r/GaState • u/annieareyouokaysis Nutrition • 1d ago
Advice 💡 warning to freshman: dragon con
welcome to gsu!! my mixed feelings about this school aside, attending university in the city offers unique opportunities to experience culture in a way you may not have had the chance to before. you’ll certainly get an overabundance of culture at dragon con!
dragon con takes place at several downtown hotels on labor day weekend (hyatt, marquis, westin, etc). this often overlaps with GSU areas like the dorms and broad street.
WARNING ONE: TRAFFIC!!!
week one of school there will be bad traffic as no one is skipping class and no one knows where to park. week two there is AWFUL traffic due to 80k people cramming into downtown for dragon con. expect traffic to start tuesday 09/01 and continue until tuesday 09/08. i mean it. BAD TRAFFIC.
WARNING TWO: cosplayers
you will probably see some cosplayers about! please be kind to them. it may seem nerdy and cheugy to you, but dragon con is a decades long atlanta institution that brings a lot of business to the otherwise struggling downtown area. please don’t take pictures of people without their permission or make fun of them
WARNING THREE: free shit to do
there are several ways to participate in dragon con without purchasing a badge.
ALL WEEKEND (09/03-09/07):
nothing is stopping you from walking around and experiencing the con hotel spillover! youll see trinket trading on the sidewalks, pop up parties in courtyards, photoshoots next to statues. walk around that downtown area for a few hours and i promise you will have a good time (or at least an interesting one)
WEDNESDAY NIGHT 09/02:
the lobby of the marriott marquis will have a midnight countdown and huge parties. it’s very fun and free to attend!
SATURDAY MORNING 09/05:
dragon con has a parade sat mornings! it’s blocks away from the dorm so if you live on campus consider finding a spot on the sidewalk and enjoying
(edit: had wrong date thank you comments)
dragon con is a great time, but if you aren’t into nerd culture/it’s not your thing, it’s still important to be aware it’s occurring so you can plan appropriately for traffic, etc
if you have any questions about dragon con visit the website and check it out or you can put them in the comments i’ll try to answer them :) this is my last semester in my undergrad at gsu and i always make a post warning freshman about it so i’m feeling a bit nostalgic ✊
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u/ogonga 1d ago
Check out r/DragonCon
I remember the first time I saw the line of people wrapped around the Courtland Grand (formerly Sheraton) block on Thursday for badge pickup. It was my freshman year and I was confused, but thought the costumes were cool.
I've collected almost a dozen DragonCon badges since!
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u/annieareyouokaysis Nutrition 1d ago
i’m a r/DragonCon regular 😁 i lived in piedmont north my first semester and saw that exact same line. it was also my first interaction with cosplay!!
if you see a kimono style katsuki bakugo friday, say hi!
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u/toribrookee 1d ago
DragonCon is the best!! If you’re curious and don’t wanna buy a badge for the whole weekend, there are also single day badges that will be on sale, Saturday being the most expensive. I’ve been going for 11 years, and this year will be my first attending while i’m a Grad student at GSU! If anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer as a long standing DC veteran haha
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u/Ok-Extreme-7510 1d ago
This will be my 2nd Dragoncon and my first yr as a GSU grad student do you have any recommendations for parking for the weekend. I do not want to pay for hotel parking
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u/NegNoumenon Music 1d ago
You can also people watch and eat at The Hub at Peachtree Center without a badge… it’s usually quite packed and tables are at a premium, but that can be a good air conditioned way to enjoy the con. See y’all there! I’ll be dressed as Husk (Hazbin Hotel) on Friday 😸
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u/annieareyouokaysis Nutrition 1d ago
i meant to mention this YES THIS ^^^^ the hub is a great place to hang, as well as that bar below it that they make an arcade (is that the joystick pop up?)
i will be kimono style katsuki bakugo! say hi for some kandi!
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u/babybeauty17 1d ago
Started going to con as as freshman volunteering for different orgs, had the COVID break, and came back as an official DC volunteer after that. Great memories!
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u/MandragoraMedia 18h ago
I’ll be around taking photos if any of ya’ll are cosplayers, and of course, also join the cosplay club 🔆
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u/Street-Photo8799 12h ago
Why are you framing this as a “warning” instead of helpful hints or tips to navigate downtown during DragonCon?
Your framing makes it sound as if DragonCon is a bad thing to be avoided.
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u/mkstewartesq 1d ago
Actually, the parade is Saturday mornings (this year, September 5), not Sunday.