Dragon Con is Coming - Some Helpful Advice Before the Con!

Dragon Con is about a month away and since I'm in 10+ Dragon Con groups on Facebook, my feed has been all Dragon Con, all the time.

This is my 12th Dragon Con so I'm definitely a veteran congoer. So I thought I'd address some of the topics that keep coming up.

1) Sheraton and Legionnaire's Disease

The big news this year is that the Sheraton, one of Dragon Con's host hotels - the one everyone has to go to at least once because that's where badge pickup is - had confirmed cases of Legionnaire's disease. This is understandably freaking people out - especially people with hotel reservations there and disabled folks, since Sheraton is where Disability Services is usually located. 

I've seen the same news posts shared over a dozen times, and even in the last few days people are posting like it's new. This has been going on for a few weeks - if anyone scrolled in just about any of the Dragon Con groups they'd see a post about it.

Unfortunately all any of us can do is wait and see. Supposedly, they are cleaning it up as we speak and say that it should only be closed until August 11th. Freaking out isn't going to help anyone and posting the same information over and over is annoying.

2) Dragon Con Parade

I love the Dragon Con Parade! It's one of my all-time favorite things to do at Dragon Con. I sadly had to miss marching in the parade last year since I was recovering from kidney stone surgery. I was at the con, just not up to the parade.

Lots of newbies are apparently discovering the parade and wanting to join in. In years past, this was totally possible. Sadly this is no longer the case.

Parade signups opened on February 15th and the parade was completely full a few hours within signups being open. If you didn't make it in, you went on the wait list. Several months ago, the folks in charge closed the wait list because it was so darn long.

Lots of groups will sign up for spots, and if you miss out, finding a group that will work with your costume that has open spots is the only way to go right now. But as we get closer to the con, those groups will be giving their empty spots back to the parade officials so they can try to get more people off the wait list.

When I realized that I couldn't march last year, I made sure to let the head of the parade know so she could give someone my spot. 

But if you are new to Dragon Con, I highly recommend that you watch the parade at least once. I think it gives you a unique perspective before walking in it yourself. I watched the parade the first couple of years I went to Dragon Con and then I've walked in the parade for many years. I'll be in the Disney section this year cosplaying as Snow White.

3) Selling Badges

Like I said above, I've been going to Dragon Con a long time. In the olden days, you could sell and transfer your badge if there was a reason you couldn't come. But that policy was ended many years ago - I did a quick google search and it looks like 2012 was when they became nontransferable.

But in the last week or so, I've seen several posts in Dragon Con groups asking how to sell a badge because said person could no longer attend for whatever reason. Most of the reasons seem to be because said person couldn't afford it.

I've heard there are some extreme circumstances where Dragon Con let a person move their membership to the next year, but that's like natural disaster stuff. Not "I can't afford it" stuff.

There was one tonight who really didn't like the "you can't" answer that people were giving her. She even brought up the fact that Dragon Con will let you have someone else pick up your badge if they have a note and copy of your id. But that's for like people who have a late flight and can't get to badge pickup while they are open. If you did that and the person just kept the badge, it's a clear violation of Dragon Con's rules.

Dragon Con has made it very clear that anyone caught buying or selling badges will get a lifetime ban to the con. Yeah, it sucks being out of that money, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk being banned for life. This was also why I went to Dragon Con last year a week and a half after I had surgery. 

It's very clear on the terms and conditions that Dragon Con memberships are nontransferable and nonrefundable. If you can't go, I'd email Dragon Con to see if anything can be done. But be prepared to just eat the cost of the badge. Skirting the rules doesn't seem worth it to me.

Beyond these specific things, remember to shower at least once a day, eat a few real meals a day, get some sleep, shower and use deodorant! Drink lots of water because it's hot in Atlanta in August / September. Always follow Wheaton's Law (Don't Be A Dick!) and remember there is no earthly way to see everything Dragon Con has to offer. But have fun!

Dragon Con 2018 - Sunday!

This is the 3rd and final post of my Dragon Con 2018 recaps, to start at the beginning click here!

The Sunday of Dragon Con last year was a special one, because it was Emily's first full day at Dragon Con. She had been begging for several years to go, but because we tend to wait in line a lot at Dragon Con, Todd was hesitant to bring her. Since she was almost 10, we both felt it was time.

We started by getting me into the disability chairs for the Evangeline Lily autograph line. Then Todd and Emily made the trek to the Sheraton to get her badge. We had to wait a while for her to show up - thankfully we had the foresight to have Emily bring her tablet with her.

I was cosplaying as Anna from Frozen while Emily had her Pikachu costume on. She also had her Uma from Descendants shirt on because she wanted to wear it when she met the actress who played Uma.

Once Evangeline Lily arrived we were ushered back to meet her. We got to see Peter Capaldi (the 12th Doctor) since he was in the same area. Evangeline Lily was super sweet, especially to Emily. She had written a children's book and was giving the first one away with every autograph. We bought the 2nd one for Emily.

From there, we went up to the regular Walk of Fame so Emily and I could get our picture with Mandy to me. It was honestly the best celebrity interaction I've ever had!

Catherine Tate, who was awesome. She was super nice to Emily, gave her a free autograph and sang the song

After that, we went to the one place Emily had been dying to go to - the Dealer's Room! We stopped by the BPAL booth and Emily finally got to meet Beth and Ted's daughter, Lilith. Lilith is only a few months older than Emily is and they hit it off right away!

We wandered the dealer's room a while - I honestly don't remember what Emily bought but she got some things. Though the thing she still talks about is how another congoer actually gave her a Pokeball with a tiny stuffed Pikachu in it. She was amazed and very  happy about that!

We got in line for China Anne McClain, who plays Uma, and waited, and waited. After about 15 minutes, I was starting to fade so I asked a volunteer for a chair. They quickly got me one which helped a lot. In the end I think we waited over an hour for her because the time on her table was not correct.

We were about to leave when she finally showed up and we were so glad we stayed. Sadly she wasn't doing table pictures but we got her autograph. She loved Emily's Uma shirt and gave Em a hug and a fist bump. Emily was more than a little starstruck!

Emily and I went to wait in the disability corral for the Catherine Tate panel. She was again, hilarious! We were going to stay for Mikey Mason's concert but after the panel I was completely out of spoons so we headed back to my aunt and uncle's house.

I had a good time at Dragon Con 2018, and I was so grateful for disability services. I would not have made it without all the chairs. I wouldn't recommend having surgery right before con, but I'm glad it worked out in the end.

This year will be better. I'll be back in the parade and Emily will be coming with us on Sunday again!

Thoughts on Fat Thor (Avengers:Endgame Spoilers!)

I've seen Avengers: Endgame twice now - I loved it, and I'll probably go see it again. But I keep seeing posts about the direction that Endgame took Thor. Thor has never been my favorite Avengers but I had some thoughts I thought I'd share.

Spoilers for Endgame - don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled!!

I thought Thor was brilliant and not a joke. It was a bit of shock for sure to see him all fat and drunk, but honestly it made a lot of sense for me.

Thor has had it rough. Both of his parents died, his mother died violently. Seemingly Loki is dead for good this time. Heimdall was murdered in front of him by Thanos, right after Asgard was destroyed with more death, including two of his friends from the Warriors Three.

Thor was struggling in Infinity War, but trying to put a brave face on it. After the Snap, he just fell into the depths of some serious PTSD. And instead of seeking out help, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

Beyond the first scene in new Asgard, no jokes were really made about him. Yeah, Tony make the Big Lewbowski comment, but that was just Tony being Tony. Rocket was not very gentle with him, but Rocket was hyper focused on the mission because he lost everything too.

The scene with Thor and his mom was brilliant, even the "eat a salad" line, because that isn't a joke - it's such a mom thing to say. She was super concerned about him, both mentally and physically.

And then Thor begging to be the one to snap everyone back, just showed how bad his PTSD was. The guilt he had and his overwhelming need to fix it. It showed what a complex character Thor was, and let's be honest, he was a bit one-dimensional in the beginning.

In the end, Thor is still a bit lost. I think him going with the Guardians will be good for him, though may annoy Peter to no end. His fatness was just a symptom of his overwhelming conflicted mental state.

As someone who is fat and has mental illness, I thought he was well done. His teammates didn't mock him, but I'm sure where concerned. 

Scheduling and Children

Things are different now than when I grew up in the 1980's. I remember walking to school in elementary, and it was a bit of a walk. I remember playing outside all day in the summertime. I do remember a lot of days playing on the original NES too, but electronics weren't a prevalent back then. One thing that seems to be overdone these days is extracurricular activities.

Kids are often scheduled with scouts, and sports, and other things to the point that it can make both kids and parents crazy. Add in more kids, and the crazy goes up for the parents. Back in the day, I did play soccer and softball. It wasn't my choice to do those things, because I suck horribly at sports. I also was a Campfire Girl, but that was an activity I loved. But it wasn't too much that I didn't have any free time.

I knew when I had Emily that I wasn't going to over schedule her. She's ten and in the 4th grade. She's in Girl Scouts, chorus at school and involved with choir and youth group at church. All of these activities are things she really enjoys doing. I've asked her if she wants to do a sport, gymnastics or karate and she has said no every time.

With school chorus, I did make her join because she was on the fence. I knew she would love it and she does. Beyond that, I give her the option continue with all of them, and she wants to.

I suppose some would say that I'm not making her well-rounded by not making her do a sport, but I can understand why she doesn't want to. She's just not a sporty girl, and tends to be more interested in the arts - just like I was as a kid.

Even with this little amount of groups she is involved in, it seems like we are constantly on the go during the school year - especially in December and May. I can't imagine if we added more to it.

Last night at Girl Scouts, several other parents and I had a discussion about activities. One said that she is fine with her daughter joining activities but even if she doesn't like it, she has to stick it out for the season. I think this is a good rule to have, especially with sports. Yeah, rec leagues aren't super serious but you could still put your team at a disadvantage if you quit in the middle of the season.

And then another one was talking about being on traveling teams. Apparently there are some teams you can get your kid on and they travel all over. From what they said, it can eat up all of your weekends with traveling to meets. That sounds like a nightmare to me, and completely not doable for our family since both Todd and I work on the weekends.

For now, I think we have a good home-school-activity balance going on for Emily. This summer, she'll have VBS at church and then she'll be going to Girl Scout camp twice. Once for the week and one overnight with me that she earned selling cookies.

Do you think your kids are over-scheduled?

Momo and the Evils of the Internet

So, my Facebook feed has been filled with this really creepy picture of a creature called Momo the last few days. Supposedly, this creature had been spotted in YouTube videos, basically telling kids to self harm and even kill themselves.

To me, it had the feel of a hoax, but I asked Emily about it. She had heard about it but hadn't seen it in any videos she's watched. Though she tends to only watch verified YouTube accounts like DanTM. She mostly watches DanTM, which I don't mind him but Todd finds it annoying.

I asked her what she would do if someone on YouTube, like Momo, told her to commit suicide. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that, of course, she wouldn't listen. I showed her the picture of Momo and she was also unfazed by that. Honestly I was more creeped out by it than she was, to the point that she found a bunch of pictures of Momo on her tablet and kept trying to show them to me to freak me out.

In the midst of this uproar, I've seen posts from other parents that say they aren't going to let their kids watch YouTube anymore. Of course, it's up to them but I think it's an overreaction. I watch a lot of YouTube too, though for me it's mostly Disney World vlogs. There is a lot of great content on YouTube.

But this kind of goes back to the old adage that the internet is evil. Social media, too, is supposedly not a good thing either. I honestly get really tired of hearing both of those. Neither is evil, the internet and social media are really quite neutral. They can be used for good, they can be used for evil, though I do think that different sites and platforms try to keep the evil at bay as best they can.

The internet is an incredible tool. As someone with chronic pain, it allows me to have contact with people even when I'm not able to leave the house (or my bed in some cases). And I don't think there is any reason to keep kids off the internet.

It may be because I only have one kid, but I tend to know exactly what Emily is watching or playing. I've sat through god knows how many unboxing videos on YouTube and I do like watching some of the video game walkthroughs with her. I also let her have her own YouTube channel - I'm the one who puts up her videos. She doesn't have a lot of followers - it's pretty much a couple of my friends and a couple of hers. But she'll film her own walkthroughs and do unboxings. She enjoys it and loves to be able to call herself a YouTuber.

In the end, I think if we keep up with what our kids are watching and playing, and have honest communication with them, things will be ok. Though I'd be happy if I didn't have to see that Momo picture again! It is really creepy!

Disney and the Yearly Price Hikes

Mickey wants your money!

It's a new year so it's time for a price hike from Disney. Disney Parks, especially Disneyland and Walt Disney World are extremely popular vacation destinations for fans of all ages. If you've read this blog before, you'll know that I'm a huge Disney fan and love going to the parks.

The price hikes don't bother me. Yes, it may cause me longer to save for my next trip. It doesn't effect my trip in December since I'm already book at the old prices. But I'll pay more to have less crowds, and crowds are just going to go up.

I had planned on going to Disney World last month to experience the holidays, Disney-style. I wanted to go in 2018 because I knew the clusterf*** that is going to be Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge this year. But kidney stones made it that I had to reschedule for this year.

I am looking forward to going. If Galaxy's Edge is open, I look forward to trying to see that area. I told Emily today that if it is open, we are getting to the park before opening. She seemed indifferent. We'll see how it is when I wake her up at 5 am for our Hollywood Studios day!

But until Disney announces the open date for the Star Wars expansion at Hollywood Studios, it's just planning just in case. But, my point is, that Star Wars is coming and the rides look amazing.
This land is going to appeal to many a Star Wars fan who may come to see it without being a Disney fan.

I remember when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom. For a movie that wasn't half as popular as Star Wars was, the crowds to see the new land were insane for a long time. With something as beloved as Star Wars, the crowds are going to be even worse.

So that goes back to the price hikes. While it's something that happens every year at this time, I think they have a few things in mind. Maybe this will price some people out and it might decrease the crowds. Though I don't have a whole lot of hope for that. But Disney could also probably use the money. They are putting in all kinds of new rides in the parks (in Disney World - and I'm sure in other parks, but Disney World is my park so I focus on their news). Disney World is gearing up for their 50th Anniversary in 2021, and it's going to be a big deal. And they want as many new attractions as they can by then.

And of course there is a big chunk of change they are spending on acquiring Fox. I'm only speculating, but that could have something to do with it as well.

Any of the Disney Parks are expensive, but people seem to think that Disney should be cheap because Disney should be a rite of childhood. And while it can be a rite of childhood - it certainly was for me - that doesn't mean that people are entitled to a Disney trip.

I know I'm lucky and Emily's lucky. I went to Disney World twice as a kid - once when I was 9 and once when I was 16. Emily will have three trips come December and she'll only be 11. I foresee at least a couple more while she is still a child. Todd also went a bunch when he was a kid - 3 trips, I think. He had a grandmother who lived in FL so his family would visit and go to Disney.

Disney isn't cheap though it's not too bad when it's just me and Emily going. But only having one kid is definitely a perk when it comes to travel. But if you really want it, there are a lot of ways to save. I'm a on Facebook group that's called Couponing to Disney that has lots of different ways to help you save for a Disney vacation.

Some people may never be able to afford a Disney vacation and that's sad. And says more about the state of our country, I think, than Disney. I feel very lucky that I can go to Disney every three years or so. It's my favorite place in the world. But I save, and I book my trip as soon as I can to lock in prices because lately the prices have been going up a couple times a year.

Yes, it probably will take your average American family a few years to save for a Disney vacation, but it's possible. Barring any apocalyptic / doomsday scenarios, Disney will still be there and if you can take your kids, I know it will be magical!