By: Emma B.
Dragon Con is a multi-genre, pop-culture and
cosplay festival that takes place annually, in Atlanta, over the long Labor Day
weekend. I fondly refer to it as a “nerd’s Mardi Gras” which has become a must
go destination for thousands of fans enjoying a weekend filled with everything
we love from Star Wars to Fortnite.
It started out as a small, local event in Atlanta, Georgia. As the
years went on and fandom groups grew; the convention only grew. Now it’s one of
the biggest conventions in the country.
The
only thing bigger than Dragon Con is Comic-Con
which typically has above 100,000 attendees. Dragon Con isn’t that far behind in attendance though, with over
83,000-84,000 attendees. That number seems to be increasing as the years go by.
There
are many differences between the two events. One is in atmosphere. Comic-Con is said to be more business orientated.
Though yes, there is heavy fan-involvement, it’s not the main focus. Comic-Con is more of a marketing
opportunity for media outlets and Hollywood studios and serves as an early
access area for dedicated fans who manage to score tickets before they sell
out.
Dragon Con also has nightlife that isn’t for all ages. During the day Dragon
Con typically has a very
relaxed atmosphere that can be considered for all ages but radically changes
into an adult nightlife atmosphere that’s more for people above 18 at night.
Now, despite knowing the basics, the convention itself can be like
diving into the ocean for newcomers. Especially since it’s hosted across five
major downtown hotels, an entire marketing district and several local
restaurants and venues.
You might be asking, how does one get around? How does one navigate cosplays? How many
photos do I want? What panels are the best, which ones are the worst? When are
the safe times to go out based on age? Where and how do you get food? Where is
the best merchandise?
Day One (Thursday)
The
first official day of Dragon Con or The Con is the Thursday of Labor Day weekend. I went to school that day
but left for The Con early that afternoon to get there before traffic
escalated. This leads me to my first tip: get to the con early.
If
it’s possible, leave school early or take off work and arrive as soon as you
can. Not only does traffic slowly become a hurricane once Thursday afternoon
hits but it also allows you more free-time before the convention officially
starts. There are several convention panels of multiple topics on Thursday.
Thursday
can also be a great time to relax and get to know the area as well as get
individual photos with cosplayers or even the occasional celebrity. You should
download the Dragon Con app to your phone or tablet. It provides endless
amounts of details, schedules, rules, etc.
My
family and I arrived at about 6:00 pm and checked into the Marriott Marquis for
one night. The Marriott is one of the host hotels for The Con. At this point,
the hotel was already swinging and people were already heading to dinners,
going to parties and generally just having a good time. This brings me to my next two tips, (however,
these are more for grown-ups than kids):
If
you live local, use a rideshare if possible. A Rideshare can be a hassle but if you live in townl, it is so
much easier and less expensive than paying for four-day parking at $40 plus
dollars per day!
Also,
my next tip, do not switch hotels during The Con. My family was not originally
planning to stay Thursday night and even though I’m glad we did (because the
Friday traffic horror stories sounded terrifying); it was very difficult to
switch hotels later. Dragon Con
is extremely crowded and this makes switching hotels a very tricky prospect,
especially because most hotel rooms and Dragon
Con tickets are booked sometimes a whole year in advance. So in general, I would say, decide how
many days you want to stay ahead of time and then stay in a single hotel. All
of the host hotels are amazing; and will treat you well. The host hotels are:
Hilton Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, The Sheraton, The Westin and The Hyatt.
After we settled in our first hotel of the weekend, we went to
pick up our membership passes on the first floor of the Sheraton. These passes
give you access to everything related to The Con and you can’t do much without
them so pick them up as soon as you can. This becomes even more crucial as
lines get longer.
Next tip: bring food with you! All of the food at Dragon Con is
relatively cheap and available at local food courts and stands but the hotel
snack bars are your only option as night falls. I would recommend keeping a
large pack of bottled waters in your room for the weekend along with some
goodies for late night snacking. That was the end of Day One and by far the
least interesting day. After that, the convention got far more fun!
Day Two (Friday)
Once we got my dad and the rest of the family settled, we walked
around the Hilton and snapped pictures with cosplayers. In the afternoon, we
went to a panel hosted by one of my favorite people at The con, goth artist Aurelio Voltaire. His panel was
basically a Q&A that was utterly hilarious and touching as he shared his
life story. I also got to meet him and he took a selfie with me!
We
tried to attend to a few other panels but they were too crowded too quickly so
we resolved to go back to our hotel room until about 10:30 pm when my mother
and I went out to get in line for the Aurelio
Voltaire concert at Midnight. The concert had a line that stretched down the block and
barely fit everyone in the room. It was an electric, entertaining event.
Day
Three (Saturday)
Saturday
is always,
always,
the most crowded day of Dragon
Con and even though I had things I wanted to do, the crowds made it very
hard to navigate the area. We got
up at about 8:00 am and got dressed for the Dragon Con Parade. It was a massive ordeal to
get to the parade and when we arrived 30 minutes before the event, everything
was already crowded. In many respects, it was a miracle we got a spot to see
the parade! This is the point where I realized something I should’ve recognized
earlier and a tip for you: find a spot to watch the parade as early as
possible! The parade is televised and it is filled with marching bands,
celebrities and cosplayers dresses in elaborate costumes.
After
a lunch break, we went to the vendors’ hall which is housed at the America’s Mart buildings. Originally
we were going to try and make it to another panel but found the crowds far too
taxing so we simply stayed put in the vendors’ hall and window shopped all of
the fun memorabilia. The vendors’ hall made up of three buildings filled with
every type of nerdy thing one could hope to imagine. Pens, t-shirts, dresses,
costumes, plushies, food and even several dozens of functional swords! It’s a
city of nerdy merchandise. I
did score an awesome notebook which I was able to use the rest of The Con.
There
was also a gamer’s meet up in these buildings that we did not attend. We
were so tired from the crowds and walking around all the city blocks, so we
retreated to the hotel room for dinner.
Day 4 (Sunday)
Day
four was our last day at the convention and by far one of our busiest. My Mom
and I went to an early
morning panel called “Writing for Comics” and then went to another
called “Finding Your Story.” These panels were very well put together
and amazingly useful for writing.
That
afternoon, we packed up our hotel room, left our bags at the front desk and
squeezed in two more panels I wanted to catch. One was an open discussion of
the show Steven Universe hosted by a fan group called “The Georgia Gems.”
I followed that immediately with a panel about gender roles in regards to
storytelling while my little sister earned her official Agents of Shield
badge in a neighboring conference room.
Upon Reflection
Now
that Dragon Con is very much over, I have a few more tips and tricks I
have gained upon reflection. I’ll start with the things I did this year that
I’ll be very likely doing next year.
The
first, I booked my tickets and got my cosplay and hotel bookings early. Host
hotels have the potential to sell out almost eight-months to a year in advance.
I learned this also goes similarly for reservations at restaurants in the area.
So by all means, book everything you can in advance.
Next,
I would say make time to simply explore the convention center. Enjoy the
atmosphere and talk to those in cosplay. A lot of people are simply there to show off their costume, walk
around, take pictures and enjoy life. So sometimes walking around the hotel can
be a joy all on its own, plus there are the endless photo opportunities.
The final thing I did this time that I will definitely be doing
again is make sure we stay safe. Big conventions like this, though amazingly
fun could be sorta dangerous. My mom and dad were always with us and we were
never out alone. We had a family safety meeting ahead of time to talk about
crowds, talking to other fans, locating fire exits, stairways, and what to do
if we get lost.
Now, there were things I wish that I had done during Dragon Con. Next year, I do have some
strategies. The
first and most important thing is to plan a lot more thoroughly.
The Dragon Con footprint is massive with lots of people, lots of panels
and lots of ground to cover. Therefore, knowing what cosplays you want to wear
and what you want to do is crucial. The only thing I knew I wanted to do was
see were the events with Aurelio
Voltaire. However, once these were over I didn’t have much else of a
plan. This led me to something of a vacuum for the other days which led to some
stress issues (at least for me personally) about what I wanted to do. This can
apply double when you need a bathroom and don’t know where it is. So when in
doubt, just remember that planning is everything and even though you can have a
blast walking around and doing nothing, it is best to do a mixture of both in
your schedule.
My
final retrospective tip, is one that is surprisingly simple but effective:
don’t be afraid to be yourself. One might think this is horribly clichéd advice, especially at Dragon Con. The convention could
appear to outsiders as something for only those who deeply know science fiction
and fantasy. However, this simply isn’t true. Yes, those die-hard fans exist
and go to Dragon Con and in many
respects I’d even consider myself to be one of them. That said, I also saw a
lot of beginners just starting out as well as children simply happy to be
dressed up in funny costumes. I saw everything from Mario to Marvel
and even Broadway plays like Hamilton.
Dragon Con may have started as
a science fiction convention and even though in many respects it is, it is also
so much more.
Final Thought
In conclusion, Dragon Con has become something of a yearly staple in the pop
culture scene. It is a weekend where people of every creed and every fan base
imaginable are present. It is one weekend where everyone feels included. The
obscure cosplay idea you’ve been toying with for a while might actually gain a
fair bit of traction. You don’t have to be afraid to dress up as a Muppet or
wear your well-hidden Supergirl t-shirt. You don’t have to be afraid to try new things and do things you
normally wouldn’t do. Nobody is going to actively judge you.
So yes, Dragon
Con can be overwhelming, but if you plan it well, it can be one
the most fun times of your life. It was for me.
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