Mission Log:

Time remaining: Sol 275

ETA: July 20, 2016

SDCC Badge: Negative

Anxiety Level: Within accepted parameters but growing…

The epic journey to San Diego Comic-Con 2016 begins. 9-months away seems like a long time but the time will pass faster than you think. If you have never made this trek before, it’s easy to feel lost and alone. Like oxygen and food on Mars, nothing is more sacred then attaining a Comic-Con badge. While you don’t have to “science the sh*t” out of anything, there are still a few important things to know 9 months out from the show.

Badge sales are divided into two categories- Returning and Open Registration. If you specifically purchased a badge for the 2015 show, then you will be eligible to participate in the Returning Attendee badge sale- presumably happening sometime in November. If you are hoping to get a badge for a first time, Open Reg will probably happen in early Spring. In order to qualify and be notified of the sale, you must first get a Member ID from Comic-Con. The 2016 prices have not been announced but to give you an idea of the prices, here is what badges went for last year: Last year, you were able to purchase up to 3 badges (including yourself) as long as everyone qualifies for that badge type. After attaining a badge, getting a hotel is your next concern. You can try to get a hotel now in hopes of getting a badge in the future but it will not be easy. Comic-Con reserves a majority of hotels ahead of time in order to do a formal sale right after Open Registration. This is the best way of scoring a hotel close to the convention center.

About this time of year, I start to get frantic e-mails, Facebook messages and DMs about how to get into Comic-Con for the first time. Don’t worry, the main thing you need to do is get a Member ID and wait till the Open Sale in early Spring. Don’t panic when you start hearing about all the buzz around Pre-Registration coming this late Fall- it’s not for you. Always check the Comic-Con website and the Toucan Blog for updated info. I will also be regularly posting as we approach each major milestone over the next 9 months. I know it’s easy to panic when you feel all alone, but just like in The Martian, you have to work each problem one at a time. Consider me like NASA’s Mission Control- stick with me and I’ll make sure to get you home. Feel free to e-mail me at Crazy4ComicCon[at]Hotmail[dot]com if you have questions and follow me at @Crazy4ComicCon for all the latest info leading up to the show. Until next time, this is Mission Control signing off!