Are you a first timer to Dragon Con or is this your 15th year of attending? Do you know everything there is to know about Dragon Con? I’m going to guess not, well, maybe if it’s your 15th year you will have a good deal of knowledge about things but there still might be some things you don’t know about, maybe. If you know everything I’ve listed and you know of other things, then please feel free to let me know what I have missed. I like learning new things about Dragon Con, especially when it’s helpful and fun.
Which this is what I’m going to try to tell you about now, fun and useful tips while you attend Dragon Con. This is going to be places that you can go to that might not be well known, places where you can get a quick free snack, or just how to get from one hotel to the other without walking on the streets. This is the information that takes you a little further into being at Dragon Con that don’t include the the big things like the Walk of Fame, panels, or vendors.
First thing to have handy are the host hotel phone numbers and addresses when visiting Dragon Con.
Westin 404-659-1400 210 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Hilton 404-659-2000 255 Courtland St NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Marriott Marquis 404-521-0000 265 Peachtree Center Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Hyatt Regency 404-577-1234 265 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Courtland Grand 404-659-6500 165 Courtland St NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Here are some good tips about the host hotels when you are staying in them or just walking through them.
1) Skywalks/skybridges connect the 3 main hotels, Hilton-Marriott Marquis-Hyatt Regency and they are a good way to get from hotel to hotel, for the most part. There will be times that the skywalks/skybridges will be super packed with people that make getting from one hotel to the other very slow and hot.
A) If it’s raining out, then you might not want to think about taking the skywalks/skybridges unless you absolutely have to take them. When it’s raining the skywalks/skybridges will fill up very fast with people that can’t walk in the rain due to their reasons and because of this you will have to spend a longer time getting through them.
a) Try not to stop while in the skywalks/skybridges. There will be a lot of people in these very close and tight areas and we are all hot and have places to be, but I also understand that there are things that might make you want to stop for. There’s the cardboard standup cutout that people like to decorate and get photos of, I enjoy it as well, but get your camera out and ready to take a moving pic. You won’t be going at a run or job when in these skywalks/skybridges so you can easily just snap a quick pic while you continue to walk.
b) Another spot that gets clogged with traffic is the enter/exit area at the Marriott Marquis skywalk/skybridge. There is a room where the droids are being their droidy selves, rolling about the floor getting pics with people and beeping/booping their joy. Here’s the problem though, this room is right at the enterance/exit to the skywalk/skybridge and when people see the droids they want to stop to get pics. If you want to do this, cool, but do it by going into the room to get out of the way of the traffic. You can get back in the lines like you never exited them.
c) At the Hilton entrance/exit for the skywalk/skybridge there is a ramp for handicap access that does a winding incline/decline. The turns in the ramp are sharp square lines, not a curved turn. This may make some larger transportation, like larger scooters, harder or maybe not possible for them to navigate the ramp. I am not someone with full knowledge, I’m going off of what I’ve seen when visiting, so maybe they are better than I think and I’ve only see a few having trouble with the turns. But, I want to let you know that it has sharp turns.
d) Speaking of handicap entrances, the one for the Westin is not on the Peachtree St entrance but instead on the side of the building at Andrew Young International Blvd NE. You should see a sign on the building directing you where to go.
e) If you are wanting something to eat, you can get to the food court by taking the left side of the skywalks/skybridge in the Marriott Marquis when you are using it to get to the Hyatt Regency. Going to the right of the entrance in the Marriott Marquis will take you to the Hyatt Regency.
If you need a map for the skywalks/skybridge locations in the hotels, I would advise downloading the mobile app that Dragon Con has, it is very informative. But just in case, I also attached the images I did a screen grab of from the Dragon Con app.
2) Eating Locations. Getting food while at Dragon Con can be easy (maybe not quick) and cheap (cheaper than a sit down place inside the hotels), and it’s close to where you will be at. The Hub at Peachtree Center has a food court, as well as shops, for every Dragon Con attendees needs. Here is a list of the restaurants that are in the Hub food court
-
-
-
- Aviva by Kameel
- Beni’s Cubano
- Breeze Bakery
- Bulgogi
- Café Momo
- Caribou Coffee
- Chick-fil-A (closed on Sunday)
- Dairy Queen
- Farmer’s Basket
- Firehouse Subs
- Gibney’s Pub (this can also be entered from the street Peachtree Center Ave NE)
- Great Wraps Grille/T.J.’s Subs
- Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken (this can also be entered from the street Peachtree Center Ave NE)*this is very spicy chicken but some really good chicken*
- Jersey Mike’s
- Kumo Ramen
- Last Stop Snack Shop
- Noodle Café
- Planet Smoothie
- Roman Delight Pizza
- Saigon Bites
- Salata
- Tin Lizzy’s (this can also be entered from the street Andrew Young International NE)
- Willy’s Mexicana Grill
- Yami Yami
-
-
3) Free food and drink (non alcoholic and snacks) are offered from Dragon Con for anyone that need them. First thing you need to know is that this room is being worked by volunteers and they put a lot of work and effort into giving people some snacks and drinks while at Dragon Con, so be thoughtful and polite, and clean up after yourself.
A) With that in mind, here is how you get to the Con Suite. It is located on the second floor of the Hyatt in rooms 223-226. When you are in the main lobby of the Hyatt Regency, just look up to the second floor, you will see the people hanging our with cups and maybe popcorn, that’s the suite. The Con Suite provides free food and non-alcoholic beverages to any and all guests, members and volunteers, and I would imagine any service animal that wants to walk in. From my understanding the hours are Friday until Monday, I’m not sure if it’s 24 hours during those days but I have went in there at 2/3AM and there were volunteers working it giving me snacks and drinks.
4) Get me away from from people for a minute. If you need a place to sit that’s away from the main hubbub, then the Hilton offers some locations for you. There are lounges on the upper floors that offer some moments of quiet and calmness that you won’t get while in the main lobbies. Still, these areas are not 100% going to be empty or quiet. People do know about these locations and hold photo shoots there and even games are being played there. These locations are located on floors 5, 12, and 19.
5) Old carpet still exists. Do you miss seeing the old carpet of the Mariott Marquis or you don’t understand why so many people are wearing/holding/talking about the carpet? Well, you can still see the original carpet without it being made from a print or from someone that raided the dumpster when it was torn out. First thing to know is you need to be polite and you need to ask for permission, just don’t go and do it. That is asking permission from the Mariott workers at the desk if you can look at the carpet. Behind the desk there is a hallway that still has the original carpet on the floor. If you are nice and don’t get in the way of the workers, they will let you back there to take some pics.
6) The lions guard the steps. Another fun location to look at things are the steps beside the entrance to the Marriott on Peachtree Center Ave NE. They are impossible to miss if you are walking on that street because there will be a lot of people sitting on the steps. It’s a good place to relax, get some air, and still people watch while not being crowded in a lobby.
7) Medication and stuff. If you are in a need for medication, drinks, or something more than what you can get in a hotel lobby, then there is the CVS Pharmacy located on Peachtree St. You can get to it from the street or if you are in the Hub food court you can get to it from there.
8) Ribbons, ribbons, and more ribbons, what’s with all the ribbons? If you are walking around Dragon Con you will be seeing people with ribbons attached to their badges. Some of them have so many that they can stand 3 or 4 floors up and drape them over the edge to reach the first floor. The ribbons are some serious business for some but they are a lot of fun to get. Why do it? Why not, it’s fun and free (well free to the ones being given the ribbons, for the ones who brought the ribbons, they cost money, and depending on how many they ordered, could be in the hundreds of dollars for them so be nice and say thank you if they give you one and if you don’t want it, say no thanks and let someone else have it who will want it). There are meetup groups for trading ribbons but if you don’t want to go to a meetup or miss it, you can basically stand in place and you will eventually get a ribbon.
9) DC TV. Oh this is such a great thing to have. If you are in a host hotel then you have the advantage of having DC TV. That is Dragon Con Television. If you don’t feel like going to that early panel with all the big celebrities, then you can most likely catch it live on DC TV, or a replay of it. Did you have too much fun Friday night and didn’t go to bed until 4am and you wake up at 9:50am but there is no time to get down to the parade to get a good spot? DC TV will broadcast the parade live so just hang out in the host hotel room and you will get to see it.
10) Thursday night has live wrestling. This is held only the one time on the one night of Thursday in the Hyatt Centennial Ballroom II-III. I’m not sure what time it starts, I’ve only been to it once and it was already in the middle of happening. If you get the app you can find the exact time of when this event happens.
11) Something to watch. If you want to watch a movie than there are usually all day/night movies being played. To know where, when, and what movies there are, you will need to look them up on the app.
12) Look at all the fishies. There is also the Dragon Con Night at Georgia Aquarium that is a lot of fun. If you’ve never been to the aquarium, you should go because it’s amazing. If you have been to the aquarium but it was not during Dragon Con, then you should go to it during Dragon Con night. It’s so fun and amazing seeing all the people at the aquarium dressed in cosplay as they are looking at the animals.
A) Important to know, you have to buy a ticket to get in. It is not free and you Dragon Con badge does not allow entry. Here are the rules.
1) Guests have the option to buy General Admission or VIP Admission.
2) Dragon Con badge lanyards are not accepted for admission.
3) Dragon Con has a clear no weapons policy that will be enforced. Click here for rules.
4) Food court open from 7:00pm-9:00pm
5) Cash bars open from 7:00pm-10:00pm
6) There will be tight security scanning and bag checks for all guests
7) No gum – no lighters – no pocketknives
8) No changing room or bag storage available
13) Costumes, no, not the cosplay, but yes, the cosplay without the people though. There is a room, I’m not sure which room it is in because it has moved to different rooms, but there is a room that will have on display some costumes that people have made. These are some extraordinary works of art in the costume area that deserves to be put on display. I have seen some costumes that look better than anything I’ve seen drawn or in a movie. If costumes are something you like to look at, then ask about the costume display room.
14) Do you have some blood to spare? If so, then take part in the Dragon Con blood drive. It happens every day of the con, I would advise going at a time that you know you can do it without getting too weak and tired or missing something cause you were woozy. If you do give blood then you will be given a free special Dragon Con t-shirt that can only be obtained by giving blood, and some snacks. Here are the hours.
-
-
-
- Wednesday 11A-5P
- Thursday 10A-7P
- Friday 10A-7P
- Saturday 10A-7P
- Sunday 10A-7P
- Monday 9A-3P
-
-
15) Speaking of giving, Dragon Con is does a great job at raising money for charities. Each year they pick a new charity to give money raised from the fans. It’s a great thing and it has helped a lot of people over the years. I will not attempt to explain everything that there is about the charities but instead I will post the link to the Dragon Con site so you can read an official and in detail about what you would need to know.
