andyw Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Just to pick up on a few points :- As anyone who attended the JM talk will know, the first thing James said, on taking the stage, was that he was sorry to anyone who hadn't managed to get an autograph, and also he apologised for not personalising. He explained that he had broken his hand some time ago and found if he tried to do more than a basic autogragh his hand would become too painful quite early on in a day. SM were not aware at the start of the day that James would be leaving at 4 o'clock - it was simply a case that having seen 900 people, which in actual fact meant more like 1500 autographs, James simply was unable to continue any longer. He did not attend The Watchers talk, but did return to his hotel for a well earned break before arriving for his talk at 6.30. 1500 tickets were given out and at least the last 500 of those would have been warned that there was a slim chance of actually getting into the queue. It is almost impossible to predict exactly how many people can see a guest and surely it is fairer to give out as many numbers as can possibly be covered, rather than causing chaos at the end of the day. As far as 500,000 visitors is concerned - MK Centre figures show that this amount of people DO pass through the shopping centre during a Collectormania Bank Holiday weekend.Obviously they don't ALL come to see James Marsters !!! Tickets were given out before 10 am simply because it was obvious that the queue exceeded the potential for James to possibly sign, so it made no difference to anybody when the tickets were given out. You would still have been 901st in the queue at 10 o'clock and the sooner the tickets were issued the sooner the queue could be dispersed, both in the interest of safety and allowing everybody to move off and get tickets for other guests. At the end of the day a major guest like this simply can't see everybody and 900 was not bad going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 James did well in my book :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyleaDude Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerbabe Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! too shy! I was standing by the creche shutter trying to take in how many people were actually there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyleaDude Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! too shy! I was standing by the creche shutter trying to take in how many people were actually there! Next time maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruFaith Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Myself, my mum and my 2 friends were 740. We were up at 3:30 this morning and it took us about 4 hours driving. When we got our tickets I told my friends to be prepared to probably not get to meet James (since I've been to these kind of events before and its kind of new to my friends). We met him about 3:10. I was really surprised we got through actually. I was extremely happy and so was my mum (bless) but I do feel sorry for those who didn't get to meet him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerbabe Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! too shy! I was standing by the creche shutter trying to take in how many people were actually there! Next time maybe? yeah, just seems a bit wierd going up to people and saying hi, you dont know me but i've seen you on the forum! A little stalker-ish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyleaDude Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! too shy! I was standing by the creche shutter trying to take in how many people were actually there! Next time maybe? yeah, just seems a bit wierd going up to people and saying hi, you dont know me but i've seen you on the forum! A little stalker-ish! Oh God don't say that - I've been going up to people all weekend saying "Aren't you so and so!" *** Arrgh realises he's a stalker *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerbabe Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Number 1301 here, I was told that I might not get to see him ( and I probably wouldn't have even if he'd have stayed the extra hour) I saw you in the queue! the only person I recognised from here today! You should have said hello, I don't bite! Well not too much! too shy! I was standing by the creche shutter trying to take in how many people were actually there! Next time maybe? yeah, just seems a bit wierd going up to people and saying hi, you dont know me but i've seen you on the forum! A little stalker-ish! Oh God don't say that - I've been going up to people all weekend saying "Aren't you so and so!" *** Arrgh realises he's a stalker *** your just braver than me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyleaDude Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 ...or doesn't have any real friends.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil_Faith Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 (edited) I would've loved to meet Alexis and Tony but unfortunately wasn't able to attend today. I'll be attending tomorrow just to meet James and wanted to know where exactly was James signing just so I know what direction to run to when the door open. Edited May 1, 2005 by Evil_Faith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerbabe Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 (edited) Scary pic of the James Masters crowds!! Edited May 1, 2005 by tiggerbabe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramthx Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 What can i say i have never posted on here but always visit and read what people have to say i,m probably a newbie after only attending C5 and C6 and C7.. we arrived at aprox 8.30am we Q'd outside with the rest of the people i counted aprox maybe 200 people at the most infront of me and about 200 people behind me but to my surprise everyone was legging it to another set of doors that had opened, are's were still locked and by the time we eventually started Q'-ing inside it was a pritty BIG Q, and SHOCK,HORROR 987 was my ticket number (or something around that figure after me throwing it on the floor after speaking to mr joiner,read later) anyway i decided to get who i needed and all the rest of the guests where fantastic and the time was about 1pm and my wife (who comes to take the pics :) spoke to the guy at the front of the james marsters Q and he said yep you should get 2 see him as hes signing till after 5 so we put some more money in the car park now cost me about £9 to park and we decided to have another quick look around ... between 2pm and 3pm we asked again and he said yep james will be staying till after 5 so yep you should be 99.9% of seeing him 3.30pm-ish we were getting closer and with less than 100 left and then it was us we was cutting it fine but decided to stay then 4pm-ish BANG they was clearing the way we hought he was going for a quick loo break but no that was it he had finished, NO COMMUNICATION HE JUST UPPED AND LEFT and the excuse we got was that he was exhausted........ EXHAUSTED as he tried waiting around in a busy shopping center all day, and his hand seemed to be ok when he was waving while leaving ( FULLY DISAPOINTED) i know its not the organisers fault and i even spoke to Jason Joiner at the end and i was frustrated WHY could they have not said he was finishing at 4 and if they did not know how about asking him??? i think these things need to be addressed for next time 1:- how about a layout where exactly the stars are going to be ie some kinda map 2:- when Q-ing need to know when they will be having lunch and also when they are gonna stop signing (does that mean them not knowing when james was going that any star can say at any time i have had enough and leave???) There still seems something fishy about what happened with the all james marsters VQ system let me know what time u picked your ticket up and what number it was??? where they running off 2 or maybe 3 books at the same time???? who knows but 1 thing is for sure next time i will get there even earlier and secondly i wont be going tomoz as i,m to EXHAUSTED If you are going tomoz good luck and i hope its a lot better than 2day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero_of_Time Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 the sad truth is that with a big guest like JM then there are always goin to be to many people for him to possibly see even if he was to sign till 8pm when the center is locked up, they do say with the high tick numbers that there is NO garantee of him signing for you. im glad i didnt go today, i mean it was warm in there yday with no sun i dread to think what it was like today with the sun full on it. sun+mk center+lots of people = hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfet Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 I couldn't believe my luck this morning after just finding out all the JM tickets had gone someone was kind enough to offer me their JM and AH tickets as they decided not to wait, thankyou by the way! I managed to get AH at around 2/3ish and JM was up to 800 so I thought I had enough time to get his too being that my ticket was 929. When he got to 900 I queued up early figuring that by the time the queue moved down further my ticket would be valid and found that at 4 he was going to a talk which didn't start for another 2 hours (which he was apparently 30 mins late for anyway!) I'm not blaming him and understand signing 900+ pics/items can be a bit much, however I think it is wrong to state that tickets will NOT be issued before 10am and then get given out an hour earlier. If there was a queue before 10am then everyone should have been told to move on and come back at 10. Fair enough I was lucky to be given an unwanted ticket in the end and alot of people turn up extra early (and some at really silly times) but not everyone can do that and don't feel the need to when tickets aren't meant to be given until a set time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfet Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 i think showmasters should explain and honour the remaining tickets tomorrow if people can attend. I agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma_w Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 i was there at 4.45 and was ticket 122, well worth getting there early as was expecting there to be huge queues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Nash Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 it is a shame that people didnt get to meet james, but his appearence at c7 was always going to be madness. some things are first come first served, as me and my friends wer ther from 5:30am as we really wanted to meet him. we wer about in the first 10/15 people to meet him and in the first 20 to meet alexis. ther was a mad dash when the doors opened, but the only reason i got to meet him and got a good ticket number was because i made the effort to be ther so early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucienight Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Well we were waiting outside before 9am - started queing at one door but then went over to the next door along as that one had been opened at about 9:10 and the one we were at showed no signs of anyone coming to open it! Once inside we found Anthony heads queue and got tickets then found James que. We got ticket no 693/694 at about 9:20 - 9:30 (not sure of exact time) We got to meet James at 2:30 so not to bad. Guess I was lucky! I can see a huge problem being caused if they don't start giving out tickets for him till 10am tomorrow. The mass of people at 9 was bad enough this morning - allowing an extra hours woth of people to arrive before giving out tickets is going to be a nightmare. There is no way they will be able to get peopel to disperse and come back at 10. Im glad Im not going to be there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 I think it would be a nice gesture to honour the tickets. My story was that at 8.45am I waited at a door (I don't know the door number), 9.15 came and went but another door was opened and a few at the front were let in then a few more and then loads were allowed to pile in at this point a load of us a the other door made our way to the open door to be faced with chaos! It was like a bloody stampede, I know virtual tickets are a really good idea but this was just mad! Marsters was already seated and I managed to get a ticket in the 690's so I waited and watched him go to lunch and waited and luckily managed to briefly see him for probably a few seconds with barks of "no personalisations" which was fine in a way as I want other people to meet guests as well, I am always as quick as I can anyway! As I was queing i was told not to take any pictures as I was waiting! why? If I was famous I would expect photos as an everyday occurence! And as for the Buffy talk at 4.00pm that is just an insult to all those who waited for so long, I would be an unhappy camper! Are SM really going to make everyone wait until 10.00am until they give out tickets? That will be a nightmare! All I can say to those people is good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa2004 Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Hi Lisa here I was one of the unlucky girls at MK today who has met not James. I will be honest and say that SM did not reliase how busy and popular JM would be, I was there from 8am but got a higher ticket then 900 (due to doors being opened at ramdon times and being unlucky that ours wern't) I will be honest that I have had an amazing weekend and met everyone I wanted to and there is one reason why I did not meet JM - Showmasters........ Lets be honest - they gave out too many tickets and appeared to be pushing James to sign as many as possible. Some of their crew treated guests (public) awfully - pushing people though (My sister was treated very badly in Tony Heads queue) The worst thing is that they did did tell anyone that JM was leaving and left so many fans unhappy..... I have been lucky to meet James at a previous events - he was awsome. The interaction and eye contact with him was so nice. I will be honest and say that James probably hated the way he had to rush though meeting each fan - we all mean so much him, as he told me I will also say that the way SM were dictating the meeting put me off - when I meet a person who I have been watching on TV and have been a fan of for 10 years, I want a little more interaction with that person, then being pushed though without the guest getting the chance to say hi. I have asked SM about the no personalising and photos etc......... they say it is down to the guest and their management. This might be true but I have one last point to make...... Why is it the busy and most popular guests who are like this - oh and of course these people are the ones that make make SM's the most money? This is a money making excercise afterall - but without the fans who made these people stars they would be at C7 at all. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicky Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 (edited) I have asked SM about the no personalising and photos etc......... they say it is down to the guest and their management. Why is it the busy and most popular guests who are like this - oh and of course these people are the ones that make make SM's the most money? The popular guests ask for no photos cos of exactly that; they are popular and so get photographed all the time... Not many people like the idea of being photographed so frequently (esp with bright flashes) every few moments. Not only that but in the case of posing - its tiring for them to keep standing up every few mins for it and then have to crack a (false) smile. And as for personalising...I think that's just cos they wanna hurry up and just write their name or maybe they just don't believe in writing it out to someone they don't even know, that I could understand...I mean its not like they know us is it? Edited May 1, 2005 by nicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kt_psycho_chick Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 My little story is that I got there at 10am, but all 1000 tickets had been sold. This has probably been said already in this thread, but it annoyed me that on the website, it says that the tickets won't be given out until the event begins. On 1st May it started at 10am, so that's when they should have started giving out tickets. And sadly, I can't go again on Monday, so I didn't get to meet him. I guess that if there were tons of people there before the event started, they would have to open it early because of the amount of people, but I'm still really gutted that I didn't get to meet him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil_Faith Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 (edited) And as for personalising...I think that's just cos they wanna hurry up and just write their name or maybe they just don't believe in writing it out to someone they don't even know, that I could understand...I mean its not like they know us is it? They know us well enough that they don't mind charging us £20 for their signature though... Edited May 1, 2005 by Evil_Faith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerbabe Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 My little story is that I got there at 10am, but all 1000 tickets had been sold. This has probably been said already in this thread, but it annoyed me that on the website, it says that the tickets won't be given out until the event begins. On 1st May it started at 10am, so that's when they should have started giving out tickets. And sadly, I can't go again on Monday, so I didn't get to meet him. I guess that if there were tons of people there before the event started, they would have to open it early because of the amount of people, but I'm still really gutted that I didn't get to meet him. They HAD to give the tickets out early as the sheer volume for people queue was causing health and safely risks, Once the tickets were given out they queue could go. It wouldn't matter if they had waited to give the tickets out until 10 as the first people in the queue would still have had the first tickets, they would just have been given them an hour later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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