Dragon*Con 2013
Avatar and Legend of Korra cosplayers.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Dates Attended: August 30th, 31st, and September 1st, 2013
After a year away, I am happy to say I returned to Atlanta for my second Dragon*Con in 2013. Like my first year back in 2011, postcards were sent out well in advance, each with a bar code to bring to registration to pick up badges. Like I did in 2011, I still wish they would just send the badges out; it would save convention goers a lot of time and exposure to Georgia in August. Anyway, I arrived on Thursday again this year to get settled in and pick up my badge so come Friday when events started I would be able to just go and enjoy. My flight was a bit later this year, so by the time I had checked in at my hotel and put my things down, it was already getting dark outside. When I arrived at the Sheraton to pick up my badge, the line wrapped around the building on the outside before going indoors and into a corral set-up. I will say for all that, the line moved fairly quickly, but it still took about an hour and a half. There was one moment as we neared the building when a man told us the line was cut off and we'd have to come back tomorrow. At that point my friends and I had waited 45 minutes around the building and I was ready to get in a fight-- then he was informed by other staffers that it was the line to go in and not more people trying to line up, so thankfully that was sorted out. By the time we had out badges it was 9:30 pm and we were all very hungry. Fortunately the Dairy Queen in the Peach Tree Center food court was still open, so we were able to get something in our stomachs without paying for one of the more expensive sit down restaurants in the immediate area. By that point I frankly just wanted to eat something quick and get some rest.
This year, I stayed at the Westin, one of D*C's host hotels. The room ended up costing more than I expected because taxes weren't included in the initial billing, so that was a little stressful to find out. Fortunately I had the money to cover the difference, but in the future if I stay there again I will have to keep that in mind. Apart from that news, the hotel was very nice. The room was spacious and we were able to get a mini fridge. Having friends to the room required someone go down to get them, because use of the elevators after the first few floors requires the clearance of a room key. We were also in the same building as the only late night event I attended: The Avenger's Ball. It was great to be in the same hotel rather than having to walk back to another one in Atlanta at 2:00 AM.
As Friday dawned, I woke up early and got myself ready before heading out for a photo shoot and my first panel of the con. On my way, I grabbed a sheet of paper from the information booth in the Westin that had schedule update for the day. I saw that the "Avatar the Last Airbender w/ Sifu Kisu" I'd planned to go to later in the day had been cancelled. While I was disappointed, the cancellation actually ended up working in my favor-- it gave me the time to see Ed Asner's solo panel rather than just seeing him with a group of other voice actors. These sheets with schedule changes are handy, but I wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly or not at first (there is a lot of stuff in tiny print on one page) so I ended up having to check the phone app anyway to be sure the panel had been cancelled.
After getting my bearings, I went to the the Hilton and met up with a friend to take some photos of her costume, then got in line for the first panel of the day in Hilton Ballroom East: "An Hour With Tonks" featuring Natalia Tena. Getting people in for the panel moved surprisingly slowly and the panel ended up starting late because of it-- not the best way to kick off one of the first panels of the con. Still, Natalia was delightful to listen to and very funny. The panel was basically just an open mic for people to come up and ask questions. At first people seemed shy to approach, but after a few questions had been asked, the ball got rolling and the panel moved along without a hitch. When Natalia's panel was done, I strolled around with friends and took some pictures then headed over to the Hyatt to find out where I should line up for "Ed Asner: UP! and Beyond". I was redirected by no less than five staffers who had no idea where the Hyatt Centennial I line was forming, but finally found someone who was able to point me in the right direction. I was lucky the weather was nice on Friday-- the line for the panel (and many others) was outside. Had it been raining (the rain held off until Sunday when it poured) it would have been pretty miserable.
Ed Asner's panel was fantastic. Like Natalia Tena's, it was just an audience question and answer. Mr. Asner told us when the panel started that there was supposed to be a moderator, but whoever it was had not shown up, so he would be taking care of it. While there were a few awkward political questions thrown at him, the majority of the panel went smoothly and Mr. Asner's stories and humor were incredibly engaging and a blast to listen to. I met him a little later after the panel in the Hall of Stars to have my Up DVD signed and he was incredibly nice and complimentary. Also, he kissed my hand. ;u;
The panels I wanted to see for the day attended, I found my friends again to have a quick dinner then start getting ready for The Avengers Ball. Run by the Whedonverse track, I was totally hooked when I first read the concept: a musical time lapse, starting with music from the 1940's, then moving through the decades as the night progressed. It was honestly one of the most fun events I have ever been to at a convention and my friends and I danced all night. The music choices were pretty great up until the DJ reached the modern era-- then it was mostly club songs I'd not even heard on the radio. Still, that was the last half hour or so of an over five hour event, so all in all it was pretty golden! The highlight of the night was the closing the the 1940's era music: a staged performance of Captain America and the USO girls, doing the stage show song from the Captain America movie. At the end of the number Captain America proposed to one of the USO girls. She said yes. I cried.
On Saturday I woke myself up somewhat early in order to go see the Dealer's Room. It had moved to a new location for 2013, the AmericasMart. Trying to get to that building through the crowds of parade viewers was a nightmare. I really don't know how they could better the sidewalk traffic situation, but to go a block and a half took about a half an hour. It was pretty bad. As for the Dealer's Room/Exhibitor Hall... well, even though I made several trips throughout the convention, I don't think I actually ever saw all of it. The layout was a mess,and one could all too easily get lost inside. There was little signage, and I was never sure what rooms I had and hadn't seen yet. Given this was the firs year in the AmericasMart, I'm hopeful that 2014 will find things a little (or a lot) more manageable and better laid out. One kinda fun thing about the AmericasMart though? Inside was a food booth that was pretty much selling circus food. Popcorns, hot dogs-- the smell was amazing and it was one of the "landmarks" I was able to pick out to try and figure out where I was.
After a couple of hours in the Dealer's Room I stopped back at the hotel to drop off my purchases and a few free things I'd been given, then headed over to the Hyatt once more. Fraggle Rock was a childhood favorite of mine, so when Dragon*Con announced that two of the actual Fraggles and their voice actors/puppeteers would be in attendance, I was ridiculously excited. The puppeteers were set to do a panel, then a meet and greet, but with the way the lines work, I had to choose one or the other. I couldn't line up for the meet and greet if I went to the panel. I think this was kind of poor planning, given it seems obvious that if someone was interested in one, they'd be interested in the other. I chose the meet and greet because, well... getting my picture taken with Fraggles. Talking to Fraggles. Being in the presence of actual Jim Henson creation Fraggles. My inner child was screaming at the very thought. So I lined up, and the line was brought into a room where it was filed into seats row by row, and everyone got to go up, meet Red and Mokey, and get pictures with them. The first 100 people were also each given a signed, personalized anniversary print-- I was lucky enough to get one. :)
Having made a childhood dream come true, I went to spend some time with friends and take some cosplay pictures. I pretty much avoided entering the Marriiott as best I could, because the crowds were extreme, just as I remembered from 2011. Even on Friday, the through traffic at the Marriot bridges was stop and go. In sticking to the outdoors when necessary, I did venture past the Hyatt and found the SunTrust center and the park across the street, which made for some nice photos. I'd seen pictures from the locations in the past, but had no idea where they were!
With evening setting in, my party went back to the hotel to get dressed for the A Night at the Georgia Aquarium event. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we ended up getting out of the hotel late, and didn't make it to the Aquarium until a little while after the event had already started. I strongly advise buying your Aquarium event ticket in advance. You will be able to print it out and it will save you from a very long line of people waiting to get their tickets at the door. The Georgia Aquarium is big and beautiful, and there is quite a bit to be seen. The only bad thing is that with the event taking place after dark, many of the animal enclosures and tanks reflect that time of day. This makes perfect sense and is wonderful for the animals, but I was a little bummed that it was very hard to see and take pictures of the beluga whales, penguins, and dolphins. The low lighting in the building makes it a bit tricky to take pictures at all unless you have an excellent camera. You can only use a flash in the lobby area for the safety of the animals. Still, with the unique backgrounds offered by the aquarium, it's worth a try to get some pictures, and maybe you happen to know someone with one of those excellent camera who could give you a hand. :) One of the most fun things the aquarium offers is a pool guests can reach into to pet mantas and small sharks. My friends and I had a blast and I was able to leave saying I had pet a shark. How often do you get that opportunity? I also pet a lobster. It was a wild night.
Sunday, the final day of the convention, I had no real plans beyond see friends, see cosplayers, and have fun. I started my day by going to browse the Artist's Alley which featured a lot of beautiful work. After that, I found my way back to the Dealer's Room, then ended up back in the Artist's Alley to look a little better with a friend and check out the neighboring Art Show. There was much to be admired. I spent the rest of the day with friends, dodging the rain, taking what pictures I could, and partaking in more Dairy Queen. All in all it was a very relaxed day. Because we were staying in the Westin, we had access to Dragon Con TV and decided to watch the Masquerade from our room. It was... well, some skits were good, others not so good, and it was difficult to tell what merited one act to be removed from the stage, while others that were definitely more "boring" were allowed to continue. The host was also not particularly entertaining to me, but that might just be my personal taste. It all just felt a little odd. Still, it was a nice final evening spent with friends, relaxing and enjoying each others company.
On Monday morning, the final day of the convention, I was up early to catch a cab back to the airport. After saying goodbye to my still half asleep roommates, I lugged my stuff downstairs where the Westin staffers got me a cab very quickly. While the flight home was pretty much the worst, I can safely say my Dragon*Con experience was pretty great and I am already putting money aside to go back in 2014. It is an expensive convention, so I don't know that it will ever become an annual one, but we'll see what the future holds. :)
Dates Attended: August 30th, 31st, and September 1st, 2013
After a year away, I am happy to say I returned to Atlanta for my second Dragon*Con in 2013. Like my first year back in 2011, postcards were sent out well in advance, each with a bar code to bring to registration to pick up badges. Like I did in 2011, I still wish they would just send the badges out; it would save convention goers a lot of time and exposure to Georgia in August. Anyway, I arrived on Thursday again this year to get settled in and pick up my badge so come Friday when events started I would be able to just go and enjoy. My flight was a bit later this year, so by the time I had checked in at my hotel and put my things down, it was already getting dark outside. When I arrived at the Sheraton to pick up my badge, the line wrapped around the building on the outside before going indoors and into a corral set-up. I will say for all that, the line moved fairly quickly, but it still took about an hour and a half. There was one moment as we neared the building when a man told us the line was cut off and we'd have to come back tomorrow. At that point my friends and I had waited 45 minutes around the building and I was ready to get in a fight-- then he was informed by other staffers that it was the line to go in and not more people trying to line up, so thankfully that was sorted out. By the time we had out badges it was 9:30 pm and we were all very hungry. Fortunately the Dairy Queen in the Peach Tree Center food court was still open, so we were able to get something in our stomachs without paying for one of the more expensive sit down restaurants in the immediate area. By that point I frankly just wanted to eat something quick and get some rest.
This year, I stayed at the Westin, one of D*C's host hotels. The room ended up costing more than I expected because taxes weren't included in the initial billing, so that was a little stressful to find out. Fortunately I had the money to cover the difference, but in the future if I stay there again I will have to keep that in mind. Apart from that news, the hotel was very nice. The room was spacious and we were able to get a mini fridge. Having friends to the room required someone go down to get them, because use of the elevators after the first few floors requires the clearance of a room key. We were also in the same building as the only late night event I attended: The Avenger's Ball. It was great to be in the same hotel rather than having to walk back to another one in Atlanta at 2:00 AM.
As Friday dawned, I woke up early and got myself ready before heading out for a photo shoot and my first panel of the con. On my way, I grabbed a sheet of paper from the information booth in the Westin that had schedule update for the day. I saw that the "Avatar the Last Airbender w/ Sifu Kisu" I'd planned to go to later in the day had been cancelled. While I was disappointed, the cancellation actually ended up working in my favor-- it gave me the time to see Ed Asner's solo panel rather than just seeing him with a group of other voice actors. These sheets with schedule changes are handy, but I wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly or not at first (there is a lot of stuff in tiny print on one page) so I ended up having to check the phone app anyway to be sure the panel had been cancelled.
After getting my bearings, I went to the the Hilton and met up with a friend to take some photos of her costume, then got in line for the first panel of the day in Hilton Ballroom East: "An Hour With Tonks" featuring Natalia Tena. Getting people in for the panel moved surprisingly slowly and the panel ended up starting late because of it-- not the best way to kick off one of the first panels of the con. Still, Natalia was delightful to listen to and very funny. The panel was basically just an open mic for people to come up and ask questions. At first people seemed shy to approach, but after a few questions had been asked, the ball got rolling and the panel moved along without a hitch. When Natalia's panel was done, I strolled around with friends and took some pictures then headed over to the Hyatt to find out where I should line up for "Ed Asner: UP! and Beyond". I was redirected by no less than five staffers who had no idea where the Hyatt Centennial I line was forming, but finally found someone who was able to point me in the right direction. I was lucky the weather was nice on Friday-- the line for the panel (and many others) was outside. Had it been raining (the rain held off until Sunday when it poured) it would have been pretty miserable.
Ed Asner's panel was fantastic. Like Natalia Tena's, it was just an audience question and answer. Mr. Asner told us when the panel started that there was supposed to be a moderator, but whoever it was had not shown up, so he would be taking care of it. While there were a few awkward political questions thrown at him, the majority of the panel went smoothly and Mr. Asner's stories and humor were incredibly engaging and a blast to listen to. I met him a little later after the panel in the Hall of Stars to have my Up DVD signed and he was incredibly nice and complimentary. Also, he kissed my hand. ;u;
The panels I wanted to see for the day attended, I found my friends again to have a quick dinner then start getting ready for The Avengers Ball. Run by the Whedonverse track, I was totally hooked when I first read the concept: a musical time lapse, starting with music from the 1940's, then moving through the decades as the night progressed. It was honestly one of the most fun events I have ever been to at a convention and my friends and I danced all night. The music choices were pretty great up until the DJ reached the modern era-- then it was mostly club songs I'd not even heard on the radio. Still, that was the last half hour or so of an over five hour event, so all in all it was pretty golden! The highlight of the night was the closing the the 1940's era music: a staged performance of Captain America and the USO girls, doing the stage show song from the Captain America movie. At the end of the number Captain America proposed to one of the USO girls. She said yes. I cried.
On Saturday I woke myself up somewhat early in order to go see the Dealer's Room. It had moved to a new location for 2013, the AmericasMart. Trying to get to that building through the crowds of parade viewers was a nightmare. I really don't know how they could better the sidewalk traffic situation, but to go a block and a half took about a half an hour. It was pretty bad. As for the Dealer's Room/Exhibitor Hall... well, even though I made several trips throughout the convention, I don't think I actually ever saw all of it. The layout was a mess,and one could all too easily get lost inside. There was little signage, and I was never sure what rooms I had and hadn't seen yet. Given this was the firs year in the AmericasMart, I'm hopeful that 2014 will find things a little (or a lot) more manageable and better laid out. One kinda fun thing about the AmericasMart though? Inside was a food booth that was pretty much selling circus food. Popcorns, hot dogs-- the smell was amazing and it was one of the "landmarks" I was able to pick out to try and figure out where I was.
After a couple of hours in the Dealer's Room I stopped back at the hotel to drop off my purchases and a few free things I'd been given, then headed over to the Hyatt once more. Fraggle Rock was a childhood favorite of mine, so when Dragon*Con announced that two of the actual Fraggles and their voice actors/puppeteers would be in attendance, I was ridiculously excited. The puppeteers were set to do a panel, then a meet and greet, but with the way the lines work, I had to choose one or the other. I couldn't line up for the meet and greet if I went to the panel. I think this was kind of poor planning, given it seems obvious that if someone was interested in one, they'd be interested in the other. I chose the meet and greet because, well... getting my picture taken with Fraggles. Talking to Fraggles. Being in the presence of actual Jim Henson creation Fraggles. My inner child was screaming at the very thought. So I lined up, and the line was brought into a room where it was filed into seats row by row, and everyone got to go up, meet Red and Mokey, and get pictures with them. The first 100 people were also each given a signed, personalized anniversary print-- I was lucky enough to get one. :)
Having made a childhood dream come true, I went to spend some time with friends and take some cosplay pictures. I pretty much avoided entering the Marriiott as best I could, because the crowds were extreme, just as I remembered from 2011. Even on Friday, the through traffic at the Marriot bridges was stop and go. In sticking to the outdoors when necessary, I did venture past the Hyatt and found the SunTrust center and the park across the street, which made for some nice photos. I'd seen pictures from the locations in the past, but had no idea where they were!
With evening setting in, my party went back to the hotel to get dressed for the A Night at the Georgia Aquarium event. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we ended up getting out of the hotel late, and didn't make it to the Aquarium until a little while after the event had already started. I strongly advise buying your Aquarium event ticket in advance. You will be able to print it out and it will save you from a very long line of people waiting to get their tickets at the door. The Georgia Aquarium is big and beautiful, and there is quite a bit to be seen. The only bad thing is that with the event taking place after dark, many of the animal enclosures and tanks reflect that time of day. This makes perfect sense and is wonderful for the animals, but I was a little bummed that it was very hard to see and take pictures of the beluga whales, penguins, and dolphins. The low lighting in the building makes it a bit tricky to take pictures at all unless you have an excellent camera. You can only use a flash in the lobby area for the safety of the animals. Still, with the unique backgrounds offered by the aquarium, it's worth a try to get some pictures, and maybe you happen to know someone with one of those excellent camera who could give you a hand. :) One of the most fun things the aquarium offers is a pool guests can reach into to pet mantas and small sharks. My friends and I had a blast and I was able to leave saying I had pet a shark. How often do you get that opportunity? I also pet a lobster. It was a wild night.
Sunday, the final day of the convention, I had no real plans beyond see friends, see cosplayers, and have fun. I started my day by going to browse the Artist's Alley which featured a lot of beautiful work. After that, I found my way back to the Dealer's Room, then ended up back in the Artist's Alley to look a little better with a friend and check out the neighboring Art Show. There was much to be admired. I spent the rest of the day with friends, dodging the rain, taking what pictures I could, and partaking in more Dairy Queen. All in all it was a very relaxed day. Because we were staying in the Westin, we had access to Dragon Con TV and decided to watch the Masquerade from our room. It was... well, some skits were good, others not so good, and it was difficult to tell what merited one act to be removed from the stage, while others that were definitely more "boring" were allowed to continue. The host was also not particularly entertaining to me, but that might just be my personal taste. It all just felt a little odd. Still, it was a nice final evening spent with friends, relaxing and enjoying each others company.
On Monday morning, the final day of the convention, I was up early to catch a cab back to the airport. After saying goodbye to my still half asleep roommates, I lugged my stuff downstairs where the Westin staffers got me a cab very quickly. While the flight home was pretty much the worst, I can safely say my Dragon*Con experience was pretty great and I am already putting money aside to go back in 2014. It is an expensive convention, so I don't know that it will ever become an annual one, but we'll see what the future holds. :)
This review was written for Jolt Photography. Do not repost without written permission.