Box office delays as TIFF single tickets go on sale
Posted September 3, 2011 10:59 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Tickets for Toronto’s International Film Festival went on sale Saturday morning, but not without a few volume-related glitches and some lengthy lineups at the box office.
When attempting to purchase a ticket online during the early stages of the initial sale period, a message on TIFF’s virtual box office read: “Due to high demand, you have been placed in a virtual waiting room, in priority sequence.”
Some of the initial estimated wait times? Six hours, nine hours, and even eleven hours at one point.
Although wait times were significantly reduced by mid-afternoon, there were several reports of the online box office crashing and people losing their spot in line earlier Saturday morning, some after waiting patiently for several hours.
One TIFF hopeful took to Twitter to express her frustration.
Laura_Grande13 tweeted: “I’m about to give up on trying to get #TIFF tickets. It’s been two hours and I’m exhausted.”
Meanwhile, Florence M tweeted: “After waiting in line for almost 4 hrs, the #TIFF line stopped moving completely and systems went down. That’s when I gave up.”
Addressing the delays, Jennifer Bell, TIFF Vice President of Communications and Content Management, told 680News the single ticket purchase day is always one of the busiest during festival season.
“We know that at times it can be frustrating for festival attendees that have a wait either online or at our box office,” Bell said. “We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to get our festival audiences the tickets they have been so patiently waiting for.”
Bell added that the lengthy lines are not unusual, and TIFF is working to address the wait.
“We have a full team working to ensure that the challenges that users are facing online are addressed in a timely fashion, however the sheer volume of ticket purchases is immense,” Bell said. “The festival box office lineups are traditionally quite busy and the lineups this year are consistent with previous years.”
Others on Twitter were frustrated that after this many years TIFF has been unable to update their servers and smooth out the initial purchasing problems.
DTamblyn tweeted: “After going through this for about 12 yrs straight now, why does the tiff site still crash every September? Embarrassing…”
Between the growing popularity and international presence of TIFF, Bell said it’s simply a matter of sheer volume.
“You are able to purchase tickets from anywhere around the world, it is a hot, hot year this year for the festival,” Bell said. “We have made investments in our infrastructure … It is just a lot of enthusiastic film festival goers that are keen to get their tickets.”
If online ticketing isn’t your cup of tea, you can also purchase your tickets through the phone or in person at either the TIFF Bell Lightbox (for Bell Lightbox films or events) or the Metro Centre (for festival tickets).
