Dragon Con 2013 - Friday

Me and Kathy Najimy

In year’s past, we would drive down early on Thursday so we’d be able to get our badges. But since I have been working from home, I don’t have any vacation time. So I worked on Thursday until 3:30 pm and we left after that.

Last year we did the same thing and made it through the pre-reg line in about ten minutes. We hoped for the same this year, especially since I was on a panel at 10 am.  We got in line about 8:30 am and it was wrapped all the way around the Sheraton. I was worried that we wouldn't make it through in time to get to my panel.

Thankfully the line moved pretty fast and we made it inside after about 45 minutes. The line for pre-reg was really short and we just had to go through the queues. We made it out in plenty of time and hustled over to the Marriott for my panel.

I made it in time for the Princess, Fairies, and Pirates panel which was through the Kaleidoscope track. It was basically an all things Disney panel. I was one of the panelists and we all had a great time taking Disney with a packed room.

From there, Todd came with me to the Sheraton. I was supposed to take part in a Disney photo shoot since I was cosplaying as Snow White that day. I got my parade wristband while we were there, and then I started feeling really lightheaded. I hadn't eaten all day and I knew that I needed to get food.

We headed back to the food court and got lunch. It’s always fun to just sit and rest in the food court while people watching. By the time we were done, it was about an hour before the dealer’s room and Walk of Fame would be open. So I opted to give blood.

I have very small veins, so some years are more difficult than others to give blood. This year was one of the smoothest. The person got it in without any issues and it didn't take long for my bag o’ blood to fill up. I got my snack afterwards and my t-shirt (which I lost somewhere), and met up with Todd.

We headed to the Walk of Fame which is where all the celebrities do autographs and pictures. We did a walk through and figured out who was there and which autographs we wanted. My first autograph was Sylvester McCoy who was one of the Doctors in Doctor Who as well as being Radagast the Brown. He was very nice.

Todd got some autographs and we headed over to the dealer’s room. This was in a whole different building this year, now in the America’s Mart. I had hopes it would be less crowded, and in some ways it was, but the layout was really confusing. I found what I needed for my Kaylee costume right away and got to sniff some BPAL. I also got a few other things like a stuffed Luna for Emily. But we had some issues finding the exit when we were ready to leave.

We went back to the Walk of Fame and got the rest of our autographs. I got my picture with Kathy Najimy and the actor who plays Hershel on The Walking Dead. I got the rest of the Hobbit guests autograph my Hobbit poster. Todd got a couple of the Walking Dead guests and Adrian Paul. Everyone was very nice.

It was really crowded on Friday, more so than usual. So I opted not to do anymore panels. We got some supper in the food court and then headed back to my aunt and uncle’s house. I was pretty beat from all the running around and I had been woken up early by my small child. Plus we were going to have an early day with the parade on Saturday.