'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' tickets fiasco has some fans upset

Copies of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two are displayed at a bookstore in London, Britain July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall - S1BETSQKBOAA

Today was a big day for fans of “Harry Potter” and Broadway, of which there are many, as tickets for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in New York City, went on sale. However, the process by which diehard fans secured tickets was anything but smooth.

The first hurdle for fans came from the ticketing process itself. Fans learned that, despite signing up for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fans process, demand for “Cursed Child” seats was so high that the production couldn’t guarantee that each user would get a code for a ticket. The selection was randomized to ensure fairness.

Even those lucky enough to get a code had struggles when the tickets became available at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Fans complained about wait times of up to 25 minutes while the site loaded the page that would allow them to buy tickets. When the page finally loaded, many were disappointed to find that the cheaper tickets were sold out and only the $200 seats were available.

As Newsweek notes, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is broken up into two parts that fans can either watch back-to-back, in two nights or at later separate dates (although that’s not recommended). This means that fans would need to shell out $400 minimum in order to see the story play out in its entirety. Many fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment to Ticketmaster.

Additionally, many fans were upset by technical issues from the website.

Obviously, first release tickets for the show have sold out, but the production is assuring fans that there will be more opportunities to get tickets in the future before the show ends its run. It offered no apology to fans for the rocky ticketing process, though.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” began its run in London before moving to the Lyric Theater on Broadway. Most of the original cast from the London production are making their way to New York City for its run.

The play acts as a sequel to the final book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” About 17 years after Harry Potter’s last adventure, his son is a student at Hogwarts and befriends the son of his former rival, Lucius Malfoy.

The show opens April 22, 2018.