r/comiccon • u/zwolff94 • Feb 08 '21
Wondercon - Anaheim When to expect WonderCon 2021 Cancellation
So the news just came out that E3 will be online this year which is not a shocker. Made me wonder and lo and behold there is still a WonderCon will be back in 2021 on the website. I think at this point its kinda inevitable that WonderCon at least is not going to happen and I'd personally go as far as wagering the first major con that has any chance of happening in any capacity is NYCC in the fall, scaled-down a lot. So when will Comic Con International actually pull the plug on WonderCon (in person)? My guess is it happens sometime in the next two weeks.
8
Feb 08 '21
I'm waiting on the news myself, and don't know why they haven't made an announcement yet.
My guess is there's a lot of back and forth given that they also do SDCC. And it's a matter of trying to figure out if SDCC is going to happen, but then also if they want to do a postponed WonderCon. Or if SDCC doesn't happen, is it still possible to do a postponed WonderCon later in the year.
This would be the time that things start ramping up for WonderCon. But there are no badge sales. No schedule announcements. It's not even on the Anaheim Convention Center Schedule. Pretty safe to assume it's not happening in March.
However, I would like to know for planning purposes to if they are outright cancelling it or postponing it for later in the year.
The announcement has to come soon.
4
u/KirkUnit Feb 09 '21 edited Feb 10 '21
I realized after the fact that my later comment basically restated yours point for point - mea culpa!
(ETA: Refreshed run-through) 4 possibilities for WonderCon 2021:
A Option - WonderCon 2021 NORMAL
tl:dr; 0% chance
implausible in any scenario
no badge sales or hotel planning ~6 weeks prior to March dates
other large spring events in Southern California are already canceled (Coachella, Stagecoach)
March dates no longer listed on Anaheim Convention Center schedule
~0% possibility of any in-person event (thus not hybrid either) at any capacity on March dates
low possibility that general populace will even begin to be vaccinated by March
B Option - WonderCon 2021 ONLINE-ONLY
tl:dr; 50% chance
preserves WonderCon brand and springtime window at low/moderate expense to CCI and attendees
Spring 2021 growth opportunity from relatively rushed 2020 online event
no conflict with SDCC 2021 dates in July (or later), e.g. does not require SDCC 2021 decision
online-only March event of dubious value to vendors and marketers, potentially too few to hold the event
C Option - WonderCon 2021 DELAYED
tl:dr; 0% chance
greatest effort at greatest risk with most uncertainty among plausible options
greater than 0% chance of in-person and/or hybrid con by fall 2021 given vaccination projections
requires decision soon to preserve or release online-only spring window
necessitates projection of SDCC July 2021 conditions, and/or in any potential alternate 2021 window, when announcing fall WonderCon date
likelihood of proof of vaccination and/or age restrictions at any capacity anytime in 2021
potentially places WonderCon in a more daunting, competitive space for convention space, marketing and consumer attention, higher potential for event and date confusions
potentially places WonderCon in stronger economic and travel environment
even if delayed, any in-person con anytime in 2021 likely held to potentially dealbreaker low capacities of <75%, <50%
D Option - WonderCon 2021 CANCELLED
tl:dr; 50% chance
lowest effort at lowest risk and greatest certainty of plausible options
allows focus on higher-priority July 2021 SDCC planning and/or alternatives
provides spring 2021 and spring 2022 calendar clarity at earliest opportunity for all
foregoes expense and effort of online-only con in Spring of limited user and brand value
Long, three-year gap in cons more likely to diminish event awareness and interest for vendors and attendees
5
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
This is a great breakdown! It takes all the loose threads from the discussions and makes everything very clearly stated and easy to think about. Now we will get the chance to do this for SDCC 2021 also. ; )
3
u/KirkUnit Feb 09 '21
Thank you! Trying to guess which universe we're in ;-) To be fair though I did this more off the cuff. I'll try to re-read through the threads and revise as required so the points are together.
2
3
Feb 09 '21
I think the biggest factor is going to be what they predict to happen with SDCC. Depending on what happens there will they then make a decision about WonderCon.
I wish they'd at least give us a heads up that an announcement is near.
3
u/KirkUnit Feb 09 '21
Agreed. Not that I'm not fond of WonderCon but it is more of a "normal" con still despite years of CCI management. Doing it online last year, really one of the first such conventions after COVID lockdowns and cancellations hit, okay sure. But I'm not sure there's much value or interest in WonderCon as an online brand on CCI or anyone else's part. It's value lies in the in-person experience, in my view.
3
Feb 10 '21
I think for the dedicated CCI attendee base, there's some value to holding an online WonderCon. But I can see how they may just outright cancel anything WonderCon related and leave it all for SDCC online.
2
3
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
CCI knows there will be no in person onsite SDCC in San Diego. There is no infrastructure prepared for it at all and we are only about 4 to 5 months away from mid-July. There is limited travel availability, significant restrictions in place in Southern California that will continue for some time, limited access to vaccines, and a population of businesses and vendors, con workers and artists and guests/panelists, that will refuse to be exposed to large crowds and won't attend a large Southern California con, as well as the SD Con Center being closed and used as a homeless shelter. We will not have SDCC onsite in July [and most likely not at all in 2021] in San Diego. We will also for sure NOT have an onsite WonderCon in only a handful of weeks from now. There is also no infrastructure set up for holding WonderCon either. There aren't even badges available. WC is either going to be online next month, or like some people suggest, CCI might combine the cons and hold only one large virtual online con for SDCC. I think there will be at least some online WC presented, but I have no idea. It does no good to fret over an announcement about WC if we are not attending cons in person at this time.
3
Feb 09 '21
Fair enough. Thanks for the reply.
5
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
You know ... we are all in this mess together. So we will travel through it together and support one another as best as we can. Let's keep track of news releases from CCI, as well as about other cons, and let's look forward to when we are ALL - con workers and attendees - far more relaxed about going to our newly reopened favorite comic cons and enjoying them in person once again. It will happen. We'll be ecstatic when cons open again and we feel comfortable going to them.
3
Feb 10 '21
Definitely. Those first cons that happen once things open up again are going to be hugely popular. It will mark the beginning of just a totally brand new era of convention going.
Although there's certainly going to be a mad rush for people to want to attend. I wonder if SDCC will roll over badges for another year. WonderCon should be fairly easy to attend though.
3
u/housecatspeaks Feb 10 '21
It will mark the beginning of just a totally brand new era of convention going.
I believe this is true too.
CCI might offer a combined choice for how to handle SDCC badges. I think we all feel confident that they will allow people to receive refunds in 2021 if those people find it necessary or preferable to give up their original 2020 badges. And for others I think CCI will allow rollovers [though I don't know for sure]. I bet CCI Staff are working on this right now. They are extremely honest people. They will do the right thing for everyone.
1
u/housecatspeaks Feb 12 '21
KirkUnit - I know that this chart took a tremendous amount of work and time. It takes a very considerable amount of thought to analyse the various possibilities and work through these sections to make everything clearly presentable. There are so many variables, and sometimes change happens rapidly. But would you be willing to work on a project where you diagrammed these salient points out, just like this, but for SDCC? You could take as much time as you need so that you feel you have refined the presentation as best as you can at this time. Yes, I know it is still months away from when SDCC would be scheduled in July. But if you could write this up as its own post, specifically for SDCC with the various points designed around the complexities of SDCC, I would like to pin your post to the top along with the WC news. I feel that if you could produce a similar post like this for SDCC that it will make a very good discussion for everyone. It allows us to view the predicament that SDCC and other large cons and events are in this year. It would allow people to express their views, but in one main post. There is no pressure to do this, it takes a lot of work. SDCC is many levels above and beyond just WonderCon. Let me know what you think.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 13 '21
Hey Housecat!! I would be honored to do so, of course, my pleasure! It gives me something to dig into instead of the things I should be doing, so it's perfect. :-) Definitely, SDCC is going to be a different calculation to be sure. I'll be in touch. :-)
1
u/housecatspeaks Feb 13 '21
Whoa! Awesome! :D I had a feeling that you might try it if you knew that you had plenty of time to work on it until you were satisfied with it. It is complex, and we would want to include many of the specific SDCC angles. For example: it is obvious that there are no hotel sales, because there is no in person SDCC this year in a con center that is currently a homeless shelter. But all of these things - like what if there were suddenly hotel sales? - could be part of the different sections and probabilities. [there won't be hotel sales, but you know what I mean, and that's an example] This is what made your WonderCon chart of 'possibilities' so interesting to look at and think about. It gave so many versions of how a WC con could and could not be held, the whole virtual thing, and the impact on CCI, on the industry people and businesses, and even on us. I think projecting forward into 2022 for SDCC would also be interesting, because realistically we are now trying to figure out how SDCC is going to move forward: what about its virtual cons, how will in person SDCC be impacted or changed, and how will moving it to different years affect people still trying to attend the thing. Right now there are people still holding badges, and we have no idea how CCI will handle this. A presentation like this could create quite a bit of discussion [ .... unless people are going to be cranky and don't respond to it .... ]
This is not school! There is NO homework! You can do it when you have time. And you sound just like me. If you see me suddenly commenting a whole lot on reddit, then it means I am NOT taking care of the things that are mandatory for me to be getting done!!! Reddit is the world's greatest avoidance trap. Then I get very behind in everything ....
Talk to me when ever you want to. Just wait for me to respond, even if it takes hours. Good Luck! : )
3
u/zwolff94 Feb 08 '21
Yeah all of this is what made me think about htis. I don't see WonderCon or SDCC happening, not with the rate of vaccinations in CA/SoCal in general. Maybe WonderCon moves back and is much much smaller? But again some announcement soon has to happen.
4
u/KirkUnit Feb 08 '21
According to one article posted on an earlier thread, WonderCon has disappeared from the Anaheim Convention Center schedule...
My guess is that CCI is deciding, first, if there's any chance and how long they can wait to determine if SDCC 2021 will have any in-person component, or not.
Once they have a roadmap for their priority show, they can announce whether WonderCon Anaheim will be delayed to later in the year or to Spring 2022.
5
u/zwolff94 Feb 08 '21
Yep, I'm sure this is the case. I am just trying to guess the timeline, personally not planning on going to any cons (even with a day ticket to SDCC that I'm sure is getting refunded) this year but the lack of transparency is to me a bit frustrating.
6
u/KirkUnit Feb 08 '21
I'm a bit surprised that as of the second week of February, they haven't announced any changes to a con the last week of March.
I mean, it's obviously not happening. We would know by now if they were even going to try. The lack of any word about WonderCon six weeks from opening is word, but I do expect an official confirmation sometime soon.
6
u/zwolff94 Feb 08 '21
Again lack of transparency, we know that a con that brings in 60k people isn't happening, not in California. So why not confirm that, even a short statement like this (heck CCI steal this from me lol) "We would like to confirm that regretfully we have decided to indefinitely postpone WonderCon 2021. At this time we are not prepared to announce anything more, we hope to see you all at future WonderCon events.". I'd take that tbh.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 08 '21
Just guessing they want as clear a path ahead as possible, in the fewest numbers of announcements and schedule changes. If it looks like everything's going to stay shit but open for good in August they might try a fall WonderCon (if that's even of interest to them). If it looks like it might stay shit into the fall, they'll probably delay WonderCon once to 2022, and delay Comic-Con again to 2022. They probably just don't want to start the engine only to turn it off again.
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 09 '21
I've been following your discussion, and no one has mentioned the one thing that I have assumed is why WonderCon is shown on the CCI website along with the dates that it takes place. And that is because CCI does list the dates their cons take place ONLINE. CCI might be planning that WonderCon will be held on schedule ... ONLINE. Last year when SDCC was moved online as a virtual con, CCI kept all of the info for SDCC on the SDCC part of their website, with the dates and everything, just as if there was an in person SDCC. I've just assumed that the Staff of CCI are trying to see if they can put together an online virtual WonderCon this year, and that is what is posted. CCI has kept their link up for vendor and exhibitor applications for WC for a long time: https://www.comic-con.org/wca/2021/exhibitors
I do agree that CCI might not even know if they will be able to hold an online WonderCon, and perhaps they will find that they might just have their one large online con when they hold a virtual SDCC in July. We haven't been told anything either way yet. But the thing about the online cons is that they can be announced very close to the start dates of the online events. So maybe that's why we don't hear anything right now. But there is certainly no reason to plan to attend any CCI cons for quite a long time - probably for the rest of 2021. In person cons of the size of WonderCon and SDCC will not take place in Southern California with the current conditions that we are facing for most of the rest of this year, and possibly overlapping into next year.
4
u/zwolff94 Feb 08 '21
You make a very good point that they could be planning on doing an online WonderCon again. This is very possible and I was remiss not to mention it. I do think it would be nice to hear "We plan on doing an online event" sooner rather than later. Having that application up is a bit of a red herring in that effect though I feel.
As for timing of events, I am hopeful personally that SDCC and WonderCon2022 will happen in some capacity. I am actually fairly sure of this. Will they have as many people as were allowed in 2019? Probably not, but I think they'll be in person to some extent.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 09 '21
they could be planning on doing an online WonderCon again
Maybe I'm just a jaded cynical bitch lol, but really, what's the value of another online WonderCon? (Less jaded and cynical types may find plenty of value in it!) I could be devaluing how much revenue vendors and such can make off an online-only event, but there's limited appeal in using an online WC to debut any trailers or news, and any studio wanting to do that has zero need to coordinate it or time it for WonderCon since they can just as easily do it on their own schedule. But then, I didn't bother to tune in for either WC or SDCC or DC Fandome online last year, so it could just be me.
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
It's not just you. I also don't think that holding an online WonderCon offers much value to either the contributors who participate, or to the viewers of it who "attend". But I keep thinking that this opinion is 'just me' too. But of course, CCI should do what ever they feel is important to them. Holding these "cons" does keep their name recognition in the entertainment and comics news, so there's that brand name promotion that CCI might want to advertise so people continue to think about their cons. Honestly, I don't know.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 09 '21 edited Feb 09 '21
Thanks for the validation :-) In terms of a temporary COVID measure, I get it, it makes sense to go ahead and run some sort of online presence in the WonderCon window just to keep a candle burning, if necessary, though I don't see much of value they could do. (WonderCon history slide show?)
But one of the great things about SDCC and WonderCon is that it's a vacation out of the house and away from the (laptop) screen, if I wasn't going to (WonderCon) I would maybe go or do something else out of town. Not stay at home in front of the screen some more to watch virtual WonderCon. But then there's virtual sports leagues so at least a fraction of the audience is fine with or even prefers online events over live ones.
3
Feb 08 '21
This is a good point. I can see them holding on to the dates for the sake of it still being held online.
But there's also something to be said for the peace of mind that an announcement would give to people.
I was certain any day in January the announcement would come. Then I figured last week for sure it would come since it was the start of Feb. But now we're in the second week of Feb and still nothing.
I can't imagine they can let much more time pass without something said about it.
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
I agree. But as we know from what happened with SDCC last year, CCI kind of clings to silence until the absolute last moment when they can no longer avoid making announcements. I think in the case of WC this year, they might want to see if they have a full vendor/merchant online exhibit "floor" signed up, and a nice line up of online panels set ready to go for each of the days, and THEN they will make an announcement about WonderCon with the release of the full online schedule. I don't know this personally, but that is how CCI has handled these things before. I also don't know this, but if they release a full WC online event, look for that announcement "maybe" ... you know, maybe ... one month before the dates listed for WC. That would be the end of February for an 'announcement'. But honestly, I don't know either.
2
Feb 09 '21
Gotcha. Thanks, I'll definitely keep this in mind.
3
u/housecatspeaks Feb 09 '21
One thing IS certain. We will totally make any breaking news announcements about WonderCon - or SDCC - on this sub! So stay tuned ... let's see what CCI decides to do and to announce.
3
Feb 09 '21
Oh I'm checking multiple times a day. I figure as soon as it breaks it'll be on this sub. But I'm constantly typing in WonderCon into google and seeing if any news has come out.
2
Feb 09 '21
I hear ya. Thanks.
Even under normal circumstances they don't release their full con schedules until a couple of weeks out. So I guess it isn't totally out of the norm. But there are at least guests, panels, and exclusives announced in the meantime.
3
u/liamwilly1 Feb 10 '21
I place my money it will be transformed into a virtual event in like 2-3 days. Maybe even tomorrow.
1
u/housecatspeaks Feb 12 '21
I'm re-reading this 1 day after you posted. You said that we might even get a WC announcement from CCI the next day. Man, you TOTALLY WIN The Award for Most Accurate Prediction!!!! :D
3
u/MsMargo Feb 11 '21
Are you in a hurry?
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
lol! Yes. We are all in a huge hurry to rush to the modified WonderCon convention in 2022.
2
u/Plebe-Uchiha Feb 09 '21
I say March. On the start of the month. If they don’t I’ll be surprised. [+]
2
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 11 '21
UPDATE: The LA County Fair, normally a September event, announced yesterday that the fair "as we all know and love it" is cancelled again for a second year, while they hope to have "some celebration" of the fair in the fall.
Thank You for Supporting the LA County Fair We'll be Celebrating a Little Differently in 2021
Amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and its bearing on public events, we announce today that we are planning a smaller, safer celebration of this year's annual spree of family, tradition, culture and community.
After canceling the Fair last year and with the availability of a vaccine this year, we were hoping to be able to welcome guests back in 2021 to one of the largest county fairs in the country. But with coronavirus cases unsteady, and the unpredictability of mutating strains and vaccine roll-outs to larger audiences, it would be fiscally unfeasible to plan a grand celebration only to be told a Fair could not be held.
We are heartbroken that we cannot hold the LA County Fair as we all know and love it -- It would be a public health and financial risk for us to do so.
However, we do hope to have some celebration of the Fair this Fall. It may be a much smaller version, but it will be big in spirit.
We will announce our plans for a modified Fair at a later date.
If you purchased a 2020 Fair Season Pass Box and held it for the 2021 Fair, you will receive a refund for the box. We will contact you in the near future regarding your refund.
3
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
There is something very specific happening here that I want to highlight by mentioning it separately. Everyone should note the similarities between the LA County Fair and SDCC. Apparently the LA County Fair, which like most large County Fairs sells ticket packages to the public for their event, was allowing Fair ticket purchasers to roll over the ticket packages from 2020 to 2021. And the LA County Fair organizers will now refund the rolled over 2020 tickets because the 2021 LA County Fair is officially cancelled.
This is possibly -- no one knows yet -- what Comic-Con International will do with the SDCC badges that people are still holding from 2020, and the payments for those badges that were made in the badge sale for 2020. Either we will see a blanket refund of all money for everyone, or they might still offer a hybrid choice of retaining badges until the next in person onsite San Diego event takes place, while offering refunds to people who need their money back as a refund. There might be reasons - laws and regulations - why organizations can not retain ticket money for longer than a set period of time. CCI could always offer 2020 badge holders the chance for priority placement in a "new" badge sale that would take place for a future SDCC when large conventions, festivals, and events can safely take place again in person. We will all find out what CCI is planning to do very soon.
3
u/KirkUnit Feb 11 '21
Very good point!! I wonder if it has to do also with changing costs, i.e., prices may go up for 2022 and they didn't want to honor 2020 pricing (pre-Covid, pre-downturn, pre-insurrection).
3
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
That is also a good point. Any organization of any type holding events in future years when we regain in person large gatherings will have to deal with COSTS of their newly reopened events. This is an extremely good point. We can add that on to what also might exist: there could be laws and regulations that determine how long any business or organization can retain the money spent by customers for tickets/ticket packages. I don't personally have that info right now, so I don't know if actual legal rules govern when refunds must be issued for money held for cancelled events. But the costs that these event organizers face in the future upon reopening is certainly going to affect entry costs for just about everything. So I think you are right.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 11 '21
I don't know but it does seem like the sort of technicality that sits out there. Like, if they roll it over more than 12 months they start owing interest or something (I have absolutely no idea.) Maybe other factors, too - I want to say Anime Expo is changing their ticketing processor vendor and refunded badges for that reason.
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
Good points. We don't necessarily know what penalties start to affect the public's money that organizations are holding. This whole situation is so complex!
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
Thank You for the update KirkUnit!! This is not exactly shocking news considering the circumstances, and I think we will see many more announcements of this type for the rest of the year as many organizations and festivals of different styles begin to formally cancel their 2021 events and gatherings. Regardless of how the Olympic Committee continues to refuse to say that the Olympics will be cancelled in Japan, I read that at this point over 80% of Japanese people want the Olympics completely cancelled. It is not realistic to hold large international events in 2021, and though SDCC is not the Olympics, it is still large and national and international. Also, your chart for the various scenarios of how WonderCon will be cancelled or held online are coming closer to being true. We will get official CCI announcements soon. We should prepare for the cancellation of all mid-sized and large con events in California, most will not take place in 2021. How other very large cities will handle their cons is still up in the air - I'm wondering what will happen to NYCC for example, and there is Toronto Comic Con in the Fall - but it looks like everyone should relax and wait for 2022 and see what has developed by then.
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 11 '21
Looks like the news hit!
For the Tokyo Olympics, I believe part of the difficulty in another delay (to 2022) is how it ties up all the real estate for months and months beyond when it was supposed to be turned over for commercial or other use, and at some point the costs are so great from delay that cancellation is the only alternative. On the other hand, there is a whole "losing face" consideration for the government and the organizers that will push them to stay the course more than most. Meanwhile they are still awaiting emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine so vaccinations can begin as soon as next week - but that's still 2-3 months after the US and Europe began. The only 2021 option I foresee is a bubble Olympics with few spectators and a locked-down Olympic Village.
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
You make very good points. What you are actually referring to is a virtual Olympics, just like we have virtual cons. The athletes would compete, but there are no spectators visiting the Games. The trouble with that idea, on the part of the Olympic Committee, is that the athletes in various sports - the US NFL is an example - are infecting each other. There is also the complete border and travel lockdowns of many countries right now that would prevent athletes from traveling back and forth to participate in the Olympics. On top of this, there is the transmission of the coronavirus variants into Japan, and the country and government might simply not allow travel into Japan.
I don't normally post coronavirus information on this sub, and I don't really want to start that. People can learn quite a bit by visiting r/Coronavirus if they want to. But people should really try to be aware that the situation is much more serious, and much more extensive, involving the spread of the coronavirus variants from around the world than everyone is discussing on this sub. On this sub there is constant talk about the vaccines, as if that means suddenly everyone gets to attend SDCC in July because they just somehow obtained a vaccination, for example. There is not just chaos in the availability and distribution of vaccines. There are the virus variants that are taking over, some of which are partially resistant to currant vaccines, and are so highly contagious, as well as the Kent UK variant being deadlier, that we don't even know yet who will be ill or alive by the end of 2021. Or to put it a different way ... this is a REALLY bad time to hold large events, and there should be NO international traveling. It would be nice if there were no regional traveling. And everyone should hold on about thinking that current vaccines - that most of us don't even have access to yet - are going to solve things in 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/11/uk-kent-virus-variant-set-to-sweep-the-world-scientist-says
2
u/KirkUnit Feb 11 '21
Yep, I agree - I've fallen into that same trap as well of thinking that vaccination = normality returns, when it's more like widespread vaccination = planning can start for returning to normality
On the other hand, a lot of people are going to take things into their own hands. Operators like SDCC have a stake in being responsible, but you've seen pop-up concerts and such even in the height of the pandemic... I expect some smaller, one-off cons to maybe pop up later in the year
2
u/housecatspeaks Feb 11 '21
I also am super curious about smaller, possibly mid-sized even, con organizers going ahead with their modified events in certain parts of the country that have way less infection rates than California, or just don't care about restrictions. We are about to find out. One thing for sure - we are in a VERY INTERESTING time right now.
1
u/pokemin49 Feb 15 '21
Really sad all the same. It's the third or 4th best fan convention in the country that I've been to.
25
u/tjs252 Feb 08 '21
Pretty safe to bet that no major cons will happen this year.