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Dragon*Con Fantasy
Months before:
– Buy weekend pass and secure at least three nights in a host hotel.
Weeks before:
– Break in your new walking shoes.
Week before:
– Gather friends and family around to make plans; plot out your plan of attack for vendors, panels, photos and autographs.
Day before:
– Pack. Count your batteries and double check you have your postcard, ID and camera.
Thursday of DC:
– Leave early enough to miss rush hour traffic in Atlanta, GA.
– Arrive at your hotel right at check-in.
– Scope your hotel room and put your bags down.
– Grab your postcard, ID and camera and head to registration.
– Walk with your fellow nerdy friends to the Sheraton and gain easy access to the pre-reg line. No herding for you!
– Snap photos of early cosplayers and talk loudly about your particular fandom.
– Enjoy the con!
Friday of DC:
– Wake up early and have a complimentary breakfast at your hotel.
– Double check your schedule and map on paper, on your phone, on your laptop with the hotel’s free wifi.
– Meet your group of friends in the lobby and enjoy the con!
Saturday of DC:
– Wake up early and have a complimentary breakfast at your hotel.
– Double check your schedule and map on paper, on your phone, on your laptop with the hotel’s free wifi.
– Meet your group of friends in the lobby and head to the streets for the DragonCon parade.
– Take amazing photos of all the cosplayers.
– Enjoy the con!
Sunday of DC:
– Wake up early and have a complimentary breakfast at your hotel.
– Double check your schedule and map on paper, on your phone, on your laptop with the hotel’s free wifi.
– Meet your group of friends in the lobby and enjoy the con!
Monday of DC:
– Wake up early and have a complimentary breakfast at your hotel.
– Begin the checkout process while your room sharers pack the car with all of the belongings.
– Double check your schedule and map on paper, on your phone, on your laptop with the hotel’s free wifi.
– Meet your group of friends in the lobby and start ironically waving goodbye to everyone else leaving with their heads hanging low because the con is ending.
– Make your way to the dealer and vendor halls to get the best deal on swag.
Tuesday after DC:
– Sleep the sleep of the post-con attendee. |
Dragon*Con Reality
Months before:
– Buy weekend pass one week too late to miss the discount. Attempt to secure a room at a host hotel and find a room out by the airport… You can shuttle in, right?
Weeks before:
– New shoes? You can’t afford that, you’ll be fine in flip flops.
Week before:
– Gather friends and family around to argue about the plans. No one wants to go to panels, it’s all about shopping. No one wants to shop it’s all about autographs. No one wants autographs it’s all about cosplay. Agree to meet at a central location each day at a specified time to catch up on the con instead.
Day before:
– Sleep the sleep of the pre-con goer.
Thursday of DC:
– Wake up late and throw some extra underwear and t-shirts into a backpack. Rush out the door. Get gas. Get halfway into Atlanta rush hour traffic and realize you FORGOT your pre-reg card. Weigh going back home to get it. Fuck it… on to the Sheraton.
– Without hitting pedestrians park in the parking deck, it shouldn’t be too much money.
– Walk down the hill to the Sheraton and AROUND the Sheraton to wait in line for your pass. You have time to kill right?
– See awesome cosplay and hunt for your camera – you forgot it – use your phone instead.
– Hours pass; pay $5 for a bottle of water. Be herded through the hotel, get your pass.
– Walk BACK up the hill to your car.
– Pay your $10 for 4 hours of parking and drive back home – you don’t have a hotel anyway, and you already have blisters from the three mile walk around the Sheraton.
Friday of DC:
– Wake up relatively early and text friends with hotel rooms. Agree to meet somewhere and hit the panels and the art rooms.
– Drive through Atlanta morning rush hour traffic.
– Park in the parking deck without hitting anyone in or out of costume.
– Stand in line for your first panel. Try texting friends as your phone dies because there is no cell reception, EVER, at DragonCon.
– Be herded into your panel and sigh a sigh of relief to sit down. Those blisters really hurt already.
– Repeat the last two steps the rest of the day.
– Finally hear from your friends, they’re going somewhere else at all times of the day. You’ll catch up tomorrow.
– Hit the art room and dealer/vendor halls. Find all the things you want, but wait – you don’t want to spend all your money yet.
– Check into your hotel. Pay an arm and a leg for parking.
Saturday of DC:
– Wake up relatively early and text friends. No one is awake yet, leave messages to have lunch.
– Get your cosplay on.
– Drive, uncomfortably to the parking deck because there was no shuttle after all. Park, after only lightly bumping a pedestrian.
– Walk around not getting recognized for your character until you have to pee, then, rip it all off and be comfortable the rest of the day.
– Attempt to contact friends about lunch plans and get no response, because there is NO cell reception at DragonCon.
– Walk, rush to each hotel and miss each of your panels. The panels you do attend some guests will have bailed on.
– Walk back to the art/dealer/vendor rooms as your blisters pop. Notice that some places have sold your desired item.
– DragonCon at night, let’s do this. Realize you’re the only sober one at any party. You’re tired anyway, go back to the hotel.
– Pay your $20 for the event/day parking and drive out to the airport.
Sunday of DC:
– Wake up relatively early. There is no breakfast at this hotel. There is internet, for the price of your first born child. Fuck it. Let’s go.
– Give up on your friends all together.
– Hobble and waddle through the hotels and find a line that is long enough you can sit in until the panel loads in where you can sit again.
– Repeat previous step.
– Shop. Talk yourself out of everything because Monday will be better. No one wants to take anything back with them.
Monday of DC:
– Wake up relatively early and checkout of your shitty hotel.
– Attempt to check your phone for your friends and your schedule but realize it’s been dead for two days because THERE IS NO CELL RECEPTION AT DRAGONCON.
– Drive, leisurely through downtown Atlanta and bemoan the incredibly thinned crowd.
– Park at the parking deck with minimal pedestrian interference.
– SLOWLY roam the hotels and watch the con leavers head out with their heads hanging low – mostly because their feet hurt.
– Shuffle through the now defunct hall of fame.
– Hug Doug Jones. That’s the only reason you came to DragonCon anyway, really.
– Hit the art room and see if that one handmade doll you wanted is still there. It’s not. Grab a business card instead.
– Hit the dealer/vendor halls and SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY. You’ve been waiting for this moment, you will not leave DC with nothing!
– Play paper, rock, scissors for who gets the car.
– Go the fuck home.
Tuesday after DC:
– Sleep the sleep of the post-con goer.
– Catch up with your friends who had a TOTALLY different experience.
– Agree to only go for one day next year, if at all.
Month after DC:
– Buy your weekend pass. |
(Bursula with Chris Hamer/Urbnpop)
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