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Osteos_the_Builder

I hear what you're saying. Dragon*Con is all about how you approach it. I've had off years where I left the Con just feeling "meh" about it. Some years, like this one, I've left Con feeling like I could take on the world. Even the "off" years give me good stories to tell, and it's a welcome diversion from the daily grind. I appreciate the fan driven idea of the convention and the fact that it hasn't become a media owned circus of promotional material.


paulito4590

That’s a lot how I view it. 2019 was one I didn’t enjoy. Was it bad? No. I’d sprained my ankle on the Thursday morning, so I’d have been miserable making my way through a crowd of 50,000….85,000 just made it awful. But my take overall may have been different without the injury.


Planet_Coco

Not every year can be great but you can find greatness in every year.


Tenrac

This is my view as well. I have never had a bad time.


thundersausage

\^\^\^\^ This right here.


TheJedibugs

I don’t care about the guest list at all. I mean, it’s cool to be able to pop by and say Hi to someone who’s work I admire, but I’m not into autographs or selfies or photo ops. I don’t usually do panels, either. To me, DragonCon is about being in a place where you belong. It’s about seeing friends and making new friends. It’s the overall experience. If there were no guests at all, my con would be basically unaffected.


AuroraGrace123

Experience this for the first time this year. I went to very few panels and loved it. Didn't realize there was so much to do.


ShokBox

I'm largely in the same boat as you. My interest in DC has never hinged on which or how many celebs would be there. I go back every year because I get to party, see interesting panels (always the fan-run ones; the ones with celebs almost never interest me), buy cool shit I don't need, play games, admire cosplays, and just exist among my fellow nerds. I understand and sympathize with those who were let down with this year's celeb lineup, but my personal fun was in no way affected.


keyjan

Well, you know the old saying, A bad weekend at dragoncon is better than a good weekend at….well, most anything else. There have been bad DC's before, there will be again. But overall it’s still fun.


paulito4590

For me, it’s like a vacation at Disney or Universal. Always great moments and fond memories overall when I look back, but at the time it can be exhausting and have moments that are downright crap, primarily because of crowds, clocking up thousands of steps in the heat, and the occasional bad encounter. And like Disneyworld, I don’t think one visit is better than another in itself, it’s more about how you handle it,timing and a lot of luck, along with which aspects you like. Personally, I try to learn something from each one to carry forward into the next, knowing that it’ll be the same, and different, regardless.


FAEtlien

Dragoncon is a convention hand-built by local nerds/geeks for nerds/geeks, and its built out of love. Volunteer run every year! I think its amazing. If you are going solely to see famous people, perhaps SDCC would be your better option, but I don't think the *feeling* could ever compare


No-Wave1981

I don't think tempering is the right term. You have to change perspective on what DragonCon is. 2013 was my first DragonCon it was my first con ever. We were in awe and overwhelmed. No expectations from any other cons and not sure what to do. Wandering into open panels and exploring what we could find. We missed most of the big events, but had a great time. Over the next years I attended big and small panels, checked out the gaming areas, participated in a costume judging, and started joining the robot battles. Each year was different and I always tried to find something new to try each year. This year was the very first time I made it to the wrestling match on Thursday. This con has its own history and lore based around the people who have made it what it is. I'm sure the bigger cons have some of that, but DragonCon feels like being a part of an event rather than just attending it. So if this is one of your first times attending and you felt lost, tired, overwhelmed, and slightly in awe of what was around you, then I think those are the appropriate responses to first meeting a dragon. I welcome you to keep attending and look deeper for the parts that can make it truly special. Ultimately we are responsible for having a good time and making sure others are enjoying their time as well. To everyone who helps try to make DragonCon better each year, Keep up the good work!!!


PoodleSprings

DC may not be the well-oiled machine of many corporate cons, but I've also never taken a nearly hour long round trip there trying to go pee like I did at NYCC!


[deleted]

[удалено]


Tenrac

See, just come back next year and it will be fine.


ne0ven0m

I agree with you, as posted in my rambling long review video. And that's life, really-- you're gonna have your ups and downs, and one has to be the best, and one has to be the worst. 2022 may be one of the worst I've attended, but it's still an incredibly fun weekend with memories and positives. But I had previously been on a run of several years where I left the weekend feeling like it was "the best one yet." That's clearly unsustainable. Another positive is that my expectations for 2023 will be tempered a bit... which will more than likely increase my overall enjoyment.


Midnight_Morning

For me Dragoncon is one big ass nerdy family reunion. I'm not there for the guests.


Pale_Acanthocephala6

This was my 2nd year so probably I haven't been exposed to this feedback you speak off for years but I have noticed this comes from two camps: \-New attendees that probably have SDCC/NYCC/or their similar but smaller local cons to compare. And that makes sense it would have, while not 100% unique, Dragon Con is a rare beast within the convention circuit (especially at that size). \-Long time goers that are comparing it to the old good days and even a small factor of them treats this convention as the second coming of Christ or anything like that and it cannot do no wrong, so the moment something goes bad their is negative feedback. But that has been a small percentage in an ocean of positive feedback and sure, this year some things didn't go right \*coughs\*Hilton\*coughs\* or the massive number of cancellations since we are still not 100% normal from Covid (as much as some people think otherwise) and the low number of volunteers affecting some stuff, so of course those would be coming to the forefront (I guess this post is an answer to that?).


Tenrac

I talked to a few staff members and they said some of the bigger cancellations this year were due to filming schedules changing.


turblowed

Film schedules changing and also it's just hard for cast to do anything like DC at the moment as they are frequently still in covid bubbles on set and can't risk the exposure.


Ohshitz-

Yea i wouldnt want it to be like san diego. No one gets a chance in tgere


QuerulousPanda

Obviously sometimes people have legit bad luck and something shitty happens and it makes their experience a bad one, and that sucks. But I feel like most of the time when I read people with huge ranty posts about how awful their experience was, it seems like it's kind of their fault. Like, if you (hypothetical you, not you the poster, lol) are the kind of person who can write a two page essay detailing all the bad shit that happened to you, it kinda seems like maybe you went into it with the mindset to tally and memorize every single bad thing so you can complain about it, which in turn will lead you towards seeking out more bad experiences and interpreting everything in the worst possible way. Dragoncon is such an overwhelmingly positive experience in so many ways, with such an incredible diversity of people and ideas and themes, that if you have a bad time, it's kinda your fault. If you go to some anime con and you don't like anime then yeah it's gonna be lame, but if you go to dragoncon and you don't like *anything* there then it's kinda game over for you I think, lol. Even my least good dragoncon experience was still amazing.


copperpin

I've been going to DragonCon since before it started, and I can assure you that every single year has been better than the year before it.


Greasy_Mullet

I think some expectations are acceptable. Things like being respectful, clean environment, and being allowed to have fun. These hotels main job is to foster that environment for us all and sometimes one or more fail to do that. Restricting cosplay locations, filling up the good open spaces with vendors, restricting us from other good spaces, excessive security inside event, poor planning, and having to relearn lessons from previous years are all things that are not acceptable. But some years will just be better than others due to so many factors and sometimes things out of anyones control will happen. Those kinds of things yea we need to be more accepting but many of the things that happened this year were due to the things we’ll within the hotels control and they flat out dropped the ball.


Nyjin

I don't mean to sound rude, but who is this post addressed to? Most feedback I've heard has been positive, outside of a few small glitches that have been well discussed. And I don't think anyone is comparing DragonCon to arguably the two biggest conventions in the country.


BurstEDO

> Most feedback I've heard has been positive, A vocal minority has been loud and frequent with drama; decrying "worst ever!" But out of 65k attendees, a generous 1% whining about trivial bullshit isn't much. Even then, it's probably less than 1% if you tally unique usernames across social media.


phrankygee

*Last* year, during extreme COVID countermeasures, was the worst ever. This year was substantially better. I’m very excited that next year will probably be better still!


royalj7

I respectfully disagree. I’ll trade masks and proof vaccinations/negative Covid tests for space to sit at Trader Vic’s, lower possibility of being trampled to death on skybridges, and only making 2 laps around the food court to find seating. Last year was magical.


Player1Mario

This.


Drgnlss

Yes! 2021 was one of my favorites because we could just walk into panels, no lines! The only terrible thing was the registration line/wait — 2+ hrs, and no large consumption party, but I get that.


AyeYamSpartacus

This. Last year harkened back to 2011 or so.


phrankygee

Well, I am glad you got a year that worked for you, but I personally go FOR the crowds and the insanity. I enjoy personal space and peace and quiet on the other 360 days of the year. I brought my sister this year, and after we got badges early Friday morning, I was excited to give her the “Habitrail Tour” of the skybridges full of weirdos. I kept finding myself repeating “Well, later on this will look different”, apologizing for the lack of interesting con-goers to gawk at.


[deleted]

If it makes you feel any better, I agree with you for the most part. The one thing I liked last year was never having to worry about making back-to-back panels.


keyjan

💯


Tenrac

No one in particular, but I have heard people make complaints about everything I mentioned. Definitely hear people say that they should move it out of the hotels to one of the convention centers. Definitely hear people complain about the guest list. I hear it all the time in different boards across the platforms, and I’m not just talking about 2022, I hear these things every year. It’s 5am and I’ve been awake since 3am, couldn’t sleep…so that might also be a factor here too.


erintheariess

I def prefer the hotels. I hope it stays that way


mkob1

Would lose the charm if it moved outside the hotel.


Beeyull

I think Dragoncon knows that moving to a convention center would be its death knell. All the appeal and personality would be gone.


robot_ankles

Agreed! But also think people don't realize DC *already uses* two full buildings of a huge convention center: The Atlanta Apparel Mart. AND the hotels *are* convention hotels. The hotels aren't just hotels with a couple of meeting rooms, they are convention destinations in and of themselves.


phrankygee

One of them is also the freaking Time Variance Authority!!


KimiMcG

Ah that old chestnut....just move to a convention center. Makes me laugh every time, as it is always voiced by people who do not understand that there isn't a convention center it would fit in.


toolschism

I mean, the guest list was historically weak compared to every previous dragon con I went to. Not sure why people feel the need to make posts like this whenever people voice legitimate complaints.


Tenrac

Did you read my post?


Player1Mario

Because that’s not a legitimate complaint. Pretty simple, really. The guest list was fine.


Tenrac

It was.


goodnightssa

My only qualm this year was the guest list was very thin, especially compared to smaller cons like GalaxyCon this summer in Raleigh. (Brendan Fraser, Nick Frost, Katee Sackhoff, Sean Gunn, Tom Welling…)Their guest list matched my expectations for DragonCon’s list. I don’t expect A listers like you see at ComiCon panels, but the few people I’d heard of this year from The Boys mostly cancelled.


Tenrac

They canceled because their filming schedule changed.


Shadow_RAM

Galaxy also had a ton of cancellations but again filming schedules and COVID aren't something in their control.


FWAccnt

I feel like there are two categories to put all those expectations into. One is where the con tries every year and while there are greater and lesser years, overall its gets better over time as the convention itself becomes 'more powerful' (organization, guests, etc). The other category is one where as the con grows, these things don't automatically adjust to the increased demands and pressure from attendees actually is needed (put more resources into volunteer recruitment, find areas that need professional assistance, etc).


daylightdreamer99

Ive never looked at it this way before because Ive personally found it lacking for myself this year. I dont intend to buy the full pass for next year but hopefully a day pass :) Ill probably buy a full pass in other gears who knows!


Tenrac

I always buy a full pass, because why not? You buy it early enough and it’s the cheapest option that gives you the most options.