Russ and I have just gotten back from Dragon*Con in Atlanta, where we …uh…had quite a cultural experience. Have you ever heard the phrase “Anything goes”? Well, take that, and multiply it by 50,000, and you’ve got Dragon*Con. It’s kind of like the Ren Fest on steroids.
My first impression of what Dragon*Con should be about was Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and by and large, that’s what it is, and most of the costumes represent that. (I estimate the 80/20 rule was in effect, with about 20% of the people in full blown costumes.) We saw fairies and storm troopers, Enterprise crew members, Superman, Spiderman and Jack Sparrow.
(BTW, please forgive if my photos are not very clear. Small camera, fast action, less than ideal lighting. I just wanted to give a taste of what it was like.)
And Goths galore. But we’ve also seen representations of many other cultural icons. This afternoon I saw The Blues Brothers, and also Jay and Silent Bob. Also Cruella DeVille. Then I saw Marie Antoniette. How did I know it was Marie Antoniette? Because she was wearing a big white wig, a huge hoop skirt and carrying a cake.
Basically, it’s a big Halloween party. If you can dream it, you can be it. Of course, there were plenty of “normal” people as well, like me and Russ, not in any kind of costume at all. And that’s okay too.
Anyway, the point of this entry is to say how much I enjoyed the weekend, and to record what I have learned this time around, so that next time we can have an even better experience.
1. Well, fortunately we did pre-register. Anyone who did not pre-register would be stuck for several hours on a line, just trying to get in. As it was, it took us maybe twenty minutes. If you want to go, plan ahead.
2. Most importantly, I think next time we want to start the weekend on Friday, not Saturday. We heard from several people there that Friday is not quite as crowded as Saturday and Sunday, which makes sense, because not everyone is willing or able to take a day off from work on Friday. But I think it would definitely be worth use eight hours of vacation time to have Friday time at the Con.
3. Be willing to wait in line for the really big names and events. We mistakenly thought we could get in line to see James Marsters only 20 minutes ahead of the starting time, and found that the line stretched all the way around the block. So we missed him on Saturday, but on Sunday we stood in line for about 50 minutes and had a relatively good seat. And yes, James Marsters was great, well worth waiting for, but unfortunately, because we HAD to go to the Sunday session, I had to miss the Star Trek session I was so hoping to see. If we had started on Friday, and gotten into lines early, I could have managed to see ALL the events I was most interested in.
4. Wear comfortable shoes, and comfortable clothes. There is a lot of walking. I don’t know how some of the people in some of their costumes managed it. Obviously they were more intent on looking good than feeling good. That would not be me. I have to feel good, I have to feel comfortable.
Of course, this does not mean that I am completely cutting out any possibility of wearing a costume. Wearing costumes is not usually my style, but I think I might not mind dreaming up something. Well, I have a whole year to think about it. Any ideas for me? If I don’t lose any more weight, my first choice would be Mrs. Weasley. I’m currently crocheting a multi-colored shawl that would be PERFECT for her look (of course I’d have to color my hair a brilliant orange, but so what? I’m game.) However, if I DO lose all the weight I’m hoping to lose, I’d like to show it off a bit. This is a possibility to which I would have to give a LOT more thought.
By the way, Russ says if he were to go in costume, he would be the Maytag Repairman. And the really weird part is that he would be perfectly within his rights to do so, and nobody would look at him funny. Though my preference is to see him as a Browncoat from Firefly. That would be cool.
5. Okay, one more thing I learned, I want to record for the future. Russ and I had a really excellent buffet in one of the hotels. I think it was in the Hyatt. Anyway, it was in the hotel that looks like this, because I took this picture as soon as we got done eating:
The buffet was a little more expensive than we were used to paying ($18.50 each) but then again EVERYTHING was more expensive in all three of the downtown Atlanta hotels. Even at the Peachtree Mall (which is connected to the hotels by upper level “tubes”) everything was somewhat more expensive than we are used to in our own hometown malls. But anyway, this buffet was really good, and the price included your drink, a choice of several desserts, and cup of coffee, if you wanted it. So all in all, it was well worth it.
6. Okay, one more thing. Don’t be shy! If you have a question, ask someone. If you don’t ask, you won’t learn. Everyone there is in the same boat, just trying to figure out how the Con works, and sometimes you have the questions, but sometimes you have the answers, so jump in and help, or be helped, whatever the case may be.
7. Ideas keep coming to me, so one more: The Hilton has REALLY comfortable beds. The room was nice, and the staff was very friendly. But next time, just for the heck of it, I might like to try one of the other hotels, the Hyatt or the Marriott. The only problem is that I understand one of those hotels is the “party hotel” with people running up and down the halls in drunken revelry all night long. Those two hotels were definitely more active as evening drew near. The Hilton was nicely quiet at night, so maybe this should be a case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Of course, that kind of negates the whole adventuresome spirit of Dragon*Con.
Okay, that’s all for now. Got home, unpacked, did laundry, all that “normal” kind of stuff, and tomorrow is back to work. Sigh…
PS – By the way, I heard and remembered a funny joke: Have you heard about the new Chinese/German restaurant? The food is very good, but a half hour later you’re hungry for power.
Haha!
