Ascendio 2012

You can still purchase tickets to Night of a Thousand Wizards 2, our private event taking place in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on July 12, 2012; ticketholders can enter Islands of Adventure at 2 PM, and celebrate all

things Harry Potter when the Muggles leave the WWoHP at 10 PM, and it’s ours exclusively, until 1 AM. Click here for more information.

We will have certain tickets for sale on-site at the Portofino Bay Resort, including Day Passes that give access to Formal Programming and Quill Track sessions, StarKid events, our Wands By Wands By Wizards theatrical revue, and more! We will have  a very small number of tickets to the Welcome and Leaving Feasts then, too.

Any registration questions should be directed to ascendioregistrar@gmail.com, after you’ve read the Registration FAQ.

If you haven’t finalized your travel plans yet, the Portofino Bay Resort still has some rooms available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at our $210+tax per night rate, which is good for up to four people in a room. Click here to learn how to make your reservation, which includes a Universal Express Pass and Early Admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (with a Park admission ticket, sold separately). Check out the hotel’s Summer Schedule, including Dive-In movies, live music and chilled towels by the pool, too!

Most of the senior staff for Ascendio will be on-site two weeks from today, and we can’t wait to see you there! Safe travels, everyone, and please follow our updates via our HPEF Twitter posts, as we’ll be updating that throughout the event with news and information and room changes, too.

Online registration closes in under three hours! But there are still tickets left for Ascendio! Here’s what kinds of tickets are going to be available, and when:

Between June 26 and July 9:

• Night of a Thousand Wizards tickets will still be for sale here, but they will cost $155 even if you already have a registration. They will also cost $155 on-site if we have any left.

At the Registration Desk at the Portofino Bay Resort on July 12/13/14:

• Day Passes for Thursday, Friday and Saturday ($50, $75 and $75, respectively)
• Night of a Thousand Wizards tickets until 6 PM on July 12, or until we sell out ($155)
• Tickets for the various StarKid events (until we sell out) (click here for prices)
• Tickets for Wands By Wands By Wizards ($15; Saturday pass/Full reg. required)
• A very small number of tickets to the Welcome Feast ($50) and/or the Leaving Feast ($68) (until we sell out)
• Photo ops with our Special Guests

At the Merchandise Desk at the Portofino Bay Resort on July 12/13/14 and possibly the 15th too:

• Tote bags
• Posters
• Keychains
• T-Shirts
• Classic HPEF con pins
• Possibly other Ascendio logo items

Online via third-party websites, starting June 26:

• Admission tickets to Universal’s two parks, at a discount from the Front Gate prices
• A set of recordings of many of Ascendio’s Formal Programming Sessions

Sorry about the all-caps, but this is important!

We’ll have daypasses available onsite, but the only way to get a Full registration for Ascendio, the final fancon by HPEF which is taking place in Orlando, Florida & at the WWoHP from July 12 – 15, is to register online before midnight (EDT) tomorrow!

Also, yesterday, we posted an amazing announcement about Night of a Thousand Wizards! Now, each NoaTW 2 ticketholder will be able to enter Universal’s Islands of Adventure® starting at 2 PM on Thursday, July 12, and will get a $20 voucher for dinner that can be used that evening. The price of a NoaTW ticket remains the same.

After 10, NoaTW2 ticketholders will have exclusive access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where we’ll be featuring an extensive menu of dessert and beverages on the streets of Hogsmeade - and they’re included with your NoaTW 2 ticket! And don’t forget – NoaTW is the only chance you’ll have this year to wear costumes in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

And don’t forget all the excitement of our Quill Track with awesome YA authors and literary agents, Theatrical Shows, Wrock, Programming Sessions, Cast Member Meet & Greets, Hillywood Show panel, StarKid panels & meet&greets, cosplay events, our Ball with themed drinks, and so much more!

Every wrock concert, formal programming session, pick=up Quidditch game, costuming event, craft faire shopping experience, HP film cast member autograph session, Common Room meetup, Art Gallery viewing, sponsor-hosted reception, fanfilm, fanvid, fanfic reading, fan-performed show (except WXWXW) and dance is included with a Full registration – and so are two feasts! If you missed the menus when we posted them earlier this week, you can check them out here – but we can’t be responsible if you read them while you’re hungry!

We’re looking forward to Ascendio with a sense of joy – and with some sadness as it’ll be our final HPEF fancon. Some of us started working on our first HPEF event ten years ago this month, when we started planning Nimbus – 2003, which took place in Orlando in mid-July of that year. As we close the door on this aspect of our Harry Potter fandom experience, we want to share it all with you.

So register today (or tomorrow) and we’ll see you in July!

We just posted an exciting update about Night of a Thousand Wizards 2!

Each NoaTW 2 ticketholder will be able to enter Universal’s Islands of Adventure® starting at 2 PM on Thursday, July 12, and will also be given a $20 voucher for dinner that can be used that evening. After 10, NoaTW2 ticketholders will have exclusive access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where we’ll be featuring an extensive menu of dessert and beverages on the streets of Hogsmeade – and they’re included with your NoaTW 2 ticket! We’ll have a a DJ spinning music, lashings of Butterbeer, and so much more!

Click here to register, or to add your NoaTW2 ticket to your registration!

Sort of. Glockgal, Ascendio’s Artist in Residence, will get creative in the Ascendio art gallery (connected to the Common Room) – she’ll be drawing throughout Ascendio, and her works will be available at Sunday’s Charity Art Auction.

ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery will have on display an exclusive collection of original art used in the making of the Harry Potter film series and new exclusive not-to-be-missed limited editions never before available in the US! Whether you are a Weasley fan or a fan of he who shall not be named–there will be something for every art lover, and only at Ascedio!

At 11 AM on Thursday, July 12, the Art Gallery will open with a splash and a reception, and the Gallery will stay open through the afternoon. On Friday and Saturday, the Art Gallery will be open from 9 AM til 7 PM, and in addition to the fantastic collection of art from official Harry Potter artists and talented fan artists, there’ll be a space for artists and crafters to get creative individually or on group projects. Come by and draw, sketch, color or paint – or admire the works created by your fellow fans.

We were onsite at the Portofino Bay Resort and Universal Orlando this week, finalizing details, room assignments, and most importantly, meals!

We are pleased to announce the menus for the Welcome and Leaving feasts – please note that there will be gluten-free items available at each meal.

The Welcome and Leaving Feasts are included with all Full and Merlin’s Circle registrations; register through Monday, June 25 to guarantee that you’ll have a seat at the feasting tables.

If you have a Day Pass for any day, you can purchase a ticket to the Leaving Feast ($65 per ticket); if you have a Friday Day Pass you can purchase a ticket to the Welcome Feast too ($45 per ticket)! Just click on the REGISTER link to the right and register, or modify your registration to add the ticket – or if the menus have tempted you into upgrading from your Day Pass(es) to a Full registration, please email ascendioregistrar@gmail.com for the code.

What’s on the menu? Click to find out!
Read More…

Online registration for Ascendio is only open through June 25; we will not be selling Full or Merlin’s Circle registrations, or add-on meal tickets to the Feasts or Keynote Luncheon, on-site, although Day Passes and tickets to Special Events like Night of a Thousand Wizards in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the Live DVD Commentary with members of Team StarKid, will be available at the Registration Desk from Thursday through Saturday (or, technically, Thursday through whenever the event is, give or take a few hours). Check out out Chart about what’s included with each type of Ascendio registration!
Ready to register? Click here!