SDCC Special Edition Badge Sale Will Be Sept 25!

SDCC Special Edition, lovingly dubbed ‘mini SDCC’ in some circles, has finally announced their badge sale dates. You’ll be able to try for a badge on September 25th at 11 am Pacific Time.

SDCC Special Edition will be taking place over the Thanksgiving Day weekend from November 26th-28th, 2021. Badges for adults are priced at $150 and badges for juniors (13-17), seniors (60+), and US Military are $75. Children 12 and under can attend for free. Hopeful attendees who had a badge for SDCC 2020 can submit a request to exchange it for a special addition badge prior to September 20th. All eligible 2020 badge holders should have received an email with instructions on how to exchange this badge for the mini-con, but if you didn’t you can contact them here for further details. Keep in mind that if you exchange your badge, you will not have one automatically for the 2022 summer convention, so choose wisely.

Besides the general admission sales, other badge types have also had recent information published as well, so if you qualify for these other badge types you may want to check out your options. For details about Professional Registration, please click here. Take note; Exhibitor applications are also open at this time. There’s also the option to become a volunteer for the con. No information about Press has been released yet, but keep your eye on your email for further details from CCI. I, too, am eager for more information on the press end of things. I’m prepared to go into general sales if needed, and if you’re press, you might want to consider doing that too, just in case.

While the pandemic is still ongoing and many may not be comfortable going to a con just yet, CCI has laid out specific rules for those of us who are ready to step back into the con scene. All attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of each day of attendance. Masks will be required at all times regardless of your vaccination status. This is an excellent excuse to stock up on fun fandom masks, if you haven’t already done so! 

CCI has stressed to “not register for a badge if you are unable or unwilling to meet the policy requirements.” So if you’re one of the people who are against vaccines, masking, and testing, you may want to sit this con out. More information about their COVID-19 policy can be found here.

The process for SDCC Special Edition badge sales is similar to others in the past, so feel free to check out our previous article on the process for a general overview and tips on how to increase your odds for getting a badge to SDCC. Also, remember to check your emails in the days leading up to the sale for a link and further details for this specific sale. To summarize this complex process, basically, on the day of the sale you’ll be able to enter a digital waiting room using that link one hour before the sale begins, and once you reach the front of the virtual queue you will be able to purchase badges for up to 3 people, including yourself. Do NOT refresh the page or hit the back button. Have all your information on hand, including your member ID’s. If you’re confused about what a member ID is, I’ll just drop this link here again with a whole bunch of helpful tips for you. Go read that and then come back here. This article will be here for you when you’re done!

One awesome bonus of this whole thing is that if you get a badge for SDCC Special Edition, you’ll be eligible for the pre-registration/returning registration for 2023! This means you’ll have two shots at getting a badge for that con (pre-registration/returning registration and the general sale), which will increase your chances of getting a badge. If you’ve always wanted to attend the summer con but always struck out during the badge sale, this may be your chance to increase your odds for a future SDCC! Then again, it’s incredibly difficult to say how competitive this sale will be since there’s still a pandemic going on and it’s a holiday weekend, but my guess is that it’ll be at least somewhat competitive regardless of these factors. Prepare for it as though it were a normal SDCC, and be delightfully surprised if it’s actually easier!

A major difference regarding ‘mini SDCC’ that differs from the main summer con is that all badges will need to be picked up at the con itself. They will not be mailing badges for this event as they’ve done the past few years for the main con. The badge pick-up will be opened prior to the convention on November 23rd and 24th, so if you’re in the area ahead of time, you may want to beat the crowds and go on these dates instead. That said, it’s hard to tell just how big the ‘crowd’ will be as CCI seems to be taking COVID precautions very seriously. How much smaller will this con be? I don’t know. But hey, any way to ease the crowds is helpful! So pick your badge up early if you can and help make the badge pick-up process less congested.

Speaking of crowds and the threat of COVID-19, to anyone planning to try for a badge for SDCC Special Edition, please take the precautions against COVID-19 seriously. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, please do so, and don’t purchase a fake card. If you can’t get the vaccine for whatever reason, do the requested testing for the con. And please please wear a mask properly. That means it should be secured on your face and up over your nose. Many of us haven’t attended a convention in a couple of years (SDCC 2019 was my last con!), and we desperately want to get back out on the scene. This will only work if we all do our part to minimize the spread, though. If you won’t do this, just stay home.

Good luck, everyone!

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary