SWC19 SWCC Panels and Programming (and Queuing)

So for a Thursday-only pass do you need to queue overnight to get in? There isn't any programming, but I know a lot of people are still showing up. I'll want to arrive early, at any rate.

 

No need to queue overnight. That's only for major panels.

 

But even getting into the show floor might have its delays, so at the very least expect to arrive early for queuing. Plenty of people will be going for what's available on Thursday anyhow (exclusives, autographs/photos, Celebration store).

 

Thursday is going to be an odd one. Show floor opens at 13:00 instead of 10:00, no panels. I'm sure some will arrive crazy early anyway, but unless you just have to be the first person on show floor and plan to hit as many exclusives as you can the moment the doors open then you probably won't need to be there that early.

The only thing that might happen before the show floor opens is Hasbro wristbands for their exclusive figure (it was a wristband in Orlando, just a flyer with a time slot on it in London). In London and Orlando they began giving these out at 6am (same time as wristbands). There's no panels, therefore no wristbands, or panel reservations or whatever the "new system" is, on Thursday so even if Hasbro go with the same system we have no way of know what time they will begin giving them out on Thursday. I'd use whatever time they announce as a rough guide to how early people will get there. No one is queuing for good seats, it's literally to get a jump on exclusives, show store and autograph lines, and you can only pick one of them to hit first. People will get there early, but it won't be anything like the over nights. My best guess is 9am, 4 hours before show floor opens as that matches up with the traditional 6am distribution for 10am opening, but it is just a guess. There will be people there at 9am, heck there will be some there earlier, but I'd guess at the big crowds forming 10:30-11ish. All you're doing is queuing to get in after all.

 

Just a heads up, day one in Orlando took forever for people to get inside and through security. It was fine after that, but just be aware of the potential for first day problems.

 

To be honest, 9am seems even a bit late to line up for a 1pm start time. Don't underestimate Star Wars fans, they'll be there plenty early.

 

Yeah, people will be there earlier, but if the Hasbro figure is the only wristband I'd expect only the diehards (like us ) to be there earlier.

That's not to say there won't be a second line with people already queuing for the IX panel...

 

Haha, I've thought of this. I'm not sure that the bash crowd and the campers crowd overlap that much though.

 

Haha I must admit when they announced the bash for that night I did think that’s 3000 people I don’t have to worry about

Yeah, I expect some will queue from Thursday AM. I’m crossing my fingers the combination of Thursday being a Show day, plus likely having to queue outside until 8pm (hope for cold weather ), plus the bash, plus the increased seating capacity will be enough that I can at least get some show floor time on Thursday without worrying!

 

I think what will end up happening on Thursday is a lot of groups will set up shop in the queue, and then throughout the day people will alternate from waiting in the queue and going into the show floor. That's how it's done every year at SDCC with people who line up days in advance for Hall H panels. It works perfectly fine, just as long as people are courteous and let the other people around them know they'll be doing that. And also don't just bring in a bunch of new people towards the end who hadn't been there at all earlier in the day.

Which raises another question, because now I'm wondering if there will be separate queues on Thursday. One that goes directly into the show floor for the day, and one that is for the opening panel the following day. In that case, people who are in the queue for Friday's panel will just have to wait for the show floor queue to all go in, and then they'd be able to start their alternating. Or if you have multiple people in your group, just split up for the time being until the people who were the Thursday queue return.

I suggest some of us ought to get together and do something like that. When it gets closer we can figure it out.

@Padme501st: If your friend wants to queue up with myself and anyone else from here who wants to, she's more than welcome to. Since you have VIP and won't need to. If she doesn't want to queue by herself and doesn't have anyone else to do it with, let her know we can team up if she wants. We can talk more about that later on.

 

The thing that can make queuing on Thursday for Friday inside a little tricky for ReedPop is that there will be people with Friday badges, but not Thursday, wanting to line up. They got around this for TLJ panel since they moved the line inside at 8 after the floor closed.

 

Yeah, my best guess is the queue will be outside and then move into the queue hall at 8pm when the show floor closes for the day. They could let people into the queue hall earlier (once the Thursday morning crowd have gone in) but that would require the queue hall to be before security and I'm not sure how they'd work that.

@MotivateR5D4 definitely up for some sort of group line up when the time comes

 

@MotivateR5D4 thanks for the thought, she’s totally game. We’ll have another friend too and he is cool with it too.

I’m really wondering how panels are going to go. Like if I get in early and save y’all a seat close up

 

If it's like Orlando, you're not going to be able to do that.

 

@Padme501st that would be amazing but I think there would be a lot of angry people if you tried it.

 

I'm thinking the Resistance panel might be on Sunday. Just looking at the dates guests are signing, it's the one day all the Resistance guests are scheduled to be there.

Of course this could mean nothing, Clone Wars guests are all over the place in terms of days.

 

Problem arises when hundreds/thousands of people waiting in line just bring in one friend, suddenly people who were patiently waiting in line and didn't leave get bumped out because half the queue thinks they're the only people who are letting one friend join them.

I've seen kids cry because they were just past the cutoff, and they very obviously would have made it inside if people in front of them didn't let their friends join.

No one thinks about the ramifications of that many people letting just one friend join them, let alone multiple friends. It's selfish and I hate it.

Once an overnight queue forms and everyone has set up camp in line, I don't care if you wander around the queue hall, get some concessions, go to the bathroom, join the 3am dance party; it's those people who feel entitled to cut in front of thousands of people after getting a nice night's rest in their hotel room because they had a friend wait in line. If you want to be in the line, then you wait in the line, you don't get to leave to go do other stuff.

 

I completely agree with everything you wrote. A lot of people do. And worse yet, everybody feels as if they are the exception in being able to do allow that one person in the line. Some of it is inevitable though, and that's the unfortunate reality. It happened in Orlando where I saw a few hundred people suddenly swell up to probably twice that within a few hours as the line got closer to being let into the queue hall. And it's really all the casual con goers who do this. They just don't care, have no clue what the unwritten rules of being in line are, and are only there for that one event so it's nothing on them to do it even if it's clearly wrong. It gets under my skin as well when I see it, especially when they act all dumb about it after. At least own it if you're going to do it. Unfortunately, death glares don't actually remove them from the line, they know that and we know that, but it's about all you can do. You can't fight about it, as much as you might like to. You can say something, but what's the point when so many people are doing it, then you become that person trying to police everyone. It's a total lose lose.

Although, I think it's okay to leave and do other stuff for a short while, as long as you show yourself as being there to the people around you and there are others in your party sitting with your stuff. But at a certain point that should stop though, and everyone should be firmly in line. For the most part I've seen a lot of give and take with various groups allowing for that, and I haven't seen any really egregious examples of people taking advantage of it

You ought to see SDCC Hall H lines, that **** is policed to a T by the people in the line. I've seen people straight yell at other people for trying to bring others in the line at a later than acceptable time. There's obviously a time where it is acceptable, but past that people don't tolerate it. It's a pretty strict unspoken rule to not do it and everybody is aware of it. It's pretty obvious when somebody breaks the rule. And there's plenty of people in line, lot of Hall H veterans, who absolutely do not hesitate in not letting it happen. Which is acceptable to do, and they get backed up by others in line, because everyone knows how much dedication it takes to make it into Hall H. I wish Star Wars fans were more like that. It could potentially get that way if Celebration become more of a yearly event and over time developed its own culture within it, similar to SDCC, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. And one way the organizers also get involved to reduce it is by wristbanding super early, allowing only for those dedicated enough to be there early enough to get one. And then obviously if you don't have wristband you can't line up after that. Surprisingly enough, as chaotic as it all may seem, they've got it pretty down pat over there.

 

I think with Celebration, you get a lot of people who aren't experienced going to other cons. Bottom line, make sure you are in line early enough to survive the cutters.

 

Yeah, I don't mind if people are in groups and take turns to switch in and out during the day to get food, shower/change, get to see some of the show floor so they don't waste a day of Celebration. I'm even cool if families with young children are part of the line then one parent takes the kids to sleep at the hotel for a few hours. But they have to have been there first, and not just like for 5 minutes at the beginning and at the end. You don't get to come at the start for a few minutes, then spend all of Thursday on the show floor, sleep at your hotel and then come back at 5:50am. You take turns to have a couple of hours each away from the line, that's cool, no problems. Parents with kids, show up, be counted. Spend the majority of time in the line and then if at midnight one of you needs to take a young child for a few hours proper sleep, I honestly think that would be ok with most people around you. As long as you've put the time in first and been there when they're counting the line. Be there for the majority of the time and be counted. That's just common courtesy.

 

Unfortunately the world of I is what we live in now. I've been seeing it for years, at Star Wars Weekends and Star Wars Celebrations. Many people only care about themselves and will literally push you out of the way in order to make their experience the best for them. Is everyone like that? No. I've made some very good friends over the years. I've helped them out and they've helped me out.

 

@ChrisLyne you're more lenient than I am.

 

I'll probably change my tune after the first dozen line cutters

For me, as long as someone is there the majority of the time and counted (so they're not stealing a space from someone further down the line), I have no problem with them having a break to shower, grab food, get a photo op, etc.

Same with the family thing. I get sleeping on a convention floor is rough on young kids. So come, spend time in the line, be counted, and then if the kid needs a few hours in a real bed so be it (and I'm talking like midnight or 1am to 4 or 5am here, not the whole night). As long as some of the party stay. And as long as they were all there for the majority of the time. If one parent lines up and expects their family to join them in the morning that's not going to fly. And if they lock the doors at midnight again then this isn't going to work, everyone will need to stay.