When we were deciding on a bestie trip, I happened to get an email from the Red Sox about upcoming promos and saw they were doing a Fourth Wing night. I sent it to Amelia, because that's what we do, and she said, "let's go to Boston for that." I instantly bought VIP tickets because they really weren't more than the regular tickets - I got our two tickets in the lower bowl of Fenway Park for $120 total. They sold out of VIP tickets within hours of sending that email, so we knew this was going to be an adventure.
There were two types of tickets that one could purchase through the Fourth Wing promo, a VIP ticket (which came with an autographed special edition copy of the book and a guaranteed flight jacket, and allowed early entrance into the stadium,) or a GA ticket (only came with a guaranteed flight jacket).
Our email of instructions told us that VIP ticket holders would be able to enter Gate C beginning at 4:15pm. We are not hardcore Fourth Wing fans, but we lurk on BookTok and BookStagram enough to know that people would be lined up early. We decided that we would plan to get to Fenway around 2pm and just access the scene.
We got there around 2:15 and discovered that we were late ... not really, but we were maybe halfway from the gate to end of the street it was at. The first person in line got there at 11:30AM and it was an older couple from Texas. (She was very excited to be there, and he loves his wife) We also learned that they told anyone who purchased a ticket through the Fourth Wing promo to enter through Gate C. We later learned that was around 10,000 tickets 🤯
Also mind-blowing, was that there were not separate lines for VIP and GA tickets. 🚩 I overheard someone asking a Red Sox employee how that was going to work since VIP ticket holders could get in an hour earlier and her response was "the GA tickets won't scan until they are allowed in" *que panic attack* Speaking from experience, that is a ticketing nightmare waiting to happen. Our anxiety spiked, PTSD kicked in, until around 3:30. When the line was wrapped around the stadium and impeding on the entrance to another gate, they decided to separate the lines. *releases the breath she had been holding*
Once we got our items, we posted up at an area near Gate B and the concession stands with picnic tables so we could people watch. We noticed some commotion and all of a sudden boxes of fight jackets were being brought over to Gate B. We also noticed that after about 20 minutes, the game day workers who were working the scanners at Gate B were replaced with credentialed Red Sox employees. One of them was telling them that they had to check tickets, because only people with a Fourth Wing ticket could get the flight jacket.
I looked over at the boxes and did the math on how many flight jackets they had ordered .... 11,000. I overheard one of the workers explain that they had sold 10,000 Fourth Wing tickets and that's why they couldn't give them to everyone. Some of the GA friends we made in line eventually made it over to where we were, so we had some friends to watch the chaos with. They told us that the line was so long at Gate C, that they were sending half of the line to Gate B because they were concerned they wouldn't be able to get everyone in by first pitch. That was the move, because at least Gate B was pretty clear and only stragglers were coming in by first pitch.
Overall, it was a fun experience, it seemed the Red Sox underestimated the crazy that Booktok possesses, as well as just how seriously some people take Fourth Wing. The book is pretty, the jacket is legit, and my specialty cocktail was delightful (and it came with a souvenir glass!). Hearing people nerd out was fun, even if we couldn't fully nerd out with them. 🤣
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