Jim at Dragon*Con 2010

[kulfi]

OK, not so much into the costumes or RPG, but I live only an hour away and would REALLY like to see Jim Butcher if he is speaking and/or get my copy of Changes signed (and now I guess I am glad that Amazon and the Kindle People screwed me and I have the hardback).  So, to reiterate the request in the above post, what exactly is Jim scheduled to do at D*C? 

And I have never been to D*C, as I generally keep my SF&F on the DL, but 75K people!  Holy Moly! 

[Holocron.Coder]

Anybody know what Mr. Butcher will be doing at Dragon*Con?

[llwaynest]

The schedule will be posted about a week before the con athttp://www.dragoncon.org/. I'm guessing the Dark Fantasy track? Heck, IIRC he was at the Goth track the last time he was there.

[Yeratel]

The friend I was going with to Dragon*Con has had some unexpected family expenses that ate up the travel budget, and will not be able to attend. She has already paid for her membership credentials, and while these are non-refundable, they are transferrable, per Dragon*Con policy:
Refund/Transfer Policy
We do not offer refunds for memberships. If you can't attend Dragon*Con after you've pre-registered you may transfer your membership to another person. This notice of transfer must be in writing and have the signatures of both the original member and the new member.

There will be a $20 transfer fee.

If anybody is interested, she's offering her membership for $20, plus the $20 transfer fee to Dragon*Con, a total of $40. Original cost through Dragon*Con was $80, the current cost is $90, and after July 19 it will be $100.
Note that this is just for attendance to the Con, it doesn't include hotel or meals. If anyone is interested, PM me to work out the transfer.

[Dame]

Hello All,

New  here, and I blame it on the roomie.  Been a sci-fi geek and gamer for 30 years, but just got started on Jim's books. Almost caught up with the series, only one more book to go, woot! As such, I have been to Dragon, and many other cons besides.  For those that have never been to Dragon, but have been to other cons, be aware that this is the largest con for this type of thing almost anywhere. It takes up three full host hotels, with overflow hotels for those who can't get reservations in the main hotels, and by now it is too late to be in the main hotels...it is massive!  If you are new to cons in general this is not the con to make your first because you will get lost in the tidal wave of humanity...unless you have experienced con goers with you. Someone said earlier in the topic that no one dresses for Dragon, they were being sarcastic.  Bring your camera and plenty of memory, or a lappy to dump the pictures to. Be prepared to stint your sleep, as you won't want to miss a thing, and even then you will miss more than you will see. Have fun, be safe, and like was said before...try not to drink too much!

Sincerely

Dame, Mistress of the Newbs

Edited to correct typo

[llwaynest]

Actually rooms will be harder to come by now because two of the satellite hotels have been sold to Georgia State University and anyone planning to stay there are SOL. They are now university housing. This will be my 10th year attending. My best piece of advice is plan ahead.

Download the schedule asap and sort out what you want to see accordingly. Plan on standing in line to the bigger panels for at least an hour. If you really want to see someone like, Adam Savage, leave the hour to hour and a half prior to the start of his panel free for standing in line. Otherwise you probably won't get in.

Hubby and I print the schedule as soon as it's available and then color highlight three things for every time period. We also block out time for food. (We have eaten breakfast and dinner in line, otherwise we wouldn't have seen Nimoy, Shatner and Savage last year)

Lines will be long so patience and preplanning is a must. Jim drew a fairly large crowd last time and it was SRO. Hopefully he will get a larger room this year.

D*C clears rooms between panels and starts lining up once the next panel starts. Except for panels at the Hyatt in Centennial ll and lll. They have been known to line up two panels in advance because they can stick the lines outside and wrap them around the hotel.

D*C also puts out a daily newsletter called the Daily Dragon that lists any schedule or room changes. I think they are also on twitter so you can get updated electronically.

That's all I can think of for now, if I can think of any other tips, I'll let y'all know.

Leslie

[Stiletto]

That sounds....completely crazy.  Um, which hotels were sold? Heh...really thinking we should transfer our memberships and go to the beach, instead. 

[Yeratel]

Maybe the hotels are just sold out of rooms they're willing to let go at the Con rate. I got a reservation at the Sheraton Atlanta, one of the Dragon*Con core hotels, last week using some of my Skymiles. I'm glad I didn't have to pay cash, though, because it would have run over $900 for the whole Con weekend.

[geminigrey]

If you haven't been to Dragon*Con before, I would highly recommend it, at least once.  The only event that I know of that rivals it that I've been to is Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  The official numbers report around 40,000 people, and I think they've started having to move some of the tracks to the Westin, making it take up something like 5 hotels.  (The actual numbers are probably more like 60 or 70 thousand, but that's another story...)

Do yourself a favor, and google 'Guide to Dragoncon', and take notes.  The programming guide won't come out until about a week before D*C, so be prepared to break out your highlighter and/or Excel to try and figure out how much you can cram into the weekend. 

I find myself scrabbling to make a Dresden costume here at the semi-last minute, and I'm already dreading the southern heat in September wearing a duster.  Ah well, it's for a good cause, right?

[llwaynest]

That sounds....completely crazy.  Um, which hotels were sold? Heh...really thinking we should transfer our memberships and go to the beach, instead. 

The Baymont and the Wyndham. They are now property of the great state of Georgia.

[Stiletto]

The Baymont and the Wyndham. They are now property of the great state of Georgia.

Hrrrm. And now I can't even remember which hotel we had reservations at. Definitely a good sign.  

Ah, found it on my email. The Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel. So I guess we're OK. It looks like it would be walking distance from the various conference hotels, < 1 mile. But is downtown Atlanta safe to walk around at night? (Assuming I am accompanied by a big strong guy, and would not walk alone, that is.)

[Yeratel]

Hrrrm. And now I can't even remember which hotel we had reservations at. Definitely a good sign.  

Ah, found it on my email. The Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel. So I guess we're OK. It looks like it would be walking distance from the various conference hotels, < 1 mile. But is downtown Atlanta safe to walk around at night? (Assuming I am accompanied by a big strong guy, and would not walk alone, that is.)

You'll probably be surrounded by Jedi Knights and Storm Troopers, so you should be safe enough. 

[Stiletto]

Any takes on how long the lines will be for Jim's things...? From the DragonCon site, it sounded like the actors' panels will be the worst. From that, I'm optimistically hoping the lines won't be so bad for author's panels? I'm really thinking of hitting just JB's panels, and Brandon Sanderson's. Ok.....maybe James Marsters' too, cause...yum.  And then hang out in the hotel pool and tour Atlanta.  I think I could survive crowds for that long.

[misterblueyes]

I am new here and not sure if this is the right place to ask this question.

Does anyone know if Jim is going to be in the parade at Dragon Con??? If he hasn't decided yet, I can tell you that we have a blast!!!! I would LOVE to see Jim and Shannonin it. I am headed over the the yahoo group for the DC parade to find out if anyone is going as Harry Dresden.

I am going in Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter group.  I wish there was a way I could go in BOTH groups if Jim is going!!!LOL I can't believe that BOTH of my favorite authors AND James Marsters are going to be there!!! Talk about "Died and gone to heaven!!!!" That's where I will be!!!

Let me know if anyone knows if he is in the parade. If not,

LET'S CONVINCE HIM!!!!!

Blessings,
Diana

[llwaynest]

Hrrrm. And now I can't even remember which hotel we had reservations at. Definitely a good sign.  

Ah, found it on my email. The Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel. So I guess we're OK. It looks like it would be walking distance from the various conference hotels, < 1 mile. But is downtown Atlanta safe to walk around at night? (Assuming I am accompanied by a big strong guy, and would not walk alone, that is.)

The area around the Con is really pretty safe during the Con. I have stayed at the Days Inn with two fifteen year olds and we never had a problem walking back and forth. (except for panhandlers) I was always with the girls and we were approached once, but he backed off when I went all mama-bear on his scrawny ass.

Any takes on how long the lines will be for Jim's things...? From the DragonCon site, it sounded like the actors' panels will be the worst. From that, I'm optimistically hoping the lines won't be so bad for author's panels? I'm really thinking of hitting just JB's panels, and Brandon Sanderson's. Ok.....maybe James Marsters' too, cause...yum.  And then hang out in the hotel pool and tour Atlanta.  I think I could survive crowds for that long.

Jim's panels will probably have some of the smaller lines, but I'm sure he will also be in a smaller room. As I posted earlier, I hope he gets a larger room this year. Marsters' panels will be fairly big, but he usually gets one of the larger rooms and it's not a real problem like it was a few years back. I would suggest the Buffy Horror Picture Show and Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, but you do have to line up early for those. Last year they had two showings of each one. Since Whedon track is rumored to be at the Westin this year, I have no idea what the rooms will be like. You might also consider the Dragon*Con at the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday night for an additional $17. My current screen saver is a great shot of Sleeping Beauty and two of her fairy godmothers in front of one of the fish tanks. Just check the schedule to make sure there isn't anything else going on you would rather do.

I don't know if Jim will be at the authors table, but there is one where authors sit for awhile and sign autographs and talk to the peeps...free. The schedule for that will probably be posted in the Daily Dragon. (Sanderson may do that as well)