D23 Expo Question for Sorcerer Tix

[Nicoleinwi]

Anxiously awaiting the day to try to get sorcerer tix for next year. Trying to figure out vacation time for 2015. The expo will be a Fri - Sun. In 2013 sorcerer tix got into the expo a day early. Does that mean Thursday? Or does the expo not open until Saturday and it would be Friday while other stuff is going on. Thanks!

 

[tinkcollector]

At the last Expo Sorcerer's where able to go in on Thursday. We had a tour of the convention floor and the general lay-out. I can't decide to try and get tickets this time or not.

 

[Nicoleinwi]

Thanks for the info. On Thurs were you able to do any shopping or was it just a tour of the floor and layout?

You have a few more weeks to make up your mind. I just get so bored standing in a line so for me even though the cost is very high for what I think I will get out of the sorcerer tix, it would beat having to stand in line for hours to get into some of the speakers.

 

[Bookpodder]

As I recall, we were able to go into the Dream Store on the "preview day", but not Mickey's of Glendale, The Disney Store or any other retail shopping. They still had a TON of setup to do on that Thursday, so it really was just a quick walk around to get a feel for the layout.

With the ticket info being released today - including a $500 price jump for the Sorcerers package to $2000 - I'm out. Following the 2013 Expo, I felt that the then price of $1500 was not worth the cost. I had some good experiences at the Expo, but find it really difficult to justify that price, just to skip lines. The other "perks" were definitely unimpressive - a gift tote filled with close-out merchandise and promotional do-dads, an incredibly poorly organized desert party, other "receptions" which weren't much more than conference rooms with bowls of pretzels laid out... all in all, not worth it, in my opinion.

Apart from the issues I had with the Sorcerers package, the Expo itself was underwhelming and lacked, I felt, the many "big" moments that happened during the 2009 Expo (I skipped 2011).

 

[starshollowchic]

I have been saving for this chance for years but not sure if I am still convinced...I am hearing mixed reviews. Did you find it hard to shop and get what you wanted or were things still sold out? Did you still have to try to be one of the first in line for a chance? thanks so much for any advice.

 

[Lumish family]

sounds amazing!!!

 

[Bookpodder]

I have been saving for this chance for years but not sure if I am still convinced...I am hearing mixed reviews. Did you find it hard to shop and get what you wanted or were things still sold out? Did you still have to try to be one of the first in line for a chance? thanks so much for any advice.

I'll share my observances, somewhat removed from perhaps the perspective you are looking for, since I do not consider myself a Disney fan motivated primarily by shopping. No judgement from me toward those who are into the shopping, it's just not my "thing." I like Disney parks, I like Disney history... and the last Expo was extremely light on both.

During the Expo, the only shopping I did was in the Collector's Forum (or whatever it was called where outside exhibitors/collectors were able to sell things) and at Mickey's of Glendale.

In advance of the Expo, we received a link to review Expo merchandise and to participate in an RSP "opportunity" to be selected to have a chance to pre-order some merchandise, but there was nothing available at that stage that appealed to me.

Going into the Disney Dream Store as a Sorcerer on the preview day, there wasn't any merchandise I was interested in (unlike 2009, where they seemed to have a lot more appealing - to me - Expo specific merchandise). I specifically remember, once I was finished looking around - and choosing not to buy anything - that the cast member watching the exit was baffled by me leaving empty handed. Guess it's not a common site at a Disney event.

On subsequent days, the Dream Store as well as the Disney Store and Mickey's of Glendale all had insanely long lines, just to get into them, all day , every day of the expo. When I went into the Dream Store on the final day, it was stripped pretty bare.

While waiting in lines for presentations, I heard other Sorcerers talking about particular merchandise they were hoping to get, or had gotten, but had missed presentations they had wanted to see in order to do so.

I guess it comes down to whether paying Disney $2000 in order to have the opportunity to give them more money for premium-priced merchandise is worth it to you. The tricky thing is, with tickets on sale soon - and Sorcerers tickets have sold out in mere minutes in years past - your decision has to be made long before you have any idea what merchandise will be made available, so it seems like a bit of a gamble.

 

[klam_chowder]

Sorcerers, thx for sharing your experiences!

I am considering going to my first D23 with this pkg and was wondering about how to purchase the tickets. I know D23 Gold and Silver members are allowed to purchase 2 tickets but do you have to have names attached to the ticket at time of purchase?

I'm asking because I know it sells out in a matter of minutes, and traditionally Disney websites have been problematic/finicky on mass registration days so my friend and I are thinking of both trying to get tickets. But we won't know if the each other will get through the purchasing system before it sells out. I've read accounts of people thinking they'd bought tickets and after submitting their credit card info, and some spinning/loading, it says it was unsuccessful. If we both get two tickets, we probably know enough Disney fans that someone will want the ticket but I'm just worried about being able to change the name (I don't even know if there are names on the tickets - I'm just guessing there must be).

Appreciate any insight on how it works.

cheers,

 

[Bookpodder]

I'll certainly defer to anyone who has the documentation to show otherwise, but I THINK that when I made the purchase of Sorcerer tickets for the last Expo, each ticket had to be registered to an individual and, as usual, tickets, once purchased, were non-refundable and non-transferable. There's a good chance they'd work with you to resolve an issue, but I'd be hesitant to take that chance with that much money on the table.

 

[klam_chowder]

Bookpodder, thx a mint for the reply and info. Makes it tough to decide what to do - go for it? get shut out? #firstworldproblems, I know

cheers,

 

[Nicoleinwi]

Last night I talked to DH about the increased cost over the $1500 I was planning. As of right now we are just going with regular tix. I can't justify $4k so I don't have to stand in line for the main presentations. However going without I do realize I probably won't see many (or any) presentations. I won't stand in line for 5+ hours to get into arena. Lol even $3k was hard to justify but figured it'd be a once in a lifetime thing to do.

From previous years it looks like a lot of good stuff just in the regular expo, and I don't mind waiting in lines just not the super long for arena. I never looked at 2013 schedule, if I would have I may not have considered the sorcerer at $1500.

It was a hard decision but I guess I'd rather spend more money on merchandise then the sorcerer tix. For comparison without spending money just hotel, d23 tix, airfare, airport transfers and food money with sorcerer tix cost would be about $6,500. To do regular tix but adding on a 3day park hopper (as we weren't going to do DL before) total cost for all the same (food, hotel, etc) I'm estimating about $3k. I know I won't feel as guilty buying a lot of stuff at the reg ticet price.

 

[wwwosie]

Hi!
I was a sorcerer in 2013. Attended both the 2009 and 2011 Expos as a regular guest. I feel that, content wise, the 2009 Expo was the best (Johnny Depp!) except that even then the lines were problematic. In 2011 I made the decision to try to purchase a Sorcerer ticket for 2013 because of the ridiculousness of the lines, it seemed that they didn't learn anything the first time around. From my perspective, as a Sorcerer, I had a lot of fun and met a bunch of really super nice people. Although I am a bit of a shopper, I too, was underwhelmed by the merchandise availability in 2013. One thing that made me angry (and again, it's just a personal opinion) were the Sorcerers who bought merchandise exclusively to sell it at ridiculous markups (some of that merchandise is STILL on ebay - like the pin sets that they have been trying to get 1000.00 when they only paid $250.00) Another downside of it was folks in the regular lines who were making some not very positive comments about Sorcerers loud enough for us to hear them, and obnoxious enough for us to request they move our lines somewhere else. The dessert reception WAS a joke as were the snacks available in the lounge. Many positives though: being up close to Idina Menzel and Angelina Jolie, having a brief conversation with Tom Staggs, being able to tour the floor the day before (although they weren't done setting up yet), seeing a preview of Blank, a Vinylmation love story, a couple of really cool gifts and most of all, not spending 5 hours in line just to be told you can't get in. Also, Karen (I think that's her name) the woman in charge of our little tribe was great. All that said, I am not sure what justifies the $500.00 increase in price. Even with a Sorcerer ticket there will be things that are missed just because of the layout of the event. If you haven't done it before, it's a blast, but for those of us who HAVE done it before, and IF they don't fix some of the problems we had, it just my be frustrating to pay more for the same.

 

[ImDMous]

I have been to all three Expos as a non-Sorcerer. Last year they started a Fast-Pass sort of system for the panels. Each day is divided into 2 sessions, roughly one that goes to noon and one that starts at noon until the end of the day. For each session, each guest could get a Fast-Pass for one panel. There was one booth that had a huge but fast moving line that opened about an hour before the session started. You got in line and when you got to the front you told them what you wanted to see. They kept track of what sessions where filling up and posted them on the board so if what you wanted was full you could be prepared to pick something else or just get out of line.

If you had a Fast-Pass for a session, you had to be there 15 minutes before it started. They sat everyone with a Pass first and then let in people waiting in line if there were still seats. Still not a guarantee of seeing everything, but at least you could guarantee you would see 2 panels a day if you stood in the Pass line both times. You are still free to just wait in the panel line, they don't give out Fast-Passes to completely fill the panel. There were one or two panels whose Fast-Passes ran out before we got to the front, so we just picked something else.

It was far from a perfect scenario but much better than the free-for-all of the 2011 Expo.

 

[klam_chowder]

Nicoleinwi, wwwosie, and ImDMous very interesting to read your perspectives - thx for taking the time to reply.

Since I missed the Muppets presentation in 2011 and the Menken/Sherman concert in 2013, I've been gearing up in my mind that I had to do 2015 as a Sorcerer. So when ticket prices were announced, I almost ignored it thinking it's a once in a lifetime.

However, reading your rationales and experiences really has me thinking about it now. I did a "Nicoleinwi's comparison" and after D23 reg tix, airfare and hotel, I'd have over $600 leftover compared to *only* the cost of a Sorcerer pkg.

Guess I better decide!

cheers,

 

[gogogoman5]

The tickets seem to be worth it. I don't think that I will pass over the big bucks to get the special tickets, but for someone with the money, do it!

 

[wwwosie]

So Klam-chowder, what did you end up doing?

 

[klam_chowder]

Thx for asking - I was going to post back but didn't want to hijack the thread even more.

I decided to leave it up to fate: I would try for Sorcerer tix and if I was shut out, then I'd get the event pass.

Had a really difficult time with their website and logging in, etc. So by the time I got through (4 mins into sales), all Sorcerer tix were already gone. I am wait listed now. If I am cleared If not, and I get regular event tix, Either way I am just so happy that I will be at my first expo!

Thx for to all who shared their experiences!

cheers,