By Amanda Moses
New York Comic Con (NYCC) has returned to its full force this year, bringing back all-star celebrities such as Daniel Radcliffe, Sebastian Stan, Jamie Lee Curtis, James McAvoy, Michael J. Fox, and other notable entertainment, comic, gaming, and literary guests. From October 6th to October 8th, fans have the opportunity to score limited edition comics, purchase autographs and photo ops with their favorite celebrities, and attend fun, and sometimes, exclusive panels.
With the return of NYCC also comes a few changes, such as paying for guaranteed seating at panels and purchasing VIP packages. This includes Sam Heughan, from Outlander, meet and greets with panel seats, Steven Burns Experience, the Jim Lee Experience, 3 Worlds, 3 Moons, and an evening with Leigh Bardugo, Dani Pendergast, and Demon in the Wood. Many of these events run up from $127 with a required NYCC Badge (sold separately).
For example, the highest price for the Meet and Greet with Heughan is $1,502. 75—this includes a 4-day ticket at NYCC (valued at $210), one photo op, a 25-minute meet and greet including selfies, front row seats at an evening and morning panel, and VIP concierge. The next high roller event at NYCC is “An evening with the Back to the Future Duo Event,” which can cost as low at $60 just for a guaranteed seat (does not include NYCC badge) or at most $999 for the Premium package: gold ticket to the vent, in person autograph if a “bulk item of your choice” from Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and a photo ops.
For those who are strapped for cash after purchasing their NYCC badges (single days cost $67 each), the other opportunity to attend these exclusive panels is to make reservations (or try your luck waiting outside the panel the day of in hopes of an overflow line). These reservations opened on Sept. 26th via NYCC’s third party site with Thuzi; however, several mishaps occurred, and the system had to be put on pause and rescheduled for a later date since over 27,000 users flooded their servers, which became vastly overwhelmed. Thuzi managed to evaluate their system and relaunched for attendees to quickly reserve their spot at an exclusive panel. In previous years, this was all done by a lottery system where people selected what they wanted to see and hoped for the best.
NYCC is all about planning ahead for the best experience possible. If the panels you wanted to attend are fully reserved, try focusing on purchasing autographs and looking deep into the schedule to see what some things that you are interested in. If all else fails, just have fun. There are so many things to see and try, just prepare yourself for long lines and expensive merchandise and food. I suggest bringing an empty water container (there are water refilling stations) and packing sandwiches and snack to munch on!
Photo by Amanda Moses
