I think this is the end of DragonCon for us. This year was TERRIBLE.
We got Saturday passes only, since we just wanted to shop and get a couple of autographs.
WELP. That was a bust. The line to get into the Mart was 2+ hrs. It was doubled up on the sidewalks, wrapped around the building several times AND serpentined through the loading dock.
Needless to say, we did not get in.
We did not get to see our vendor friends that we only get to see at Con. We did not get to shop. We did not get to see our comics and author pals. Nothing.
DragonCon is notorious for overselling. The owner is a money grubbing asshole who does not give a single shit about the con, only the money he makes from it. He does not care about vendors, guests or attendees. If this convention cared, it would not be the dumpster fire that it is. As I’ve stated before, it must be nice to have a business that makes MILLIONS with no staff.
When people complain, the standard con response is “oh, well, we do the best we can!” Right.
Well, people are certainly complaining now. There are several forums/groups that are chock full of vendors, guests and attendees who are vociferously complaining about the shitshow that we witnessed this year. I hear it was the same last year – we skipped, so we were unprepared.
Not only is it unpleasant and unsafe for guests, the vendors that must load-in and -out of this con spend pretty much a whole day just waiting to get into the dock.
It is perfectly clear that putting comics, pop art, vendors and authors all in the same building is not working. This convention needs to spread out these tracks like it used to be, in order to have more access for the attendees. But even with that, this convention needs to have a cap that is not whatever it is now. I’ve heard 80k, and I think that’s about 20k too many people. Every single area was overcrowded.
When the bulk of the con is either walking, standing in 90 degree heat in a line or dodging projectiles thrown by drunk people, that is not much of a con. Panels were pretty much inaccessible as well, with lines wrapping around the hotels. On top of that, the Walk of Fame (that is now run by a third party) has become too pricey for most people. $60 for an autograph from a NOT FAMOUS person outside one show is pretty fucking ridiculous. It was $40 2 yrs ago.
In the Olden Days™ (pre 2010s), the con was bustling and there were crowds, sure, but not like this. Also, we RARELY had fighting, people throwing projectiles from hotel balconies and other such jackassery. In all our years of going, we only saw one blackout drunk guy throw a beer bottle from the second floor of the Hyatt. That’s IT.
This convention refuses to hire security or any other needed staff, which is the main issue. When you cram 80k people together, you fucking need REAL security, not some con slave with a radio. DUH. This seems pretty obvious to me. But staff is not hired because the owner is a money grubbing ASSHOLE (as previously mentioned). Hells bells, they won’t even fund a proper green room for celebrities! They feed them hotdogs and other junk because “there’s no money” for a properly catered room. BULLSHIT. I’d be ashamed to run a multimillion dollar convention and have such a shitty green room!
I am so disappointed in this convention. It used to be our big event of the year. People go now just to stay in their rooms and party. That is NOT why I go to cons! I want to see the panels! I want to shop! I want to be able to afford getting the whole SNW cast to sign our poster. But DragonCon is not interested in doing any of that. I can stay home and party with friends. I don’t need a $500/nt hotel room for that.
So, I guess we’re done. I am really sad about that. But so many of our friends have already stopped attending, it’s not like we see THEM there, anyway. Sigh. I tell you, if they limit ticket sales and fix the logistical issues, we might consider attending again, but I seriously doubt anything will change. What would help is that if you are a vendor/author/artist and are sick of this shit, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING. Go to the groups/forums and BITCH. It might encourage this convention to fix its shit. Other conventions can manage it, why not this one? (Answer: GREED)