Today's the day! After years of speculation and months of waiting, Blizzard is finally officially releasing Wrath of the Lich King. More than a few people have grabbed their copies already, but the vast majority of us are heading out to midnight launches all over the country (and indeed, the world) to pick up the game's second expansion.

Blizzard has their own launches planned (there's a rumor going around that the NYC event is canceled, but we've confirmed that's not true -- everything is still on as planned), and so do we here at WoW Insider -- in all the places that we're going out to take pictures and grab our own copies, we're inviting you to come along with us and say hi. We've reprinted all the meetups after the break -- I'll be in Chicago, we'll have people at the Blizzard events in Anaheim and Austin, and in North Carolina, California, Maryland, Minnesota and Florida, and our own Jennie Lees is hosting an event in Scotland. Take a look after the break, and if you happen to be in the area, definitely come out and meet us.

No matter where you are, good luck getting the game, and have a terrific time. We'll be around tonight with coverage of the event as it happens, interviews with devs on the scene, and of course in-depth coverage of our (and your) first steps into Northrend. Today is the day!

Please note: for places that serve alcoholic beverages, you will need to be 21+ to attend, but all of the meetups will eventually move to retail spaces which are open to the public, so join us later in the evening if you can't come to the bar. Children under 10 should probably be accompanied by an adult. All times are for Wednesday the 12th of November going up to midnight/early morning on Thursday the 13th.

Please also note that if you haven't reserved the game yet, you may not be able to purchase it from these locations. We're not selling the game -- we're just going to pick our copies up and report on the launch, and we're inviting you to join us if you're in the area.

Chicago, IL
Who: Mike Schramm
What: Drinks (must be 21+ for bar, all ages to meet up at Gamestop)
Where: Duffy's Tavern, 420 1/2 W. Diversey, Chicago, IL, with a midnight launch at Gamestop, 2725 N. Clark Street.
When: 8pm Central for a drink at Duffy's, walking over to the midnight launch at 10:00pm.

Research Triangle, NC
Who: Eliah Hecht and Elizabeth Wachowski
What: Drinks and food (21+ for drinks, all ages at Gamestop)
Where: The Fox and the Hound, 4158 Main At North Hills St, Raleigh, NC, with a midnight launch at Gamestop, 4154 Main At North Hills St.
When: 9:30 pm Eastern for drinks, 11 pm for midnight launch.

Santa Barbara, CA
Who: Chase Christian
What: Drinks + Food (no alcohol)
Where: Barnes and Noble Café, Paseo Nuevo Mall, Santa Barbara, CA; with a midnight launch at Gamestop, across the walkway at Paseo Nuevo Mall.
When: 9:00 PM Pacific for drinks, will be in line all night.

Anaheim, CA
Who: Dan O'Halloran
What: Swag
Where: Fry's Electronics, 3370 E. La Palma Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806; this is one of the locations where Blizzard devs/execs will be appearing
When: 9:00pm Pacific, will work the line

Northridge, CA
Who: Robin Torres
What: Hanging out in line
Where: Best Buy, 19350 Nordhoff Way, Northridge, CA 91324
When: 10pm PST

Orlando, FL
Who: Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell and Mania from Petopia
What: Meetup
Where: Gamestop in Waterford Lakes, Orlando, more information here.
When: 10pm EDT.

Austin, TX
Who: Elizabeth Harper
What: Caffeinated beverages
Where: Barnes and Noble Cafe, with a midnight launch at GameStop next door, 10000 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78755 (Arboretum); Blizzard devs on-hand!
When: 7PM CST at B&N, will be in line all evening. (Updated since the shin-dig at GameStop is starting earlier than expected!)

Glen Burnie, MD
Who: Michael Gray (look for me in the Utilikilt)
What: A drink at DuClaw's in Arundel Mills at 8:30, then off to GameStop at 9:30
Where: DuClaw's at Arundel Mills mall, with a launch line at GameStop in the same mall
When: DuClaw's at 8:30 (I'll actually be there at 8, look for me in the bar), with a walk to the GameStop at 9:30
Questions?: Email writegray AT gmail DOT com

Maplewood, MN
Who: John Patricelli (The Big Bear Butt)
What: Drinks/Wings (must be 21+ for bar, all ages to meet up at Gamestop)
Where: Buffalo Wild Wings, 3085 White Bear Ave N, Maplewood, MN, with a midnight launch at Gamestop, 1900 County Road D East, both locations just to the North of the Maplewood Mall.
When: 9:30 PM Central for a drink, walking over to the midnight Gamestop launch at 10:30pm. First 20 visitors will get a spiffy button.

Edmonton, AB, Canada
Who: Matthew Rossi
What: Hanging out in line in the cold of a Canadian November
Where: Future Shop, downtown Edmonton
When: Probably around 9 pm mountain time. Go ahead and try and guess which person I am! First person to recognize me gets... well, bragging rights, I guess.

Edinburgh, Scotland
Who: Jennie Lees
What: Queueing and muttering -- bring your own coffee. We'll take over Guitar Hero if they let us.
Where: Gamestation, Princes Street (look for the Joystiq shirt)
When: 10.30pm GMT onward

Tags: anaheim, austin, blizzard, chicago, florida, launch, maryland, meet, meetups, midnight-launch, minnesota, north-carolina, northrend, readers, wrath-midnight-launch, wrath-of-the-lich-king

Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King