this makes absolutely no sense.

Hit submit right away, got 12,000 in line.

got NONE of the events my group tried to get into.  And we aren't even trying to get into super popular events.

Plus, I clicked the button to only get tix for the events if everyone was able to get them in my group, but the system still added the events for only half of us instead.

Anyone else have any issues?

I've been going to gencon for a long time, this is the first time I've experienced this.  Pointless to go if there is nothing we can do.

We had a couple weird things with our cart and tickets. stuff we took out that it still purchased and stuff that wasn't showing in the cart that purchased. we returned what we needed to and had to get a couple replacements. 

I was around 12K after submitting, but given the hotel gods have been generous to me, I have no complaints.  Had a 500 error, but my payment went through and the items are in the transaction section so, no idea what that was about.

Doesn't help right now, but plenty of events are added between now and day 1 of Gen con.  People drop things, things will drop from peoples carts today and get re-added.   I've completely forgotten to submit my list until 24 hours later before and I've always found things to do.

Yeah, I was 5700 or so in line, hit submit at light speed, and got 5 out of 11 selections.

I always wonder what it takes to get sub-1000 in line. lol

I was in the 5900s and got 6 events on my wish list so I am very happy.  I also got the 500 error when I tried to pay but I knew the transaction had gone through because it had already pinged my card (and my phone).  

@cnjones, I do not want to dismiss your feelings. It can be very frustrating not to get what you wanted, even knowing you are competing with 10,000+ people, all of whom hit the button on or as close to 12:00pm Eastern as they could. Knowing that doesn't make it feel any better.

What I can say, which is cold comfort now, but which is true nonetheless, is that there are literally thousands of events, probably nearly 14,000, still open, and many more will be added. Unless you were going only to play some specific events, I am confident you will find more than you can fit into your schedule!

I hit "Submit" as soon as the button became active and got 6800 or so in line.

I hit submit within 30 seconds of it opening and was nearly 13,000th in the queue! Got less than half the events on my Wishlist and none of the ones I wanted most, i.e. at the top of my list.

Also, I had terrible luck with the housing lottery when that opened. There was literally nothing left when my slot came up. I wound up booking a hotel myself in the suburbs. I still have no idea how I'm going to get to/from the con.

This will be my first US Gen Con. It's already been hugely costly and stressful. The experience hasn't been fun at all. I may cancel the whole trip. Even if I don't and wind up going, I doubt I'll be back. Four days of fun - if they even turn out to be fun - isn't worth this. It just isn't.

Managed to be in the first 2,500, and still missed out on some things. Hopeful for later additions. Also, got the error message when trying to check out, and it looks like the charge is pending twice on my card--so I'll be following up with Visa and Gen Con on that. We did find a better lodging option, and will be letting go of our reservation through Gen Con, so someone out there will soon have access to a double queen room...

Gen Con would like to say they have 20,000+ events, but nobody really wants to learn how to make a medieval basket, or listen to a seminar on how to make a plastic bead necklace. They were only 5500 role-playing events on the catalog and I'm sure that attendance was greater than 25,000. Do the math. Myself and 3 friends smashed the button right. at. 12. Three landed in the 3000s, while I was rewarded with almost 17k. I decided to go make breakfast. It was still processing after I had finished eating eggs and potatoes. Of our group, no one got anything even close to what they wanted. I didn’t do it, of course, but I think I understand why people rage quit GenCon. It’s gotten too big, and there’s not enough games.

As of this moment, there are still 2437 RPGs with at least 1 ticket available, plus board games, miniatures, etc.  Seems like more than enough games to meet capacity.

The idea that games did not sell out in some mythical past Gen-Con is absurd.  The games I wanted to play most in 1997 when I first came were sold out, too, and guess what, here I am still loving the convention 27 years later.  It is impossible to get the exact right combination of events for the people who are attending, and seriously I bet more medieval basket workshops are sold out proportionally than RPG sessions

There are always generics. They can get you a seat at the table if someone doesn't show up.

In 20 years of Gen Con attendance, I think I've seen ONE event where you couldn't get in with generics. Mind you, I'm not talking about the uber-rare events. (I'm looking at you singular event of playing with the creator of Sentinels of the Multiverse, 3 WHOLE TICKETS!!!)

I was obviously super fast with the reactions of a cat because I was only 5,020 in line after pressing button immediately.
It's gets better.....
I received only 3 out of the 8 that I submitted on the wish list. THEN those 3 disappeared from my wishlist leaving only the 5 that I didn't get.
So effectively I got zero.... Sweet system.

I called the service desk and left a full message (as requested), no response to date. I followed up with a mail (note that I was very polite in all of these) but as yet no response.

I do have a set of the Generic tickets and will try my luck. It's a shame in as much as this is like my 5th Gen Con and first time having these issues.

While my group & I did get a few events we wanted, we got none of our higher priority ones.  It happens (as most of the other posts above shared as well).

What I would encourage would be to try a few events from the ones left.  My first Gen Con (many years back), I wasn't able to get any (ANY!) of the events I wanted, so I went with "Plan B."  For example, I didn't get any of the D&D events I wanted, so I signed up and played a Conan RPG.  It scratched the D&D RPG itch, and I met some really nice people.  I still (fondly)remember the event almost 2 decades later.  Another time I signed up for some zombie board game (not Zombicide).  Again, had a fun time with some great gamers.  Gen Con is a great place to try out new-to-you and obscure games.

I would also suggest to perhaps run an event of the game you're looking for.  Sure, it's easier to play than run a game, but at least you're playing what you want to play.  Gen Con, after all, needs GM's too.  One year I ran 8-9 slots of D&D games.  That was way too much, but it was an experience.  You don't have to do that; Just run 1 event.  You pick the day and time.  You'd be surprised how fun and rewarding that can be.

None of this is intended to be antagonistic.  I'm just trying to offer alternatives and suggestions to still have a fun time.  While I don't know you (OP), I hope you find a few events you & your group like and that you have a great time at Gen Con, even if you didn't get the events you first wanted.  Cheers,