Vin Diesel told fans they were getting free tickets to his next movie - but what followed was a chaotic nightmare
Sounds awesome.
Who wouldn't want tickets to see a new movie for free?
However, the process of getting those tickets quickly turned into absolute chaos and disarray.
After Diesel made the announcement, the audience wasn't given instruction on where and how to procure those tickets.
The cast left the stage, and the estimated 3,000 in attendance started filing out the one exit at the back of the room to make way for the next panel.
I was near the back of the group leaving the auditorium, and once we made our way out, it was a disaster.
No one knew who or where to get the tickets from, and there was really no way to discern those who had been inside the panel from passersby who were on their way to something else.
Before we knew it, someone announced all of the tickets were gone, and many were left empty-handed.
No one, to my knowledge, was taking down names to help them get movie tickets. Instead, the crowd just started slowly dissipating, annoyed and frustrated.
It was disappointing, especially because it could have been handled much better.
Last year, Disney kicked off New York Comic Con with a huge panel for "Big Hero 6" and "Tomorrowland."
In addition to surprising everyone with George Clooney on stage, the studio gave out freebies to everyone in the audience.
However, they didn't wait until the end of the panel for everyone to go searching out onto the Comic Con floor for their swag.
Disney neatly laid out a poster and gift bag on every single seat in the auditorium, ensuring that everyone who took a seat inside its panel walked away with something.
A select few of those giftbags contained bracelets inviting fans to a special screening of "Big Hero 6" a month before its release.
If you're going to give out free items during an event like Comic Con, that's the way to go.