apply officially or not. Secondly, no one knew how turnout would be. When Gencon tried to start up in the same location, it drew very few people compared to Gencon Indy, and perhaps it made vendors who had experienced that a little cautious. For this year, the convention center arena has been secured in addition to a larger exhibit area, I'm not sure if that will be used for the masquerade or as a "hall H", the map of the exhibit hall hasn't even been posted for exhibitors yet and layouts for "major" booths are only due now so it may yet be awhile.  :)

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: WonderCon Tips
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2013, 11:33:09 AM »
Thanks for the background info, Theresa! That's really interesting. I didn't realize it was such a 'last minute rush' for the exhibitors! And knowing that this year they've booked out more space gives me high hopes for this event.

Yzrfan

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WonderCon Tips
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2013, 01:00:27 PM »
Thanks for the info.