Announcing the 2011 Attendance Cap

[Xeknos]

Check passes in the halls?

[Daft Punk]

I was thinking something like that but that may be crazy because of all the people lol. people will be able to sneak in no problem. thats why the cap is going to be tough to maintain

[Xeknos]

I'm thinking we pull out some serious police state type stuff... That'll learn 'em.

[Daft Punk]

Lol, I guess something like that. but that will slow EVERYTHING down dramatically...

[Alitain]

Just quickly to clarify.  Okay, while I admit hearing that you're no longer doing onsite pre-reg through paper sucks, honestly.  Don't get me wrong you have your reason, cool, still a shame I'll deal.  I admit its a lot easier because I have money right there I plan to use for pre-reg every year.

Anyway, sorry!  Just want to clarify something.  So if there's no longer onsite paper pre-reg, you guys mentioned using the computers at the hotel, which I may check into, but then its for sure that if say I go home that afternoon on Sunday I can hop online and just prereg no problem?  Reason I ask is that a couple years ago I didn't pre-reg at the con but went like a day or two later yet couldn't pre-reg online, then waited a week, still couldn't, then a couple weeks later, etc.

So what I just want to clarify is that definitely the site will be accessable for pre-reging this year on Sunday.  Just don't want to not be able to get in for 2011 you know, so want to get pre-regged soon as possible.

[Lusha]

You saw paper registration,  Does that mean the the pay[al version of preregging is still available?  is any prereg still available?

[Xeknos]

It cuts off at some point in August, I believe.

[The Ronin]

You saw paper registration,  Does that mean the the pay[al version of preregging is still available?  is any prereg still available?

I would imagine that NDK wouldn't be entirely possible without preregistering. What they are saying is that you won't be able to preregister for the next year at the convention registration tables with cash in hand. Online preregistration will now be the only way to preregister.

The question I have is how will this affect individual day passes? I've preregistered for the full weekend and volunteered for a few days, but my wife and kids only want to come for one day, in the future will the cap be such that I have to preregister them for the whole weekend even though they only want to stop in for a few hours?

[Execdirec]

I was thinking something like that but that may be crazy because of all the people lol. people will be able to sneak in no problem. thats why the cap is going to be tough to maintain

We are working with the hotel to handle this issue- there has been much discussion about it, and we have a few ideas, so keep tuned in.

Anyway, sorry!  Just want to clarify something.  So if there's no longer onsite paper pre-reg, you guys mentioned using the computers at the hotel, which I may check into, but then its for sure that if say I go home that afternoon on Sunday I can hop online and just prereg no problem?  Reason I ask is that a couple years ago I didn't pre-reg at the con but went like a day or two later yet couldn't pre-reg online, then waited a week, still couldn't, then a couple weeks later, etc.

So what I just want to clarify is that definitely the site will be accessable for pre-reging this year on Sunday.  Just don't want to not be able to get in for 2011 you know, so want to get pre-regged soon as possible.

We have had time to work out the kinks that caused the issue you are speaking of.  Pre-reg will be available online on Sunday of the convention, from home, from the hotel, or from anywhere that has an internet connection. 

You saw paper registration,  Does that mean the the pay[al version of preregging is still available?  is any prereg still available?

Yes, pre-reg will still be available.  You will be able to pre-reg for NDK 2011 using paypal starting Sunday September 12th 2010.   

The question I have is how will this affect individual day passes? I've preregistered for the full weekend and volunteered for a few days, but my wife and kids only want to come for one day, in the future will the cap be such that I have to preregister them for the whole weekend even though they only want to stop in for a few hours?

Day passes will still be available to purchase onsite, with cash at the registration desk, just as always. 

[Lusha]

This sounds reasonable then, if every thing is basically still running as it is with just a few changes.  The only thing your have to totally worry about is make sure that you prereg before the cap.  That sounds reasonable. and if you guys are going to still have on site reg, then the cap amount sounds that much more reasonable with the situation being what it is.

[nemisis47]

In that case, week after NDK 2010, I am gonna try to get a walmart debit and fill it with how much pre regging will be for that time.

It could be a time for some progress for regging, but at the same time it may just be a experimental measure that could be temporary.

[Execdirec]

This sounds reasonable then, if every thing is basically still running as it is with just a few changes.  The only thing your have to totally worry about is make sure that you prereg before the cap.  That sounds reasonable. and if you guys are going to still have on site reg, then the cap amount sounds that much more reasonable with the situation being what it is.

The cap number includes at-con registration, and day passes. 

In the past, we have only had about 1/3 of our attendance pre-register.  We do expect this to go up with the attendance cap, but not so much that we will only be able to have pre-registrations, and nothing else.  We still want day passes and at-con registration to be available for those that can't pre-register or people who have just heard about NDK, and want to check it out. 

It could be a time for some progress for regging, but at the same time it may just be a experimental measure that could be temporary.

As long as we have no other choice in venue, the attendance cap will stand.   

[Rosie]

The staff has probably already thought of this, but it's worth mentioning anyway: Are you prepared for a system crash in the event that everyone decides to pre-reg at the same time? I can just see everyone trying to pre-reg for 2011 as soon as it's open, and overloading the system and crashing it. Do you have a plan in case that happens?

[Alitain]

Execdirec-
Thanks for the response, I figured you'd guys would have it all worked out, just couldn't help but wonder.  Me and my friends are already planning on taking his laptop so we'll be able to pre-reg Sunday, so we'll be all set.

[OverlordLaharl79]

As one of the old-timers who attended the very first NDK, think I'm gonna throw my .02 c in; as much as I disagree with the attendance cap, NDK as it currently is is first and foremost a non-profit convention. Unlike AX or Otakon, we don't have the option to spread the convention accross multiple hotels, nor can we move to other hotels in the area. The cap is a good idea for 2 reasons; the first is because it's not like we're turning away people by the hundreds, which means people still get to enjoy our convention. The second is that this thing is most likely not going to be permanent; until a bigger, better hotel opens up, we'll be stuck with the cap until then, but that's definitely not a bad thing.

I also wanted to add, that we still have NDK and Animeland Wasabi; I know there are camps that say one is better than the other, and that one sucks because of a multitude of various reasons. Before 1997, your biggest bet on attending an anime convention(before anime hit it big with Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z) was going to Texas, Maryland, or California. I think this cap will allow the other convention to grow in size, so that way there can be healthy competition between the two conventions. So, that's all I've got to say about that.

[Lusha]

That is a very interesting point.

[nemisis47]

I go to both cons and think both are really fun and the points you made are really good points overlord. By the time wasabi has nearly got NDK numbers, NDK will may have the hotel they are looking for. I over reacted a bit on my things, though my opinions matter and though I do disagree with the cap we will have to wait and see if this will be a good thing for the con.

[Alitain]

I think the worse thing about this cap is the potential for people to panic this year in a rush to pre-reg so they don't find themselves screwed for a spot.  I admit I'm a little nervous myself.

A question for staff, since the cap is 7500, obviously as has been mentioned pre-regging does not account for all that.  I'm curious though because with the cap in place someone mentioned that you guys expect the numbers to increase for pre-reg, obviously.  But for curiosity's sake, what if you get 7500 people pre-reg over the year before the con?  That cuts out anyone just walking in.  Do you have potential plans in place to maybe cap the pre-reg at a certain point if it got that high to leave room for walk ins?

Again, this is just a thought that's crossed my mind I really don't think pre-reggers will take up the total attendance limit but can't help wondering if that'll happen because if anything this year, or technically next year, will be that time since people will be pre-regging for the 1st con with the limit in place.

[The Ronin]

Day passes will still be available to purchase onsite, with cash at the registration desk, just as always. 

That really didn't answer my question, but I'll admit that I probably wasn't specific enough. What I was really getting at was this; if the con reaches the 7500 cap on Saturday, but people want to buy a day pass on Sunday will they be turned away? Or will there be a daily limit of 7500 (between preregs and daily visitors) or something similar?

I just want to make sure that people aren't going to be turned away when there's obviously room just because a certain "number" was reached

[Execdirec]

The staff has probably already thought of this, but it's worth mentioning anyway: Are you prepared for a system crash in the event that everyone decides to pre-reg at the same time? I can just see everyone trying to pre-reg for 2011 as soon as it's open, and overloading the system and crashing it. Do you have a plan in case that happens?

We do have a plan for this, but I would like to consult my web guys, and answer your question more thoroughly in just a bit.

A question for staff, since the cap is 7500, obviously as has been mentioned pre-regging does not account for all that.  I'm curious though because with the cap in place someone mentioned that you guys expect the numbers to increase for pre-reg, obviously.  But for curiosity's sake, what if you get 7500 people pre-reg over the year before the con?  That cuts out anyone just walking in.  Do you have potential plans in place to maybe cap the pre-reg at a certain point if it got that high to leave room for walk ins?

We certainly expect a rush in pre-reg, though not 7500 people right off the bat.  We do want to leave room for the walk in people, as some will not hear about the cap, and some will just be hearing about NDK for the first time. 

If we do see a sudden rush of pre-reg that is getting uncomfortably close to 7500, we will put a cap on pre-reg as well.  We want to give people a fighting chance to get into NDK if they didn't get a chance to pre-reg.  How much will we leave for onsite reg?  That depends on how fast pre-reg fills up.  We still have to see how the attendees react to the cap, and how it affects our pre-reg vs. onsite reg ratios.

That really didn't answer my question, but I'll admit that I probably wasn't specific enough. What I was really getting at was this; if the con reaches the 7500 cap on Saturday, but people want to buy a day pass on Sunday will they be turned away? Or will there be a daily limit of 7500 (between preregs and daily visitors) or something similar?

I just want to make sure that people aren't going to be turned away when there's obviously room just because a certain "number" was reached

The cap is 7500 people per day.  This includes weekend passes; both pre-reg and onsite weekend badges.

Think of it this way:
Let's say that 6000 people buy weekend passes (both pre-reg and onsite).  This means that we have exactly 1500 day passes to give out for each individual day of the con.  If 1500 day passes are sold on Saturday of the con, that means there are 1500 more passes to have for Sunday of the con. 

Does that help answer your concern?