Anyone Familiar with Will Call?

[Perpetual Burn]

How long does it take? I saw in another thread it took 3 hours for someone... but maybe it depends on the time of day?

We plan on arriving at 12:01am Sunday... but my buddy has to get his ticket and VP at Will Call... I dont want to wait for 3 extra hours when I can be looking for a camp... he can ride his bike to camp...

Should I get my own VP or be patient?

[Perpetual Burn]

Seems like they did a better job last year, only took like 45 mins... I would think the greeters giving out the event guides could just as easily have tix available... scan their ID then hand them a ticket...

[Madgirl]

It totally depends on time of day/how well staffed they are/etc. I've had it take less than an hour and more than four hours. I'd recommend having a cooler full of cold drinks, you'll find lots of other people waiting in the parking area to mingle and make friends with.

And in any case, no, your friend CANNOT ride his bike to camp. You have to wait for him, sorry.

[Token]

Well shit, I say your buddy is a real asshat for not having ticket in hand and putting you in this predicament.

Fuck him. Let the bastard hike the fuck in.

The nerve man, making you wait forever just cuz his dumbass couldn't figure it out.

I say ditch him completely, or make him pay for all the gas. Yeah, that'll teach him.

[mrchiff]

Seems like they did a better job last year, only took like 45 mins... I would think the greeters giving out the event guides could just as easily have tix available... scan their ID then hand them a ticket...

Except the greeters giving out the event guides are after you pass through the gate, will call, and all the ticket type action.

[ACfromSAC]

I have done will call twice. 2012 took me about 2 hours to get my ticket and 2013 I arrived before gates opened, got my ticket promptly then sat in jail (D LOT) for several hours before they let me in. Wait times will vary depending on when you arrive.

[Chowski]

I think you may be in luck. In 2014, Will Call was a total shit show, with people waiting up to 8 hours to get their tickets. In 2015, they added windows AND diverted cars which had to go to Will Call OUT of the line and to a side parking lot. Once those cars got their tickets, they did NOT go back to the end of the line, but were let right in.

Our camp came in three caravans on three consecutive days, Early Arrival and after gate opened. In each of the three instances, those who had Will Call tickets got in before those who had the tickets in hand. On the first day, Will Call took a total of 2 hours, while the rest of us waited four hours. The second two caravans had similar advantages/delays.

If this year is handled anything like last year, consider yourself lucky to be "stuck" with someone going to Will Call. You will get to skip the majority of the waiting in line.

[lucky420]

you think the weather in 2014 may have contributed to the shitshow at will call?

[cranberries]

I On the first day, Will Call took a total of 2 hours, while the rest of us waited four hours. The second two caravans had similar advantages/delays.

If this year is handled anything like last year, consider yourself lucky to be "stuck" with someone going to Will Call. You will get to skip the majority of the waiting in line.

Last year the Will-Call windows were moving very quickly and smoothly, but process of letting people back into the main entry stream after sitting in the Will-Call lot got seriously scrambled on Friday afternoon/evening. The people running the lot assigned incoming cars to a series of lanes with the intention of letting people back into the main stream in roughly the order that they came in. So they filled up lanes A-J in order of arrival with the intention that lane A would be released first, then B, then so on. Except then there was a shift change. And Gate people started arguing with each other. And lanes started being filled and released randomly. The upshot being that my partner and I waited in Lane D for 3.5 hours while almost all of the lanes around us (except some other even unluckier bastards in lane A) filled and emptied a couple of times. Some lucky jerks in Lane J waited for about 25 min total.

TL,DR: random factors may suddenly cause a seemingly "great" and "reasonable" and "simple" process to spiral into chaos. Welcome to Burning Man! Sit down and have a snack, everything will be fine

[maladroit]

They were letting Will-Call through Gate way too often last year. Based on how the Org always seems to swing way too far the other direction after a fuckup (2014's 8+ hour waits) do NOT count on Will-Call operating the same way this year.

[Eric]

Nothing at Burning Man is ever the same, so you could wait anywhere from "walk up and get your ticket" to "8 fucking hours in this heat!". Start practicing your zen meditations now - the mantra: "it's Burning Man", said quietly with a shrug, will get you through myriad problems.

Also, like was said above, you cannot abandon your friend at Will Call. Beyond being just an asshole move, it's completely against the rules. If you're discovered trying to do this, you face possible eviction from the event.

[trilobyte]

I'm giving this a nudge to the Tickets Discussion board, since that's a better fit for discussions related to the will call box office.

There is no way to know in advance, as there are a ridiculous number of variables, ranging from weather conditions to network performance to the people ahead of you in line to when exactly you're arriving and many, many others. It could take from no time at all to hours, and vary wildly in there. A couple years ago a whole bunch of those variables aligned against things going smoothly, and will call was a massive pain. The ticket team has since seriously stepped up their game, and things have been going pretty smoothly (though weather is still a major random variable).

You may not ditch or abandon campmates at will call, or at any point in the line. Aside from being a real jerk move, it could wind up resulting in your vehicle turned around and being sent back to will call, a staging lot (or penalty box if you will) while you wait an additional amount of time, or sent back out altogether. That last one is probably pretty unlikely, but it is extremely important that your party stays together and that you follow all instructions from gate staff.

[Perpetual Burn]

Ok, good to know know not to leave him at Will Call... didn't think it would be too bad for him to just ride a bike in from there... but maybe my perception of spacetime is a little warped.

And I I thought the greeters scanned our tix, checked our trailer and gave us our event guides at the same time... don't see why they couldn't have tix there too...

Guess I'll have to wait and see... he'll have a VP for me at Will Call, so I'd save a few fun coupons, but he's gotta get a ticket... despite planning on going to BM for the rest of his life, he didn't manage to come up with $400 this year so he got a low income ticket that he's gotta pick up at Will Call, which he'll probably need to borrow money from me to afford...

And PS, I bought his girlfriend a ticket because he said they only wanted to sell them in pairs, even though they were totally willing to sell just one... so call me an asshole all you want, but please excuse me if I still give zero fucks.

And double PS, I might want to camp with other friends who have said he's not welcome in the camp...

[trilobyte]

It seems innocuous enough, but the gates are still far away from the city (it's the Greeter's station that's close), and I believe that space that isn't on the marked road is considered a sort of no man's land from a BLM/law enforcement point of view. From a road safety/traffic management point of view, it's important for people to stay with vehicle.

[Eric]

And I I thought the greeters scanned our tix, checked our trailer and gave us our event guides at the same time... don't see why they couldn't have tix there too...

•Gate scans your tickets and checks your vehicles (and directs you to Will Call, which is before Gate). They wear a lot of dusty black clothing are all business.

•Greeters are a mile or two down the winding road, and once you pass Greeters you're officially in Black Rock City. They give you the event guides, stickers (if there are any left), have you ring the bell & make dust angels, etc. They are silly, dress for a costume party, and are far too happy.

[Perpetual Burn]

^Oh yeah... that sounds familiar... and I was sober driving in last year haha... thanks, everyone. Funny shit.

[mcgyver2k]

I did wait 8 hours in 2014. Luckily i was with a friend so one of us could go back to the car and get chairs, drinks, food and we started the party right there and made some new friends. So make sure you can get some basic supplys out of your car without having to unpack everything, relax and have a beer. And make your firend stay sober and drive.

[jewelzontheplaya]

How long does it take? I saw in another thread it took 3 hours for someone... but maybe it depends on the time of day?

We plan on arriving at 12:01am Sunday... but my buddy has to get his ticket and VP at Will Call... I dont want to wait for 3 extra hours when I can be looking for a camp... he can ride his bike to camp...

Should I get my own VP or be patient?

They won't let you ride your bike into camp. You have to park at will call area, no way around it.

[AntiM]

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Roll with it and enjoy yourself no matter what happens.