Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets go on sale later this month through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, meaning those who want (a chance) to buy tickets had to begin the process yesterday. So many HP fans rushed to register for the program, though, that Ticketmaster could not keep up.
The Verified Fan program, created by Ticketmaster to identify “real fans” from resellers, prides itself on being in the interest of customers’ convenience. Some revere it, some resent it; all recognize that it is not the easiest of ticket-buying processes.
Verified Fan registration began yesterday, Sunday 10/1, at 10 AM ET. The page experienced such an immediate influx of visitors hoping for a chance at being chosen that it became excessively slow for some and for others, did not work at all. Fans reported a complete crash, or complained of inputting information time and time again without receiving a confirmation email. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child‘s Twitter account responded to complaints shortly after registration began:
We're experiencing a high level of traffic to the site currently, please check back later this morning if you are having trouble registering
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child NYC (@CursedChildNYC) October 1, 2017
Remember registration is open until Thursday October 5 at 10PM ET. There is no advantage to registering earlier than anyone else.
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child NYC (@CursedChildNYC) October 1, 2017
Ticketmaster later added:
If you have not received a confirmation email, your #CursedChildNYC registration did not go through and you will need to register again. pic.twitter.com/vWcBwIQVD4
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) October 1, 2017
Despite this reassurance, hardcore wizard world fans did not cease to freak out.
Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by Ticketmaster as you try to register for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child… pic.twitter.com/hzTcIcJjzp
— Diana Bosch Catanese (@thedameupstairs) October 1, 2017
The site to register to purchase tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in NYC has crashed. Lord help us when they go on sale 😭😭😭😭😭
— Mark Churaman (@MarkChuraman) October 1, 2017
Others cracked jokes.
Harry Potter and the Insufficient Server Loading Capacity #cursedchild
— Jonaya Riley @ Studio June Games (@JonayaRiley) October 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/jamieblaurie1/status/914493731000213505
Some expected nothing less.
Glad I woke up early on a Sunday to sit on this crashed website to reserve Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets. Not surprised.
— Daniel Hayes (@DRHFilm) October 1, 2017
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is Rowling’s eighth story in the Harry Potter series, and the first to be written as a screenplay. The production is based on the story written by Rowling alongside Jack Thorne, who scripted the play, and John Tiffany, who will direct.
If you are one of many who struggled to register yesterday morning, you can still sign up until Thursday, October 5. Ticketmaster assures that time of registration does not affect the chance of being selected for Verified Fan or receiving a presale code. If you are one of the lucky fans who scores a code, tickets will go on sale (briefly, to be sure) from Ticketmaster at 11 AM ET on October 18.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens for preview performances at the Lyric Theatre in New York City on March 16, with the official opening set for April 22.
