Dragon*Con was my first convention, almost two decades ago now, and I was dazzled (and a bit stressed) by the vast number of people. It was fun to stand on the balcony and watch all the cosplayers milling about below. But Atlanta was a bit daunting--we had driven down and got there too late to get any dinner, so we ended up in a Hard Rock Cafe, which was just "wonderful" for our head-aches. We also got approached by a guy purporting to give directions but who was probably shaking us down for money.
We had met a group of our online friends there, and the next night we went to a pirate-themed restaurant for dinner--the place was a ship built indoors, with a moat full of alligators! Thank God we had chartered a bus to get us from the hotel to the venue because driving in Atlanta was a mind-boggling ant farm of traffic. The bus driver was confident, though...remember the scene on The Knight Bus from "Harry potter"--? It was kind of like that.
I've been to Anthrocon a couple of times now, and it can look empty even when it's busting with people. That's weird. Maybe I'm just not in the places where all those furries are hanging out.
Smaller conventions can be fun, too, but my own personal opinion is that if you've been to one con, you've kind of been to them all. Same vendors, same set-ups, same general vibe. It's the people who make the con-going experience fun.
Oh, and getting to wear a costume on a day other than Halloween.
Dragon*Con was my first convention, almost two decades ago now, and I was dazzled (and a bit stressed) by the vast number of people. It was fun to stand on the balcony and watch all the cosplayers milling about below. But Atlanta was a bit daunting--we had driven down and got there too late to get any dinner, so we ended up in a Hard Rock Cafe, which was just "wonderful" for our head-aches. We also got approached by a guy purporting to give directions but who was probably shaking us down for money.
We had met a group of our online friends there, and the next night we went to a pirate-themed restaurant for dinner--the place was a ship built indoors, with a moat full of alligators! Thank God we had chartered a bus to get us from the hotel to the venue because driving in Atlanta was a mind-boggling ant farm of traffic. The bus driver was confident, though...remember the scene on The Knight Bus from "Harry potter"--? It was kind of like that.
I've been to Anthrocon a couple of times now, and it can look empty even when it's busting with people. That's weird. Maybe I'm just not in the places where all those furries are hanging out.
Smaller conventions can be fun, too, but my own personal opinion is that if you've been to one con, you've kind of been to them all. Same vendors, same set-ups, same general vibe. It's the people who make the con-going experience fun.
Oh, and getting to wear a costume on a day other than Halloween.