Dragon Con 2013 in Atlanta, Ga. hasn’t even officially begun yet, but anyone on site today knows that it kinda has. While official programming is limited to concerts, dances and dinners, there are still lots of things going on.
When Dragon Con first retooled their pre-registration badge distribution process a couple of years ago, everyone was skeptical. 30 seconds or less per member were the claims. They made me a believer when I was in and out of the convention in 2011 in under an hour. In 2012, the Dragon Con team of staff and volunteers got my family registered even faster. Long lines were apparently a thing of the past.
Then, today happened.
When I first arrived at the convention in Downtown Atlanta, everything seemed peaceful. My group and I dropped our luggage off at the hotel and I went in search of my treasured self parking savings. I found the garage I was looking for, but I found something else too: a long line wrapping around the Sheraton, where registration takes place.
Unfortunately, I was running late for dinner, so I sucked it up and headed to Trader Vic’s at the Hilton to have dinner with some good friends. After the dinner, the line had gotten much longer. Nonetheless, we had to have our badges, so into the crowd we went. About 90 minutes later, we were done and headed back to our hotel for a much needed break.
I made it to the Alternate History track’s pre-con party in time to have one beer and watch my wife’s alter ego strut around on the dance floor for a bit. But, all good things must end, and the party shut down thirty minutes after I got there.
Since then, I have been unpacking, getting costumes sorted, writing interview questions, working on my schedule and stressing about the actual first day of the convention, tomorrow.
Wednesday… It’s the new Thursday.
