Anime Boston

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know the pre-reg will be taken at Connecticon this weekend August 1-3rd, followed by Otakon next weekend August 8-10th. Registration will be $35 for the entire weekend and we accept cash or check only. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Can't get to either of those.

One question about the in-person prereg: Can you do a group prereg at the in-person events or do we have to wait for online prereg to do group prereg?

Need to know, due to having a group of at least 5 (including myself) that want to go to AB'09 but don't all want to stand in the line to get their badges.

As one of the people working the Anime Boston and Providence Anime Conference booth at ConnectiCon this weekend, I can tell you that we're not accepting group pre-registrations.

Historically, Anime Boston has not had group pre-registration available until after the first rate increase...so really, the rate you'd pay then (after pre-reg is online AND after the rate goes up) is the same as you'd pay individually right now.

Also, groups are 10+ people, you don't have enough people to group reg right now.

[quote=PatrickD]Historically, Anime Boston has not had group pre-registration available until after the first rate increase...so really, the rate you'd pay then (after pre-reg is online AND after the rate goes up) is the same as you'd pay individually right now.[/quote]
I think he was worried more about only one person having to wait in line than saving money. :laugh:

[quote=BasharOfTheAges][quote=PatrickD]Historically, Anime Boston has not had group pre-registration available until after the first rate increase...so really, the rate you'd pay then (after pre-reg is online AND after the rate goes up) is the same as you'd pay individually right now.[/quote]
I think he was worried more about only one person having to wait in line than saving money. :laugh: [/quote]

Correct Bash. One of my friends did not attend AB'08 due to fact he cannot stand in a line for hours and hours. We thought we had gotten Group at an inperson prereg. No one had told us that groups had to be 10+ (it was a group of 3). I had already gotten mine, and my friend who was supposed to pick up the group was able to get his. So my other friend spent that weekend in the hotel room. Hopefully AB'09 will go good for all.

I wish I saw you at CT con yesterday. I would've been all over that pre-reg

Question: It's a high possibility that I'll be getting free admission for running panels and stuff. Should I bother pre-regging this year or just wait and get it for free so you guys don't have to go through the hassle of refunding the money?

[quote=Fetch]Correct Bash. One of my friends did not attend AB'08 due to fact he cannot stand in a line for hours and hours. We thought we had gotten Group at an inperson prereg. No one had told us that groups had to be 10+ (it was a group of 3). I had already gotten mine, and my friend who was supposed to pick up the group was able to get his. So my other friend spent that weekend in the hotel room. Hopefully AB'09 will go good for all.[/quote]
I think there's some confusion over terms here...

Group = 10+ people and $5 discounts (not available until after first rate increase)

Party = You can declare a "party leader" who will pick up all badges for everyone in your party. On the good side, this means that only that person needs to wait in line. On the bad side, it means ONLY that person can pick up the badges and you can't do it individually. Refer to Question 18 of the Registration FAQ for more information.

Group registrations mean more now than just the group rate. It can get really confusing, I know. There are important differences between the terms Group, Group Discounts, and Party Leader. They all deal with groups but are used differently in terms of the database and how I classify people.

Groups are parties of 2 or more people. Groups, simply put, are people who register together and pay together. This is especially important when it comes to online registration because it differentiates the person paying from the rest of the group and is important when sorting out registration issues that arise. So technically you can always register a group, whether in person or online.

Group discounts refers to the special discount available to groups of 10+. The group rate is available online only and only after the rate has increased to $40. At that time you can save $5 per person with at least 10 people.

Next is party leader, which refers to the person selected in the group to pick up all the badges for everyone in the group. This means not everyone has to stand in line at the con to pick up their badge, only the party leader. This option is always available whether online or at in person events.

I hope that clarifies some things.


Also, Kiarrens, being a panel organizer gets you reimbursements, not free admissions, so you should pre-register.

Ah. So it was a error in terminology. I hate those.
My friend's plan for '09 is to get 10+ of us together, give our leader the money, and have him prereg us all as a group online (some of us don't have credit cards). And then he and I will stand in the line of the Thursday. Him to actually get the badges, me to be extra set of hands. ^_^

[quote=Kiarrens]Question: It's a high possibility that I'll be getting free admission for running panels and stuff. Should I bother pre-regging this year or just wait and get it for free so you guys don't have to go through the hassle of refunding the money?[/quote]

I still say pre-reg anyway. Our panel selection rule is that if you haven't pre-regged, your panel will not be approved for the convention. While I agree that given your previous history with AB, you'll probably get at least one panel next year (should you apply), it's just not fair to make an exception for just one person.

[quote=Dragonmaster Lou][quote=Kiarrens]Question: It's a high possibility that I'll be getting free admission for running panels and stuff. Should I bother pre-regging this year or just wait and get it for free so you guys don't have to go through the hassle of refunding the money?[/quote]

I still say pre-reg anyway. Our panel selection rule is that if you haven't pre-regged, your panel will not be approved for the convention. While I agree that given your previous history with AB, you'll probably get at least one panel next year (should you apply), it's just not fair to make an exception for just one person.[/quote]
Wasn't expecting an exception, lol. I'll pre-reg at Otakon. I always come hang out at the AB booth for a bit anyway.

[quote=Fetch]Ah. So it was a error in terminology. I hate those.
My friend's plan for '09 is to get 10+ of us together, give our leader the money, and have him prereg us all as a group online (some of us don't have credit cards). And then he and I will stand in the line of the Thursday. Him to actually get the badges, me to be extra set of hands. ^_^[/quote]

When Pre-registration opens everyone gets the $35 rate. So don't hesitate to jump on it, and you won't need 10+ in order to get that rate. The group discount ONLY applies when the badge price increases to $40. The discount is then -$5 so it's still $35 for large groups of 10+. There's no point in waiting if you have your group together by the time online reg is up (And it might be a good thing if you don't have enough people for when it does go up)

I would have bought my tickets at Otakon but since you are at the same time as Anime North, I won't be able to come again next year. Hope it won't be a hard year for both cons since both of you are in the top 10 biggest cons in North America with Anime North being 4th and Anime Boston being 7th

[quote=jusdepomme]I would have bought my tickets at Otakon but since you are at the same time as Anime North, I won't be able to come again next year. Hope it won't be a hard year for both cons since both of you are in the top 10 biggest cons in North America with Anime North being 4th and Anime Boston being 7th [/quote]
They've reported a total attendance of 13,300 people in 2008. Anime Boston had a total attendance of 14,339 people this year.

We were the same weekend as Anime North in 2006 and it certainly didn't affect us then. I don't think it will affect us much in 2009 either.

[quote=Eilonnwy][quote=Fetch]Ah. So it was a error in terminology. I hate those.
My friend's plan for '09 is to get 10+ of us together, give our leader the money, and have him prereg us all as a group online (some of us don't have credit cards). And then he and I will stand in the line of the Thursday. Him to actually get the badges, me to be extra set of hands. ^_^[/quote]

When Pre-registration opens everyone gets the $35 rate. So don't hesitate to jump on it, and you won't need 10+ in order to get that rate. The group discount ONLY applies when the badge price increases to $40. The discount is then -$5 so it's still $35 for large groups of 10+. There's no point in waiting if you have your group together by the time online reg is up (And it might be a good thing if you don't have enough people for when it does go up)[/quote]

The point is to have as few of us in line as possible so the few of our bunch that can't get their on the Thursday can just meet up with us on the Friday, take their badges from us, and enjoy the con to the max. Most of them are cosplayers, and last year they all spent a good bit of time at Security getting their props looked over.
#35 on the reg FAQ states that you can't add people to your party or group after you've prereged a party or group. So we have to plan it carefully.

well, I guess it'll be just me an my bunch of friend who won't be able to come then ;_; I wanted to come back so much