Auto Assembly 2013 is already looking exciting. We set a new European attendance record once again with Auto Assembly 2012 and 2013 is set to be another record breaking year. We have another great guest line-up, more fantastic ideas for the convention and plenty more surprises up our sleeves to make this our best ever event. Once again, we will be joined by three voice voice actors spanning four Transformers shows, plenty of comic guests, more dealers than ever, more events and activities and the biggest and best ever goodie bag. Basically, more of everything that you have come to expect from Auto Assembly over the years!
Auto Assembly 2013 is taking place over the weekend of Friday 9th – Sunday 11th August 2013 at the four star Hilton Metropole Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham, England. It is a massive hotel with 790 bedrooms and it is one of the largest convention hotels in the UK and is large enough to hold Botcon… and with our plans, we’re going to need it!! With a convention of this scale, we want to make sure you have enough time to plan, so you can book your tickets online NOW!!
To book, just choose the type of ticket that you require, enter your name and date of birth details and then add it to your shopping cart (this will open up in a new window). Please add each person to your cart separately as we need to know the names and dates of birth for each attendee so we can prepare passes for them properly. If you don’t do this, it will delay the processing of your booking as we will need to get back in touch with you for this information. Once you have booked all of your tickets and ordered any additional items that you may want, go to the checkout to pay!
Please note that Auto Assembly does not store any of your personal details online, nor do we have access to any of your credit or debit card details during the booking process.
PRICES / PRICE STRUCTURE
As our costs rise each year running the convention we try to keep the ticket prices down as best as we can but unfortunately we are having to increase the prices slightly for Auto Assembly 2013. As such, tickets for Auto Assembly 2013 will be £50 for Adults for the weekend, £38 for Youth and Elderly passes and Partner Passes have risen slightly to £40. However, admission to the convention for Under 6s will still be FREE!
One day passes are now available and these will be £28 for adults and £22 for concessions. When you order these, you must specify which day you are ordering tickets for as they can only be used for the day they are being ordered for. If you purchase a one-day pass and later find that you need to change it for the other day, or wish to upgrade to a full weekend, please contact us immediately so we can make changes. We can not alter tickets at the convention itself apart from offering upgrades to weekend passes.
Please note that one day tickets will be strictly limited so if you wish to attend for just the Saturday or Sunday you will need to book sooner rather than later. We appreciate that the majority of you want to attend Auto Assembly 2013 for the full weekend to make sure that you see all of the guest panels and see our script reading so we have reserved the majority of our tickets as weekend passes. If you are undecided about whether or not a weekend pass is for you, just take a look at the programme that will be on the site shortly or some of our Youtube videos showing some of our Saturday night programme items (that are exclusive to weekend pass holders) and see what you might be missing out on!
TICKET BOOKING DEADLINES
Tickets will be on sale throughout the year, but pre-registrations will close on Thursday 1st August 2013. After this point you will only be able to get tickets for Auto Assembly 2013 if you come along and pay on the day. However, just because we have set this as our cut-off date, it doesn’t mean that you will be guaranteed admission if you leave booking until then!
Please note that for Auto Assembly 2012 pre-registrations were open until 48 hours before the convention and we had a considerable number of ticket sales in the final week. As the closing date is considerably earlier this we strongly recommend that you book earlier to ensure that we can process your booking before we leave for the Hilton.
Going by ticket sales at the moment and the last few years, we are already on target for another record year for the convention and we do have an absolute limit to the number of people we will be allowing at Auto Assembly 2013. Once we have reached that limit, we will close bookings, even if it is before the cut-off date so you don’t want to leave getting your tickets until the last minute! Also, the sooner you book the quicker we can pay all of the costs we need to cover for the convention which then means we will have spare funds to invest in additional guests, better displays and to bring you an even better convention!
Apart from guaranteed admission, why should you pre-book? Benefits of pre-registration include:
- A personalised pass
- Entry into the pre-registration prize draw
- Early pass pick-up from 12:00 noon on Friday 9th August 2013
Some on the door places may be available but we do not recommend that you leave booking until the last minute. If you wait until the day itself, you will have to wait while we process your booking so you won’t gain admission to the convention as quickly as our pre-registrants!
PARTNER PASS
This is a special ticket type has been added for those of you who want to bring your partners to the convention who are not interested in Transformers but who do want to come along and enjoy the social side of the event. This “Partner Pass” is intended for those who want to accompany their other halves for the weekend but have little interest in all of the Transformers related activities usually associated with Auto Assembly and is a cut-down ticket with some restrictions. This ticket does not include the Goodie Bag, nor do partners get entered into any of the pre-registrant free prize draws. In the past these have included fantastic prizes such as toy sets, autographs, video games and even games consoles. However, the Pass will get you full access to the convention itself for the full weekend, but we may impose tighter restrictions with the guests regarding autographs, limiting Partners to a single autograph per guest. These Partner Passes will be available on a very limited basis for just £40 each.
To order these, simply book the pass for your partner at the same time as booking your own ticket. Alternatively, if you have already purchased your ticket for Auto Assembly 2013 you can buy your Partner’s ticket for the convention but you must contact us to let us know that you are purchasing a Partner Pass so we don’t reject the booking.
We are aware that this may be open to abuse by some fans attempting to buy tickets for their friends claiming that they are their partners, just to save money or for those who decide that they don’t want a Goodie Bag. However, we do keep extensive records of Auto Assembly attendees dating right back to 2000 so we will be able to identify if people are trying to cheat this system and if it is being abused then we will withdraw any remaining Partner Passes from sale immediately so please do not spoil this for others.
WHAT HAPPENS ONCE YOU HAVE BOOKED?
We’re sure that once you’ve made your booking you want to know what happens next! Well, if you don’t know, Auto Assembly is run on a non-profit making basis by Infinite Frontiers, a science fiction fan organisation founded by Simon Plumbe in 1989. Auto Assembly is organised by a small team in our spare time (see elsewhere on this site for more information about us) so as you can understand, this means that our time can be stretched with running the convention, work and family life. For the bookings side of things are processed by committee head Simon Plumbe and his wife Trish.
Anyway, back to the bookings and once your booking comes in it’s allocated a ticket number (to ensure that we don’t overflow with attendees!). Within a few days, you’ll be sent an email confirming your ticket numbers, the names of everyone you have booked for and some general information as well as information on how to book discount accommodation at the Hilton itself which will have rooms for £51.50 a night for single rooms and £62 for twin / double rooms. After this, we may send out a few other progress report emails but the most important email you will receive from us is your booking confirmation email so keep this safe and print out a copy of it as you will need it later on…
Elsewhere on this website, we will be uploading our Auto Assembly 2013 Convention Information Pack and nearer to the convention, we will also email it to all of you who have booked. This is the information magazine with all the important details you need to know about the convention. This pack will also have a beginner’s guide to Auto Assembly and will answer all of your common questions about the event and will be your one-stop point of information for the event and will hold everything that you may need to attend the convention and will have the information you need to attend the convention.
Rather than sending out your passes in advance, we will again be running a pass collection system at the convention which is where your confirmation emails come into play. You will need to bring the print out of this to the convention and then you will be able to pick up your pass, your information pack for the weekend containing the convention programme, plus your goodie bag which will contain some rather special surprises. If you lose your confirmation email between now and the convention, please contact us as soon as possible and don’t worry if you forget your email on the day as we will have back-up systems in place to ensure that everyone will be able to get in!
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Your ticket will gain you admission to the convention and all of the activities for your chosen day(s). You will only be able to enter the Friday and Saturday evening programme if you have a full weekend pass but apart from that, everything is included in the ticket price – guest talks, workshops, autographs etc. All you need to pay for is your travel, accommodation, food and drink and whatever you want to spend!
All of our paying attendees (Adult, Youth, Senior Citizen and Dealers) will also receive our convention Goodie Bag which will contain a selection of free gifts. This will include at least four convention exclusive postcards, a copy of The Cybertronian Times Issue 14 and our own convention exclusive comic and other gifts that we will be announcing nearer the convention!
REFUNDS AND OTHER QUESTIONS
We have had people ask if they have already booked but then can’t make it whether they can then get a refund. In the past, we have not been able to offer refunds but we are looking at revising our cancellation policy that we tested for Auto Assembly 2012. We did find that some individuals attempted to abuse this policy so it will be more tightly controlled and more restrictions will be in place. A separate page will be set up on the site detailing this but any requests for pass transfers / exchanges / refunds must be made no later than one month before Auto Assembly 2013 takes place. Priority will be given for pass transfers to Auto Assembly 2014 apart from exceptional circumstances and will be subject to approval.
Also, please note that if you purchase a single day pass, it is only for use on the day that it is intended and is non-transferrable. Saturday tickets can only be used on a Saturday, and Sunday passes can only be used on a Sunday so please choose carefully. There will be different activities and guest panels taking place on each day so choose which is the best day for you to attend.
AGE LIMITS
Please note that we have an age policy in place for the convention, and we insist that all unaccompanied attendees of Auto Assembly 2013 are 16 or over. Anyone attending Auto Assembly 2013 who is under 16 must be accompanied by a parent / guardian or other adult aged 16 or above. This is also the Hilton’s policy of not allowing any unaccompanied children on the premises so we must comply with the venue’s terms and conditions. Anyone booking tickets not adhering to this policy will have their booking cancelled and a full refund issued. To qualify for one of our Partner Passes, you must be aged 18 or over.
We have had unaccompanied under age attendees try to gain entry into the convention in 2012 who were turned away. If you are attending the convention and are approached by any children asking you to assist them in gaining entry into the event, please refuse this request. Our insurance for the event would be invalidated by having unauthorised attendees present and you would be taking responsibility for someone you do not know.
ATTENDEE LIMIT
Fans have often said that they love the atmostphere at Auto Assembly compared with Botcon and love the fact that the convention isn’t too crowded and that they have plenty of time to socialise with their friends and meet the guests. Because of this we are setting a maximum limit on the number of attendees for Auto Assembly 2013 just 1,000 fans. The hotel can hold a LOT more than this, but for 2013 we want to keep things friendly and cosy so book early to avoid disappointment!
SECURE ONLINE BOOKING
Adult Weekend Ticket – £50.00
Standard admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.
Partner Weekend Ticket – £40.00
Standard admission for all partners, aged 18 or over.
Youth Weekend Ticket – £38.00
This is for anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the event
Elderly Weekend Tickets – £38.00
For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2013.
Under 6s Weekend Ticket – FREE
Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2013. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.
Family Weekend Tickets – £160.00
To book a family ticket, enter the names of ALL four of the people attending in the box along with the four dates of birth in the same order. The family ticket covers two adults and two youth passes. A youth is
classified as someone who is under 18 at the time of the convention. Under 6s are free and should be added separately.
ONE DAY PASSES – SATURDAY
Adult Saturday Ticket – £28.00 – LIMITED PLACES LEFT
Standard Saturday admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.
Youth Saturday Ticket – £22.00 – LIMITED PLACES LEFT
This is for anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the event
Elderly Saturday Tickets – £22.00 – LIMITED PLACES LEFT
For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2013.
Under 6s Saturday Ticket – FREE – LIMITED PLACES LEFT
Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2013. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.
Family Saturday Tickets – £90.00 – LIMITED PLACES LEFT
To book a family ticket, enter the names of ALL four of the people attending in the box along with the four dates of birth in the same order. The family ticket covers two adults and two youth passes. A youth is
classified as someone who is under 18 at the time of the convention. Under 6s are free and should be added separately.
ONE DAY PASSES – SUNDAY
Adult Sunday Ticket – £28.00
Standard Sunday admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.
Youth Sunday Ticket – £22.00
This is for anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the event
Elderly Sunday Tickets – £22.00
For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2013.
Under 6s Sunday Ticket – FREE
Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2013. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.
Family Sunday Tickets – £90.00
To book a family ticket, enter the names of ALL four of the people attending in the box along with the four dates of birth in the same order. The family ticket covers two adults and two youth passes. A youth is
classified as someone who is under 18 at the time of the convention. Under 6s are free and should be added separately.
Check Out
To go to the check out and buy your tickets…
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