DragonCon 2021

The line to get your badge.

Two weeks after the 55-Year Mission Las Vegas (Star Trek Vegas), I was attending DragonCon in Atlanta.  After Vegas, I worked from home for almost a week. Just to be keep my co-workers safe. I don’t like working for home so it was the price I paid to travel to Vegas. I am vaccinated and I wore a mask the whole time in Vegas (expect in my room) but I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ that made someone else sick at the office.

Much like the Star Trek Vegas convention, Dragon Con required that you provide proof of being full vaccinated OR you tested negative in the last 72 hours.

Even General Grievous wore a mask

Unlike Vegas, on-site testing was not done AND there was no requirement to retest after 72 hours. Meaning, if you got your badge on Wednesday, you did not need to re-verify your negative status on Saturday. I know the size of DragonCon would have made that a logistic challenge.  Again, I wore my mask the whole time, even walking the sidewalks as they were very crowded.

This was my favorite cosplay

My DragonCon experience is very surgical. I’m there for the autographs. The parties, panels, parade, vendors, and cosplay are just background noise. I learned from my 2019 trip, I didn’t need to be there Wednesday and that I could fly in Thursday afternoon and be prepared for Friday when the ‘Walk of Fame’ opened.

I had a great time. I stayed at a hotel a couple of miles away. It was much quieter and cheaper than the Marriott and the other host hotels. It worked very nicely for me.

Surprising, as large as DragonCon is, the autograph area is NOT insanely crowded and the lines are not exceptionally long. This does allow conversation now and then. From my 2 trips to Atlanta in recent years, I have noticed that celebrities seem more outgoing and relaxed than at other shows I attend.

If you haven’t been to DragonCon, you should try to go one year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

AH