J.K. Rowling is co-writing an eighth part to the "Harry Potter" series — but it won't be a book. Instead, fans have to travel to London in 2016 to see the play, titled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." If the chosen medium wasn't exclusive enough, purchasing tickets to the production has proven to be a convoluted process, leaving some fans in the dust.
Special priority tickets for the play went on sale Wednesday, October 28. General tickets go on sale Friday. The exact quantities available is unknown.
However, not just anyone could buy them. You had to go through a number of pre-registration steps beforehand in order to secure your tickets to the anticipated event.
Here's what it took to get your hands on tickets.
Step one: Register to be a priority subscriber.
The play's website and early press releases indicated people could add themselves to a "priority subscriber list" for the "first opportunity to book" tickets. Registration for this list ended at 11:45 p.m. BST (British Standard Time) on October 24.
Step two: Register for an account with the official ticketing partner, Nimax Theatres.
This is where the process got tricky. On October 25, priority subscribers received an email which contained a message instructing fans of the next steps to take toward purchasing play tickets.
Here's how the email looked:
Two pieces of critical information were tucked into this email. First, tickets would be on sale at 11 a.m. GMT on October 28. Second, if you wanted to buy tickets, you only had 48 hours to create an account with Nimax Theaters, the play's official ticketing partner.
Within that 48-hour window, a follow-up email was sent reminding fans to register:
At 10:45 a.m. GMT on Wednesday 28 October you will receive an email giving you a link to access Priority Booking where you will need to enter the email address and password for your NIMAX THEATRES account to purchase tickets. You will only be able to book if you have created your account with NIMAX THEATRES by 1pm GMT on Tuesday 27 October.
After registering with Nimax, there was no email confirmation. There was a browser window telling you registration worked, and a message stating a "private booking link" would be sent Wednesday morning.
I read the message carefully, and set an alarm for 6:00 a.m. ET in order to coordinate with the 11:00 a.m. GMT ticket release.
We're only halfway through the process.
Step three: Gather information on how ticketing will work
The website provides a handy (though complex) infographic for buying tickets. This may come as a surprise to some fans, but the play is being produced in two parts. Not two acts — two separate parts. As a result, fans must purchase two tickets to two different shows.
There is also a performance schedule available. Ticket prices ranged from £10 to £130 (about $15 to $200) depending on best available seating.
Step four: Enter the online queue to purchase tickets at 11:00 a.m. GMT
I woke up early, and hopped on Twitter while I waited for my email notification. Fans were already on Twitter complaining about the lack of email confirmation or instructions about where to buy tickets. Some probably didn't notice the fine print in the email from Step 2 that said a private booking link would be sent at 10:45 a.m GMT.
—Lucy Plum (@LucyPlummy) October 28, 2015
—Macayla Forde (@macaylaforde) October 28, 2015
—Holly Lynam (@hollythelolly) October 28, 2015
—Melanie Carr (@Melly_Carr) October 28, 2015
—The Gizzle Review (@ed_nights) October 28, 2015
—Brittany Rivera (@kindamoviesnob) October 28, 2015
—Vampire Soup (@VampireSoup) October 28, 2015
—Steve (@steppyhen_) October 28, 2015
—Charlotte ♥ (@idyllically) October 28, 2015
—whatkatiedoes (@whatkatiedoes) October 28, 2015
—Jeremy DeCoursey (@DeCoursey) October 28, 2015
—Rebecca Whitaker (@dancingelkhound) October 28, 2015
—Macayla Forde (@macaylaforde) October 28, 2015
—Charlotte ♥ (@idyllically) October 28, 2015
—Emily (@elizzieb4) October 28, 2015
—Emily Strong (@EmyBemy2) October 28, 2015
—Sarah (@sjmsjm2) October 28, 2015
—Carl Pendlebury (@carl_pendlebury) October 28, 2015
—Felicity Hall (@felicityhall) October 28, 2015
—Charlotte Morris (@charlieinabook) October 28, 2015