It’s been another fun and exciting year at DragonCon. It was an amazing weekend. What all happened? Let’s look at the weekend as a whole.
First, we have ti get to DragonCon. This year, my journey started on Tuesday. With a hurricane looming for landfall in Florida, I decided to make my way up a day early. I started on the road and wanted to be ahead. I stopped at Buc-Ees for snacks and birsket to fuel my journey. As I made it into Georgia, I began my search for hotel for the night.
After a WalMart run and a few sold out options in Adele, I went a few more miles down I75 and found the Hope Inn. I paid the $40 and went tup to the room. Well, this was a mistake. The room was very hot, had an odd smell and overall was a bit sketchy. The concrete walls made the room feel like a jail cell. The worst part was there was nothing nearby for food. There was a Dollar General close by but their registers were down. Door Dash wasn’t an option as there was literally nothing within delivery range for Door Dash. At that point, I chalked up my losses, checked out and went down the road some more. I made it to Tifton and found a very nice and clean Super 8. It had friendly staff and I felt just fine there for a chill night to hang out.
In the morning I headed out at a leisurely pace. A quick run into Kroger, which I had never been to before yielded some snacks. After an uneventful drive Wednesday, I was at the Hyatt ready for the weekend. I settled into the shared room. I had learned from past mistakes. I did not bring an air mattress. This year, I got a folding foam mattress on Amazon and that worked great. No makeshift bed of couch cushions this year.
Thursday was the chill day it normally is at DragonCon. I started my day at the blood drive. I made an appointment this year, but they were delayed due to some technical issues. This resulted in an almost two hour wait to donate. I made it through the screenings and was able to donate for the second year. Still the least number of issues I’ve had with this process after failing screening each day a few years ago and barely making it through last year. Still a win.
The delay in the blood line put me right at time for the press office to open right as I was getting out so I moved right next door and picked up my badge. From there, it was getting some food and meeting up with friends as people arrived.
Friday, the convention started in earnest. I spent some time in various costumes and began photographing things. It was a surprisingly busy day as far as foot traffic went especially between the Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton where much of the weekend activity occurred. I also made my way over to the merch store in the Marriott and got my DragonCon swag. Much easier to manage that line than the one in the America’s Mart.
It’s always interesting to see how the convention changes. This year, there was no FedEx John cut out in the hallway leading to the Marriott. The loss was noticed by many as followers still set a up a shrine in his honor.
Saturday was of course the busy day. Starting with the early call of marching in the DragonCon parade. I once again marched with the GIJoe group and enjoyed it. Definitely need better boots for marching though.
Another highlight of Saturday was The Cybertronic Spree. The Transformers costumed band rocked the house again. This year I stood in the pit at front of stage and managed to move my way pretty close and get a great view pf the show. This band is amazing and has a lot of energy.
Sunday was another shill day. Throughout the weekend I attended some ribbon swap events to make my wall hanging again. Was able to collect over 100 badge ribbons this year.
The big GIJoe photoshoot was on Sunday again. It was a great turnout. I went as Shipwreck and lo and behold, it was a popular choice as we had 6 total Shipwrecks show up. I believe the collective term for that would be a bar fight.
I did make a trip through the celebrity signing area. There were a lot of great actors there and I definitely wish I had some more funds for a few autographs. I did meet Jason Marsden. This was a great choice. One of the best interactions with a celebrity meet and greet I have had. He was very kind and personable. He made the interaction awesome. And yes, I talked to him about the time he was a Ferengi on Deep Space Nine. He spoke highly of it and was joyed to talk about it.
After hanging out with friends the rest of the night, I headed home on Monday. it was an easy drive and I was certainly ready to be home but I was also absolutely ready to be back next year. This year was an absolute blast and I am ready to roll up for the fifth time in 2024. See you next year DragonCon.
