The good and the bad of my GSF experience!

I am going to get to attend the Valentine's release at GSF this weekend and honestly I am terrified. How early should I get there? Where should I park? How long is the wait in line usually? Should I bring snacks? LOL

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my very first time going to a release and I have no idea what to expect. :anxious:

*UPDATE!*
My first trip to DSF was a success! (mostly) this might ruffle some feathers, but I can totally understand why people are so hesitant to sell DSF pins near at cost... That place is madness! It is HOT and it SMELLS. Going to a release is no walk in the park. That is some major time and exhaustion.
We left AZ around midnight, and made it to LA around 6am... and we were in line for HOURS. These releases are not totally efficient... lol

I brought 3 friends with me, because I was trying to grab sets for friends. There ended up being about 525 people at the release, and with the edition size being 400 I had high hopes. All I needed was two full sets to get the pins I wanted, as well as the pins for friends. With the four of us we should have no trouble getting at least two decent numbers!

Well.... my luck wasn't so hot, because we only drew one number that was above the 400 mark. :doh:
Luckily that one number was a good one. 19!! Yeah!! My friends went to get in line for some PTDs, and lined up to grab my pins. Then someone tells me there is a surprise release... not one but two! Hooray!! So excited that I came on a good weekend, and that I got a number that would allow me to get them both! After getting our pins, (and ice cream!) We decide that since we're out there, we may as well wait for everyone to get through the line, and see if I can grab a few extras. It ended up taking longer than I expected, and I was quite tired at that point, but I got a few doubles to trade so I was happy.

We head back to the car, and my battery is dead....one of my friend left the inside light on. :facepalm: *sigh* We called AAA, but since they took about half an hour to arrive, and I had already paid for parking, when we tried to leave it made me pay again. *double sigh* Then we stopped at an Autozone so I could buy a new battery which was another $100. Ouch!
At this point it's about 3pm and we are starving. We stopped for food and ended up leaving about 3 hours past the time we had wanted to leave. Needless to say, it was quite the exhausting day. I knew it would be rough, but I wasn't expecting it to be that rough. Despite the series of unfortunate events, I am super excited to own these babies...



I especially love the PTD's. Snow White is really nice quality, she's very beautiful in person! I love Mickey too. He has such a cute little face.

I'd also like to say thank you to Angel and Steve for going out of their ways to make me feel welcome, and point me in the right direction when I was lost. You guys are great If you hadn't been so nice to me I think all the bad luck later in the day would have made me cry. lol.

GSF should be posting the rules for the release any day now (unless I missed it!). If it is like this past Saturday's BT release, you need to be in line by 7am, which is the time that they stop handing out wrist bands. As for parking, I always park in the underground lot across the street. You get 2 hours of parking validation at GSF. Ask the cashier to validate your ticket. Here is info on the lot:

http://hollywoodandhighland.com/parking-around-hollywood-highland-center/

Some people park on the streets or take advantage of the lot behind GSF. Early in the morning, the attendants are not there to enforce payment. But by, what, 7am, they arrive, and start towing cars away.

Once wristbands are handed out, we all wait for them to tell us how many people showed up, and then we draw vouchers. (All this will be outlined in the posted rules). Their goal is to start selling by 8am, but this is rarely met. They will direct you when and where to stand in line, by number. The higher the number you draw, the longer the wait. If you're one of the last numbers, expect a 1-2.5 hour wait. Your wait depends on what number you draw, how fast they are at the registers, and how many registers they have open. Keep in mind, that if more people show up than there are pins, there is a chance of leaving empty handed. Well, at least without the pins being released. There is a separate line for PTS (PTD's) that forms across from the pin release line.

Bring snacks if you want. I usually bring a few. And if you plan on arriving extra early (say a few hours), bring something to sit on. Also, any pins you have for trade. People like to trade in line.

I hope this helps. And if there are any mistakes in this information, please, someone correct me!

Oh yay! First time is fun. Don't be scared. I usually like to get there an hour or two before the release so I can go around and mingle with all my pin friends because that's the best part of these releases; being able to see everyone. The release is at 8am and they finish distributing wrist bands by 7am so if you aren't in line by 7, you won't get a wrist band. Once everyone gets a wrist band, then they hand out the random vouchers so the wait in line to buy the pins all depends on what voucher you get. If you get #1 then one minute and #400 then probably at least an hour and a half. There is a parking structure right across the street from GSF so you can park in there. I am going too so maybe we can meet up and say hi. Hope this helps

Hi! I go to DSF often so I'm pretty sure I understand the process by now. So, since this is an 8:00am release, you should be in line by 7:00am that day. Anytime before 7 is okay since it does not matter where you are in line; it's a raffle system so even if you are the very first in line, you might get #400. Make sure that when you get to the line, you get your wristband. Once everyone is wristbanned (by 7:00am), they take that number and cut out vouchers for each and every person that showed up. They stick these vouchers in a big drum and mix all the numbers up. Then they give each person a random number they pick out of the drum and that becomes your number. Since sales begin at 8:00am you need to make sure you are in numerical order in order to go in.

Now, keep in mind, they usually end up running about 15 to 20 min late so be patient. You are more than welcome to bring snacks. Also, since the early morning hours are kinda cold, bring a sweater and a chair if in case you can't stand for long periods of time.


Hope this helps!

We met at Docfish party last month. Give us a text when you get there and I'll introduce you to everyone. 562-774-7785

Angel

YoSoyAhPuch said:

There is a separate line for PTS (PTD's) that forms across from the pin release line.

I hope this helps. And if there are any mistakes in this information, please, someone correct me!

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Last week, people started lining up in a separate line but they said they wouldn't be doing a separate line for PTS/D's. Hope this helps!

However, you were allowed to purchase your PTS when you purchased your set of pins & after the pins being released sold out.

I am so excited for you! I hope you have a great time!

Here is an update from the GSF Facebook page:

"For our release this Saturday, all guests in line BY 6:30AM will receive a wristband which entitles them to the voucher raffle. All pins are limited to one per person per day. We will post more information regarding the closure of the top of the esplanade due to construction, and how to access the esplanade, on Friday morning."

6:30 a.m. wristbands, fyi! Just posted by DSS.

I like to get there 1 hour before wristband distribution so I'm in the middle of the pack

For parking I always make sure I find a spot on the street to save money. There are lots of side streets "behind" Hollywood Blvd. Just check the signs to make sure you are allowed to park there and gove yourself extra time to walk.

I get there about a hour early. No more then two


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How exciting! Wish I could go. Hope it will go smoothly and have lots of fun!

The construction will make this interesting... Hopefully it doesn't make it too much of a hassle.

You can get there a few hours early or a few minutes early, just MAKE SURE you don't miss the cut off. Also, I suggest parking in the CVS parking garage about half a block down, since validation only covers 3 or 4 hours and beyond that it goes up to $13 at the Hollywood and Highland garage, and at CVS the max is $8

Also, pin trader sundae's are now in a combined line with the release, which makes the PTD switch faster and everything much smoother!

Get a good number in the raffle!


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Where is the cvs parking at ?

Pin-A-Colada said:

We met at Docfish party last month. Give us a text when you get there and I'll introduce you to everyone. 562-774-7785

Angel

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You are awesome. Thank you! I will definitely do this.

Thanks everyone for your advice! We are leaving AZ Friday night like crazies, so I will definitely need some coffee for that 6:30am cut off time. This will be quite the adventure. I look forward to meeting you guys!

Bumping for pics of my loot

We love newbies @DSF.LOL

Thankyou for your experience of obtaing the pins sorry about your car I hope your friend gave you money towards a new battery! I'm coming to a release in October/November for my 2nd time and I really enjoyed queuing up and chatting to you people I just hope I get a good number as last time it was just wrist band distrubition and no number thanx again for this and I'm glad you got the pins

I'm sorry about your car but at least you have some pins to show for it! I haven't been to a release yet (just been to GSF on non-release days) but I plan to go sometime when it's something I really want so I appreciate the insight!

Congrats on at least one great number. One of these days I will make it to DSF

So glad you got all the pins you wanted (at least 1 set!)

I am sorry all of this happened though. Must have been a very stressful day. But at least you got to meet Steve and Angel! How awesome!

oooh, if you go again and have an extra seat, let me know! Im always game for a quick CA trip!

Glad you got some pins at cost AND ice cream!