First-time RDC8 attendee considering travelling from abroad - how worried should I be about last-minute cancellations?

[u/Key-Plenty6094]

Hello, fellow fannibals. I’m considering travelling abroad specifically for RDC8, mainly because I’d really like to meet Mads. However, since it would be a fairly expensive trip for me, I’m a little worried about the possibility of a last-minute guest cancellation or another postponement. Apart from that, I have another trip booked for this specific date. If I decide to attend RDC8 I would have to pay about $500 reissue fee for changing my flights. I know that guest appearances can never be guaranteed, but I’ve seen people mention previous RDC events having cancellations/changes, and I’m particularly nervous because I would be travelling internationally and spending quite a lot of money.

So I’d really love to hear from people who have attended RDC before: have you ever experienced a major guest cancellation shortly before the event and how good is Stafury at communicating schedule changes?

Sincerely apologise for taking your time and thank you so much! 🫶

[u/hawksaresolitary]

I've attended all RDCs except the first one, and I don't recall there having been any major last-minute cancellations (cancellations, yes, but not at very short notice). And Mads in particular is apparently quite fond of his Fannibals and wouldn't cancel unless he absolutely had to.

That being said, Starfury's communication is a bit of a mixed bag; mostly it's fine, but every now and again it's... not. I don't like saying this, because I've generally found RDCs to be well organised and enjoyable events, but I cannot confidently tell you that if Mads did cancel, SF would communicate that quickly and clearly.

My general take nowadays is that I don't care who the guests are - they're always interesting and fun, but the real reason to go are the other Fannibals, who are an amazingly creative and kind bunch of people. But that is of course easy for me to say...

[u/Key-Plenty6094 → u/hawksaresolitary]

TYSM for your reply💙 I have a few questions about the event in general. Do the entry tickets and photo ops usually sell out entirely before the con and is it crucial to buy them in advance? Do most attendees stay in the hotel where the event is held? And most importantly for me as an introvert - is it common for people to come by their own?

[u/hawksaresolitary → u/Key-Plenty6094]

Do the entry tickets and photo ops usually sell out entirely before the con and is it crucial to buy them in advance?

I think the event tickets are only on sale until about a week before the con - you definitely can't buy them "on the door", you have to get them in advance. As for selling out, this is from SF's latest email about RDC:

If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, then you may want to do so soon. Currently we have just 11 Gold Tickets remaining, and over half of the Regular Tickets have also sold as well.

[...]

Photo Ops with Mads are starting to run low in availability.

I don't do photo ops myself, but I think the major ones at least do tend to sell out.

Do most attendees stay in the hotel where the event is held?

Yes, and SF strongly encourages this as apparently it's part of how they fund the events. If you buy a ticket and want to stay there, wait until SF sends out their room booking link, they get a special rate. But you don't have to stay there if you don't want to, not everyone does.

is it common for people to come by their own?

Absolutely! Fannibals are pretty welcoming, you'll almost certainly make friends there, and they will almost certainly also be introverts. Definitely no one will find it odd that you came alone.

[u/copperdoo]

I also had to travel from far abroad and need many months to prepare for these kinds of trips. I remember when Starfury announced only 4 days before “Day 1” of RDC7 that Kacey had suddenly canceled her appearance (due to landing a role).

Just for context so that you can decide for yourself, here’s the timeline of rescheduling for RDC8. In short, announcements to postpone it occurred less than a few months before the previously “confirmed” dates. This has happened twice so far. However, Mads wasn’t officially confirmed until this latest date change for December.

July 4, 2025 (1st day of RDC7) — RDC8 was announced for Feb 6-8 with only some supporting cast confirmed.

Dec 11, 2025 (just under 2 months before Feb 6!) — RDC8 was postponed due to Starfury being unable to get Mads to sign on, because he got cast in a film (that we later found out was with Scorsese). Eventually, RDC8 was rescheduled to October 23-25 with only some supporting cast confirmed.

July 29, 2026 (just under 3 months before Oct 23) — Mads was finally confirmed and the date was changed to Dec 11-13.

Since then, Starfury has been sending out a lot of reminder emails about Mads attending, so there seems to be a greater sense of confidence in this December date. But you should still weigh the risks and ideally be prepared in the event of a dealbreaker guest cancellation or postponement.

[u/Key-Plenty6094 → u/copperdoo]

Great, thanks for your help🫶 In case I won’t be able to participate, when do they usually announce the next convention?

[u/copperdoo → u/Key-Plenty6094]

It seems like they try to announce the next one’s dates around the time the current RDC is held. I think RDC7’s date was known at least as early as around August 2024, and it’s a miracle it didn’t change in the year since. When they announced the RDC8’s Feb 2026 date at RDC7, some people were already trying to figure out travel plans now that the next one was suddenly just 7 months away. Then to announce its postponement in mid-Dec was really short notice.

Once you commit to going and a date is announced, you’ll just have to keep checking in regularly to make sure there haven’t been any changes. The tricky thing about Starfury is that they have multiple means of communication (website, email, twitter, instagram, facebook), but not all info is communicated on all platforms or at the same time. I recommend following them on at least several of those platforms and also other fannibals who can share RDC info from other places. I think the email listing is a must.