Messages

To be very frank, it's actually a lot more work for us to do the group registration using the form we are using since we'll need to manually validate all information in the form.

In the least, I'm very glad some people are very happy about this.

We are listening to your feedback and we will do all we can to provide exceptional service given the circumstances and constraints we all have - mainly being a volunteer run convention. ^______^

Hi!

When you get to FanimeCon to pick up your badges, please go to the Special Registration Line and we will be happy to check both you and your child in. All children must be registered with us, even if they are babies. The child must be present at the time of badge pickup.

The Special Registration line should not be too long.



**note for everyone else reading this: if you attempt to use the Special Registration line for a child registration/self check-in and we find the child is not actually 10 years of age or younger, we will send you to the back of the line with no exceptions.

I have been trying to do online registration, but have had no luck since it seems the registration page is being updated.  The thing is the page said the new registration page will be open on May 3rd.  It has already past and no luck.  Is there an ETA for the registration page?

Sorry about that- we've been having technical difficulties with some aspects of it. We should have it 100% up and running at latest by Tuesday- though it depends on when we can get our email service completely up.

It has been intermittently on and off though, as of the 3rd.

Sorry about the inconvenience- and thank you so much for your patience!

I do suggest that if you want to swap the badge background, to go on Monday right before closing and ask if you can swap the badge background at the specific convention you'd like to get.

How about an expired CA driver's license? Mine will expire in a week and I've already renewed it, but the new one will be sent in the mail, HOPEFULLY in time, but if it's not, all I have is a printed temporary license with no picture on it.

If the new one gets lost in the mail or delayed, is that going to be a problem?

An expired license is not a valid form of ID. In your case, I would bring the expired ID (if your new one does not expire in time) and some other ID with your picture and name on it.

[UPDATE:]

Hi all!

Just thought I'd make a friendly announcement on this forum where it would be visible.

If you pick up your badge at Clockwork Alchemy, you will get a Clockwork Alchemy badge design. If you pick up your badge at FanimeCon, you will get a FanimeCon badge design.

Thank you!

UPDATE:
Based on recent projections, it is entirely possible that CA may not have enough badge stock for CA attendees if Clockwork Alchemy is flooded with FanimeCon members coming to pick up their badges at Clockwork Alchemy. Our system architect summed it up well here:

Based on my models, I expect that the time to shuttle to and from Clockwork plus their wait time will be more than the max line wait after we open. We have scaled the two registration systems based on the sizes of the conventions, and there is a real risk we'll overrun Clockwork. This will have the nasty side effect that we'll run out of Clockwork badges (they'll have to switch to Fanime artwork), and that will make our steam punk friends sad.

Reality can and will differ from my models, but if it were me I'd reg at the con I intend to attend.

We have ordered a good amount of standard member badges for CA members only but it is theoretically possible for Clockwork Alchemy to run out of Clockwork Alchemy badges on Thursday and will therefore have to use FanimeCon badges for the rest of the weekend. It may actually not be a shorter wait time to pick up your badge at CA as they have limited resources such as staff and check-in booths.

Essentially: we can process upwards of 10x faster than Clockwork Alchemy given that FanimeCon is equipped to handle large numbers of people whereas Clockwork Alchemy is not. Go to FanimeCon to pick up your badge if you are attending FanimeCon.

Non-college student IDs are fine as long as they are valid. E.g. if someone uses their middle school ID but are much older than middle school, we will most likely have an issue with it and may not accept it.

A high school ID is fine as long as it is valid.

As long as we can tell that the picture is you, it's fine. Makeup and wig is permissible as it's not a mask (we usually tell people to take off their masks if they have one on).

Around what time in May should I expect this e-mail? Sometimes e-mails get buried in my spam box.

I don't have an exact time frame. I would say in two weeks. We'll be giving out announcements once we do send them out.

Fantastic, thank you for answering that. One additional question I had was what if someone didn't receive that e-mail for whatever reason? Is there a number for Registration that we can call in regards to any issues that pop up?

By then, there will be no number to call. At that time, you can get it resent via our new website using the "resend confirmation e-mail" link. It may take some time to get put up, however!

Thanks.

I did a forum search, saw that last year that Clockwork allowed for Thursday pickup at Clockwork's location.
I did a search and couldn't find any confirmation for this year I just wanted to be sure as I requested to pick up my badge there this year instead at the convention center.
Will this apply to this year as well?
Thank you :)

The Clockwork Alchemy registration FAQs indicate that yes, Thursday badge pickup will be an option. The exact times that registration at the Double Tree will open have not been posted yet.

Hrmm. Let me get on that. I'll poke them to post it. Thanks!

There is no difference in charges for whatever badge pickup location you choose. That is there purely for demographic information among other similar things.

Around what time in May should I expect this e-mail? Sometimes e-mails get buried in my spam box.

I don't have an exact time frame. I would say in two weeks. We'll be giving out announcements once we do send them out.

Have the times for Thursday badge pickup been announced yet?

Thursday times are extremely TBA as it depends on the number of Registration staff that is available to start working. I can say we will be open by 3pm until 8pm but when we initially open is in the air until further notice, which we hope to firm up soon. However, I will say again that Thursday is our must understaffed day.

When will we know for sure? My boyfriend has to buy train tickets and needs to know when to plan to show up, and I have other people who need to know for other reasons.

As for being understaffed, I would be willing to volunteer for that, but I'm not willing to work the whole con. Just Thursday, cuz that needs the most help. Like, I wouldn't even care about getting any cost off my badge. I'd just rather be on the other side actually making a difference than standing/sitting in line. So far, everyone I've asked about the possibility of partial-staffing/volunteering for no reimbursement isn't possible, though.

We are setting the time for 3pm-8pm on Thursday. We will try to open up earlier but at this time, I cannot promise anything other than 3pm as our official start.

Thank you for your patience.

[don't]

Wait, so if you register from April 1st until online reg closes, you don't get to pick up your badge on Day 0?

Quoting this because I didn't get a straight answer. Do people who registered online after MArch 31st get to pick up their badges on Day 0?

When will we know for sure? My boyfriend has to buy train tickets and needs to know when to plan to show up, and I have other people who need to know for other reasons.

You probably want to be earlier rather than later, given that people will be lining up well in advance of 3 o'clock.

As for being understaffed, I would be willing to volunteer for that, but I'm not willing to work the whole con. Just Thursday, cuz that needs the most help. Like, I wouldn't even care about getting any cost off my badge. I'd just rather be on the other side actually making a difference than standing/sitting in line.

This. I'd rather do something productive that helps the line move rather than just stand in it.

For your first quote- I've edited my above post. We will not be limiting pickups on Thursdays to pre-paid members. However, I will urge members to pick up their badge on Friday as opposed to Thursday, as we will have long lines then.

For your last point- Registration will only work with volunteers who have gone through the volunteer process. If you'd like more information or clarification, please e-mail volunteers[AT]fanime[DOT]com.

I recently moved to California but don't have a CA State I.D. yet, just my Delaware I.D. On my Pre-reg info, though, I put my California address. Will that cause any issues for badge pick up or should I bring my passport, instead?

Yes. As long as the name of the membership matches your valid ID and you have the confirmation e-mail we will send you in May, then that will be enough.

If there are problems with your membership during the time of pick-up, I would advise to bring something that also displays your name and your current California address like a utility bill.

[don't]

Wait, so if you register from April 1st until online reg closes, you don't get to pick up your badge on Day 0?

Edit: Serously, please do up something like this:

Group A Registration: $50, registered at end of FanimeCon previous year.
Group B Registration: $55, online registration from open-Feburary 28th 2014
Group C Registration: $65, online registration from March 1st - March 31st
Group D Registration: $75, online registration from April 1st until close
Group E Registration: $75, online registration during Fanime Con

Then you just need to say stuff like "Groups A,B, & C can pick-up Day 0" instead of using the half-dozen ambiguous terms the FAQ has now.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Will those selling at Artist Alley or the Dealers hall be able to surpass the pre-registration line? That was very convenient in previous years.

Artists Alley will have their own set of instructions on where to pick up their badge. In addition, Dealers participants also will pick up their badge in a separate area, like they did last year as well.

Essentially, if you're a special group, you should/will be told where to pick up your badge.

Thanks for clarifying it. Could someone update the FAQ? There was a debate ongoing on Facebook and some people were under the impression that if you registered after March 31st you couldn't pick up your badge on Day 0.

Right. For the sake of time and staff on Thursdays though, I will be attempting to have a cutoff date for online registrants. Those who register and pay after the 31st will not be able to pick up on Thursday. I'll edit the FAQ both on the website and on the forums once I have a good chunk of time to do so.

Edit: we will not be limiting Thursday to any pre-paid members BUT I will advise everyone that Thursday is extremely busy and may contain long lines.

So... you guys will be open (as in handing out badges) starting at 3 PM at least, but it might be even earlier? That's great, I think last year's 7 PM start time was hard on everyone.

I am not promising anything regarding earlier, and of course, barring any huge incident. Yes, I agree, the late start time last year was hard on everyone, including staff. Luckily, we have the venue much earlier this year instead of starting at 2pm last year.

Sorry- this year, we are absolutely requiring your e-postcard printed out and with you, along with your photo ID.

I'm glad to hear it. But what happens if someone doesn't have it? Do they get told to come back tomorrow?

They can use their smart phones with the code pulled up, or ask the nearby hotels if they can use their business center + printer.

I am confirming that 1 membership for any convention covers "admission" to both conventions. Therefore, if you choose to purchase a CA membership, you will be able to gain entry to FanimeCon and Clockwork Alchemy during the time your membership is valid.

Um... this actually needs confirmation?

Yes, not only for the original question, but for people who are also unsure and are new to both conventions! Better to be safe than sorry.

If you register online between April 1st and whenever online registration ends, are you still able to pick up on Day 0?

Edit: Also the FAQ is confusing, what's the difference between "Pre-Registration", "Prepaid" and "Early Registration?" Because all the terms are used in different contexts and different capitalization without there being any hard definitions.

Maybe you could start calling them "Reg Group A" and "Reg Group B" or something, or nail down what counts as what for clarity.

Pre-registration and prepaid are essentially the same. We are doing away with Early Registration since that is what we used in previous years.

Since Fanime may be printing labels for badges at-con like they did last year it is possible that you might be able to pay for your badge Thursday morning (day 0) and pick it up that day when they open for badge pick-up. They would no longer have to print out all the "pre-reg" badges ahead of time (double checked and they do not seem to have a cut off time for online full-weekend registration). Also, it seems like they will have 2 lines for the rest of the con, paid online and pay at-con. Because they now allow even one day attendees to pay online the day of.

It is possible, but I highly discourage that. Thursdays are typically very understaffed with extremely long lines since many attendees come to pick up their badge on Thursdays.

Confirmed- we will have essentially 2 lines- Paid online and Pay At-Con/Register. They have slightly different labels, but the meaning is essentially the same.

Since Fanime may be printing labels for badges at-con like they did last year it is possible that you might be able to pay for your badge Thursday morning (day 0) and pick it up that day when they open for badge pick-up.

If that's the case it's a definite change from last year. Pre-reg will likely be closed sometime in early to mid-May.

Sorry- this is incorrect. We will be closing for about a week or two (it is not known yet but we will announce it ahead of time), and then come back up via a different registration website and system. We are hoping to minimize the amount of down time for online registration while also switching these systems for the at-con system.

Have the times for Thursday badge pickup been announced yet?

Thursday times are extremely TBA as it depends on the number of Registration staff that is available to start working. I can say we will be open by 3pm until 8pm but when we initially open is in the air until further notice, which we hope to firm up soon. However, I will say again that Thursday is our must understaffed day.

[Online]

1. Is it okay if I make someone else in my group the group leader even though I'm paying for everyone's badges? Because I don't have a Government Issued ID, only a High school ID (last year they let me get my group's badges with my school ID but I don't wanna push my luck for this year...). I'm the only person in the group with enough money to pay for everyone.

2. Is the Group Leader picks up the badges rule going to be properly followed this year? Because last year your STAFF was giving me a hard time when I was picking up my group's badges. I had the paperwork and everything to show I was the group leader but they wouldn't give me my groups badges because I wasn't the "owner" of their badges. Luckily my group came with me on Day 0 so we were able to pick up our badges, but I really don't want to have to go this problem again.

3. Does the Group Name appear on anything (like our Badges)? I'm just wondering since we're running really low on time and can't decide on a group name lol.

(Not a staff member)
1. Yes I think you can, every year before this I've signed everyone in my group up and used my paypal to buy all badges, but have only been group leader one year. I don't see why you shouldn't be able too.

2. That seems really strange, we've never had problems getting everyone's badges so I can't explain that at all.....

3. I think I've read that the group name doesn't appear on the badge. Just the standard info that's on them every year.

Hi!

Group name will not appear on the badge. Just Fan Name and Legal name will appear on your badge.

As to #2, I would heavily doubt that- "owner" does not show up in our system as I'm assuming with "owner" you mean person who paid? The group leader is the only one who is authorized to pick up the group's badges.

In the past, Fanime hasn't offered one day badges during pre- or early-registration for individuals OR groups. One day badges have to be purchased at-con.

According to the first post on this thread, they are not offered during pre- or early- registration (terms fanime seems to be moving away from using). But you CAN pay for them online. You must still purchase them online on the SAME day you wish to attend and then pick them up at the convention center. (or clockwork alchemy)

This is confirmed. You will only be able to purchase one-day memberships on the day-of.

3. Is there a way to group register for a single day? For example, if 4 people want to attend on Saturday only.

Yes, there will be!

4. If registration opens at 12:01 AM, does this mean we can come as early as (hypothetically) 4 AM to pick up badges? Do you think this will reduce the crazy lines we saw last year?

You're confusing two things there- Online registration opens up at 12:01am- but the physical location of FanimeCon Registration & pickup opens at 8am.