My First Trip To Dragon*Con Or, That Time I Fell Into Cosplay Quicksand

MeepMeep!

Someday, somewhere, I will actually make it to a con.

Thank you for this! I actually *do* have anxiety issues, sometimes quite severe, and one of my “fix it/live with it” plans is to attend a con. I now know it won’t be Dragon Con, at least not for my first.

My suggestion for your “never been to con” for next year? Denver! The majority is in 1 convention center and there is plenty of handicap accessibility. They had their inaugural con this past June and pulled almost 28,000 people for a 3-day event. But it never felt overcrowded or stuffy.

Maybe next year there could be a Mary Sue meetup! And hopefully you can go to some of the smaller panels. The Tuff Chicks and the Feminism in Geekdom panels were very interesting and relevant. This was my first time as well and I think it will be SO much easier the next time (for you and me!) because I’ll have a better idea of where everything is and know the hotels a bit better.

The thing that my friend always says is that Dragon*Con is a con for the fans and that’s what makes it different. I hope you come back!

Try to find a fan-run con for your first convention if you have anxiety issues (I do too, especially with crowds). If you’re near Baltimore, MD, the Farpoint convention in February is a good one. Fairly relaxed atmosphere and plenty of spaces to chill out if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Guests will be John Billingsley, Bonita Friedericy, Lee Arenberg, and Rob Paulsen.

Until very recently Dragon*Con was the only con I ever went to (I’ve been five times), so I had the opposite experience going to other cons. Every time I go to another con I think, “Wear are all the cosplayers? Why am I bored?” Dragon*Con just has so much going on all the time! You don’t have time to be bored. And if you get tired you just hunker down in a corner and people watch. It’s fantastic.

I have made so many friends at Dragon*Con and so many good memories. But you do have to know how to do Dragon*Con right. I always suggest going with a veteran your first time around so things don’t get overwhelming. (I actually did a whole swatch of surviving Dragon*Con posts on my personal blog, to help out some of my friends who were going for the first time.)

And I concur that the elevator situation is insane. Particularly in the Hyatt. I really think they need to reserve one elevator as handicap only, because there were far too many times were five or six people who are unable to take the stairs were left waiting in the elevator well for an hour just trying to get on an elevator.

can’t imagine those elevators when you actually NEED to use them, eek! I didn’t find people at D*C as nice as people at smaller cons either. at one point I was in tears because a guy randomly and purposefully rammed his elbow into my stomach on the elevator. I was pregnant and it REALLY hurt and the guy told me that people like me shouldn’t be there.

“How funky is your chicken? How funky is your chicken? How loose is your
goose? Our goose is totally loose! So come on all you Hog fans, so come
on all you Hog fans and shake your caboose, and shake your caboose!”

Living in the Atlanta area, D*Con has been the only Con that I have gone to, and I’ve gone every year for about the last 10yrs or so until this year. My wife’s brother passed away unexpectedly at last Christmas (shortly after our wedding), and she asked if we could go somewhere else because D*Con reminded her too much of her Brother (we were going to the pacific ocean-I’ve never been). Unfortunately, she passed away unexpectedly the weekend before D*Con.

Needless to say I did not make it this year, and unsure beyond that.

BUT- I’ve always heard Dragon*Con described as a giant Geek Party, more so than any other Convention, and from what I’ve heard of other conventions, I believe it. It goes non-stop 24/7 all weekend, when the panels, halls, etc close, it turns into concerts, and room parties. The first few years I went were with at most 1 other friend, and maybe hung out with 2 or 3 others while there, while enjoyable, it was nowhere near as enjoyable as when my Wife and I would go with friends totaling easily into the double digits- it was a complete blast.

It sucks that it was not as wheelchair accessible for you, and I think that should be brought to the Con’s attention. Perhaps those in wheelchairs, etc could be allowed to use the Hotel’s employee elevators.

I ‘ve been to HEROES CON in June in Charlotte,N.C. a few times and it was usually fun. But this year they had Stan Lee there and ,almost needless to say,the place was incredibly crowded. And,like Jill apparently,I enjoy going to the panels (I even stumped a DC panel on a question lol) but it was a battle to coordinate my time with theirs and still find time to meet creators,look for things on sale,get through the crowds,go up and down on the escalators,etc. So,yeah,I got overwhelmed as well. But,hey,there’s always next year! :-)

It’s strange, I heard the “it’s a fan con” a lot over the weekend but still don’t get it. Who are all these other cons for if not the fans?

Thanks! I’ll look into that one! I’m also considering Heroes Con.

:)

I think that’s more of a SDCC versus Dragon*Con thing. Dragon*Con is a big con for fans while SDCC is a big con that industry has taken over. At least, that’s what Felicia Day seemed to be alluding to when she said that during the Eureka panel. I’ve never been to SDCC so I can’t judge. But all the small cons I’ve been to have clearly been for fans….

I’m totes jealous of the two panels you went to! And you should totally cosplay as Merida from Brave ;D

Damn it, Vincent Caso. Stop looking like me ten years ago.

I went to Dragon*Con as well and yes the crowds are massive. I am sorry people were rude to you while you were in your scooter. I had an ADA sticker on my badge too and people were just as rude. I would love to do a classy Black Lantern girl costume. Is it cool for me to have the pendant made?

D*C tends to smack most people around the first year or so. The trick about D*C is that it’s really several cons running at the same time. It is possible to spend most of your time at the smaller panels and avoid the main venues most of the time. It also does help to have a few friends to hang out with. You can end up feeling pretty lonely in a crowd that big.

Hey, I’m the Lady Loki. Thank you so much for posting that picture! i love it! There were indeed a lot of us Lady Lokis but it was honestly the kindest, most supportive group of ladies I’ve ever met in cosplay. I felt really fortunate to share a similar cosplay with them. I’m so sorry you were overwhelmed but I totally understand. I started going to Dragon*Con 10 years ago and it STILL overwhelms me at times. I would definitely say bring the wheelchair accessible thing to the con’s attention. I saw a few more people having difficulty with that, and that really should be brought up. I hope you have fun if you decide to come back :D

Wow. That Kristy Swanson Buffy cosplay is great. You look wonderful! And I didn’t recognize you at first because your Merida hair is under the wig.
Sorry Dragon Con wasn’t a dream but at least you went and now you know what it’s like. So if you ever go back you can plan differently.

Everyone has told me that and I have been seriously considering it!

Thanks for stopping by and I’m glad you like the pic! :)

Jill! I hoped I would run into you there but alas. Also you’re right, it was insanely crowded at times. I enjoyed myself though!

A Mary Sue meet up sounds awesome!

I have a ball at Dragon*Con, but Heroes Con might be more your speed if art is your thing. I’ve never made it out of the artists alley, but it has a much smaller pace to it.

I will say that the good thing about Dragon*Con, even if your don’t do social well (I don’t) is that you CAN find an out-of-the-way spot to just sit, but you still feel like you’re a part of the con.

Heh. My thoughts exactly the first time I went to Heroes Con and our smaller, local cons, regarding the cosplay. It was just strange to see MOST people walking around in their civvies after three or four years of seeing folks who put months of prep into making these wowwing costumes. It was like: yup, that’s a great Spiderman, but were are the Yip-Yip Aliens? (Hanging out at the D*C Artists Alley after Heroes Con was kind of the same in reverse, though. Heroes Con is AMAZING for artists.)

Same for the people watching. I actually get pretty anxious in social settings, but at D*Con, you don’t have to actually interact with folks to enjoy the con itself (although you can, and more often than not, they’re lovely). But you do have to come to terms, very early on, with the fact that you’re just not going to get to every panel you want to go to–there’s simply too much. I can understand why that would be really troubling for people, but for me, that overwhelmed, massive rush of utter mad geekdom crammed into four and a half days is just…it’s beautiful. It gets me excited about everything in the world. You just get to eat, sleep, and breathe geekery, of every flavor, from current movie projects to filking to old comics that no one remembers, and it’s all so very friendly, this mass of people who all know: “We are the same. We’re all so drastically different, but we’re all here because at heart, we are more the same than not.”

It’s a thing of beauty.

And drunkeness.

And cosplay.

And I’m still crushed that I missed it this year. It’ll be…mmm, it’ll be about a year before I get over that.

(Also, your idea for reserving an elevator for the con attendees who NEED it is a good one. I take the stairs as often as possible, but not everyone has that option.)

I just hate that every pic I had to hold my head back because the crown was way more top heavy than I expected lol

If you can go with people who know you, it’s not as bad. My gaming clan got together there this year, and one of my close friends has similar issues. You’d be surprised at how well a small chick can bull through a crowd to get a buddy out of it.

I go every year ( my pic was taken 3 years ago there!) and always have a great time. I must suggest the Cruxshadows concert to everyone. They are great people, and bend over backwards to meet and greet fans.

You were at two of the same panels I was, Jill! Too bad I didn’t spot you. Would have loved to say hi. Sorry that DragonCon was not your thing. As for me, it’s by far my favorite con I’ve been to. The costumes are incredible and more numerous than at other cons and I love the non-stop party aspect of it. It’s an amazing weekend but I can see how it could seem overwhelming or claustrophobic.

aww I’m sad you didn’t have an amazing time at my favorite Con of the year. It’s a cosplayers Con most definitely. I’ve had good years and not so great ones. It takes a few to get into a rhythm.

Hopefully your story will encourage D*C to try a bit harder on the full accessibility needs of such a large Con. You are not the first person I’ve heard complain about that.

Bittersweet is right. It’s more of an SDCC VS Dragon*Con thing. Rose McGowan said that she liked interacting with her fans which she said she got to do more at Dragon*Con than SDCC. I think each convention has their own pros and cons and to try and debate it is counterproductive.

I have lots of pics from dragon,con. My cousin worked @ the event every day that week end. Email me @ Michelle3067@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to send them. Just put dragon-con in the subject line.