do you need badges?

mjdauria

I went to my first PAX yesterday. I didn't stay long cuz my 7 year old thought it was boring (I thought she would like it more).

I had badges but I was wondering if they are needed? People seemed to have badges but I walked in without anyone asking to see them. They were in my pocket the whole time.

People were out front selling badges but after leaving it kinda felt like no one cared.

harleyquinn228

You do need badges. Some people are more strict about it than others, and you may have just passed enforcers who were busy at the time you passed them and been lucky that no one asked you. Might have been more lax as it was Sunday too, but I don't know. They have people posted looking as you enter the show floor as well as most panels. Had mine in my pocket for a cosplay ( I forgot to take it back out) and was asked to display it.

Could you get through the con without them? Maybe. But it's not something I would chance honestly.

Sepioth

They never really check at security checkpoint. Mine are sometimes in my bag. BUT if you try to go onto the expo floor its a 95% chance if they can not see it you will be asked to display it.

Unfortunately with this many people though a few are gonna get through.

harleyquinn228

Sepioth wrote: »

They never really check at security checkpoint. Mine are sometimes in my bag. BUT if you try to go onto the expo floor its a 95% chance if they can not see it you will be asked to display it.

Unfortunately with this many people though a few are gonna get through.

Right, you technically don't need them at security because some people are picking them up at will call, but getting anywhere else in the con, they are checking, even if they don't expressly stop and ask every person. Can't check everyone but I wouldn't want to be kicked out

nevermore13

That's very true because you can get them at will-call the entrance/that main lobby cannot require badges. Once you leave that area though it can and does, and I know especially for expo and main you had to have the proper day badge visible.

Xenigma

How strict they are about badges depends. Usually there is security checking for badges at expo hall entrances, and I know the enforcers at Bobcat were asking for people to show their badges when you went into panels there. I think it's a pretty fair level: just enough checking to ensure people going into the high-demand areas actually have badges, without being too cumbersome for everyone involved.

ilta

Yep, I have encountered just enough badge checking at key places (entrances to the expo hall, random panel lines, especially main theater events) that I don't feel like a chump for paying for a badge, and I don't feel like I have to prove my right to be there every moment of every day. If you never got asked to show your badge, you probably just happened to luck out, and you probably weren't there long enough or at the key checkpoints to run into one of these moments.

krae_man

I noticed the same thing. I never got asked to see my badges once.

At West if my badge happened to be backwards the moment I walked passed an enforcer/security guard they would always stop me and ask me to turn it around so they could see the front side and I would see them do it to others all the time as well. Badge checks were so frequent, I could tell when they were coming and I would start Waynes Worlding to make things smoother.

Marino

The badges now have the day and/or type visible on the back, so there's no reason for the security guards to continuously ask you to flip them over.

deestar

A lot of us have started asking "do you need a lanyard for your badge? " instead of "can I see your badge". It's simpler, and less obtrusive, and it encourages people to show us their badges

We realize that attendees in cosplay or who use mobility devices may not be able to grab lanyards for their badges from the bins at Main Entrance easily and may not have a convenient place to attach a badge so it gives us a chance not only to check your badges but to make sure you have a lanyard to attach your badge to so you don't lose it -- because losing your badge is really a PAX ruining experience and not fun