Sightlines Seating
Due to the conventions limited resources, Disability Services (DS) staff may be required to discuss your request for seating with you in order to attempt to meet your needs.
We appreciate your cooperation.
This sticker entitles you to proximity seating with clear sightlines for visual access, access to the interpreter, or safe space for your working animal. You are allowed ONE companion to stay with you. For main event rooms, you may be pulled to a separate line to wait, and you may be let into the room before the main line. This is a security decision, not a DS decision—please do what security at the door tells you to do. DS staff in the room will assist you to an available designated seat. Please note: we will NOT hold designated seats and we will NOT kick people out so you can come in late. You MUST be there when the line starts moving into the room. For the smaller track rooms, show your sticker to room staff, they should assist you to a seat as close to the action as they can get you. Please realize that if you are arriving “on time” to a room already full that they may not be able to boot people out of seats for you. You are responsible for arriving early enough to avoid this. This sticker is not your ticket to waltz into any room and commandeer a primo seat. We apologize for the necessity of saying this.
If you are using interpreter services, please reserve their time in the white book. Please write down how many Deaf people are coming so they can reserve the appropriate number of seats. We will release reserved seats 5 minutes before the start of the event. You MUST be there early enough to claim your seats.
This sticker does NOT entitle you to head of the line privileges in ANY venue.
Please show up to events EARLY. The bigger the event, the earlier you need to be there. If you show up late, or even "on time" for some events, you may not get the seat you would prefer. You may not even get a seat at all.
Qualification for services does not guarantee availability of seating.
Elevators, especially in the Hyatt and Marriott, can be troublesome. If you wait for more than a reasonable amount of time, and cannot get space in an elevator, please look around the elevator bank for a phone. This connects to hotel security. They will be able to assist you.
Please realize that there are 60,000 (or so) people crammed into these few hotels, and they are all intent on what THEY want to see and do; they are not thinking about anything else, especially not about you and what you need. This self-absorption is not rude, it is human nature. They may, on occasion, move beyond simple self-absorption into true rudeness. Please try to remember, when you walk/roll up to the door and breeze in past people who have been waiting in line for many hours, or are shown to a way better seat: what you and I see as ‘equal access’ they may see as special treatment. Please do not respond to rudeness with rudeness.
Sightlines (service animal)
For people with a service animal.
You are allowed ONE companion to stay with you, wherever you are seated.
You are not guaranteed -nor entitled to- a front row seat. Our goal is to get you a seat where your animal is safe from trampling feet. (That will usually be front row off to one side or along the outside edge of a bank of seats, not in a direct line with the doors.)
You are NOT entitled to head of the line privileges in ANY venue.
There may be a separate line for main programming, ask security at the door.
In smaller track rooms, look for track staff, show badge; they will get you a safe seat, either to the side or front of the room but…
Room staff is not obligated to boot people who have waited hours out of primo seats/position in line for you. You are responsible for arriving early enough to prevent this problem.
Sightlines (interpreter)
For Deaf people who will use a sign language interpreter.
You are allowed ONE companion to stay with you, wherever you are seated.
We have a limited number of interpreters. We cannot guarantee you will get an interpreter for everything you request. You are welcome to fill out a complaint form for missing interpreters.
You need to reserve the services of an interpreter in the white notebook. Include the number of Deaf people and companions in your party so the interpreter can reserve the correct number of seats.
You are NOT entitled to head of the line privileges in ANY venue.
There may be a separate line for main programming, ask security at the door.
The interpreter will hold seats until five minutes before the start of the event. If you are not there by that time, the seats will be released.
If you have not reserved an interpreter, or arrive less than 5 minutes before the event starts, room staff is not obligated to boot people who have waited hours out of primo seats/position in line for you. You are responsible for arriving early enough to prevent this problem.