by Violet
Are you going to WonderCon this weekend and wondering what the seating capacity is for each room at the Anaheim Convention Center, and the new programming room at the Anaheim Marriott? Well, look no further, as we have broken it down for you room by room below!
We went straight to the sources, the Anaheim Convention Center website, and the Anaheim Marriott website, for the following info for seating capacity.
| Arena | 4,000 (The website lists capacity at 7,500, but only about half of the Arena is used for WonderCon. A staff member informed us that there were about 4,000 seats) |
| Elite Ballroom, Anaheim Marriott Hotel |
281 |
| Room 205AB | 272 |
| Room 206B | 164 |
| Room 207 | 789 |
| Room 208 | 294 |
| Room 209 | 323 |
| Room 210 | 814 |
| Room 211 | 272 |
| Room 213 |
789 |
| Room 300AB | 1,519 |
| Room 300DE |
1,519 |
| Room 303AB | 396 |
Keep these numbers in mind when deciding how early you should get in line for a panel that you really want to go to. Also, remember that just like San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon does not clear rooms between panels, so it is possible you might need to sit through a panel that you don’t really care about in order to make sure you get into your desired panel.
Something else that might help you decide when to get in line is the “Popular” feature on MySched, which ranks the panels by popularity based on how many people have RSVP’d that they are attending each panel. Of course, not everyone creates an account and RSVP’s on MySched, so the number of people who say they are attending is much smaller than the number of people who will actually attempt to attend each certain panel. However, at least it gives you a gauge to go by. For example, currently the #1 most popular panel is the Warner Bros. Presentation panel with 644 attending, but obviously a much higher number than that will attend.
At the time of publication of this article, the top 7 panels are in the Arena, but #8 through #10, Marvel: Next Big Thing, Felicia Day Talks Geek & Sundry, and Orphan Black (currently with 384, 334, and 331 attendees respectively), will be in Room 300AB and Room 300DE, with a much lower seating capacity than the Arena, so you can bet that these are panels you’ll need to get in line early for. Look at it this way: each of the #8, #9, and #10 panels are more than 1/2 as popular as the Warner Bros. panel, but the room that each of those panels are in has less than 1/2 the seating capacity of the Arena, so that gives you an idea of just how popular those panels are.
[UPDATE 4/3/15 9:30pm Marvel: The Next Big Thing has moved up to #5 with 424 attendees, which shows that this could prove to be a very popular and crowded panel. Plan accordingly!]
Again, you can’t base your decisions solely on the amount of people who RSVP’d on MySched, but it does help you get an idea of how popular each panel is. If your desired panel is in one of the much smaller rooms, but doesn’t crack the Top 50 on the popularity list, then you most likely don’t have anything to worry about.
You should also check to see what other panels are going on at the same time your desired panel takes place. For example, Felicia Day’s panel, which takes place at 11:30am on Saturday, is not up against any panels in the Arena, since the first panel isn’t until 1:00pm that day. Therefore, there won’t be another large panel attracting people away from her panel, which might make her panel harder to get into than it would if there were an Arena panel taking place at that time.
Similarly, although the Orphan Black panel is at 6:00pm on Saturday, and the last panel in the Arena, which is Blumhouse Productions: Unfriended and Insidious: Chapter 3, lasts until 6:15pm, that panel isn’t even on the Top 50 list, with only 105 attendees. Therefore, there isn’t a big draw keeping people away from the Orphan Black panel. Orphan Black also has a rabid fanbase, so this is very likely a panel that people will get turned away from. Get there early to make sure you’re not one of those people who gets turned away!
Just some things to consider as you plan out your WonderCon weekend. Remember, always have a backup plan!
What days are you going to WonderCon? Are there any panels that you’re worried about not getting into? Let us know in the comments below!
