I'm happy to see that the Fest organizers are trying to alleviate the torture that is also know as Fest registration. My question is why do we need registration in the first place? I'll admit that I'm a Fest novice; last year was my first. More than the shows my most vivid memory of last year's event is the four hours that I waited on line to present a paper with my confirmation number to get a wristband. And, to top off the stupidity, I still had to show an ID when I entered each venue. Why to both? Why can't I pay a few bucks on top of the ticket price to have the wristband mailed to my house? Why do we have to show IDs if we have a wristband?

I would think that wristbands would not be mailed out ahead of time because people would know what color they're using, thus resulting in the potential of re-creating the wristbands? As far as showing IDs at every venue, I assume that is probably a law? And not everyone at Fest is over 21...

You show ID at registration to confirm that you are the person that bought the ticket. You have to show your ID at each venue to prove you are 18+ in order to get in or 21+ in order to drink. The venues are all private businesses and it is their responsibility to confirm the age of everyone who enters.

We know that registration can be a big pain in the ass at times. It's hard to predict. Fest 9 we had no line at 3pm. Fest 10 we got kind of blindsided and lines were insane. The number of attendees between the two years wasn't that much different. We're going to have a lot more people checking folks in this year. This should make the lines move considerably faster.

I actually dont mind the registration process, you meet a ton of people and theres usually someone selling tallboys to keep you cool, and it kind of makes getting your wristband so much more victorious. plus, once you get through those double doors you get pelted with free shit and coozies, its crazy..

as for showing IDs at every venue, Gainesville has laws, and the venues have to follow them or they can lose their liquor licences and essentially close. So do yourself and everyone a favor and get an ID/creditcard holder with a clear front, most of the time I just hold it face up in my hand while the guy puts my wristband on and reads it (though some places still ask that you whip it out), theyre like three or four bucks and make getting into venues a breeze. I encourage everyone that bitches about lines to do this, the less time you spend digging your ID out of your wallet/purse the quicker the line moves...

I'm pretty siked to register.

Coming from another country it kinda forces me to talk to other people and make friends while standing in line.

I really like the Thursday Reg idea. I would think that it would make the lines much more manageable on friday. Just remember how long it took a few years ago. I think we stood in line for something like 2 hours after it opened AND we got there an hour early.

[quote="Baker"]I actually dont mind the registration process, you meet a ton of people and theres usually someone selling tallboys to keep you cool, and it kind of makes getting your wristband so much more victorious.

So tru. it is a glorious feeling when you finally get banded. i found that if you can get up early just on friday, make it out there with a case and your friends, and stand in line for an hour, you have a pretty good time and don't have such a long wait. plus, like previously mentioned, you meet lots of great people.