Just like that, as quickly as badges for the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International went on sale Saturday morning, they sold out, event organizers confirmed.
According to David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for Comic-Con, this summer’s comic book and pop culture event is now completely sold out. As in previous years, Glanzer said organizers put a cap at 130,000 attendees -- which includes fans, vendors, volunteers and organizers.
Glanzer said he wasn’t sure how many of those badges actually sold Saturday morning, as organizers don’t tally that number separately from the overall number of badges sold or issued throughout the distribution process.
He did, however, say that all available badges sold out within an hour-and-a-half Saturday morning. General admission badge sales officially began at 9 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., every ticket to the event had vanished.
For Saturday’s badge sale, customers were encouraged to log onto the Comic-Con website by 7 a.m.
In order to participate in the sale, prospective attended needed to have already obtained a unique Member ID from Comic-Con. Those eligible to partake in Saturday’s sale received an email notice ahead of time with instructions.
Now, as experienced Comic-Con fans know, the event is notoriously known to sell out quickly each year.
Still, that didn’t keep Comic-Con hopefuls who couldn’t snag a ticket this time from feeling the disappointment.
Many took to Twitter to express their frustrations.
I have been wanting to go to #ComicCon for years. Last year was the best time to go but it was a war to get any tickets. Someday.... — Jennifer (@kojaky) March 15, 2014
Damn man I can't wait for comic con to not be trendy again so the tickets won't sell out so quick. — Eddard (@SameOLEddie) March 15, 2014
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“Sure, you can be show where to KNOCK on the Comic-Con reg door – doesn’t mean they answer. #ComicConTickets,” tweeted user @JayGurl73.
“Three hours in an online waiting room for San Diego Comic-Con tickets and got nothing…Maybe next year?” a tweet from @hamptonbriana17 read.
Some of the lucky fans who were able to snatch a badge also went on Twitter to celebrate.
“Going to Comic-Con this year OMG,” tweeted @KVTLVDY.
“So far so good today, managed to snag Comic-Con tickets for 2 days,” user @BadServo posted on Twitter.
“After three years of trying to get tickets, I’m finally going to Comic-Con this year,” rejoiced user @bieberhermosa.
In the past, the Comic-Con ticket sales website has experienced glitches and hiccups, including in November 2010 when fans trying to purchase tickets to the 2011 convention were met with frustrating error messages as the website crashed during the high-traffic frenzy for badges.
In 2013, more than 130,000 people managed to snag badges and attend San Diego Comic-Con. Last year’s event offered more than 600 hours of programming spanning 460,000-square-feet of exhibit hall space at the San Diego Convention Center.
By the way, this year’s Comic-Con kicks off on Jul. 24. Badge prices for adults ranged from $30 to $45 per day, depending on the day. On Thursday (Jul. 24), Friday (Jul. 25) and Saturday (Jul. 26), for example, the cost of a one-day badge was $45.
Comic-Con was born in 1970 in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel in the heart of San Diego. Over the decades, the “little event that could” has grown into a behemoth, taking over the Convention Center, neighboring hotels and downtown San Diego for a long summer weekend every year.
Comic-Con’s fervent fans typically attend the convention in elaborate costumes, transforming the city into a metropolis straight out of the pages of fantasy and science fiction. The event has also become famous for celebrity sightings.
