SDCC '12

In a few hours, reservations for hotel rooms for this year's San Diego Comic-Con are going to be available, kicking off the annual rite known as Hotel-o-ween. YOU never know what you're going to get—it might be a trick, or it might be a treat.

[As shown by our lively comments thread on our previous whither WonderCon posts, people love guessing what's up with Comic-Con! Rather than guess, we sat down with CCI's VP of Marketing and Public Relations as the show was winding down on Sunday to find out where it will be next year, and what other changes in this year's Big Show we can expect.]

It was fast and it was pitiless, like a cheetah taking down a wildebeest. At 8:00 PST, badges for this year's Comic-Con in San Diego went on sale. In about 30 minutes, all 4-day passes were gone, and within another 10, all of the single-day passes were gone. By 9 am PST, it was all over but the crying....and the tweeting. By comparison, it took seven hours for the process last year. And that was after three previous attempts crashed every website known to man.

Our friends at Comic-Con International really are trying to get out as much information as possible for everyone trying to get a badge at tomorrow's top secret convocation. To get yourself oriented, you may want to watch this training video.

Yep, a training video. Just pretend your's Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards in STARSHIP TROOPERS.

And, just in case you didn't know, it's going to be a long grueling slog over the surface of Klendathu.

The first email has gone out with the time for San Diego Comic-Con badge sales. Although the email urges everyone to keep it a little secret between themselves and Comic-Con, the on-sale is already being tweeted about and won't stay secret long. HOWEVER, if you do not have a Member ID forget it -- you cannot buy a badge.

If you are even vaguely dreaming of going to Comic-Con this year...you need to get get a Member ID. Like, if you think you might suddenly win the lottery and decide to go; or if your TV show might be premiering there... you need a Member ID.

According to the organizers themselves, the key factor in Comic Con’s 2010 decision to spurn suitors from  Anaheim and Los Angeles, and to stay in San Diego (at least through 2015) was the stated commitment of local hotels to not gouge future visiting Con-goers with jacked up rates during the Con.  It was, however, the promise by local politicians and hoteliers to pursue an ambitious expansion of the San Diego convention center (already bursting at the seams from the 125,000 capacity of the Con) that was expected to lock down Comic Con in San Diego long term.

This year's Hoteloween—the day hotel reservations become available for the 2012 edition of the Comic-Con International: San Diego—is March 29th, but it's already running a little differently. Perhaps hoping to develop a better model than the recent all-or-nothing stampedes, Con organizers seem to be doling things out in timed-release fashion.