Registration times and how long to except to wait?

[Overbound]

This will be my first time attending Def Con. I've heard stories of long waits for registration.
Does anyone know what hours registration is open?

I know Def Con is at a new venue this year, but how long should one expect to wait in line for registration? I'll probably be registering either sometime on Thursday (depending on how late registration is open) or Friday morning.

[TheCotMan]

As we get closer to con, the DEF CON website and pages for DEF CON 23 should include more and more details on plans for schedules of events.

If I were you, this is the page I would review as we get closer to con, so you can best plan your time:
https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-2...-schedule.html

The opening time for Badge Sales to Humans has varied over the history of DEF CON. At early DEF CON, it was common for badge sales to open many hours after the scheduled time, and there was no live update of site schedule, and few had laptops with them to live-check any updates even if thy were made. Today, many people have smart-phones, so schedule updates to the main site are a way to go.

Even though we continue to learn more, and address past issues, it does not mean we are guaranteed badge sales will open on-time. Every year there are similar risks:
* Will we get cash boxes for use to make change when we expected them?
* Does the Fire Marshal have a last-minute change for us?
* Is there an emergency in the hotel?
* Have all of the people involved in badge sales shown up where they were told to, and did this change last minute with all of them getting the new location information?
* Did someone hide or misplace the badges?
* more

The history of planning for when badge sales and scheduled to open the first day has seen opening times from around 8am to 1pm. If I were to bet on this for DEF CON 23, I would bet there will be a scheduled opening time for Human badges between 8am and 10am based on history of opening times for sales.

When should you get in line?

Please check this thread in Community Talk:
https://forum.defcon.org/forum/gener...-when-i-arrive

If you have not read them yet, FAQ are also useful:

Official FAQ:
https://www.defcon.org/html/links/dc-faq/dc-faq.html

Also, an unofficial FAQ assembled by HighWiz:
http://defcon.stotan.org/faq/

[t0x0]

> how long should one expect to wait in line for registration?

There's really no way to know. Every year has been completely different in my experience. DCXX had thousands of extra badges, other years they've run out and thousands of people have been walking around with paper badges. Some years it runs like greased lightning, others the line moves at what seems like an inch an hour. If you're dead set on getting a badge, get there early and be prepared to wait. Otherwise, don't stress about it and show up when it's convenient.

[Tynius]

Keep in mind that in my life I've spent time in MUCH worse ways then hanging with good people waiting to get into defcon!

[t0x0]

Agreed. The people are the best part of Defcon.