SG4 Cocktail Party

[m'kala]

i'm guessing that i know the answer to this question already, but has anybody ever managed to get hold of cocktail party tickets after ticket no. 250?:alienooh:
i just missed it and am totally gutted!
i'll be at the hotel from friday morning so will be able to go to any party that might be happening afterwards, but i dont suppose the guests go to those do they?
HELP !

 

[Anni]

Unfortunately if the events at which guests are present follow the same sort of routine as they did at Gatecon, then only those first 250 ticket holders will be able to meet them. For the rest it is a bun fight, sitting in an auditorium listening to a bunch of mostly rather banal, sometimes interesting and often childish questions posed to them by people on the floor.

The closest you are likely to get to the guests are if they decide to wander amongst the audience and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will have security there to stop you from otherwise accosting them, likewise for when the guests move about the hotel itself. In fact it wasn't even possible to greet any of the guests in passing without incurring the wrath of the Gatecon security helpers, who were not professional security I might add, just volunteers who had some security experience and perhaps training to back it up. i.e. maybe someone had police training, or I guess I could have done something like that being former Army. Or one guy I spoke to assured me that his hands were 'registered weapons'. I was not particularly impressed by this statement.

You may discover you are among the great unwashed masses who can only stare and drool from a distance.

I found that only the convention staff and those on the inside actually got any kind of 'quality meeting time' with the guests. Everybody else was more or less left to their own devices. VIP's got a couple of minutes and some photograph time with the guests but very little else. Everybody else got precisely nothing. There was a lot of oneupmanship going on and I have no reason to believe that Wolf SG4 will be any different... although I hope for your sake it is.

I hope that the experience will be a bit more positive for you than this, but it's best to be prepared. If you are hopeful of meeting the inestimable Michael, then you may want to revise your hopes. I think he will be better guarded than the Queen.

I do sincerely hope that the Wolf con will be a little friendlier than Gatecon. I am going to Wolf SG3 and may attend SG4 if I have a mental aberration.

If there are people who don't turn up and hold tickets pre number 250, you may find that you can upgrade.... however, again, lots of folk didn't turn up to Gatecon to avail themselves of VIP tickets and as far as I could see, those didn't appear to be offered as upgrades to anyone.... but people were upgraded. I think it may have been more of a case of who you knew than whether you were asked or told that it was happening.

Sorry to be negative.... it may be quite the opposite at Wolf. We shall see.

I don't particularly care to meet MS and if I had a cocktail party ticket I would surely give you mine, since you appear to be desperate.... but I don't. Still the thought is there!

 

[pamie]

Have to agree with you Anni...Im sure MS will be gueared better then the Queen.
I booked my ticket and have been told that it is for the cocktail party...but to be honest Im not getting my hopes up to even get close to MS himself....lets face it others will not leave his side and Im sure he won't attend the party for long...in fact Im not even sure if I do have a ticket for the cocktail party.
Don't be too upset...even if I do get to speak to the man himself Im sure it will be for moments and not hours so I don't think you will miss out on much.
Im more looking forward to meeting all my friends I have made on here at the con then the guests that are going.

 

[Anni]

Me upset, or the person who originally posted?

I am personally not upset.... never wanted to meet him in the first place, I would rather spend my time laughing and having a good time in the bar with you guys.....

I can live without meeting the great Michael Shanks... LOL

However, my first time con experience in Vancouver was definitely an eye opener as to how things really work, and since I have no particular desire to hobnob with the guests, I thought that my experience may help others to understand just what happens at these events, because there will be those who go with great hopes and excitement.... as did the young German woman who I ended up helping through her distress at Gatecon. She found it a negative experience and after the first morning I found her on the stairs of the hotel in tears. I spent the rest of the time getting to know her (and she was a charming woman) and trying to jolly her out of her unhappiness.

Meeting her was a much better experience than the con which was filled with people who were so busy trying to get one over on everyone else that they had NO time for newbies and those who didn't know the ropes.

*shrug* Mine and other experiences.

 

[pamie]

Originally posted by Anni
Me upset, or the person who originally posted?

I am personally not upset.... never wanted to meet him in the first place, I would rather spend my time laughing and having a good time in the bar with you guys.....

I can live without meeting the great Michael Shanks... LOL

Nah I didn't mean you Anni...I know you could live without meeting MS as Im sure the girl who first posted can

Im sorry to hear that the woman you made friends with was not happy with her convention experiance...I am not going to either with any hopes or dreams...Im simply going to have fun with hopefully some good friends that I will meet there.
And Im also glad for any pointers or tips you can give us on going to a convention...Im also looking forward to hearing all your stories from the Gatecon when we meet up in a few weeks time

 

[Anni]

Well.... on the positive side, one of the English guys there told me that Wolf convention was smaller and friendlier than Gatecon... but I think that SG4 may turn out to be a bit of a bunfight given that MS and AT will be there. I think that the upcoming one in November will be okay though..... and it will at least lead you into the February one.

I too am looking forward to meeting you in November and the others..... It's the one nice thing about this event... and of course I will tell you about Gatecon when I see you.

 

[pamie]

Yeah I think that there are only around 800 tickets for the Wolf conventons...so its not so many people.
Like you I think SG4 will be a bit crazier as of MS and AT both being there..but as its being held in the same hotel as SG3 Im sure there will only be 800 or so tickets on sale...which should ease the situation a little.
Yeah Im also hoping I will get a taste of things to come for the Feb convention.
Im looking forward to SG3 and can't wait for the days to tick on...even though Im a littel nervous about it all.
Can't wait to hear your tales of Gatecon......

Right Im off to bed to read your story....

 

[m'kala]

hi guys!
thanks for the insights - i have to agree with you that the chances of getting near MS and AT are slim to disappearing!!
i'm in the TA so any 'security guards' who try to get all power hungry will get the back end of a drill volume voice!!!
can't wait to meet everyone - how sad to hear that the german lady was so upset. i can imagine how she must have felt though if she expected some sort of personal time with the guests.
i'll be at the hotel all weekend (my bank account will never look the same again!) so i hope to meet you all.
bye! - better get back to work and earn some money!!

m'kala x

 

[pamie]

Originally posted by m'kala

i'll be at the hotel all weekend (my bank account will never look the same again!) so i hope to meet you all.
bye! - better get back to work and earn some money!!

Oh I know how you feel...Im going to both SG3 and 4...my bank manager is not going to be so happy when I draw out all of my savings...oh well you only live once.
But it being so near xmas...its really hard and expensive...but well worth it

A guy from Wolf rang me up today to check something with my booking for SG4 and he told me that my ticket number was 227....

 

[m'kala]

:rolly2: wow! you must have been on the phone quick to get that number!
i've been doing some 'research' on these convention thingy's and most of them seem to have an all attendees party after the cocktail so friday night will hopefully still be a laugh - have a cool time at the party - your'll have a head start so i'll have to empty out the hotel drinks cabinet to catch you up!
are you going to be staying at the hotel? i tried looking around for cheaper places but there wasn't that much difference in price and it will be so lovely to be able to just crawl up the stairs into a big squidgy bed!!
take care, m'kala x

 

[pamie]

Originally posted by m'kala

are you going to be staying at the hotel? i tried looking around for cheaper places but there wasn't that much difference in price and it will be so lovely to be able to just crawl up the stairs into a big squidgy bed!!
take care, m'kala x

Yeah I think I will...its gunna be great to just fall into that big squidgy bed..hehe

Hope to see you there

Pam
x

 

[Rowan]

GateCon

Just for some FYI:

#1: We only sold about 650 tickets this year and, unlike Wolf, all the funds have to be used up front to pay hotel and actors. We don't have the financial backing Wolf does: they can take out a loan whenever they want to.

#2: If you walk up slowly to one of our guests [actors] and say 'Hi', you'll probably be okay. If you just come up out of nowhere and no one sees you walk up, then it can be hard on our folks - we are there to help the guest get around and watch out for them. Come on nice and slow and let us see you and they'll be vey few problems. The only exceptions are if we *have * to move a guest somewhere within a specific time frame. We did provide out own security this year. MGM didn't foot for any pros like last year. However, our staff worked closely with the pros last year and are very carefully screened for the work they do.

I was 'Guesting' Colin Cunningham when he dropped by and there was no problems with anyone coming up to talk with him as long as he let me have the sign that it was oaky. Sometimes the guests want a 'time out' and we respect that. Teryl was very tired most of the weekend - being with child will do that - an we screened a lot of passers-bywhen someone wanted to stop and chat when she'd give one of us the high scign that she needed to sit down.

Please remember we 'work' for the guests. If they want a time out, we honor that and keep folks back.

I might also add: try to keep track of 13+ guests who decide to wander off, roam around and not tell someone, etc. It get's very nerve wracking.

#3: VIP tickets are sold for a reason. So we know how much food to buy from the hotel, how big a bar to set up, etc. Yes, VIP's get extra special treatment. We have anywhere from 10-15 actors, not counting crew and other production staff from just one show in one location for 4 days. There's a lot of logistics there. Actually, a lot of folks got to spend some quality time at a Wenesday night fund raising party for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosus Foundation with JR and Colin.

There is at least one e-mail list on Yahoo especially devoted to GateCon and it's activities. It's a good place to get info and find out all the various activities going on, last minutes VIP ticket sales, etc. ' gategoers@yahoogroups.com ' .

I'm sorry you found your time at GateCon that unfriendly. I willingly accept all feedback and will include yours in my 'after action' report for next year. Not every con is for everybody. GateCon is a fan run con for fans and we were the first ever all Stargate con. Wolf Productions is a professional convention group. I centainly know they have experience on us and funding. But I do believe if it weren't for that first GateCon, Wolf might not have discovered how many people were interested in Stargate:SG-1.

Being the trail breaker does mean a rough road, but we learn more each and every year and next year will be better than ever.