Wrestlemania Fan Axess

[JWGunslinger]

Well the dream is finally coming true for me next year, Wrestlemania 31 is gonna be in my back yard at the new Levi's Stadium. It's my first Mania and I have no idea what to expect, but I've got quite a few questions on what Fan Axess is like.

If you guys would just share your experiences of going to Axess and what it was like if you've been.

Some specific questions,

Do they have any kind of special attractions?(speeches, interactive stuff)
Roughly how many superstars are there?
Is it a clustermuck getting a picture or autograph with them?
Ive heard you can walk to the ring to the theme of your choosing and get a video package, is this true and do you need a special pass/ticket?
I assume its expensive as hell in there, can I bring in a replica title to be signed or will they make me buy one there?

Any contribution would be very much appreciated, thanks!

 

[klunderbunker]

I was at Axxess this year so I can actually help you out here.

1. GET THERE EARLY. As in like 90 minutes before your session starts at minimum. It took me 20 minutes to get through line and I got there 45 minutes early.

2. There are a bunch of booths/stations you can go to. A map is provided at a stand in the center, but the only way to know who was going to be where was via the WWE App, which no one ever mentioned. I was lucky in that a guy I was in line with had it and I jotted down the information.

3. Be prepared to wait in line a lot. I waited in line over an hour and fifteen minutes to meet Dolph Ziggler and over forty minutes to meet Jim Duggan. There's no way around it.

4. There are a lot there, but you'll be lucky to meet 10% of them given the lines. Also the lineups change at the halfway point of your session.

5. Pictures and/or autographs are easy. They'll all have pictures/papers provided for autographs for free. You have to bring your own camera of course but there's usually an attendant there that will take the picture for you.

6. The walking to the ring thing is the same as any other booth to the best of my knowledge. You don't actually get into a ring though as it's just coming through the entrance. THat line seemed to go pretty quickly though.

7. I think my ticket was $50 for four hours. You can bring as many souvenirs as you like with you. One person was literally dragging a case of action figures to be signed. There's a HUGE store there to buy stuff there too though.

8. Don't wait until the last minute if there's something you want to see. My session cut lines off with 15 minutes to go so the next session could get in. As in I was scheduled to be in there until 6pm but at 5:45pm I wasn't allowed to start doing anything else.

 

[klunderbunker]

One more thing: when you're walking around, scan the crowd. You'll see several wrestling people just walking around as fans. I saw Bob Backlund and heard of Renee Young, Bad News Barrett, Albert and Jerry Lawler being at other sessions. Be forewarned though, a lot of them are there just as fans and don't like being talked to. Jerry Lawler is known for being rather rude because he's basically in off mode if that makes sense.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Excellent advice KB, thank you very much for the input! I really had no idea what to expect and I've only had one friend go to a Mania so they haven't been much help. I assumed the Axess and HOF were included in some package you get when you purchase your actual Wrestlemania ticket. Is that still the case with the Hall Of Fame?

I'll be going with several friends and hopefully my fiancé will be coming as well, seeing as how she is a fan but not super into it I was thinking of having her hop in a line as well and get me an autograph if I'm torn and can only make it to one or the other.

That's a shame to hear about King, I love the guy and almost tried to approach him at Elimination Chamber back in 2011 but decided not to. Glad I didn't, I would've been crushed if him told me to piss off.

 

[klunderbunker]

I did all of mine a la carte actually. The WM ticket was about 200 (good view though far away), Axxess was 50 and Raw the next night was 30 for upper deck. I didn't do the Hall of Fame.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Right on, I definitely plan on doing all of the above with the exception of Raw possibly. Depends on how expensive all the other stuff ends up being and if I can get the day off. Are there any other kinds of gimmick booths like the one you mentioned with the entrance walk out? If so any you would suggest over the others?

 

[klunderbunker]

I really wanted to do 30 Years of Wrestlemania but the time thing stopped me. Undertaker's Graveyard is overrated unless you're a BIG fan. THe NXT ring is there and they basically have matches, promos and trivia contests for the whole stretch of the day. I spent most of the rest of my time in lines.

 

[JWGunslinger]

What exactly do they have going at the Thirty Years Of Wrestlemania? Is that the thing where they have memorabilia from past years events? If that's what it is I'd love to check it out if I have time but like you I'll probably be in lines most of the time.

Takers Graveyard I can probably skip on, my buddy will probably spend the whole day there unless he can go meet the man himself. I'd check out the NXT stuff if there weren't time constraints but seeing as how there are I'll probably skip on that.

 

[klunderbunker]

It was a musem kind of thing. The line took about 12 minutes to get through according to the people running it, which made me even madder as they wouldn't let me go in with 15 minutes to go.

The NXT thing you just walk up and look at. I caught some of Ascension and Paige defending their titles. It's just a ring and a mini ramp.

 

[JWGunslinger]

That's some BS, if you're paying that much you ought to be entitled to every second.

Ah I'm jelly, I'd kill get up close to Paige.

 

[klunderbunker]

I've heard she's one of the nicest people in the world. The Bellas didn't show up as scheduled for some reason so Paige wrestled a match then sat down for three and a half hours to sign.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I hope you got to enjoy that, at least personally I probably would've been dumb and written her off without realizing where she would be today. Now she's my favorite current Diva with how much she reminds me of my all time fav, Lita.

So I notice(and from what I've gathered) you mention a few legends such as Hacksaw and Backlund, plus younger rising talent like Ziggler and BNB. But how many big current stars such as Orton, Sheamus or Trips are there? Obviously I'll happy to meet who I meet but If I can see one guy it would be Randy. What're my chances there? Other than him in terms of former talent I'm hoping and praying I get a chance to see at least one of the following
Kevin Nash, Goldberg(in light of recent rumors), Flair, Hogan, DDP, Booker T and Edge.

 

[Phoenix]

From my experience with WM28's Axxess, it's been pretty consistent with KB's feedback. The museum setup is pretty cool and nice to see memorabilia, but I recommend it to be an item where you don't have much going on, like the gap between morning and afternoon sessions (if you paid for two sessions at least).

Taker's Graveyard was good for me, but that's because meeting Paul Bearer was part of the experience, but obviously him passing on last year makes the Graveyard lose some value.

I remember that there was a bit emphasis on Cena related things that year, with things like Cena trivia quizzes, singing his entrance theme, a ring with foam squares for you to jump in. They have some photo spots with the WWE title, reaching for the MITB, posters and whatnot.

While there are indeed long queues for the booths and sessions, the smaller/quicker queues seemed to be for the official photos with a Superstar, but it's partly because they're not necessarily the 'high profile' ones. I did manage to have photos with Kaitlyn, Natalya, Paul Bearer and Hunico & Camacho, to go with the queues. Also, be patient because sometimes the queue gets stopped to allow disabled children to get photo/autograph sessions.

Expect food to be pricey, so I recommend bringing a drink and some food if you can.

I did the Silver Package and it included tickets within the first 100 rows of 'Mania, front row seats on Raw, 3 sessions to Axxess, Hall of Fame, Hotel for 4-5 nights. It was more than how much KB paid for, but for the experience and view, it was worth it.

 

[Phoenix]

Big Stars like Trips, Cena and Orton (to name a few) are only available under the VIP signing sessions. You have to pay in addition to the Axxess tickets just to get a signing opportunity, and yes, still queue for an hour or so.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Thanks a bunch Phoenix, sounds like the silver package is about what I'll shoot for cuz money isn't flowing like crazy but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I guess I'll have to shell out the extra money and make a B line for Orton in the VIP signing.

If Paul Bearer were still here(RIP) I'd do the graveyard without hesitation but it kinda loses it's luster without him. I wonder what that attraction will be like this year with the streak now being conquered? Maybe just add it to the 30 years of mania and just make it a big part of it.