giuseppe1969

If you have a gold pass you don't need VQs! Just join the back of any queue you like.With a gold pass you DO need a vq ticket for the diamond guests.Too bad they didnt have them yet for christopher lloyd when we got there at opening so there was a que to get a vq ticket Sorry, I didn't realise you were referring to diamond guests. In such case, you are right. I think gold pass might become obsolete very soon, should they add more diamond pass in the future.

If you have a gold pass you don't need VQs! Just join the back of any queue you like.

Excellent! Does scanning begin at 7.30 for the standard queue too, as it was insanely long today?

Now, this is really annoying. What is a shuttle? Is it a service provided by SM?

Announcements (and, sadly but rarely, cancellations) can happen until the very end.

I don't think that would work me being 33 years old, but thanks anyway. I figured that. I suppose the ticket limit is for safety reasons, i.e. there shouldn't be more than X people at the venue. Considering that one person (although a child) will not attend anymore, an "extra" ticket could be issued in your favour, maximum number of people allowed in wouldn't change but I understand this could be a bit complicated to do. EDIT: Yes, Queen Sindel has explained my concept in a better way. Mind reading is helpful sometimes

I don't know if this can be of any help and I know it is a long shot - I had bought a Family (2 adult and 2 children) entry for Saturday but now we are only two adult and one child, so in theory there is an extra "person space" available. Maybe an extra ticket might be available for Graphic Delusions. I can show proof of my ticket in private, if necessary.

. It will all be down to Catherine's availability as she is Sunday only I'm guessing that is all she was able to commit to.I know, but you have to give it a tryI imagine they did, before the announcement. And I promise not even 100 tries will make SM go "ha! We were only waiting for the 100th person to ask. She's doing all weekend now." OK, it makes sense. ... What about 101?

"I can safely say one of, if not the biggest, guest we have ever had at one of our shows! " You have already announced Michael J Fox, Bill Paxton and Michael Gambon! It's incredible but for the first time I really hope this is someone I don't care about.

I have never had the issue of asking for a refund but I do sympathise with those who had it. I think it would be too time-consuming for Showmaster to take tickets back and resell them; also, if they bought back tickets near the event, they might not have enough time to sell them. On the other hand, customers should have the chance to sell unwanted (for whatever reason) tickets to third parties via ebay, PROVIDED they are sold at fixed price ("buy now" option), same as the original price plus the paypal commission, to avoid financial speculation.

I've really been trying to find that part optional, but either the store is dying on me or I am getting sidetracked. Can someone tell me where exactly this is? That word really shouldn't be there. Queen, the optional part is at the bottom of the form, above the ticket validation icon: "Additional Items (optional)."

http://showmastersonline.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=87828 The validation fee is explained here Thank you, that makes more sense. Although, I don't understand why they don't add the fee automatically instead of asking to pay it as an option. :)

I got the same problem, i.e. e-ticket validation. OK, I am waiting for the email but, in the meantime, what does "e-ticket validation" really mean? When ordering tickets, the validation thing weirdly states: OPTIONAL. I really fail to understand its meaning: we paid for the tickets, we got the e-tickets by email, everybody should be happy, what else can there be?

The system looks promising because, as I take it, everyone will be granted access as soon as the doors open. There should not be anyone waiting outside "for safety reasons" because there are are too many people inside, as it happened in the past. Therefore, I suppose that the maximum amount of pre-sold tickets must be within the limits of safety regarding the presence of people inside the building.

Diamond Pass for Christopher Lloyd is £140! ... mmm ... intriguing ...

Thank you for your prompt answers.

As I might decide at the very last moment if I attend or not, is it possible to buy entry tickets (standard or early bird) on the day at the desk? Cheers

This reminds me when I lost my Ray Ban at one of the Marvel rides in Orlando. The following day I checked out the 'lost items' office and they had them! Again a Stan Lee connection! Major forces of good are at work...

Maybe we should time it, one day. However, it also depends on the guest. As an extreme example, I remember a dealer, right in front of me, got some 25 autos from Karen Gillan; fortunately, they were normal pictures at the table that Karen signed very quickly (45 seconds or so). When it was my turn I made a joke about her being so quick and we had a laugh together and chatted while she was signing my (only) picture, more slowly; she also chatted with my son. In the end, I think I spent more time than the dealer. But obviously that was a one-off situation. Older guests take usually more time to sign.

Thank you for your honest answer, Showmasters. This clarifies a few things. I agree with most of the points you made and I understand the reasons behind them. The key point is number 4: "We allow traders" - now we know it. Although I appreciate that some dealers try to get what they need as soon as possible, they sometimes spend a lot of time (unfolding/refolding posters many times, etc.) Indeed, it would be useful to encourage the dealers to contact you beforehand and pre-order their signatures. As far as I am concerned, crew members are more then welcome to skip the queue and get their auto, no problem with that. But, please, instruct them to deal with fans who attempt odd, time-consuming requests, such as asking the guest to copy long quotations from a mobile phone or asking him to talk via skype with their family in New Zealand.

Yes, Diabolik, the problem needs to be sorted out. Let's hope SM give some official directions here. Autographica is the only con I attend at the moment and I wouldn't want it to get "intoxicated" by the same problems there are at LFCC. Actually, I would like a "detoxification" therapy for London too, because I really would like to go back.

As I said on different occasions, it is fine for dealers to get as many signatures as they wish and sell them for how much they want - it is their job, like it or not. However, it is not fair they are allowed a huge number of signatures at the expenses of tens of other fans. Dealers might leave stuff to be signed with a crew member (who can get that signed as soon as the queue ends or privately) and pick that up later. The fact that, after a few years of debate on such topic, SM do not bother to give an official answer, it means that dealers are allowed to get whatever they want (as long as they pay) without any interference whatsoever from the crew. Things are getting out of control even at more relaxed conventions such as Autographica. If you have the time you might want to read an interesting thread here We are still waiting for an answer.

Yes, unfortunately this happens to be an expensive hobby. However, there is indeed an increase in the price of the autographs across the board - it probably goes with the inflation rate, the passing years and all that. On the other hand (...I know is not much of a consolation...), the increase isn't as higher as Buzz Aldrin's

OK, this is the thing... In the past, Gold Passes gave the advantage to get autos and photos faster than others. I started getting them when I began to go with my 8-year-old son; although enthusiastic, it would be tiring for him to spend 8 hours at any venue (Earl Court, Milton Keynes etc.), so the sooner we collect our stuff, the better. Previously, I used to pay on the day (how adventurous of me!) and get virtual queue tickets, spend the whole day at the con and, in the end, get anything I needed (including a Elijah Wood auto at 5.50 pm, whose virtual ticket number was above 1200). The atmosphere was more relaxed, more time to go through stalls etc. So, basically, by buying a Gold Pass you would essentially buy time. Nowadays, owning a Gold Pass makes the difference between meeting the guests or not. Even with a Gold Pass you have to rush continuously and relentlessly from one photoshoot to another and then to a talk and then to another photoshoot etc., fighting the always increasing amount of clashes. Going through the stalls is no longer a feasible experience - lack of time and people all over the place. The atmosphere is no longer relaxed. Selling more VIP tickets will not improve anything on the "overcrowding" side of the problem. You may sell as many "exclusive" tickets/package as you deem right (and I am not necessarily against them) but if you don't sort out the "crowd and crewing" issue, you are not going to solve the problem. I think the only way to make a productive step forward is to sell IN ADVANCE (e-tickets would be a good idea) as many tickets as the venue allows (including enough space to walk and breath comfortably - you should have plenty of experience, by now). If there are any left, communicate on the website AND at the venue exactly how many are still available to sell on the day - people paying on the day would come at their own risk, served on a first comes first basis. Once all tickets have been sold out, please tell people to leave and go home - leaving them outside for hours with a vague hope to come in if someone comes out, just to cash in a few pounds more, doesn't sound right. AND... certainly limit the number of autos per person to a reasonable maximum (very busy guests shouldn't do more than 3-5 at a time) - when a person is allowed to get 20 autos, that means that, automatically, 20 fans are not going to get anything.

If I can express my humble opinion... SM always say that if there is a clash between 2 (or more) photoshoots/talks, you can solve the problem by asking one of the crew members to rush you in so you can move quickly onto the other event. In your case, you could have asked to have your picture with Juliet taken as quick as possible in order to attend the GOT talk. Having said that, I find it very odd to put multiple event at the same time: human beings still haven't acquired the power of ubiquity. A lot of people end up having 2-3 photoshoots and a talk at the same time. This is just not right. The problem is that tickets for photos and talk are sold well in advance, before the timetable/schedule is known. If the attendees knew in advance the timetable, they might choose what to do during a specific time slot but for organisational reasons, this is not possible. Making an obliged choice after you have already paid, it is not right. Consequently, in case of a clash, tickets MUST be refunded. At the latest Autographica, I missed Barbara Bain's talk because I got stuck forever in a queue at Alan Bean's table because SM allowed ONE chap (a dealer, I presume) to have some 50 posters signed. I asked for a refund and I got it. A lot of people missed out on a lot of things because of the known problems, over the week-end. Refunds should be given to those who can prove they had purchased a ticket that was not used. Contact Showmasters in a few days and explain your reasons; they might have messed up this event but they are still brilliant people who do their best for the fans.