Dragon*Con 2012 Review

Normally, Michele is the convention-goer of Cowabunga Corner. This year, though, I ventured down to Atlanta, GA for Dragon*Con. It’s the largest convention I’m ever planning on attending.  It’s fairly massive, covering four full days and taking place in five hotels. I didn’t get off to a good trip this year as I did some damage to my car when I went over a rock on the interstate and being in Georgia, well, lets just say I hate humidity.

My first time attending Dragon*Con was back in 1999, at that time it was only in four hotels. I returned again in 2009 and had found it grew to four hotels. That year, it felt manageable still. In 2011 when I attended, it covered five hotels and was very crowded, yet still wasn’t too bad to maneuver through, though Saturday is quite the chaotic mess.  This year, however, Friday feels like a Saturday. The convention was packed to the brim with a variety of people. One thing I noticed that was different this year is that they allow lines for one panel immediately following the panel beforehand. Last year, they stopped lines from forming until 30 minutes prior to the start of the panel. This kind of allowed those people watching one panel the chance to attend the next panel as they do clear the rooms after each panel. It was a bit frustrating to learn this as I ended up missing a panel I wanted to attend, then had to wait an hour for each panel I wanted to attend after that.

The first panel I got to attend, though, was “A Bit of a Chat with Sylvester McCoy”.  For those who do not know, he was the Seventh Doctor in the cult television show Doctor Who. McCoy is a complete riot and extremely talented.  It’s always a treat to get to see him, as you never really know what he is going to say or do. This year, he sang the song that is behind his choice for his name and he also played the spoons. The stories he tells are always very interesting. Unfortunately, instead of just starting the panel with the guest, they showed a video of former roles McCoy had played over the years. When McCoy finally came out on stage, he even commented about how long the video lasted. This gave us less time with the guest and only allowed for one question from the audience.

After that panel, I attempted to make my way to other panels, though it can be troublesome making your way over the SkyBridges between hotels and then through the crowds. I ended up missing the Voice Acting for Video Games and then Voice Acting, which had Rob Paulsen as a speaker.  Instead of trying to find a panel, I opted to get an autograph from Alice Cooper, who is quite friendly. Then I made my way down to the dealer area.

The dealer area is quite large and they have them packed in there tight. It’s very difficult to navigate while others are trying to browse.  My main complaint with the dealer area is that on Friday, they didn’t open until 1pm when the rest of the con had opened before 10am!  Mind you, the con allows set up and registration to begin the day before the con actually starts.

After abandoning the crowded dealer room, vowing to return on Sunday, I ventured to the Walk of Fame. This is where the celebrity guests are stationed to sign autographs. My husband was with me and since he does work on a SyFy Channel show called Destination Truth, we made a beeline straight for the host of the show, Josh Gates. We didn’t get to talk to Josh very long as people were coming up for autographs, though hopefully we will get to talk to him again soon. It was great to actually get to meet him face to face after having talked with him over the phone a few times.

Now, the main reason I decided to attend Dragon*Con this year is John Barrowman. He played Captain Jack Harkness on both Doctor Who and the spin-off show Torchwood. I wanted to attend every panel he was participating in, though sadly that was the panel I missed the first one on Friday. Though, while in the Walk of Fame, the line for him wasn’t too terribly long and I hopped in line and made my way up there. He is a real treat to meet. Super nice, amazingly sweet, and just all around great.  He made Friday better for me.

After the Walk of Fame, I headed over to wait in line for the Stan Lee panel.  It was over an hour long wait, outside. The line had wrapped down a hall, outside, down a flight of stairs, and then around the front of the building an HOUR AND A HALF before it was scheduled to start. Luckily, we got to sit in the shade on a set of steps. By the time the line was moving, I believed it had almost went 360 around the hotel. I’m fairly certain the room was completely filled by the time it started. Though let me tell you, the panel was well worth the wait! Stan Lee is amazing to get to listen to! He talked a little about his comics, a lot about his cameos, and then cracked some hilarious jokes with the moderator. Peter David, another comic writer, also made various appearances on stage for some extra insanity. The story behind the nude photo of Stan was hilarious! I’m definitely glad I waited in line for this panel.

I didn’t stick around for the rest of Friday. We got some more pictures and videos of the costumed attendees, but I wanted to get back to the hotel and rest for the night as Saturday is the BIG day with the Dragon*Con Parade!

On Saturday, the plan was to get up early and head out to downtown Atlanta to get a good spot for the parade. Sadly, we didn’t make it until 45 minutes before the parade was to start and the streets were already packed.  The good and bad thing about the parade is that you don’t have to attend Dragon*Con to attend the parade. So, not only do you have con-goers lining up for the parade, you also have a wide variety of people from Georgia. The really bad thing was that Saturday also had an Atlanta Braves baseball game, a football game in the Georgia Dome and a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert!  All on one day! Terrible timing for the other events as Labor Day weekend has ALWAYS been Dragon*Con weekend.

Though, the parade is great and everyone enjoys it. During the parade you get to see marching bands, vehicles, guests, and all of the costumed people who signed up for the parade. They march down the main strip of Dragon*Con performing for the crowd. This is a great hour long event held yearly. If you ever want to catch it, make sure to get there early and find a spot!

After the parade, you have the cattle herd. All con-goers are basically herded towards the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s pretty crazy. Saturdays are always the busiest days for any convention. And this year was no exception to that.  The con was packed to the brim with attendees. In the Marriott Marquis, you couldn’t really move. The staff did their best to keep the flow of traffic going, but seriously, it’s difficult with that many people.

One of the things I noticed today was a sign that stated lines will start one hour before the panel. Nice to see that, but that was part of the problem for the traffic. People were gathering around two hours in advance for a panel. I was somewhat guilty of that, I stashed myself in a corner out of the way, though and just waited for the John Barrowman panel. Let me tell you, waiting two hours, one hour not in a line and smushed in against a wall and another hour standing outside in the Atlanta humidity was well worth the wait. John Barrowman is an amazing no holds barred guest. He talks about anything and everything. It was great and the crowd loved him! Here’s a little bit of a spoiler... watch the “Arrow” coming soon on the CW.

After that panel, we were herded back out into the cluster of the Marriott. We ventured back down into the other dealer room. It wasn’t as packed. This one had a lot of various t-shirt booths, clothing, books, and other various items. I can’t wait to step back into the dealer rooms when things are a little less hectic at the con.

We really couldn’t get much more done on Saturday because of the crowds. The Hyatt and the Hilton were not as heavily packed as the Marriott, but the Marriott is the center of the hotels. So, traversing through the Marriott is insane when you only have 30 minutes to get to a panel.  At least we got to see a great panel and meet some very nice people.

Normally, a Sunday at a convention is kind of slow. But with Dragon*Con lasting until Monday, Sundays are not slow. In fact, this Sunday was almost as busy as Saturday!

We first went to a Once Upon A Time panel. The guests Lee Arenberg (Grumpy), Raphael Sbarge (Jiminy Cricket), and Tony Amendola (Gepetto) are wonderful. They were very friendly, funny, and answered all of the questions that they could. I can’t wait to see where they take season two with this show.

I had wanted to attend the Kevin Eastman panel, but only had 30 minutes to get to it after the OUAT panel. I thought I had a chance since they were in the same hotel and I only had to go down two levels. Wrong! The line zig zagged through the hallways and there was just no way to get in. It would have been awesome to see it as it was the only TMNT/Kevin Eastman panel all weekend.

We waded our ways back through the crowds and made it to the lesser crowded Sheraton Hotel. We attended the Animatronics Engineering panel. I had thought that it would have been discussing more about how things are done. Instead, the guest talked about his work in the variety of television series, commercials, and movies. Peter Abrahamson has worked on a lot of movies such as Men In Black 2, Van Helsing, Dinosaurs, Hellboy, and much more.  We had to cut out as his panel was running over.

Since there was no way to make it to any other panels that seemed interesting to us, we headed back to the dealer area. It was surprising how many people were still at the convention this late! We made it through one dealer room before they had to close for the night. After that, we went to dinner at the Vortex Bar & Grill, a great place for anyone who wants different types of hamburgers, and then we headed to the hotel for the night.

Monday was the last day of the con and the first thing we did was head straight to the Warehouse 13 panel. They have had panels each day of the con and each day they were packed to the brim. This panel was pretty much the same. It was easy to get in, unlike the other days. But the guests didn’t disappoint. After that, it was another trip into the dealer rooms and the Walk of Fame.

It may sound at times that I didn’t like the convention. But overall, I did. The con is constantly growing and constantly bringing in new and amazing guests, as well as returning guests who are equally amazing.  They offer great panels and some of the bigger panels get multiple days so that more people have the opportunity to sit in on a panel about their favorite show. That’s the one thing I really do love about Dragon*Con, they give you every chance they can for the attendees to enjoy themselves.

Being in five hotels, the con never stops. There’s always something to do and always a party to attend. Multiple costume contests are held throughout the weekend.  If you want to experience the full convention, try to stay in one of the host hotels.  If you want to do cosplay, try to stay in one of the host hotels (the humidity is a killer).   But make sure you get your rooms early! Some of the hotels sell out before the end of the convention for the upcoming year!

Dragon*Con doesn’t disappoint.  And if something doesn’t flow right, they work their hearts out to get it work right the next time. They’re constantly improving and doing their best to make this event fun for everyone who attends.  The staffers put their hearts into this convention and no matter how tired they are, they’re still there and for the most part they’re still friendly.  If you love conventions, try to make it to Dragon*Con. You won’t regret it.