New Attendees Advice Thread

[Lita]

14 hours ago, GreenArrow2046 said:

its usually quite a smooth and easy process, from experience of collecting 4 at once, you'll be fine and staff will be around to direct you

Can I ask more questions please? Will they announce the autographs schedule? If not, how will we know what time the guests will be doing signing? Thanks. Have a fab day you all nice people.

[GreenArrow2046]

Just now, Lita said:

Can I ask more questions please? Will they announce the autographs schedule? If not, how will we know what time the guests will be doing signing? Thanks. Have a fab day you all nice people.

There is no autograph schedule, guests will be signing anytime they aren’t in a photo shoot, in a talk, or a break, and if they are at any of these they will tell you at their autograph table when they will be due back 

[Pir8Jenny]

For me, the more interesting problem has been FINDING the person I want an autograph from, as there are no maps of where everyone is sitting in the autograph area.  (At least, as far as I know.)  Any tips on this?

[Wrong Name]

2 minutes ago, Pir8Jenny said:

For me, the more interesting problem has been FINDING the person I want an autograph from, as there are no maps of where everyone is sitting in the autograph area.  (At least, as far as I know.)  Any tips on this?

They don't provide maps for individual guests as on the day, a guest may be moved for various reasons, and can then change position on the next day, meaning the map would then be wrong. Only suggestion I can make is to walk around the signing areas until you can find the guests you want. Usually the larger guests will be in seperate booths or along the back wall. However, SM have said there will be a few changes to the layout this year, so we don't know what to expect.

[Raylenth]

Everyone is in the same boat really, all you can do is what we all have to do, go around and find their desk.

[gracet125]

54 minutes ago, Wrong Name said:

They don't provide maps for individual guests as on the day, a guest may be moved for various reasons, and can then change position on the next day, meaning the map would then be wrong. Only suggestion I can make is to walk around the signing areas until you can find the guests you want. Usually the larger guests will be in seperate booths or along the back wall. However, SM have said there will be a few changes to the layout this year, so we don't know what to expect.

This. I tend to scope it out as soon as I get through the doors on Friday while it's quiet and I can see each desk clearly.

[Lita]

9 hours ago, GreenArrow2046 said:

There is no autograph schedule, guests will be signing anytime they aren’t in a photo shoot, in a talk, or a break, and if they are at any of these they will tell you at their autograph table when they will be due back 

Thank you so we can assume for the guests who don't have a photo schedule at 9 am , they will still arrive as early as possible? Thanks.

[GreenArrow2046]

3 minutes ago, Lita said:

Thank you so we can assume for the guests who don't have a photo schedule at 9 am , they will still arrive as early as possible? Thanks.

We can’t determine when guests will arrive, crew at their table will let you know on the day how long they will be should they not be there at opening  

[Lita]

4 minutes ago, GreenArrow2046 said:

We can’t determine when guests will arrive, crew at their table will let you know on the day how long they will be should they not be there at opening  

Thank you @GreenArrow2046 I will be getting the tube to Olympia. Do you know what time the tube will start operating? It will be just one or two stations from my hotel.

[Raylenth]

3 minutes ago, Lita said:

Thank you @GreenArrow2046 I will be getting the tube to Olympia. Do you know what time the tube will start operating? It will be just one or two stations from my hotel.

It's best to go on the TFL website and use the route planner, that is a very very specific question that hardly anyone is going to know without looking it up

[Lita]

1 minute ago, Raylenth said:

It's best to go on the TFL website and use the route planner, that is a very very specific question that hardly anyone is going to know without looking it up

Will do, thank you @Raylenth . 

[GreenArrow2046]

37 minutes ago, Lita said:

Thank you @GreenArrow2046 I will be getting the tube to Olympia. Do you know what time the tube will start operating? It will be just one or two stations from my hotel.

I recommend using the Trainline app to book your tube journey, the tube usually starts operating quite early in the day

[Captain Lucas]

You don't need to book a journey on the Tube, just tap in and out with your credit/debit card.

[Mayhem]

1 hour ago, Lita said:

Thank you @GreenArrow2046 I will be getting the tube to Olympia. Do you know what time the tube will start operating? It will be just one or two stations from my hotel.

The specific spur line train that runs from Earls Court to Olympia is every 10-20 minutes so if you just miss it, it would be quicker walking. Actually iirc this spur only operates at the weekend, so you can’t use it on Friday. And it starts at 7am I believe.

If you’re at West Brompton, it would make more sense to get the Overground train from there direct to Olympia, which is how I usually arrive (coming from Clapham Junction).

Edited July 10, 2019 by Mayhem

[Lita]

23 minutes ago, Mayhem said:

The specific spur line train that runs from Earls Court to Olympia is every 10-20 minutes so if you just miss it, it would be quicker walking. Actually iirc this spur only operates at the weekend, so you can’t use it on Friday. And it starts at 7am I believe.

If you’re at West Brompton, it would make more sense to get the Overground train from there direct to Olympia, which is how I usually arrive (coming from Clapham Junction).

Thank you @Mayhemyes I will be taking the tube from earls court on Saturday so did you say it will start at 7 am is that correct? How far to walk from earls court station? Thank you.

[Raylenth]

3 minutes ago, Lita said:

Thank you @Mayhemyes I will be taking the tube from earls court on Saturday so did you say it will start at 7 am is that correct? How far to walk from earls court station? Thank you.

He said he thinks that is correct.  Lita, you can look a lot of this up yourself as well.  Google maps for example will tell you the walking distance and route between the station and the venue if you look the directions up.  We are happy to help but a lot of this stuff is easy to find out .

[Lita]

5 minutes ago, Raylenth said:

He said he thinks that is correct.  Lita, you can look a lot of this up yourself as well.  Google maps for example will tell you the walking distance and route between the station and the venue if you look the directions up.  We are happy to help but a lot of this stuff is easy to find out .

Mayhem seems familiar with the area so asking this type of question could be useful as Mayhem could advise me if any certain routes to take or if the walking routes was easy etc, stuff you wouldn't get from Google map basically. I will be flying from Ireland to this comic con this month. Thanks @Raylenth.

[Queen_Sindel]

There is a very good reason why there is no map. Guests can really be moved until the doors open. One year I was inside and that happened for a Diamond Guest after I had been trying to be helpful and posted their location. That was not pretty.

[Mayhem]

3 hours ago, Lita said:

Mayhem seems familiar with the area so asking this type of question could be useful as Mayhem could advise me if any certain routes to take or if the walking routes was easy etc, stuff you wouldn't get from Google map basically. I will be flying from Ireland to this comic con this month. Thanks @Raylenth.

Basically you exit onto Finborough Road, turn right, walk for about 10 minutes... and you're pretty much there!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kensington+West/@51.493178,-0.2031728,16z/data=!4m25!1m16!4m15!1m6!1m2!1s0x48760f8c441239ff:0x74009ae8a706a568!2s40+Warwick+Rd,+Kensington,+London+SW5+9UB!2m2!1d-0.1956574!2d51.4902754!1m6!1m2!1s0x48760f8dc9c0b2dd:0x26fa091340f02f99!2sOlympia+London,+Hammersmith+Road,+London!2m2!1d-0.2106881!2d51.4965005!3e0!3m7!1s0x48760f94ae96e2c3:0x1e4436e00ecd25d8!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d51.4934608!4d-0.2059239

[Lita]

7 hours ago, Mayhem said:

Basically you exit onto Finborough Road, turn right, walk for about 10 minutes... and you're pretty much there!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kensington+West/@51.493178,-0.2031728,16z/data=!4m25!1m16!4m15!1m6!1m2!1s0x48760f8c441239ff:0x74009ae8a706a568!2s40+Warwick+Rd,+Kensington,+London+SW5+9UB!2m2!1d-0.1956574!2d51.4902754!1m6!1m2!1s0x48760f8dc9c0b2dd:0x26fa091340f02f99!2sOlympia+London,+Hammersmith+Road,+London!2m2!1d-0.2106881!2d51.4965005!3e0!3m7!1s0x48760f94ae96e2c3:0x1e4436e00ecd25d8!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d51.4934608!4d-0.2059239

Thanks a lot @Mayhem very kind of you. Hope you will have a great time in comic con & be able to meet all guests you want to meet. 

[whitewillow]

14 hours ago, Lita said:

Thank you so we can assume for the guests who don't have a photo schedule at 9 am , they will still arrive as early as possible? Thanks.

There's no set time, but from my experience most arrive between 9 and 9.30 am.

[Regal Unicorn]

Hi everyone, another first-timer here  So my apologies if my questions are silly! 

1. If there is a clash between two paid activities (specifically, the Lana Parrilla/Robert Carlyle duo photo shoot is right in the middle of the Lucifer talk on Sunday), I have to choose between them, right? Or is there a way to pop out of the talk for the photo and get back in?
2. Is it possible to watch the guests signing for other people for a short while from afar? I understand you need a VQ ticket to join the queue, but is there a way to stand further away and just look at them for a few minutes? 
3. How common is it for the guests to allow photos and/or posed photos at the auto table? I understand there is no way to know for sure, and that there are signs, but is it rather common, extremely rare, are there specific guests that won't allow photos for sure? 

Thank you in advance for the help, and again, I apologize if this is silly or has already been answered  I'm super excited to be part of the event this year! 

[Raylenth]

17 minutes ago, Regal Unicorn said:

Hi everyone, another first-timer here  So my apologies if my questions are silly! 

1. If there is a clash between two paid activities (specifically, the Lana Parrilla/Robert Carlyle duo photo shoot is right in the middle of the Lucifer talk on Sunday), I have to choose between them, right? Or is there a way to pop out of the talk for the photo and get back in?
2. Is it possible to watch the guests signing for other people for a short while from afar? I understand you need a VQ ticket to join the queue, but is there a way to stand further away and just look at them for a few minutes? 
3. How common is it for the guests to allow photos and/or posed photos at the auto table? I understand there is no way to know for sure, and that there are signs, but is it rather common, extremely rare, are there specific guests that won't allow photos for sure? 

Thank you in advance for the help, and again, I apologize if this is silly or has already been answered  I'm super excited to be part of the event this year! 

1.  You can indeed leave a talk and pop back if you show them your ticket on reentry/tell them on the entry point you will be back when leaving (but your seat might not still be free unless someone keeps it for you) but depending on the timing you may still miss a lot of it - between the time it takes you to get over and 10 mins minimum in the photo queue it might not work to go back in, so you might be better just seeing the first half of the talk and rushing over to the end of the duo.

2.  Not really unless it's an open queue, the only people allowed in it will be VQ holders and you can't really get one to just go and look at them as if the guest is busy they will only allow people who are paying up.  Unfortunately a lot of people want to get a glimpse of the guests so the area can get very full with people trying to see them.

3.  Hard to say, some do some don't but it's safe to say it's very unlikely the big/busy names will be doing selfies as they will be too busy.  All we can go by is the signs, and outside of the big/busy ones I don't think there's even many you can say won't allow them, unless you count the older guests who won't want to be continually posing for people.  We just can't say for certain before hand.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Raylenth

[Ravogd]

1 hour ago, Regal Unicorn said:

Hi everyone, another first-timer here  So my apologies if my questions are silly! 

1. If there is a clash between two paid activities (specifically, the Lana Parrilla/Robert Carlyle duo photo shoot is right in the middle of the Lucifer talk on Sunday), I have to choose between them, right? Or is there a way to pop out of the talk for the photo and get back in?
2. Is it possible to watch the guests signing for other people for a short while from afar? I understand you need a VQ ticket to join the queue, but is there a way to stand further away and just look at them for a few minutes? 
3. How common is it for the guests to allow photos and/or posed photos at the auto table? I understand there is no way to know for sure, and that there are signs, but is it rather common, extremely rare, are there specific guests that won't allow photos for sure? 

Thank you in advance for the help, and again, I apologize if this is silly or has already been answered  I'm super excited to be part of the event this year! 

To add to what Ray said the “biggest” guests will be enclosed within their own booth so you won’t be able to see them at all. It is generally discouraged to stand and look anyway at the busier guests as it causes congestion in the queueing areas.

[Sebster118]

2 hours ago, Regal Unicorn said:

3. How common is it for the guests to allow photos and/or posed photos at the auto table? I understand there is no way to know for sure, and that there are signs, but is it rather common, extremely rare, are there specific guests that won't allow photos for sure? 

 

From my observations and experiences, the more expensive the autograph, the less likely a posed photo or photo will be possible.