Breyerfest 101: The Special Run Line

Hey everyone! This is Emma! A lot of people have trouble with understanding the special run line, and have to figure it out when they get there. Then they miss their time, and have to buy them on the secondary market for much more.

Thankfully I did an obnoxious amount of research and made a schedule (keep an eye out for a post on that!) for my first BreyerFest (2013), and everything went great. There aren't very many Breyerfest 101 type things, but the few out there are good. I figured I'd add some!

Up until Breyerfest I'll be doing posts like this. If you have any suggestions comment them down below! :)

OK, let's begin!

Honestly, the special run line is very easy. It's a little bit hard to explain, but hopefully you understand!

When you order a three-day-ticket online (which I highly recommend, you don't want to have to wait in line when you get there!), you'll receive a button, a receipt, and a special run ticket. They'll look something like this.

As you can see, they have a date and time on them. Let's skip over that for now and go over some of the technical things.

On the second to last line of the ticket, you'll see it says no exchanges. That is a lie. Both years I've been to Breyerfest (2013/2014) I've exchanged them. To do so, contact Breyer and explain the situation. They'll give you an address to send it to. Send the ticket and a nice note explaining your situation and what times would work better. Also include a self addressed envelope with a stamp so they can send it back.

I had to exchange my tickets once because it was during the youth show, and once because we were only going to be in Kentucky 2 days. The ticket was for the day we weren't there.

OK! Now onto the actual line!

You should arrive at least 15 minutes before your time, preferably 30.

Everyone will gather under the little special run line tent at this time. It's just outside the Breyer Store, and if you get lost don't hesitate to ask a fellow hobbiest. We are all nice!

At about 5 minutes before the time on your ticket, a Breyer employee will choose someone to pull a number out of a jar.

You can't see it on my photo, but every ticket will have a number on it. 

After the number is chosen, the employee will hand out wooden paddles with every ten numbers on them. 10, 20, 30, 40 for example. If they called number 10, number 26th would be number 16 in line. If you were number 9 though... You'd be last. 

If you are close to the end of the line, you can go to the front and ask people if they plan to get two horses or one. If they only want one, you can ask them to pick up the one you want and you'll pay them after. However, each ticket is only good for 2 different models. So you can only get one Surprise Horse and one other, but not two Surprise Horses or two other horses.

I felt like this needs more photos, so here's one of the foal from the 2013 mare and foal special run set! :)

Anyway, after you are all in the correct order, the employee will lead you into an alley beside the Breyer store. Several long black tables will be set up; each with an out-of-package version (except the surprise horse. More on that later!) of the special run model on it for display. When you get up to the one you like, just ask for one and it'll be handed to you in bubble wrap.

If they run out of that horse, the model will not be on the table.

A little farther up the line, you'll check out. They take most major credit cards and cash. After that, you'll funnel out into a clearing where you can unwrap the models you wish or go to the next thing!

It isn't uncommon for people who weren't in the line to be standing there waiting to see what the horses look like it person. In the case you get a rare model, people may come up asking to buy it!

That's all for this post, hope you liked it! Ask any questions you have below and I'll gladly answer them!