Dragon*Con 2009 - A very good year
Dragon Con is turning into one of my can't miss conventions. This was my third year attending, but the first with a contingent of fellow New Englanders (many of whom drove down to Atlanta. 19 hours. I commend your bravery. Or insanity) There are so many things to do while at the convention, there is a fandom for each particular person. Plus, the costumes. 20,000 people dressed in zany outfits is a sight to see. (Dragon*Con's so big, it got front page CNN website coverage. Also helps that CNN's world headquarters is down the street)
Thursday afternoon was one of great excitement. I had been down south for 2 and a half weeks beforehand to visit family. This hindered some of my costume choices, since I also had to pack a good portion of normal clothes as well. I think I did well. stardust462 secured the rooms months ago, so I managed to get a spot with her. Even though there were 10 of us, it was rather comfortable in the 2 rooms. Conveniently, my aunt lives *really* close to the airport, so I grabbed her and her brother. It was really helpful that we went to get the hotel room first, since we managed to get a prime setting: two connecting rooms with two beds in each. It made sleeping assignments much easier. The four in the cara-van hooked up with us about an hour later. Other people would trickle in later on that evening and the next morning. And right around 5, we managed to get in line, and saw something NEVER seen at an anime con: vendors selling water, energy drinks, and beer on the street.
We had to take an picture for posterity's sake.
The lines were supposed to be organized by tape color, but not everything was in order. Those who ordered by Ticketmaster went to one room, and those who pre-regged went to another. If you registered at the con, you went to the Ticketmaster room. The pre-reg room was dependent on what was the real last name of the person. stardust462 and her brother had O names, and were called up to the front while we snaked in the middle. When it got down to where the line split, I ducked under some barriers since my line (S) was empty. This ended up saving me a half hour. diamond_dust8 remained in the line for almost 2 hours, since CA was painfully slow. I decided to wait, and wait, and wait. Fortunately, we didn't miss anything and returned to the room. Thursday turned out to be the 'get-as-much-sleep-as-you-can' day, since it was unlikely that we wouldn't be getting much over the weekend. Friday started off rather slowly for me. I didn't have an early day costume, so I decided to roam around in somewhat normal clothes, with some last-minute wings. A lot of the afternoon was spent roaming around and getting a view of the convention scene. I ended up at the Costumer's track in a panel about Thrift Store shopping. I learned a lot, like candelabras make good gun bases, and 80s lamps make good shoulder armor. I was debating on entering the Friday Night Costuming Contest, but I worried that I wouldn't be able to get there in time. (They changed the rule from last year, instead of doing it backstage during the contest, the would be a scheduled judging time. And even that time was too short) I instead joined some of my roommates in a My Little Pony gathering. Those costumes were cute and fun to wear, even if it was totally 80s.
I decided to give Ursula a bit of a stretch, I hadn't worn the costume since I repaired it over a year ago. I loved my new tank leotard, it was exactly the perfect color. My new addition would be to add gloves and nails, instead of painting my hands and nails. (Which still hasn't come off my hands yet) I wore her for only 2-3 hours, walking through the hotels to get a DQ Blizzard and back to the room. As expected, I was mobbed. One person would ask for my picture, then about 20 cameras would swarm. Rinse and repeat. I swear, I stopped traffic several times. My major regret was that I couldn't wear it to the Aquarium on Saturday, since that day would be full. During this time, my roommates went to Hooters, which turned out to be such an epically awesome experience, that I can't explain it. All I know is that pitchers of beer were involved. After all this, we were exhausted and decided to call it a night. Saturday started off quickly, since sweet_lottieand I want to get our stuff together. After the way we felt about Connecticon, we wanted to enter another cosplay contest with our Eternal Sonata group. Sure, we pulled them together in a month, but there was so much detail to be happy about. We got there right after 1, and managed to get a judging time of 1:45. The judges were very thorough and seemed quite interested in our construction techniques. They were quite impressed with our construction, and Lo's dying techniques and love of silk. In the end, we won 'Best Overall' in the Group category. It came with a nice certificate and a 13 box set of Battle Royale manga.
By that time, I was running to change into my Dawn oufit. I had to be very careful since the dress was held together flimsily. (This was the point) When I got on stage to rip it off, the entire audience gasped. My presentation went off perfectly, save my dress hanging on slightly to my ankle. Then the sword came out of the staff, and I knew I did well. I didn't win, but one of the judges ran into me and said that I had impressed her so much. I finally managed to get food and changed into lighter fare. All contestants in the Dawn contest go to the after party on the top floor of the Marriott. When it finall hit about 2 in the morning, I knew it was time for bed. Sunday was determined to be an Ursula day. Lo had made an Ariel costume, plus I was going to meet up with vampirate777 who was going to be our Vanessa. Lo went off to Patrick Stewart's panel with Shiva, while I put on the makeup. (I should be getting good at it by now) By the afternoon, we moved to the Marriott and managed to get some very nice shots, including the mirror shot. I can't wait for Shiva to edit and do her magic. As the three of us moved around, we kept be hounded for pictures. After the shoot, I waddled my way toward the Walk of Fame. It was my first time in there this year, and I wanted to see who was there. Walking around in Ursula was an experience. Mary McDonell stopped me and demanded that she take a picture for her daughter. And I got a hug from Doug Jones. (He's the one who gets in crazy makeup and outfits. Like Abe Sapien) We ended up talking abou 10 minutes about makeup application and other techniques. Best. Hour. Ever. At this point, the tentacles were getting tired, (and a bit tattered, need to re-sew them for future use). I went back to to the hotel room, just as my roomies were leaving. (I needed the space, and the sink) An hour later and I was ready for normal clothes. There was some sort of steampunk fairy tales gathering; Shiva and Lo brought their Cheshire Cat and Alice respectively. I had wanted to bring my Queen of Hearts, but there was no way I could fit it in the luggage, and it was too late to have them drive it down.
Shiva and Lo with a random Mad Hatter, in a matching set.
After their shoot, the rest of the evening was spent looking and staring at the creativity at the con. If there was some sort of media, someone was dressed in a corresponding outfit. It was people watching on a massive scale. We remained in the hotel room first to watch the masquerade on TV. Even though the time limit is shorter, it was rather not up to the standards that I felt a huge con that D*C deserves. It wasn't completely horrible, some of the presentations were just too long. After the masq, we went to roam around the hotels, snapping pictures of the amazing outfits out there.
Dead on Hook from the movie
Skeletor!
Actual Samurai Jack and Aku, TO SCALE. Aku fully erect stood higher than the next floor.
Amazing Hellboy!
Once it started to die down, we returned to the room and tried to get some sleep.
Monday was a packing up day for us all, the noon check-out time was insanely helpful. After scoping all of the dealer's areas and artist places, people made their seperate ways to the airport, and to hit the road.
Dragon*Con is one of those cons that must be experienced at least one in a lifetime. But, and my poor wallet fears, that it will be more annual for me. We came up with a ton of ideas for next year, and if I had the money or time, I would start already.
Thursday afternoon was one of great excitement. I had been down south for 2 and a half weeks beforehand to visit family. This hindered some of my costume choices, since I also had to pack a good portion of normal clothes as well. I think I did well. stardust462 secured the rooms months ago, so I managed to get a spot with her. Even though there were 10 of us, it was rather comfortable in the 2 rooms. Conveniently, my aunt lives *really* close to the airport, so I grabbed her and her brother. It was really helpful that we went to get the hotel room first, since we managed to get a prime setting: two connecting rooms with two beds in each. It made sleeping assignments much easier. The four in the cara-van hooked up with us about an hour later. Other people would trickle in later on that evening and the next morning. And right around 5, we managed to get in line, and saw something NEVER seen at an anime con: vendors selling water, energy drinks, and beer on the street.
We had to take an picture for posterity's sake.
The lines were supposed to be organized by tape color, but not everything was in order. Those who ordered by Ticketmaster went to one room, and those who pre-regged went to another. If you registered at the con, you went to the Ticketmaster room. The pre-reg room was dependent on what was the real last name of the person. stardust462 and her brother had O names, and were called up to the front while we snaked in the middle. When it got down to where the line split, I ducked under some barriers since my line (S) was empty. This ended up saving me a half hour. diamond_dust8 remained in the line for almost 2 hours, since CA was painfully slow. I decided to wait, and wait, and wait. Fortunately, we didn't miss anything and returned to the room. Thursday turned out to be the 'get-as-much-sleep-as-you-can' day, since it was unlikely that we wouldn't be getting much over the weekend. Friday started off rather slowly for me. I didn't have an early day costume, so I decided to roam around in somewhat normal clothes, with some last-minute wings. A lot of the afternoon was spent roaming around and getting a view of the convention scene. I ended up at the Costumer's track in a panel about Thrift Store shopping. I learned a lot, like candelabras make good gun bases, and 80s lamps make good shoulder armor. I was debating on entering the Friday Night Costuming Contest, but I worried that I wouldn't be able to get there in time. (They changed the rule from last year, instead of doing it backstage during the contest, the would be a scheduled judging time. And even that time was too short) I instead joined some of my roommates in a My Little Pony gathering. Those costumes were cute and fun to wear, even if it was totally 80s.
I decided to give Ursula a bit of a stretch, I hadn't worn the costume since I repaired it over a year ago. I loved my new tank leotard, it was exactly the perfect color. My new addition would be to add gloves and nails, instead of painting my hands and nails. (Which still hasn't come off my hands yet) I wore her for only 2-3 hours, walking through the hotels to get a DQ Blizzard and back to the room. As expected, I was mobbed. One person would ask for my picture, then about 20 cameras would swarm. Rinse and repeat. I swear, I stopped traffic several times. My major regret was that I couldn't wear it to the Aquarium on Saturday, since that day would be full. During this time, my roommates went to Hooters, which turned out to be such an epically awesome experience, that I can't explain it. All I know is that pitchers of beer were involved. After all this, we were exhausted and decided to call it a night. Saturday started off quickly, since sweet_lottieand I want to get our stuff together. After the way we felt about Connecticon, we wanted to enter another cosplay contest with our Eternal Sonata group. Sure, we pulled them together in a month, but there was so much detail to be happy about. We got there right after 1, and managed to get a judging time of 1:45. The judges were very thorough and seemed quite interested in our construction techniques. They were quite impressed with our construction, and Lo's dying techniques and love of silk. In the end, we won 'Best Overall' in the Group category. It came with a nice certificate and a 13 box set of Battle Royale manga.
By that time, I was running to change into my Dawn oufit. I had to be very careful since the dress was held together flimsily. (This was the point) When I got on stage to rip it off, the entire audience gasped. My presentation went off perfectly, save my dress hanging on slightly to my ankle. Then the sword came out of the staff, and I knew I did well. I didn't win, but one of the judges ran into me and said that I had impressed her so much. I finally managed to get food and changed into lighter fare. All contestants in the Dawn contest go to the after party on the top floor of the Marriott. When it finall hit about 2 in the morning, I knew it was time for bed. Sunday was determined to be an Ursula day. Lo had made an Ariel costume, plus I was going to meet up with vampirate777 who was going to be our Vanessa. Lo went off to Patrick Stewart's panel with Shiva, while I put on the makeup. (I should be getting good at it by now) By the afternoon, we moved to the Marriott and managed to get some very nice shots, including the mirror shot. I can't wait for Shiva to edit and do her magic. As the three of us moved around, we kept be hounded for pictures. After the shoot, I waddled my way toward the Walk of Fame. It was my first time in there this year, and I wanted to see who was there. Walking around in Ursula was an experience. Mary McDonell stopped me and demanded that she take a picture for her daughter. And I got a hug from Doug Jones. (He's the one who gets in crazy makeup and outfits. Like Abe Sapien) We ended up talking abou 10 minutes about makeup application and other techniques. Best. Hour. Ever. At this point, the tentacles were getting tired, (and a bit tattered, need to re-sew them for future use). I went back to to the hotel room, just as my roomies were leaving. (I needed the space, and the sink) An hour later and I was ready for normal clothes. There was some sort of steampunk fairy tales gathering; Shiva and Lo brought their Cheshire Cat and Alice respectively. I had wanted to bring my Queen of Hearts, but there was no way I could fit it in the luggage, and it was too late to have them drive it down.
Shiva and Lo with a random Mad Hatter, in a matching set.
After their shoot, the rest of the evening was spent looking and staring at the creativity at the con. If there was some sort of media, someone was dressed in a corresponding outfit. It was people watching on a massive scale. We remained in the hotel room first to watch the masquerade on TV. Even though the time limit is shorter, it was rather not up to the standards that I felt a huge con that D*C deserves. It wasn't completely horrible, some of the presentations were just too long. After the masq, we went to roam around the hotels, snapping pictures of the amazing outfits out there.
Dead on Hook from the movie
Skeletor!
Actual Samurai Jack and Aku, TO SCALE. Aku fully erect stood higher than the next floor.
Amazing Hellboy!
Once it started to die down, we returned to the room and tried to get some sleep.
Monday was a packing up day for us all, the noon check-out time was insanely helpful. After scoping all of the dealer's areas and artist places, people made their seperate ways to the airport, and to hit the road.
Dragon*Con is one of those cons that must be experienced at least one in a lifetime. But, and my poor wallet fears, that it will be more annual for me. We came up with a ton of ideas for next year, and if I had the money or time, I would start already.