Post Con

[alexdelarge78.livejournal.com]

How is everyone handling the post-con blues?  I feel like someone -as grateful as I am for what I have- diluted my life :)

Overall 2012 DragonCon experience review......

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

This was my 5th year going to Dragon*Con, and here are a few observations:

1. By all accounts, the badge registration process was very quick and their new efforts have been very successful.  The last two years, I had intentionally decided to pay on site so that I wouldn't be waiting for hours in line as I have in the past.  However, it seems that they have really made significant progress in perfecting the registration process, and I feel I can now look at pre-registering without doing a Bataan Death March to get my Con badge.
2. Yes, Thursday is now the new Friday....Wednesday is now *definitely* the new Thursday.  They should seriously start looking at expanding the program dates of the convention at some point.
3. The staff at the Marriott (where me and my peeps were staying) was outstanding as always. The folks in the High Velocity bar/restaurant busted their asses for 18+ hours every day during the convention, and I made a point of letting the Restaurant/Bar Manager know that they did an outstanding job.
4. My friends and I had dinner at Sear in the Marriott a few different nights during the con as well....the food was amazing, and the staff was outstanding.  It's a bit pricier than High Velocity, but well worth it!
5. The pool at the Marriott remains an excellent oasis of uncrowded relaxation.  You need a keycard to get access, and it was, oddly enough, not all that inundated with con attendees...most of which probably fear the sun would turn them to dust.  ;p
6. Overall, while security seemed better this year, there were moments of fail. Two of my women friends waiting for Starbuck's to open shortly, and sitting nearby to get their caffeine, were made to leave by a very rude "security" person for no particular reason. These are no shy and retiring violets, my friends, and words were had with management before their departure on Monday. We should have good security, but there's no reason to hassle guests who are causing no trouble just to be officious.
7. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the crowds in the evening are becoming less tolerable for me. In previous years, I found it fun and interesting, but this year I pretty much just found it more relaxing to retreat to my room after dinner and watch DCTV and other TV.....when it worked, that is.
8. Speaking of DCTV, please oh please get some competent audio engineers so that you can broadcast panels that are consistently audible.  Many panels had sound levels that required cranking the TV up all the way to even hear anything at all....somewhat annoying when the panel finished and the bumper or next video blasted you out of the room with the much higher audio levels.  This is not rocket science, and now that registration seems to have been mostly fixed, can we concentrate some effort there?
9. At the suggestion of others, I sought out Disability Services this year as standing for hours in lines for panels causes me a great deal of back pain.  From my very first experience with them just outside of registration all the way to every single panel I encountered the Disability Services volunteers, they performed in a friendly, well-organized, and an exemplary manner.  Many of the staffers for that group were disabled themselves, but they busted their collective asses in the best possible way that weekend. I was so inspired that I may try to volunteer for that group myself in the future. My friend and con roomie who attended one of the panels with me had never knew they have options for those with poor eyesight, and this is something she has issues with due to almost total blindness in one eye, which I had not realized. I will say my overall con experience was much improved because I didn't have to be in constant pain, and I was therefore able to attend more panels than I have in previous years as a result.
10. At the Marriott, they have continued to remove more and more of the lounge furniture in the Atrium area, much to my dismay.  It used to be fun to hang out in that area, but with nearly all of the seating removed, it was just an annoying elbow-to-elbow crowd and not a place I enjoyed at all.  As opposed to previous years, the only place I felt there was any breathing room was in the High Velocity bar area.  They really need to put the lounge furniture back and let that area outside of the Pulse bar, and even up in the skybar area remain a place where people can sit and hang out, instead of making it a standing room only area.  People watching and hanging with friends is a big portion of the fun at D*C, and this really has detracted from that, IMO.
11. For the second year in a row, I used the shuttle service to/from the ATL airport that is just $29 round trip. Cheaper than a taxi, and they deliver you right to the door of your hotel and pick you up again when you're ready to leave.  I highly recommend it!
12. Used the Boingo internet service again this year, which has been improved even more by allowing the use of up to two mobile devices on one account for $9.95 for the month.  I, and a number of my friends used it with great success, and saved a ton of money over the standard $14 some per day pricing of regular Marriott internet pricing. Another big recommendation for future reference.
13. I was somewhat dismayed to hear about the new rules for making reservations at the Marriott next year......one night's non-refundable deposit upon making the reservation, you have to have all guest names, and those names can't be changed.  While I think it's fair to do the deposit, it should be refundable up to a certain date, and you should be able to change the names. There's no way to predict who may or may not be able to attend 11 some months in advance of an event like that......life happens, whether it's family related, work related, or just life related.  The only way they should have those restrictions is if they decide to open up reservations just several weeks in advance of the con rather than just barely after the previous D*C has been completed.

I haven't decided if I will be going next year just yet.....partly because it was so crowded this year, and partly because I have deflected other summertime vacation opportunities in recent years because I had D*C plans already in place. Overall, I had a great con, but am increasingly finding the overall con participation less enjoyable due to the serious overcrowding.