Last week, Comic-Con International released the complete programming schedule for WonderCon 2016. Are you going to WonderCon and wondering what the seating capacity is for each panel room at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live? Well, look no further, as we have broken it down for you room by room below!
We went straight to the sources, the Los Angeles Convention Center website, the L.A. Live website, and the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live website for the following info on seating capacity.
| Microsoft Theater | 7,100 |
| Room 151 | 1,020 |
| Room 152 | 1,020 |
| Room 403AB | 1,000 |
| Room 408AB | 1,000 |
| Room 411 | 299 |
| Room 502A | 550 |
| Room 502B | 550 |
| Room 503 | 250 |
| Room 515A | 650 |
| Room 515B |
650 |
| Room 518 | 250 |
| JW Marriott Hotel Ballrooms Building, Diamond Ballroom Salon 6 (Third Floor) | 128 |
Note that there is a Room 150 on the schedule, but it is only being used for portfolio reviews and the Comic Creator Connection, which will have their own special set-up, so we did not list a seating capacity for that room.
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 particular panel. However, at least it gives you a gauge to go by.
Comparing the seating capacity of the panel rooms that WonderCon is using at the Los Angeles Convention Center to the panel rooms that WonderCon used at the Anaheim Convention Convention Center last year, you’ll see that the next biggest rooms after the Arena (the equivalent to this year’s Microsoft Theater), Rooms 300AB and 300DE, each had a seating capacity of 1,519 — about 1/3 bigger than the biggest panel rooms at the Los Angeles Convention Center. There were a few times when those rooms reached capacity last year, so it follows that it is very likely that the more popular panels will reach capacity this year, considering that the rooms are smaller.
At the time of publication of this article, the #1 ranked panel in overall popularity is the New Line/Warner Bros. Pictures Presents panel, which takes place in the Microsoft Theater. However, both the #2 and #3 ranked panels, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and AMC’s Preacher Series Premiere Screening and Panel, both take place in Room 408AB, which has a much smaller seating capacity of 1,000, so you can bet that those are panels for which you’ll need to arrive early to make sure you get in.
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, the Orphan Black panel, currently ranked #9, which takes place at 6:30pm on Saturday, is not up against any panels in the Microsoft Theater, which does not have any panels scheduled between 4:30pm – 8:30pm on Saturday. Therefore, there won’t be another large panel attracting people away from the Orphan Black panel, which might make it harder to get into than it would if there were a Microsoft Theater panel taking place at that time.
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!
