Dragon*Con keeps getting bigger and better. The con is such a blast and I look forward to it every year. When I discovered it, I sadly had to tell all of my friends and family, "Sorry, my Labor Day weekends are booked from now until infinity." I went all four days this year, Friday through Monday, and was completely wiped out by the end.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days to go. Monday is the wrap-up and move-out day. The parties and activities go late into the night the first three nights. This makes it difficult to wake up and attend the annual parade at 10am on Saturday morning on Peachtree St, but DO IT because it's well worth it. The advantages to attending the con on Monday are: (1) discounts at the Dealers Room and Exhibit Halls (Marriott) and (2) maybe catching a celebrity with little to no line at the Walk of Fame (Hilton).
Just like every year, there were lots of great highlights and memories at Dragon*Con for me this year. The costumes and props were amazing, as always. I noticed a lot more Captain Americas this year, which is natural since the movie just came out in theaters a couple months ago. I saw one set of Batman and Catwoman that looked like they had just walked off of Christopher Nolan's set. The attention to detail was impeccable.
Some of my favorite costumes from this year (in no particular order) include:
1. Zombie Wendy, Ronald McDonald, and Colonel Sanders, who ate the Burger King and were carrying around his body parts.
2. William Shatner Action Figures (still in the box!).
3. Kick-Ass girl.
4. Rodney Dangerfield's character from Caddyshack, complete with golf bag and gadgets (telephone, etc.).
5. Three generations of Indy: Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, and Shia LaBeouf.
6. Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy.
7. Head-to-toe bodypaint woman with head feathers.
8. Biff's futuristic punk gang complete with hoverboards from Back to the Future Part II.
9. Goldie Hawn's character from Death Becomes Her.
10. Fran from Final Fantasy XII.
11. Lumbergh (the boss) from Office Space. He leaned against walls with coffee mug.
12. Sweet Pea from Sucker Punch (there were cute ones all over the place).
13. Statler and Waldorf (two grouchy old guys) from The Muppet Show, complete with theater chairs.
14. Pee-wee Herman and characters from Pee-wee's Playhouse, including Jambi and Chairry.
15. Cookie Monster from Sesame Street sitting in Chairry.
16. GizmoDuck from Duck Tales.
17. Rooster Cogburn from True Grit.
18. 1980s WWF Superstars!
I ran into and spoke with Hip-Hop Stormtrooper, now even more "famous" after the Buckhead IHOP incident this past April (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9shJZCnPr9s). Also, shout-outs to Yelpers Tom C. (Bruce Lee) and Ivan S. (Mountie Stormtrooper).
At the Walk of Fame, I unexpectedly met former NBA player and Dancing with the Stars contestant Rick Fox. Long story short, I asked him what the heck he was doing at Dragon*Con and he pointed to the girl sitting two chairs away from him signing autographs -- it was Eliza Dushku, his girlfriend whom he travels with to conventions around the world. Since I'm a huge basketball fan and Rick was getting no love from any of the con-goers, we chatted for quite a while about college basketball and the NBA.
Last year, Dragon*Con started to enforce badge-only access to the Marriott and Hyatt during the nighttime. This year, they started to officially enforce this rule between 7pm and 1am. If you want to enjoy Dragon*Con without purchasing a badge, go during the daytime. If you want to enjoy the nighttime festivities, enter the Marriott before 7pm.
If you buy a badge, the best deal is to pre-register. You save the most money this way. Pre-registration gives you a full 4-day membership to the next convention for only $60. In comparison, single day badges for Saturday are $50 during the convention. Friday and Sunday are $40. The badges give you access to everything at the convention including the already-mentioned Walk of Fame, the dealers room and exhibit halls, artist gallery and art bazaar, and all panels, events, and other activities.
MARTA is a great way to get to the convention since there is a stop at Peachtree Center. It's best to take MARTA to the parade. The big drawback to MARTA is it stops running at 1am, so if you party late, you'll have to find another way home.
Other than the parade, this year I found myself parking the rest of the time. It's more convenient and despite what you'd think, traffic isn't bad. Some of the turning lanes on Peachtree might get a little backed up due to pedestrian traffic during peak times, but other major streets such as Courtland and Peachtree Center are free-flowing. Parking in the various lots and decks around the hotels runs anywhere from $9 to $20. I recommend parking in the Georgia-Pacific ($9) deck on Courtland and the Peachtree Center ($10) deck on Peachtree.