Dragon Con 2018

So we went to the 2018 Dragon Con.  Fun times!  It was extremely hot and crowded, and we spent a lot of the time thinking, "Why do we do this again?"  But now that we're back home I'm feeling  extreme euphoria when I think back over the weekend.

This is the longest we've stayed at Dragon Con.  Usually we only go down for Saturday, but this time we splurged and bought memberships to the entire con.  We still didn't get to stay in one of the host hotels, though; we'll save that dream for another year.  Commuting in each day from Alpharetta was much cheaper.  We used a website that lets you book parking spots in advance, so that was one less headache. 

The parade was fun, but it's getting harder and harder to find a good place to sit. You have to get there earlier every year.  This year we got there nearly two hours before the parade, and Peachtree Street was already full.  This meant we had to go further down the parade route, on an East-West street instead of a North-South street.  This is significant because it means instead of the sun being blocked by all the skyscrapers, the sun now shines directly upon you.

So we sat in the hot sun for about two hours before the parade even started.  We misjudged how much water to pack, so by the time the parade was over, we both had a bit of heatstroke.  We were so worn out that it affected our energy levels for the rest of the day.

But the parade?  Worth it.  There were so many people in creative costumes, some 100% movie authentic, others clever mashups or puns, and some so obscure or meta that they only make sense at Dragon Con.   There were a couple of celebrities - John de Lancie, Joel Hodgson, maybe more.  The crowd went crazy for them.

We didn't go to any symposiums this time.  We rarely do.  For us, Dragon Con is mostly about seeing all the geeks and taking lots of pictures.  In the artists hall, I got to meet comic book writer Gail Simone.  To be honest, I know her more because of her politics than for her actual writing, but she's still one of my favorite people.

At first I was too nervous to approach her.  It wasn't just that I was intimidated, but I also just didn't know what I wanted to say.  When I told my wife about my embarrassment, she pulled me over and introduced us.  "Hi, are you Gail Simone?  This is my husband, Matt.  He's a huge fan, but he's really shy."  That didn't exactly make me less embarrassed, but at least it broke the ice.

She was signing things for free, and I wanted to buy a comic for her to sign, but she didn't take plastic and we rarely carry cash.  A stranger behind us was so sympathetic that he bought me a comic book.  I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't hear of it.  Again, embarrassing, but really nice.  I swear they must think I'm mentally challenged or something.

On Sunday I had a photo op with Felicia Day.  This is the third celebrity photo op I've done (the others being Matt Smith/Karen Gillan, and John Barrowman).  I'd really like to start a collection, but it's an expensive hobby.

You don't get to talk much at the photo ops (if you want a longer conversation, go to the autograph halls), but Felicia was extremely friendly and made a point of saying something to everyone.  When it was my turn, she told me she loved my MST3K shirt, and I tried to say "thank you" but I don't think any actual sound came out.  After the photo, she said to make sure I watch the new season, and I think I replied something like "larfleglimph." 

They had a deal where if you give blood, you get a free T-shirt.  There were people all over the con holding up signs for the blood drive, usually announcing "No waiting", but I didn't want to risk not having enough energy for the rest of the day.  So once we were nearly done on Sunday, since I knew my wife would be driving home, I decided to go for it. 

And everyone else had the same idea.  There was a pretty long line to give blood, but I got to listen to a lot of interesting people.  It was strange to see all these costumed people giving blood, especially when some are dressed like creatures you wouldn't want to receive blood from.  Even the Flying Spaghetti Monster was sitting in line.

The actual process was relatively painless, no different from having blood drawn at the doctor, it just took a little longer.  I strongly encourage others to give blood if they can.

When I got home, I posted my Felicia Day pic on Twitter, and Felicia Day herself liked it.  Okay, she probably "likes" every post she's tagged in (and she might even hire somebody to manage her Twitter account), but it still gave me a little thrill.

All in all, it was a great trip.  I don't think we're going to go to Dragon Con very often any more; it's just getting too crowded.  Attendance has nearly tripled since the first time we attended, and between the heat and the people, we just don't have the energy.  The only way I will go there from now on is if we can actually stay in one of the host hotels, which requires a lot of money and fore planning.  My dream vacation would be to stay at the Marriott from Thursday all the way until Monday, so I can just go back to my room to rest whenever I want.

Maybe some day!

Dragon*Con 2012

Well, we finally did it.  We went to the DragonCon parade without actually going to DragonCon.  The last couple of times we went, we discussed whether the con itself was worth it, since most of our fun comes from taking pictures.  We just never got our money's worth out of the con itself.  We usually only attend one or two symposiums, and most of the members-only areas are so crowded they're just not fun.  So this year we decided up front, we were either going to spend a lot of money (like by getting our pictures taken with celebrities) or none at all.  Being fairly close to broke, we picked none at all.

Unfortunately, the freeloading potential wasn't as good as it used to be.  Most years, the hotel lobbies didn't check for badges.  Sure, you needed a badge to go into the vendor areas, symposiums, or other con event areas, but pretty much anybody could walk through the hotels.  I don't know if this was intentional or the security had just gotten lax, but we'd often mosey through the lobbies in the morning before finally buying our badges.  But this year, every possible hotel entrance (the more important hotels, anyway) was blocked by the con police, demanding badges or room keys to enter.  This is sad, because it's so hot, that a lot of the better costumed characters congregate in the hotel lobbies.  So I wasn't able to take as many cool pictures as I used to.  All my pictures were pretty much from the parade and the sidewalks.

It was a lot more crowded this year than last year.  I don't know if it means the con is getting more popular, or if it was just because there's so many events going on in Atlanta this weekend.  Usually we get to the parade an hour early, and have no problem finding a good spot on the curb to sit while the crowds form around us.  This time, we got there just as early as usual, but it was already standing room only all the way up and down the street.  Eventually we did manage to find a nice spot to sit, but it wasn't easy.  So now I wonder if I should start getting to the parade two hours early.  My back is not going to thank me for that.

So, is it worth going to DragonCon without buying passes?  Well, not as much as it used to be.  The only free thing is the parade, and you'll be spending so much time outside you're going to get very hot.  If you do go just for the parade, don't get a hotel room.  Instead, assuming you live close enough, just make a day trip of it.  Maybe try to find cheap overnight bus fare.  Or if you do get a hotel, make sure you also do some other touristy stuff in Atlanta like the aquarium or something, and make a full vacation of it.

Anyway, after going two years in a row, we're probably not going to go back for a few years.  This is not a reflection on the con itself; we'd just like to spend our vacation budget on other places for a while.  Next time we go to DragonCon, I want to save up so I can spend lots of money on stupid things.

I've got more pictures up on Facebook.

Dragon*Con 2011

So, this was our second time attending Dragon*Con.  The first time was in 2008.  All we really did that time was walk around and take pictures.  We only did a couple of things that actually required our badge, and in the end decided we'd wasted our money.  Not that it wasn't worth it, it's just that our favorite parts of the trip were free, such as the parade. (2008 Facebook Pictures: Here.  Parade Video: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

Come to think of it, this is actually the fifth con we've been to, if you count Star Wars Celebrations.  We went to SW Celebration 2 in 2002, SWC 3 in 2005, GenCon Indianapolis 2007, and of course Dragon*Cons 2008 and 2011.

But Dragon*Con is our favorite.  Every year when it looms closer, we consider the following options:
1. Nope.
2. Be complete cheapskates.  Either get a cheap hotel Friday night, or just drive down very early Saturday morning.  Don't buy tickets.  Just watch the parade, walk around the hotel lobbies taking more pictures, then drive back up Saturday evening.
3. Pay, but make it worth it.  We still wouldn't pay for all three days, but whichever day we do pay for, make sure we actually attend some of the symposiums we paid for.  Come back with a couple of souvenirs.
4. Go whole hog.  Get a room in one of the actual hosting hotels, and pay for the entire weekend.

Maybe someday we'll do #4, but that plan might involve winning the lottery.  But this year we at least managed to scrape together enough for #3.

After poring over the event schedule, we decided to attend the con itself on Friday.  We attended two symposiums.  The first was Star Trek related, and was hosted by Garrett Wang (Voyager).  The second was a discussion of Doctor Who continuity.  We also bought some souvenirs at the vendor hall, walked around an art gallery, and took lots and lots of pictures (here).  On Saturday we returned to the con to watch the parade (pictures here).

It wasn't all about the con, though.  We got to visit with my cousin, and we went to the Atlanta Zoo (pics here).  We had a great time, and we're thoroughly exhausted.