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Zoom · Dec 19, 2005, 09:39 AM

One my my dreams is coming true! My company is sponsoring my trip to MacWorld 2006 in San Fran, and I have a ticket that allows me to see the keynote ("Users Conference" pass)!!

Now, I have never once attended MacWorld or WWDC (though I've been to a few other tech/trade conferences, so I'm familiar with the general deal). I've also been to San Fran, but never to Moscone. I have read that the keynote is "first come first serve", and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss this shot at seeing Steve.

SO. How early do I need to arrive to guarantee that I get in? Generally, speaking, how do I maximize this opportunity?

Any other tips for a first-time attender? I want to milk this for all it's worth!

Axo1ot1 · Dec 19, 2005, 10:28 AM

First advice: don't call it San Fran or Frisco.

Big Mac · Dec 19, 2005, 11:46 AM

You need to get there EARLY if you want prime seating. Think 3 AM. I got there around 5:30 and a long line had already formed. And when they start seating people the line gets disorderly as people race ahead of one another to get to the entrance of the hall as soon as they can. Also ensure that you go a day prior so that you can get your badge (if it wasn't mailed to you), or you may find yourself having to get out of line to get one the morning of the event. You're going to LOVE Macworld. I wish I could get there this year.

Zoom · Dec 19, 2005, 12:29 PM

Holy crap, 3am?? It starts at 10am, right? How recently did this happen to you?

Why don't they hand out numbered tickets or something like they do at concerts?

This is precisely why I asked - I was afraid of something like this, though I wouldn't have believed it was this bad. I definitely want good seating, but it doesn't have to be front row or anything, as long as I can see okay. How big is the keynote area? Are there truly bad seats?

Please keep the info coming!

What else should I be sure to do? I'll probably only go for the keynote and some roaming around the floor. I'll maybe hit some other presentations, too.

What should I bring with me to the show? I have an older iBook with WiFi, but I'm not sure I want to lug that around (or even lug it to CA, given that I'm also taking my work laptop PC).

typoon · Dec 19, 2005, 01:05 PM

I would second the notion of getting there early. The couple of Keynotes I went to when MacWorld was in NY I Got there around 5am and was like the 10th person online. Don't worry about getting there at 3am. There WILL be a lot of Mac People to talk to. Since it's your first Keynote the adrenaline is there too. It's a pretty exciting thing. If you have a friend there it makes it easier to leave and come back if you need to use the bathroom but the Mac users there are pretty friendly if you've been there a while and most will hold your place.

One thing I would bring is a Backpack so that you can put that info and free stuff you might collect while on the show floor.

Stogieman · Dec 19, 2005, 08:17 PM

You don't have to arrive there at 3am. Even if you were the first person in line, you are still going to be seated pretty far back. Most of the seats up front are reserved for Apple employees, VIP, press, people who purchased the $1000+ PowerTool packages, ect. Last year I arrived there at 5:30 am and didn't have any trouble finding good seats. For those of us sitting in the back, Apple has two huge HD projection screens for our convenience. (I prefer to sit towards the back because it is much easier to exit the place.

)

If you want to stand out from everyone else waiting in line, then you should bring your PC laptop. The number of Powerbooks and iBooks you will see in one confined area is overwhelming.

DeathToWindows · Dec 20, 2005, 08:45 AM

I'm not going to be at the keynote... if I'm lucky, my flight in from Boston will be landing just as it ends...

Zoom · Dec 20, 2005, 09:14 AM

So, 5:30am is still pretty damn early given that the keynote doesn't start till 10am - but if that's what it takes, so be it. How many of the front seats are reserved, would you guess? 10%? 15%? If you were first in line, how close would you get? If you arrived at 5:30, how close could you expect to get? I realize it's hard to predict these things, I'm just trying to decide if it's worth it to be there by 5:30am or if 7am or 8am might not be much different.

typoon · Dec 20, 2005, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by Zoom

So, 5:30am is still pretty damn early given that the keynote doesn't start till 10am - but if that's what it takes, so be it. How many of the front seats are reserved, would you guess? 10%? 15%? If you were first in line, how close would you get? If you arrived at 5:30, how close could you expect to get? I realize it's hard to predict these things, I'm just trying to decide if it's worth it to be there by 5:30am or if 7am or 8am might not be much different.

I would probably say the first 10-15 rows are reserved. After that it's free game. If you get there early you should be able to get pretty close.