Here we are and another year of DragonCon has come and gone. Hard to belive that I’ve now been to my fifth one of these. It has been such an adventure and after five of them, I fell like I understand this phenomenon more than ever. It’s addictive. Once you make the trek, it’s hard to not want to go back. As usual, let’s take a look back at my weekend at DragonCon.
It all starts way too early on a Wednesday morning. A five AM alarm is not a very welcome site, especially for someone who’s work day doesn’t start until eleven. Yeah, that’s rough. After grabbing my pillows off my bed and a few other small things I couldn’t pack the night before, my journey started in earnest. I was hoping to beat the Atlanta rush hour, so I would have to be efficient with my time. I started on the road at six. My road trip was a mostly peaceful one. I enjoy long drives and with a backlog of podcasts to listen to, I was more than ready to enjoy the road. With my pone connected to bluetooth and an episode of the Dale Jr Download playing, I was on the road headed for my first stop.
I had planned the trip to consist of mainly three stops. The first of those would come in Daytona. Hitting the I95 exit in Daytona, I peeled off as my first stop would be at Buc-Ees for breakfast. This was a pretty routine stop. I filmed what I needed for my travel vlog and grabbed a new tee shirt and a couple bags of jerky to enjoy along the road after I had finished my brisket breakfast tacos. After completing my time with the beaver, I set course up I95 again. I made it up to Jacksonville and scooted across I10 before making the right hand for northbound I75. A quick stop at the Georgia Welcome Center for a quick stretch and some quick vlog updates on my GoPro was a ll I needed before the back half of the drive began. Adel, GA was my next stop, as this was a consistent marker on my DragonCon trips. It was time for the WalMart run. This was a quick stop as it was mainly to load up on snacks and Diet Mountain Dew. A quick, disappointing trip down the action figure aisle gave me a moment to stretch my legs as well. On the road again, I was able to cruise with more podcasts until I made it up to Warner Robbins, GA. This stop was at the other Buc-Ees I wanted to hit up. I grabbed gas as I didn’t want to deal with it again until I was back in Florida. I grabbed a brisket sandwich and some more snacks and I was ready for the last 100 mile of the trip. As I got closer to Atlanta, my GPS decided to take me off of I75 and through Downtown Atlanta to avoid some congestion. I made it to the Hyatt a little later than I wanted to but at least I was unpacked and settled in. It was great to get to get to the room and see the room mates I’ve been with the past couple of years. I’ve been in the same room in the Hayatt all five years I’ve been to DragonCon. Nice to have the convenience and familiarity.
After a decent night sleep, Thursday is when things began in earnest. While many of the attractions such as the vendor and celebrity areas aren’t open, there is still plenty to do at DragonCon even if unofficially. For many, the day starts with the ticket line. For me, it doesn’t start until a little later when the press room in the lower levels of the Hyatt opens. I had grabbed my press badge and I was ready for the weekend I definitely noticed some crowds. This year’s DragonCon was definitely a return to form as the crowds looked more the pre you know what levels of the first year I year I attended in 2019. Even then, this year may have been the busiest I had seen Thursday. It was great though, seeing and catching up with friends. My main goals for Thursday were the meeting of members of The Finest GIJoe Costume Clun abd the bunny hutch party. Donning a quick Chuckles cosplay, I met up with my fellow GIJoe brethren and enjoyed catching up. It’s good to see a fandom like that still thriving and growing. After a quick chnage back into civilian clothes, it was time for the bunny hutch. This event has grown tremendously over the past few years. Lengthy lines and limited capacity at the Hilton were major complaints the past few years and the con responded by allowing the event to be moved over to one of the ballrooms in the Marriott (yes, the one with elevators you saw in Loki.) This was the right move as it allowed for more people to get in and helped alleviate the lines that in years past would wrap around the Hitlon twice and be hours long. Most people were able to get into the party in about an hour at most. P,us, the open areas of the Marriott allowed for con goers to interact. It was a great time and I was able to snag a good number of photos of some of the amazing bunny outfits. One of my favorites I saw was my friend Remy Dee, who her and a friend did bunny verisons of the main characters from Blazing Saddles.
Another surprisingly good night of sleep (yeah, somehow I figured out a way to get decent sleep at DragonCon. Only took me five years to figure it out.) led us into Friday. This is when things really get swinging at DragonCon. I started my day with an appointment with LifeSouth as they were once again doing the blood drive. I missed getting a Thursday slot but that was okay as Friday was just as good, maybe even better. There was no standby line so I could have just walked up but I do like having my appointment slot. After registering and going through the initial health screening, I was good to go. I was a bit nervous as my furst couple of years trying to donate did not go very well. I have made a number of changes in my life and am on a few medications to help some of the problems. I had no issue with my pulse, blood pressure or other factors that had disqualified me before. I knew there was nothing to worry about this year after last but I do tend to overthink things so the though was still there. I made it through the rooms and gave blood. I collected my shirt and ribbon and some cookies for the walk back to my room. After grabbing some lunch from the Hub, it was time to head back to the Marriott for the DragonCon store. There are two locations. One in the America Mart and one in the Marriott. There was a sizable line when it first opened so I waited until after my blood drive appointment to go back. With a more tolerable wait, I was able to grab my usual DragonCon swag for the year: tee shirt, lanyard, pins and patch. I spent much of the day after that bouncing between host hotels doing my photo thing and trying to meet up with friends. When I needed rest, I just headed back up to the room and tuned into whatever panel was being broadcast on DragonCon TV. So nice to be able to watch the big panels from the comfort of a couch. More conventions should do that with their host hotels.
As we headed into Saturday, it was tome for the earliest alarm of the weekend. An early wake up was needed as it was time to prepare for the DragonCon Parade. It was a warm one and I was glad I chose to go easier with the costume choice and dressed up as the Dreadnok Monkeywrench. This was my fourth time in the parade. I did continue my streak of doing that all with the GIJoe group. We had a bit smaller group that we normally have but we were able to make up for it by having a special guest with us. GIJoe comic writer Larry Hama was a guest of DragonCon this year and we were able to arrange it to where he joined us in the parade. One costumer brought a Cobra Rattler themed Jeep to ride and Larry rode in the Rattler. We always elicit a reaction from the crowd with the dueling battle cries of “Yo Joe!” and “Cobra!” ringing though the Atlanta streets. We were deep in the lineup behind an Indiana Jones group that featured a motorcycle and sidecar replicating the one on screen doing some circles along the parade path. The crowds were great and volunteers keep everything in line, even offering a cooling spritz of water to parade marchers who might need a pick me up. That included me, I will admit. All in all the parade was a success. Although, I did manage to get through the parade without a blister and I will take that as a massive win.
The rest of the day for me focused around photoshoots. I suited up for the Disney shoot as MegaVolt from Darkwing Duck. I love this costume and it gat a great reaction from people who saw it. I didn’t stay for the full shoot as it got very warm and the base of the costume is a yellow painters jumpsuit which is quite thick and heavy. O only bring that jumpsuit about every other year so I’ll likely leave it at home next year. After my second shower of the day, the first after the parade, it was back to bouncing between the hotels and hitting up photoshoots and taking laps around the Marriott and Hyatt as those are good areas to catch cosplay photos of the passing congoer traffic.
As the weekend continued, I also hit up a couple of the ribbon meetups. I got into the ribbon collecting a few years ago. I brought my own ribbon as well this year. It featured Shipwreck from GIJoe. I was able to interview and get a story from a ribbon participant who became a ribbon himself. Just look into the ribbon groups ask about the Cult of the Ass Ribbon. It’s a great story and is on the vlog on my YouTube channel. Any pop culture reference or DragonCon shenanigans can become a ribbon. Remember the Hilton flood a couple years ago? I did learn though for me, it’s better to wait until I get home to hang the ribbons from my badge as I don’t want to deal with the bulk and carrying the badge around looking like a cape. I put them all together and frame it to make a wall hanging. The badge beard contest was also a great success and those collectors are no joke. The winning badge beard was long enough to be unfurled from the eighth floor of the Hyatt.
Sunday was a day that I was looking forward to for reasons as well. This year, I took over as the coordinator of the GIJoe Cosplay Photoshoot. I had familiarity with how the shoots go from being a part of them in front of and behind the camera. There was still plenty to learn and experience though. I was able to get a good graps of the process of organizing and promoting it. I was able to fall back on things I had learned in my job and my own self study. I feel like I was able to gather a good team and the shoot was a blast. We were also able to have Larry Hama join us at the shoot. He seemed to have a good time and was impressed with the turnout and the costumes that were brought out. I truly believe the shoot was a rousing success. I learned a lot through this process and also look forward to running this again next year. I have a much better understanding of the process now and look forward to seeign how we can make the shoot even better next year.
The rest of Sunday was just mainly relaxing doing what I do best at conventions: photography. I spent some time with my GoPro as well recreating TikTok videos and catching cosplay shenanigans. It was a great way to end the weekend. Hanging out, catching up and taking selfies the plan for Sunday. I really try to get photos with as many of my friends as I can at conventions. I’ve been making a point of it the past few years. It can go by really easily when you’re behind the camera. I want to have pictures with me in them. It’s just become more of a priority for me as I’ve gotten older. Take the photos. Make the memories. While I’m an introvert, I still try to put forth a little effort to be social. For whatever reason, DragonCon and conventions in general are a place where that is so much easier for me to do so. DragonCon is a weekend where we can be ourselves. We’re surrounded ay 100,000 other raging geeks wh ojust want to argue Star Wars vs Star Trek and get drunk doing it. DragonCon feels like home and the people surrounding you are family. It’s a weekend that provides such a rush and goes by so quickly you’re already looking forward to next year as you make yourself drive home. That’s where I’m at. I already want it to be next year.
That high definitely lasted for a good time. I woke up the next morning and headed home. I stopped at the same Buc-Ees in Warner Robbins and in Florida stopped at the one in St. Augustine. With a heart full of cheer and tear in my eye that it was over, I look back on it and feel the love and the pride of being at a show like DragonCon. I sort though a massive pile of photos and videos to edit and get content rolling. There’s a grind to be done after a convention, but to me it’s not work. It’s an absolute pleasure and I certianly felt that as I uploaded the photos and shared them to the Facebook groups and started watching the notifications roll in. It’s what keeps me going after fourteen years covering the convention circuit and almost twenty attending in general. This was another amazing DragonCon and I will certainly do it again next year.
