DragonCon

All-​in-​all, DragonCon 2015 was a success all the way around. The Highlights by day include opening night there was an Amish group that would yell «knees» when they saw a girl’s bare knees. This is something I’ve never seen at DragonCon. Well, done. Friday was #forcefriday and an AT-​AT stormed the Marriott Marquis lobby, not to mention Felicia Day is as darling as she appears to be on TV. Did you know she wrote a book? She’s a renaissance woman. On Saturday, the Sleepy Hollow panel didn’t disappoint with Tom Mison being called «super hot Jesus» so he texted his mom and Nicole Beharie coming in late to the joke.

DragonCon is über fun for sci-​fi/​fantasy/​animé/​gaming/​cosplay/​costuming (who else am I missing) geeks. And I say geeks with love. I have had the pleasure of attending DC four times now. Each experience has been different. I learn with each Con. Everyone gets something different out of the experience and is looking for different things. I like to attend the celebrity panels and visit the Walk of Fame (where you can take photos with celebrities and get signatures — for a fee, determined by each celebrity). Always hosted on Labor Day weekend– Friday through Monday. Though unofficial events start on Thursday.
There is ALOT of waiting. So be patient. And don’t be an ass. There, I said it. Don’t save a spot in line for 5 of your friends. That’s not cool. It can be really hard to get into the big panels and folks have been waiting. It’s not fair. There is plenty of volunteer and paid staff there to help manage the lines, but it doesn’t always work out. But most of them are doing the best they can with the numbers they have. A big event is the parade on Saturday morning. Better get there early for good viewing. I’ve seen it a few times and I am done. I don’t like early morning wakeups.
The hotel decks will be full from the attendees staying at the hotels so you will need to use one of the lots, take Über, or take MARTA. Convenient stops are Peachtree Center and Five Points. Great location across four hotels (Marriott, Sheraton, Hyatt, and Hilton) and America’s Mart (for the artist market and vendors). Convenient connections to Peachtree Center and other dining options. Many will stay open late for this weekend.
Great people watching. For those that love cosplay, cosplay to your heart’s delight. But remember… no costume is no costume. Check out event restrictions for costuming and other issues on their website. Disability services are available.
What else to say? Have fun!

DragonCon brings LIFE to Atlanta! The coolest event ever. The costumes are amazing. The people are from all over it’s extremely cool. I loved every minute of it. Next year I plan to be apart of it definitely!
Very exciting!

Never been to Dragoncon before till this year. So much fun to see all these characters around/​come to life. If I were 8 years old, I would have been more excited.
Parking wise — Err, not sure where you’d go. My bf works DT and we used his parking pass: D
The way Dragoncon was set up, I was fairly happy with. All hotels were connected (even to the food court!) and was constantly moving. I can’t really complain. Plus it was an indoor/​outdoor event, so that made it so much better. Who wants to stand outside for hours while taking pictures and sweating hardcore? No one.
Some of the costumes I saw were so good, like WOW. I could tell they took a lot of time and effort. #impressive.
I don’t think the membership deal is worth the money, IMO. But it IS worth it if: you want to stay all night, get into the special panels, and see celebrities sign some stuff. I only wanted to walk around the Hotel Lobbies and wander around there. (I also only went for 3 hours on Sunday — a chill day. Not sure how strict they are on a ‘last’ day) I saw a ton of people at the food court, too. In all honesty, if you’re like me and not a hardcore Dragoncon person and just like to peruse the area and see cool stuff, don’t buy the memberships and just walk around.
If I do turn into a hardcore Dragoncon person, I’d for sure buy the early bird. I think next year’s (2016) deal is 4 days — $ 80. Goes on till Sept 21, 2015?

NOTE: this review is for the Parade only.
Having done five consecutive Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I consider myself kind of a parade «snob», but even with my high standards, the Dragon Con Parade is well worth the effort to get downtown. I’ll break this review down for ya:
PARADE LOCATION:
The parade marches through the heart of downtown Atlanta, which poses a real problem where traffic is concerned. However, the route is located right off of the Peachtree Center (and not far from Civic Center) MARTA stations, making it easily accessible via public transportation. This is the method we’ve used to get to the parade for a couple years now and I highly recommend it.
The trains will be crowded, but you’ll save yourself the hassle (and $$$) of finding parking near downtown.
The route is not terribly long, so viewing «room» is somewhat limited, and people often line up four or five rows deep along the street. Arriving at the route early is recommended, but this year, we arrived 20 minutes before step-​off (9:40 ish) and were still able to find a decent spot about three rows back.
TIPS:
+Arrive about an hour early for a good spot.
+Bring folding chairs– you’ll be happy, and the people standing behind you will be happy to see over your head.
+bring snacks & drinks to keep ya happy.
+Camp out near a place with a restroom (hotels will sometimes turn a blind eye, but there’s always Starbucks and a few other bars/​restaurants if you’re willing to buy a drink)
+OR camp out near a MARTA station for quick escape.
PARADE «PLANNING»:
Atypical to what I expect parades to do, this one usually steps off ON TIME! Meaning, if you’re further down the route, you won’t have to wait hours until it gets to you. This is a big selling point. They also ensure plenty of police presence and some use of guardrail to prevent too much chaos.
Overall, this parade seems well planned and well executed each year.
PARADE PARTICIPANTS:
It is evident (in most cases) that a lot of work goes into the costumes, floats and contraptions that march down Peachtree. Each group has their own flair, «festivities» and theme– and it’s such a treat to crane your neck in anticipation of who is up next.
Costumes/​groups range vastly from «spot on» Character recreations and character «mash-​up» costumes (e.g. Princess Darth Vadar, Steampunk Donald Duck, etc.) to «Pun» costume groups (e.g. Periodic table group) and just some downright random ones.

The Unilocal 2-​star stands for «meh, I’ve had better…»
and I have… at HeroesCon in Charlotte, at Wizard World in Long Beach and even at Dragon Con … circa the 90s.
This show has is overgrown, overcrowded, overheated and overpriced. You can barely move through the various aisles and crowd control is an afterthought at best. You will find yourself standing in Disney-​World-​esque ques (without any of the organization or forethought that goes into that company’s parks) and you will smell all sorts of body odor before your time at Dragon“Con” is over.
The majority of movie announcements have already happened by the time Dragon“Con” rolls around, so all you get are the tired retreads if you even get those. Marvel and DC comics have not had an official presence at this show for 20 years now. Swag is disappointing.
After experiencing some well-​organized «cons,» I can’t support this mess any longer. See ya in Charlotte.

Overall I had a good time at Dragoncon this year, but it was more of a 3.5 star due to the crazy crowds.
Somehow after living in Atlanta for 4 years, this was my FIRST Dragoncon experience. I decided to cosplay as Merle from Escaflowne and was pretty stoked people could recognize me (it’s a pretty old animé, plus I am an extremely amateur cosplayer.). It’s a convention focused on scifi, comics, superhero, animé, fantasy, games, zombies, etc. spanning Friday through Monday, basically open ²⁴⁄₇ through that time period. You can choose to go all 4 days or choose Saturday only or Sunday only. If you buy the 4 day passes a year in advance they are only $ 80!
We bought 1 day passes online in advance for $ 50 each and picked them up around 8:15 am Saturday AM. The line at the Sheraton was extremely long (out around the building and down the street to a Shell gas station) but it actually moved fairly quickly. I think we waited for 30 – 40 minutes.
For the Saturday morning parade that starts at 10 am, we showed up early and staked out a spot around 9 am near the end of the parade route. By that time there were a decent number of people. As 10 am drew nearer it got very packed around us, but the view was still very good. then all of a sudden the police moved the barricades, allowing the latecomers to rush to the best spots while some of us were relegated to suboptimal views. The parade was nice but I was kind of disappointed cause I had higher expectations. Then again, I didn’t recognize a lot of costumes and we were at the end of the parade route (maybe it’s more high energy near the beginning?), and this woman next to me kept encroaching more and more into my space that I finally got annoyed and left.
Panels we attended:
Five Amazing Middle-​earth Celebrity Guests: Lord of the Rings/​The Hobbit — John Noble (Denethor, steward of Gondor), Peter Hambleton (Gloin, dwarf), Stephen Hunter (Bombur, dwarf), Sylvester McCoy (Radagast the Brown Wizard), Dean O’ Gorman (Fili, dwarf); we walked in late to this panel and were in the very back of the ballroom. They use mic and speakers of course, but it was very difficult to hear what they were saying in the back. ended up leaving early
Game of Thrones: Songs of Westeros: featuring Julian Glover (Grand Maester Pycelle), Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell), Kristian Nairn (Hodor). Arrived about an hour in advance. It was a long line but it was well organized. We got pretty good seats too, near the front middle. Entertaining panel, very much enjoyed it
Arrow: Loss Makes Us Stronger: Stephen Amell (Arrow), John Barrowman (Malcom Merlyn), Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance), Matt Nable (Ra’s al Ghul). This one was a must for me, and I’m so glad I stuck it out waiting for it because it was an awesome panel. They have really great chemistry together and it was very interesting and a comical time altogether. John Barrowman in particular is hilarious. Oh my goodness, the wait for this panel was out of control. We got there in about an hour in advance but there was no organized line (at least you couldn’t tell if there was one since it a huge mass of people standing disorderedly in front of the ballroom doors). No one was moving at all. Finally after a while an employee came out and directed people to form a line and by the time that we got outside it stretched out of the building, down the steps of the Marriott, around the corner and onto the sidewalk. THANKFULLY there was enough room for us (we sat near the back of the huge ballroom) and it was plenty loud for us to hear. Two people who obviously had not been waiting in line, cut in line behind us right when we were about to enter the ballroom, and I definitely did not stay silent on that one. Fortunately, the detestable actions of a couple people weren’t enough to bring down my parade.
Other stuff we did: waited in line for the Vendor area at the AmericasMart. That was also a very long line. We only checked out the 2^nd floor which had things like animé, swords & other weapons, jewelry, comic books, signed photos, cosplay items. We weren’t planning on buying anything but just wanted to look around. It was extremely crowded, like elbow to elbow. Checked out a smaller Game of Thrones session discussing dark times of GoT. We left after a couple minutes after it was evident that they would be focusing on rape in GoT.
I think in general the people watching at the Dragoncon itself was much more fun and interesting than those at the parade. Almost everyone’s cosplay was super impressive. It’s fun to take pics of people in their masterpieces (IMO, always ask for permission).
Anyway, after the Arrow panel ended at 6:30 pm, my old broken body couldn’t take it any longer and had to retreat home. I don’t know how people do it for 4 days. Maybe they just take a lot of ibuprofen and 5 hour energy. Still, Dragoncon is a must do if you live in ATL or within a couple hours driving distance. Just be prepared for fun, exhaustion, & tests of your patience.

This is my first dragoncon and it is awesome. If you love anything nerdy, scifi, superhero, comics, animé, medieval, gaming, or anything related you will love this place. There are tons of people in cosplay and everyone is friendly toward fellow nerds. It was also completely awesome to run into the cast of the scifi series «Lost Girl» while grabbing a slice of pizza
How cool is that?

Lemme preface my review by saying that I know nothing about comic books or action heroes. In fact I’m pretty clueless about sci-​fi and pop culture in general. But I love me some people watching and I’d heard about DragonCon so I checked out the parade this year.
It was so much fun! A few friends and I met up downtown early in the morning to stake out a parade viewing spot. We waited for a couple hours I think, but it was worth it. We had a great location right near the Peachtree Center MARTA stop.
My advice for parade-​goers: go early, dress for the weather, bring water and patience.
If I go again, I might get creative and try to find an viewing spot from one of the parking garages or restaurants. Or I might just show up at 6am with a cooler full of bacon and bloody mary supplies.

We have never been to Dragoncon before but here was our experience…
We arrived right before the parade started and got our tickets right away, no line, so that was awesome. After we got our tickets, we couldn’t find anything in that hotel. The people working the event (I don’t know if they are all volunteers or not) didn’t know where anything was. We went across the way to a hotel that one of the volunteers told us had a lot going on, the Marriott, but the signs were terrible. We walked past so many booth areas the first time because the doors looked closed or it was off to the side. We finally arrived to our first area of vendors and holy cow! We couldn’t even move! My husband and I were pressed up against each other, I was being hit with tails and furry wings… it was not fun. And We lost our small group of course. booths that looked interesting were pretty much impossible to get to, and if you got to the booth, good luck finding prices you find somewhat affordable. A lot of the vendors I have seen around before and their prices were triple what they normally are… no thanks. I totally understand having to make money, but it was entirely too overpriced. Every single booth area we visited was like that, it was awful. Finally we got to the Hall of Fame and we had to wait in a ridiculous line to just get into that room. We met a few people but the majority of the «fame» was very rude. We were so excited to meet Luna from Harry Potter, we had asked the women who seemed to be her manager sitting next to her if we could pay with a debt card and she said yes. Low and behold we get up to the table after waiting forever and the same women tells us we can’t pay with a card… I’m glad I didn’t pay 50 $ in the long run for her to sign my badge, what a rip off. And I don’t know what the deal was, but some girl just cut the line entirely and started crying and talking to «Luna» while the guy in front of us was trying to talk to her after he had waited in line. This entire convention was a joke. We won’t ever spend the money on this convention again, I’ve been to better conventions in Orlando, Florida.

It was my first DragonCon and I was quite amazed at all that was offered for so little cost! We bought our tickets/​memberships early and only paid $ 75 each. For four days of nonstop workshops, the only thing they’re missing are Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Not all of the host hotels do well but given they are all connected, what a great gathering!
One piece of advice for newbies… don’t try to see the big events like Patrick Stewart or TrueBlood. Long lines will be the end of you, along with the heat. Go to the smaller venues and check out science and hackers… that was the best IMHO!

2014 is my 8^th year at DragonCon, but I went only one day this year. It’s starting to taper off for me, I’m sad to say. So, I guess it’s time to review!
Probably the first thing you need to know is that it gets bigger and more expensive every year. So, if you’re reeeeally into it, you should consider getting next year’s pass as early as possible.
In 2007, «next year’s pass» was $ 35 and a Lifetime membership was, I believe, $ 500. In 2014, the 2015 pass is $ 75, and [I don’t even see any proof of a Lifetime membership existing anymore.] EDIT: I’ve been corrected. James H says the Eternal Membership is now $ 2,000. THAT is commitment! Here is the proof:
If you’re staying downtown for Dragon Con, whether you already live in Atlanta, or not, you’ll want to plan to book your room around early-​mid October, if not earlier. The hotels release the following year’s rooms about 11 months early.
Need to know what to put in your DragonCon survival kit? Well it depends upon how awesome you are and what you dress up as. …and you SHOULD dress up. Each of these items, depending upon how important to you they are, can help dictate what you dress up as.
First thing you need, is your badge. Just accept it that you’ll be wearing this thing or you won’t be able to get into some sessions, cool dance parties, other hotels or Rocky Horror singalongs, in the convention halls. It’s going to make your character look like they’re signing into work or are on sale or something. Deal with it, everyone else will.
Next: Your alcohol. You’ll want to pre-​game, fill a cooler, flask it, brown bag it, airplane bottle it, red solo cup it, etc. What can you be?
Castaway — Cut open that Wilson to stash your flask.
Ghostbusters — Proton Pack? More like POTION pack, EhhhhhH!?! Am I right?! Okay…
Anything you can hide a hiking-​hydration pack underneath: transformers, godzilla, storm trooper. «HULK CHUG!»
Your wallet or purse is going to be important as well. Where do you put your money for purchasing expensive hotel cocktails, 15-​sided die, and signatures from Jean Luc Picard? Play a pregnant character (Zombie Mom?) and hide it in your belly. Play a superhero and get one of those jogging belts that hold your keys, money and CCs. (SCORE!)
Good shoes, are also important. Consider how long you’ll be at the con, how long you’ll be in costume, how willing you are to deviate from the original costume the later it gets into the evening. Your platform heels may not be practical for the rave you want to go to at 3am, but going back to «where do I stash my stuff?» — I think someone makes platforms with secret compartments, don’t they?
Moving along. Gender-​specific tips.
*CHICKS: If you don’t like being photographed, wear more clothes. The amount of skin you show is directly proportionate and related to the amount of times you’ll be stopped and asked for photos. It has nothing to do with your rights as a woman to walk around naked, but accept the fact that 1. you look hot, and 2. many of the people you will encounter may have never seen as much skin and curves in real life, and the results are inevitable.
*DUDES: Do everything in your power to downplay how creepy you might be around scantily-​clad women. Despite the fact that a woman may want to feel sexy and show off her assets (and it is acceptable here at the Con) do not expect that you can do what you want. Do NOT stare. DO be polite when asking for a photo. Do NOT touch. If you’re in the photo with her, do everything in your power to not be weird.
What else? You can buy art, watch a kilt-​blowing competition, eat a ton of pizza, dance til 6am, take pictures with your favorite heroes and villains, become your favorite heroes and villains, play nerd games, hear your favorite actors, actresses and pop-​culture icons speak in real life about their lives, their work, their favorite beers. meet other nerds, geeks, dweebs, goofs, artists, creatives, drinkers, partiers, etc.
Overall, this is a vacation for most. It’s a big expense for those who travel, and even for those who live in Atlanta already. It’s a lot of preparation for many who make their own costumes, and the hours of fun are pretty endless.
This review is just the tip of the iceberg. OH yea, DON’T FORGET TO SEE THE PARADE ON SATURDAY MORNING… and enjoy the con!

We didn’t get to dragon con But went to the parade. And it was great. The crowd albeit massive was Awesome… They were, courteous not obnoxious. After the parade it was an orderly departure. Children were well behaved.
The parade itself was cool those in it interacted well with the viewers and children. There were no delays.
It was a great experience!
We hope to make it to the actual DragonCon nxt yr.

What more is there to be said about Dragon Con? It’s a must if you haven’t yet been, a must if you’re in a fandom — and not just the typical sci-​fi/​gaming kind — DragonCon is very pleasantly diverse; just take my word for it, Dragon Con is a must, you have to go at least once to experience it all.
Yes. It’s overwhelming, crowded, hot, exhausting — all of the above and more, but despite it all it manages to be so. much. fun. How? The majority of everyone you meet are just good people, there is an occasional asshole, but there always is. There’s just so much to do as well, here are some of the highlights: Without a doubt people watching at it’s finest, even the bad costumes are good, driink-​drank-​drunk — there’s a bar everywhere, in addition to the night parties/​raves, a dealer’s room for swanky merch purchases, a meet-​and-​greet room (this year we saw Ralph Macchio, half the cast of Angel and BSG, Karl Urban… just to name a few), a game room (mainly board games with a few video games set up).
Now, the downside of Dragon Con: the crowds, it’s usually tolerable, but there will be times throughout the day/​weekend where it’s absolutely insufferable — just keep calm, it’ll pass. In the same vein… be prepared to wait in lines — for everything: food, bathroom, bar, and especially the panels, which is the worst, there’s no guarantee you’ll get a seat if you’re not in line at least two-​three hours before the panel starts. Thus if you go to two panels — it’s going to basically be your entire con experience. Also be prepared for a lot of walking. Walking to from MARTA (which I recommend you take, as the traffic is horrific, and the prices for parking are outrageously up-​charged for the weekend) and the convention itself is spread out over four hotels (all very close in proximity, however): the Mariott, Hyatt, Sheraton, and the Westin.
In conclusion, a few quick tips to make your DragonCon a better one: wear comfortable shoes, come early — especially on Saturday, and especially-​especially if you want to be there for the parade, bring your own drank (alcoholic and non-​alcoholic), again — take MARTA, bring a camera, bring extra batteries for your phones, and if you’re a first-​timer, I recommend just buying a one-​day pass (Saturday’s), as an all-​day venture at the con can be fairly draining.
Until next year, happy cosplaying!

First time at the parade! It was pretty Spectacular. So many people! I think even more than the Peachtree Road race.
Go early to get a good spot. Prepare to be squished in a very crowded area.
Took Lenox mall Marta station to peachtree center station to avoid traffic. I highly recommend doing this. Remember it’s Labor Day weekend. It’s also the start of football season and tailgating. It seems everyone is pooling into downtown Atlanta so it’s very congested.
Was able to find a decent spot in front of the Hard Rock Café to get a good view.
Next year will definitely plan to attend the convention too.

Although I didn’t get to go this year, I always love this weekend in Atlanta! It’s so much fun to walk around downtown and see random situations that would look funny regularly. Everyone is taking pictures and there is a lot of creativity. You can tell a lot of people go out and put a lot of energy in their costumes and for some people it is the only weekend they can be their geeky nerdy selves without judgement. The parade is super awesome too. If you haven’t checked out anything Dragon-​Con related, I would highly recommend going downtown tomorrow (Sunday, August 31) near the Westin/​Suntrust and just walk around and see what fun adventures you can get into!

Written on Friday, the first day of DragonCon 2014.
I’ve been to DragonCon for the last 7 or 8 years. If I had written this review several years ago, I’d have given it a five star. I used to love it! Entering the Con hotels felt like entering a fairy land, or a dreamy alternative universe. People watching was such a thrilling experience! It still is, but the crowd really gets to me now. Last year it seemed quite crowded on Saturday, and this year it was already super crowded on Friday! The waiting line for Sir Patrick Stewart’s panel wrapped around the entire Marriott hotel. I went there 30 minutes ahead of time and the capacity was already filled so I couldn’t get in. There was even a long waiting line to enter the dealer’s room at American Mall. I’m not sure how bad it would be tomorrow.
What I love this year so far:
1. The registration line was very short, there was no waiting at all.
2. Still loving the cosplay, people are so creative!
3. Love the art show. And not too crowded, i.e. I could always move freely through the crowd, and was not stuck in a very slow-​moving mass of bodies. Friday is definitely the day to go.
4. Very helpful Con-​workers and hotel staff, and city ambassadors.
5. People are so friendly!
One tip: The various floor plans, hotels, and where and what might seem overwhelming at first, but there are plenty of information booth around with very competent people, they will surely help you. Don’t panic!

This was my first Dragon*Con in my 30+ years life as a geek. I don’t know why I avoided for so long. I kick myself for not enjoying this in my earlier, geeky, (and single) years. It would’ve been a blast.
I bought the 4 day pass for 100-​something bucks. Was it worth it? Maybe, if you like cosplayers, partying, listening to panels, and walking around for miles. If you’re a true geek, you will love it.
First, let me go over some bad stuff about Dragon * Con. Getting the badge is one of the worst experience you can have. I suggest taking a day off of work and getting in line. The line this year was about 1.5 hours long. It wrapped around the Sheraton 1.5 times. However, people seemed patient and courteous. Fortunately, the line moved fast. Even though the line flowed nicely, the volume of people made the wait grueling. I don’t understand why they don’t just FedEx the badges. I’m sure people would pay a bit more to get that convenience. Although, they might not do it for forgery issues.
The Saturday Morning parade is a nightmare. Since all of Atlanta comes out to see this, you won’t have place to see the parade unless you come 2 hours early. Yes, you have to come 2 hours early if you want to find a good place to see the parade. The number of people is insane. It’s an agoraphobic’s nightmare. However, once the actual parade starts, it’s pretty awesome. The costumes and floats all look spectacular. Just bear the sweat and stank from the people bumping into you.
If you make it through those grueling events, everything else seems golden. If you have the badge, you can go to every venue freely. Beware for non badge holders, the security is strict. They will check every person entering the hotels for their badge. They will humiliate you if you don’t have it and kick you out. Don’t try to sneak in unless you’re a ninja.
So what can you do at Dragon Con? You can buy artwork from famous and not-​so-​famous people. One example is Don Rosa, who seems to be at Dragon*Con consistently.
Also, you can go to the walk of fame and meet your favorite celebrities for some cash. I think this is a rip off. It’s $ 20+ to get a picture taken with them with your camera. Unless you’re a super fan, you shouldn’t really do this.
You can go to panels that talk about various geeky stuff. They have interesting ones.
You can play games at the board game room. They have tons of board and card games of your choosing. If you’re a gaming geek, this is a good place to go and play.
They have other stuff you can do, but the main event is the people watching. It’s fun to cosplay and see other cosplayers. Here are some of my favorites of this year:
1. Rocksteady and Bebop from TMNT
2. Muppet Storm Troopers
3. Cogsworth, Lumiere, Belle, Beast, and the Feather Duster Maid from Beauty and the Beast.
4. Ohmu and Nausicaa from Nausicaa
5. Yep Yep Yep guys
6. Daft Punk
7. Various robots that look like robots
8. Rorschach
9. Rorschach Groupies
10. Megpoid Gumi
I forgot a bunch more awesome costumes. But a lot of people had great costumes and showed creativity. We got to meet some famous cosplayers like Yaya Han, Ms. Riddle, and Nicole Marie Jean.
Also, the food and drink prices didn’t seem overpriced. If you go to the food court in Peachtree Center, the prices looked normal. I think it’s cool they didn’t gouge their prices for the huge crowd they had. The food they served in the hotels were pricy, but they could’ve gouged it more. So for an event like this, I thought the prices looked reasonable.
I liked my first Dragon*Con experience. It was exhausting and my feet hurt, but it was a great time.

I had heard about Dragon*Con every year since I had moved to Atlanta about 3 years ago, but I never made the effort to check it out. Thanks to my awesome friends who showed me the ropes, I was able to experience a fraction of what Dragon*Con has to offer.
After I got off work the Friday before Labor Day weekend, I met up with my friend and we carpooled. I highly suggest carpooling with a few friends because parking will set you back at *least* $ 10.
If you want to grab a cheap, quick bite before heading over to Dragon*Con, the Peachtree Center food court is a good option. I was surprisingly satisfied with my meal at Malibu Wings and would recommend it to fellow D*Con attendees (
).
For people who are semi-​claustrophobic (like me), D*Con will definitely take you out of your comfort zone. People will bump into you, and many of them will be smelly from sweat. You’ll just have to accept that and move on.
I love taking pictures on my dinky old digital camera, and I definitely did that here. For the most part, people were really cool about letting you take pics of them and with them. There were oodles of amazing costumes, but the following were some of my favorites in order (best to least favorite):
1. Bane from «The Dark Knight Rises»
2. Alan (Zach Galifianakis) from «The Hangover»
3. Driver (Ryan Gosling) from «Drive»
4. Neytiri from «Avatar»
5. Fiona from «Shrek»
5. Marty and Jennifer from «Back to the Future»
6. Jean-​Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from «The Fifth Element»
7. April O’Neil and Casey Jones from «Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles»
8. Jawa from «Star Wars»
9. Chewie from «Star Wars»
10. SpongeBob SquarePants =)
Other honorable mentions were the super hot Spartan soldiers from «300» and, although not a person in costume, I LOVED the life-​size remote-​controlled R2-​D2! =) The Disney characters, Pocahontas, Ariel, Aurora, Rapunzel, and Gaston were pretty cool, too. There were dozens and dozen of zombies, but their novelty wore off immediately because there were so many.
I didn’t take advantage of any of the (overpriced) food and drink offerings, but one of my friends definitely did. Apparently, things can get crazy as it gets later into the night, but I didn’t stay long enough to see.
Overall, Dragon*Con gets 4 stars for providing an awesome opportunity to dress up and/​or people-​watch. However, as dorky as I can be, maybe I’m just not crazy enough about the very idea of having to pay to watch and take pics of people. You can do that for free during Halloween. Nevertheless, I can definitely see myself going back next year if I don’t have other plans for Labor Day weekend. =)
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While I didn’t technically attend DragonCon this weekend, I did attend the free parade Saturday morning to really kick it off right.
And after a crummy week weather-​wise, the day of the parade dawned sunny, hot and promising to attempt to make at least one furry or ewok pass out during the course of the festivities.
Since my friends had gone last year, they had staked out the best parade spot to watch that wasn’t too insanely crowded or overrun with people. And there was a parking garage right down the street so Marta wasn’t necessary (always a plus, always). The parade began at 10 AM, so to be safe, we all convened at 9:30 near the corner of Courtland and Baker Street where the parade was supposed to wrap up.
True to form, that part of the parade route wasn’t jam-​packed with onlookers and we were able to get a relatively good, shady view of the street. And then the epic-​ness of Dragon Con began.
It all started with a teaser: a street sweeper when down the street to the cheers of all. The guy grinned and waved like it was the best day of his life and about five minutes later, the real parade began, and continued, and continued, and continued.
And believe me, every possible facet of geek-​dom and fan-​dom was represented: Game of Thrones, Ghotsbusters, Star Wars, Star Trek, animé shows, fairies, witches and wizards, superheroes, steampunk, video games, movies, TV shows, pirates, the periodic table of elements personified and more. There were enough storm troopers to make a battalion, box superheroes, a walking set of Tetris blocks, multiple outlandish automobiles including a Dolorean, Ghostbuster mobiles and cars painted like Star Wars ships, and costumes of God-​only-​knows-​what.
Even some big name stars made appearances: Stan Lee was there along with Lou Ferrigno (the original Hulk) and a few others I wasn’t familiar with. That’s pretty sweet!
The whole spectacle lasted about an hour and was a total blast. It definitely made me regret not buying passes for this year and vowing to change that next year. DragonCon 2013 here I come.