Comic-Con International Registration Crashes Again
This past Saturday, Comic-Con International (San Diego, California, July 24-27) opened up its virtual queue for anyone who had not previously attended and wanted a chance to attend the 2025 event. Friends of Comic-Con has the blow-by-blow of the struggle that ensued:
While everyone’s hopes were high, when the waiting room opened at 8:00 am Pacific time, attendees received an error message saying that the service was unavailable.
…
Spirits rose when this message disappeared by 8:07 am, and everyone happily joined the waiting room. At 9:00 am, everyone was randomly placed into a queue. Shortly thereafter, the first few people were let into the system to purchase badges. And that is when the glitches began.
People who went to the Member ID login page were unable to login. Those who could login experienced 30 seconds or more after each mouse click. Yet the 15 minute timer was still counting down, causing buyers to panic. A few lucky fans were able to add badges to their carts and check out, however many more reported issues with the checkout/payment screen. Others were unable to verify the Member IDs for which they wanted to purchase. Eventually, the system started working quickly, but every Member ID was returned as ‘not found’, leading some to speculate that the database was offline.
People then started to be booted to the back of the line, and the whole thing was shut down at 9:07 am.
Comic-Con’s only statement so far reads:
Due to an unforeseen anomaly with the registration system, we have been advised by our registration company to halt our scheduled attendee badge sale.
We have been informed that the issue is more complex than initially anticipated, and for this reason, registration will not resume today. We will announce a new sale date once we have additional information. If you’ve already completed your transaction, no further action is required on your part.
We apologize for the disruption and thank you for your patience, understanding, and support.
This is not the first speedbump the system has hit. Sales for 2023 were paused for last-minute fixes, and Friends of Comic-Con also reports that 2025 registration for people who have attended before was also slow and frustrating.
The company behind the registration software is named in fan blogs as Queue-it. Queue-it describes its software as providing a limit on how fast the client’s back end has to accept requests by putting everyone into a waiting room and releasing them at a controlled rate. Either that limit was still too high, overloading CCI’s own system, or Queue-it’s own waiting room was collapsing under the strain.
CCI has yet to announce a new date for attempted registrations.
In Brief
Marc Wells, a long-time member of OryCon’s staff and past president of OSFCI, the organization behind OryCon, died October 25.
Announcement from OryCon (Facebook) • Fancyclopedia 3 entry
HELIOsphere 2025 (Piscataway, New Jersey, probably May) has reportedly been cancelled according to a guest of honor. HELIOsphere’s own site and social media have not been updated since its 2024 convention.
Fan Expo Portland (Portland, Oregon, January 17-19) has added Erika Henningsen, Amir Talai, Blake Roman, Alan Tudyk, Sarah Tomko, and Alice Wetterlund.
Game On Expo (Phoenix, Arizona, April 4-6) has added Tim Downie.
The first guest of honor for OVFF 41 (date and location not announced yet) is Cathy McManamon. (Via Filk News.)
Event Calendar
Weekend of November 1-3
Fantastika 2024 (Swedish national sf convention), Stockholm, Sweden
Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
ArmadaCon, Plymouth, UK
LodgeCon 2024, Peotone, Illinois, USA
Doxacon 2024 (sf and Christianity), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Can*Con 2024 (Canadian sf), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Furry Blacklight: Ride the Retro Wave, Tremblay-en-France, France
Wüellas FurFest (anthropomorphic), Santiago, Chile
Furpocalypse 2024: Astrophobia (anthropomorphic), Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Kee Con VII (gaming), Cherokee, Iowa, USA
Lucca Comics & Games, Lucca, Italy
Tampa Nerd Con (gaming), Tampa, Florida, USA
Rock-Con (gaming), Rockford, Illinois, USA
Effing-Con (gaming), Effingham, Illinois, USA
Dice Fest 2024 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA
NewGame 2024 (gaming), Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
LoBsterCon XXVII (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK
TORG Gaming Expo 2024 (video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Fall In! (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
WarFaire Weekend (wargaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Youmacon (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA
YuniCon (anime), Schwechat, Austria
UwUCon (anime), Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Anime Pasadena 2024, Pasadena, California, USA
NekoCon 2024: Mewths and Legends (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA
Rhode Island Comic Con, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Just added: Spooky Empire (horror media), Orlando, Florida, USA
TFcon Baltimore (Transformers), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Weekend of November 8-10
Novacon 53, Buxton, UK
TusCon 51, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 50: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Imladris XXII, Kraków, Poland
OmegaCon Fall 2024 (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA
Y/Con 10 (LGBT sf), Paris, France
GeekGirlCon (female geekdom), Seattle, Washington, USA
New England Crime Bake 2024 (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
TeslaCon: The Mystery of Kraken Island (steampunk), Middleton, Wisconsin, USA
Steampunk November, Venus, Texas, USA
The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
Lost Coast Steampunk Consortium Convivial, Eureka, California, USA
Vermont Steampunk Expo, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA
Flüüfff: Toxic Critters (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium
PAW '24: The AF-Taur Life (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
Howloween 2024: The Bork Collective (anthropomorphic), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Hexcon (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
Mythic Con (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Save Against Fear (gaming), York, Pennsylvania, USA
AcadeCon (gaming), Dayton, Ohio, USA
Spielwiesn (gaming), Augsburg, Germany
MEPACon: Covert Operations (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Spellen Spektakel (gaming), Utrecht, Netherlands
FLAG Con 2024 (gaming), Ithaca, New York, USA
BottosCon 2024 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Compass Games Expo Fall 2024, Meridien, Connecticut, USA
Spielewelt in Bielefeld (boardgames), Bielefeld, Germany
EuroQuest 2024 (Eurogames), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
TaKtiCon (miniatures gaming), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
The Long Con (RPGs), Longview, Texas, USA
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), Troutdale, Oregon, USA
KeyForge Celebration 2024 (KeyForge CCG), Roseville, Minnesota, USA
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Sonic Expo (Sonic the Hedgehog), Mesquite, Texas, USA
Animaine XII (anime), South Portland, Maine, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
HizashiCon (anime), Pensacola, Florida, USA
anime expo chibi, Ontario, California, USA
Nishicon 2024: Full Metal Nishi (anime), Eindhoven, Netherlands
Rocky Mountain Con (comics), Denver, Colorado, USA
Motor City Comic Con, Novi, Michigan, USA
Grit City Comic Show, Tacoma, Washington, USA
Twin Tiers Comic-Con, Horseheads, New York, USA
Comic Con Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
NC Comic Con, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Twin Cities Con (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
SyFiPopFest (media), Leesburg, Florida, USA
Pony Friends Forever (My Little Pony), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Weekend of November 15-17
CONjuration (fantasy), Duluth, Georgia, USA
BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA
U-Con (gaming), Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
TimpCon (gaming), Provo, Utah, USA
Társasjátékok Ünnepe (gaming), Budapest, Hungary
Gridcon 5 (boardgames), Taunton, UK
RPG Alliance Con, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
SNAFU Con (anime), Reno, Nevada, USA
Omnicon: Full S.T.E.A.M Ahead (anime), Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
Anime Oklahoma, Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
Anime Town Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, USA
Anime Iwai: Zodiac, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
San Diego Anime Con, San Diego, California, USA
Thought Bubble (comics), Harrogate, UK
Nairobi Comic Con, Nairobi, Kenya
Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
PalmCon: Treasure Coast (media), Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA
Weekend of November 22-24
Philcon 2024, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
MiniCon 2024: Polish Prosperity (anthropomorphic), Hlavatce, Czechia
Consequences Q: Quintessential Consequences (gaming), Christchurch, UK
Spel (gaming), Antwerp, Belgium
LFG Canberra (boardgames), Griffith, Australia
Asian Board Games Festival, Singapore
Milan Games Week & Cartoonomics (media/gaming), Milan, Italy
Free Play Florida (retro video games), Lakeland, Florida, USA
HotaruCon 3 (anime), Milton Keynes, UK
Akimatsuri (anime), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
M.A.G.E (anime), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Miryokucon (anime), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Con Nichiwa 2024 (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Colossalcon North (anime), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands
Weekend of November 29-December 1
Loscon 50, Los Angeles, California, USA
Dragonmeet (gaming), London, UK
GobbleCon (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
Tabletop Oahu (gaming), Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France
Fan Expo San Francisco (media), San Francisco, California, USA
Stars of Time Comic Con, Weston-super-Mare, UK
Anime Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA
Anime Festival Asia Singapore, Singapore
Comic Con Arabia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Chicago TARDIS (Doctor Who), Lombard, Illinois, USA
Starbase Indy 2024: Exploring New Worlds (Star Trek), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Coda
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