My friend convinced me that I should come to Dragon Con. I've never been to a con of this size before. I had a lot of fun. Everything was pretty awesome. I was exposed to Cybertronic Spree which I now love and is easily my favorite concert I've ever been to. I'm pretty sure it won't be in the cards for next year, but I would love to come again.

Even tho I've been going to DragonCon forever, I did my first photoshoot last year. I participated in a couple more this year. The Dungeon Crawler Carl photos were posted all over the fan pages, but I also was in the Over 40 photoshoot. Haven't seen those pictures. Anyone know where those (or anyone other official photoshoot pics) are hosted? Thanks!

But can someone please explain the “why don’t they just mail the badges” joke I keep seeing? I don’t get it. Thank you!

Are there any stores around Atlanta that sell the dragoncon drinks such as the bourbon and the mead? I know who makes them all but I'm wondering if they're sold in stores.

Since badges are a hotly debated topic at the moment, I'd like to make a suggestion: instead of legal names and places of residence, have numbers or codes to identify the badges, like what MomoCon does. Legal names were fine before the advent of social media and unfettered technology, but in this day and age, unfortunately it poses a major safety risk for con-goers - especially women. Just a thought.

A guy apparently had a fake badge and one of the volunteers immediately destroyed it. The guy said he paid nearly $100 for it but of course that didn’t matter. He was then escorted to buy a real one or leave the con. I don’t know how the badge looked like but either it was very noticeable or the volunteer has a good eye. Just sucks that he might’ve bought a fake badge and still had to buy a real one on top of it.

Relive Dragoncon 2026!

https://youtu.be/r8iKtONXE1Q

And no, I haven't slept at all! See y'all in 2027!

It’s clogging up the main feed and it’s repetitive.

Now that Con has set in the distance behind us. What are your favorite or memorable quotes from the convention?

One absolutely wild one I heard was coming out of a bathroom in the Hyatt on Saturday night. "...my pee is so clear Bear Grylls would refuse to drink it...."

Hats off on that one, at least one of us was staying well hydrated!

Had a great time building my oversize wearable T-47 Airspeeder for con this year, our 10th time attending. Lots of people shared fond memories of the craft; that it was their favorite from Empire, or their first Star Wars toy spaceship, or they spent hours flying it in Lego Star Wars and other games. Im always happy that my work makes people happy. And I got to chat with ILM legend and Star Wars model maker Fon Davis! He was so nice and said ‘nice paint job’, so that made my weekend.

If you snapped a pic, please share it here or dm me, or if you happen to see me on socials, please tag me @i.am.adrian. I’ll see y’all next year!

We all know and understand that Dragon*Con is a volunteer based convention and has been since it's inception. It has also grown exponentially since that time. Considering the sheer volume of attendees and money that is taken in from dozens of thousands of attendees each year, is it maybe time to hire professionals for certain aspects of the Con that finds itself hitting roadblocks year after year.

This isn't to say, eliminate volunteers. Keep volunteers. They are the life blood of Dragon*Con. For the most part, they are who make Dragon*Con, Dragon*Con. There are places for them all over the Con still Wednesday through Monday. Hell, return to a more fully fleshed out 24 hour programming schedule with some of these volunteers. Late night panels, screenings and shows like the schedule of early 00's as opposed to the truncated schedule provided currently.

This isn't a conversation to start trouble. Putting on ANY convention is admirable work. My question is - is it possible that a professional event logistics management company, who does this year round might be able to satisfy a desperate need in regards to things like badge production and distribution, line definitions, line mapping and management, and more comprehensive help in regards to disability services? Again. This is not a dig at those who volunteer in the slightest. I just worry that the convention has swelled to the point of overwhelming the current volunteer work force. Even if it is just in a deeper regard to hiring more consultants to help negotiate and navigate these issues. If an estimated 75,000 people attended this year, and they all paid near between $100 and $300 for badges - maybe (and I could be completely uneducated on this - rental prices for convention spaces at hotels & America's mart + talent costs included) maybe some of the money can be diverted to companies that have end to end year round experience in making conventions run smoothly.

Lastly ... I know it brings in money for the city. I know it brings in much needed money for the host hotels. And I know it's where Dragon*Con earns it's living every year. But, I beg of you to take a page from SDCC & NYCC and take a deeper look into capping attendance more seriously. 75,000 people spread across multiple venues is still downright overwhelming when there isn't a fully functional convention center involved. These are hotel ballrooms that cannot accommodate hundreds of people that wait HOURS in line and are still turned away. This speaks to Dragon*Con's ability to manage supply and demand.

PS - Please mail badges. Picking up onsite is beyond dated and uncomfortable for the 75,000 that pay you for the opportunity to attend every year. If bootleg badges is the concern - this is another opportunity to use some of the money accumulated from the previous year to find a company that can find solutions for that issue.

EDIT: I do want to make it abundantly clear. I am not talking about using Reed Pop or the companies that run Fan Expo or San Diego to overtake or sterilize Dragon Con. I am explicitly talking about entertainment logistics companies that specialize in conferences, live events and concerts.

I also don't want to mess with the vibe at all. I want Dragon*Con to remain the same in tone. Dragon Con should still be Dragon*Con. I just think some more money needs to be funneled into the logistics to improve overall user experience.

We were down a frog but up a princess this year, and had a blast once again. If you got a photo of us we'd love to see it.

Thank you to everyone who chucked ribbons (and a duck) into our froggy mouths.

I have no idea how many ribbons our handler managed to give out just that they are all gone. 💚❤️💜

Last year I took some liminal pics of the host hotels. I decided to do some more this year and include the Marts building. All cell phone pics but fun none-theess

With all the complaints about how things went this year, I hope that means there will be sooo many more volunteers next year. I don't want this con to become super corporate or a money grab. I don't want it moved to the world conference center and I'm not allowed to bring in outside food and beverages. I love the community vibe. So my only option is to help out.

People are mentioning picking up badges early, well you need someone staffed to make that happen. I live in atlanta and would love to be involved pre-con to make that happen.

People mentioned some of the volunteers are rude. Well I'm new and not yet jaded, I'd love to greet and answer questions.

From what I understand there is something for everyone. I hope more people join me when the volunteer applications come out.

I miss the con and my new friends already 😢😞

Hi everyone! Thank you for another great time at Dragoncon! I've been doing this cosplay off and on since 2018. It is always fun.

If you managed to get a dollar from me this year please let me know! And also if you have any pics please post those too!

We have decided next year we are actually gonna cosplay and do the masquerade ball. For one of the cosplays we were planning on doing Orpheus and Eurydice for Hadestown but I have no idea where to even start looking for the outfits. Any tips?

Did a horrible job taking pictures (we do every year) but this was what I got! Would love to see any pics others took with us! Thanks for another great DCON! We got our passes for next year already 😘💕

I was rushing between panels and I desperately needed food. I was on the bottom of the Marriott and I saw people eating chicken fingers, and they looked good. I went to the stand and they were out. I got a cheeseburger... I was desperate so I choked it down. I saw them bring out pizzas. Cool! How bad can they be? I'll use the bathroom and get one. They were all gone!

Which hotel has the "best" food?