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I’m going to talk about the things that made this year good, bad, and awesome. The bad things in no way shape or form reflect on the event and their staff, as the majority of the issues I experienced this year were on the various Hotel staff side, as well as one or two bad eggs on the attendee side.
The air conditioning seemed to be almost non existent at times, when in previous years with more bodies it was working better(?).
The moderators for some of the panels were not….good. Part of a mod’s job aside from keeping everyone on task/time/etc is keeping the energy up, which seemed to be an issue for one in particular. The team doing airdrops of flyers in the Marriott was a bad idea, sharp corners on those double sided laminated things raining down from ALL FLOORS caused some issues with folks getting hit in the eyes/etc. The actual hotel staff (restaurants included) for the most part seemed woefully unprepared, and were not dealing well with guests that knew more than they did. This is something that doesn’t usually happen, at least in my experience, as the hotel staff are normally better prepared than the con-going veterans.
Also, see: America’s Mart staff re: dealer’s hall woes (which included but are not limited to) poorly handling handicapped guest needs (wheelchairs in elevators, etc), and posted signage reminding parents NOT to use the escalators with their strollers (no really, this continues to be a thing).
As always, the cosplay is phenomenal. The creativity and skills displayed in Atlanta are second to NONE. Yeah, I said it. While it seemed the amount of cosplayers may have been LOWER this year, the detail and outright genius of what we saw put the costumers worlds ahead of other events. We’ll have a full gallery of our favorites coming in the next week.
The media relations team! 20,000,000,000,000 compliments to media relations director Dan Carroll and his entire staff.
THE MOBILE APP! Each year, the dev team who puts together the official app does a little bit better, and this year was pretty great! I had some newbies at the con this year who used the app several times a day for scheduling, maps, and general tips for making the experience a little bit more smooth.
This was also the first year several of the more popular science fiction tv series getting rolled into other tracks that were not solo ones. (Dragon Con’s normal procedure is to place shows/films/fandoms into similar tracks after 10 years of initial starting, because yes, admittedly interest DOES wane, making a solo track silly.) I honestly didn’t mind Battlestar Galactica getting rolled into the Military SciFi track, the turn out for the panels was as good as last year, even with fewer of the ‘big name’ guests from the show. We did NOT have fewer panels as was the fear, and having the track run by someone who knows the series involved is the way to go.
In its fundraising efforts, Dragon Con raised about $98,000 for its 2016 official charity, the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, which helps put homeless individuals on a pathway to achieving a healthy independence. ACSS is the largest and most successful provider of workforce development resources to homeless men and women in Atlanta. The money was raised through auctions and other charity events, plus a $50,000 match from the con.. Since 2012, Dragon Con has raised $440,000 for its official charities
The annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive attracted a huge turnout, with about 3,000 attendees donating some 6,000 units of blood and blood products this year. The annual drive – consistently ranked as the largest convention-based blood drive – benefits LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.
Dragon Con also began what they hope to be the first of many years to follow, the Dragon Awards. You can read the full list of winners here.
