DRAGON CON 2026 40TH ANNIVERSARY FUN

Nope, not the song but actual memories. That’s what I want to talk about, more specifically, my memories from Dragon Con 2026. At the moment of writing this, it will be right at 2 weeks since I was excited about Dragon Con 2026 starting. It was Tuesday September 1, I was with my girlfriend, and we where going through the lists of what do we need, what do we have, what to pack, what not to pack, and trying to coordinate all this with the hotel roomies. I can’t fully explain the excitement, the feeling of overwhelmingness, and yes, a bit of sadness that I was and always feel that night before my group gets to the Hilton in Atlanta to begin our 6 day stay for Dragon Con.

Are you wondering why I put sadness on that list of feelings? The other feelings are, after all, easy to understand why they are there, but how can I be a bit sad when one of my most favorite events was about to begin? Easy, by having Dragon Con about to begin also meant that I knew it would have to come to an end. I try not to think about it too much, especially at the start of the con, but I can’t help myself. That knowing that tomorrow is the beginning of the ending of another Dragon Con. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Your vacation has just begun and even knowing you have a week off you know that you will be having so much fun that it will feel like time is flying by and before you know it, it’s been a week and you have to prepare to go back to work and life. That’s the feeling I get at the start of Dragon Con and I hate it but I also know that at the same time that feeling of sadness of the coming end, there will be so much fun between that moment before it begins to when it does end. This year was no exception.

One of the things I say about Dragon Con when I tell people about it is, it’s never the same but always the same. By that I mean, each year I plan to do something that I enjoyed doing the previous year or years before while at the same time trying to do something that I was unable to do that I wanted to do the previous year but didn’t or couldn’t do. This year, 2026, I wanted to do panels and videos, with a sprinkle of some night time events. What I ended up doing was 2 panels only and though I did videos, I didn’t quite get the videos I wanted. It might be the same but each year I end up doing something different from the previous years that make it different.

When it comes to following my plans for Dragon Con, it seems like like the plans end up being a list of ideas of something fun to do but most likely won’t do. One thing that was different for me this year was not going to as many panels. I really do enjoy the panels and the guests talking about all sorts of topics. From the big ones with the big name guests, this year Dungeon Crawler Carl and the Firefly panels. Both had extremely long lines and by the time I was able to get around to getting to them it was too much for me to want to do. Those lines where insanely long and the ballrooms filled up, even getting in to sit in the back of the room after it had started was not happening.

What I did get to make it to was the panel that was the Resident Alien cast. I had never seen the show before, I wasn’t planning on it, and spoilers were not a concern for me, so I went. I’m glad I did because that was a very fun panel. One thing that I did learn from it was this, while at the panels Alan Tudyk would have a bag of “trash”, (I put in quotes cause it was actual trash but what he did with it turned it into treasure), the trash he would find or have, like empty bags of popcorn he ate on the plane, and even a photo signed by Nathan Fillion that was tossed, (Alan wasn’t sure why Nathan threw it away, thought that maybe it was a mess up on the signature, but he threw it away and Alan took it drom the trash), and Alan then signed the photo as well. These pieces of “trash” that Alan had, he would sign each one, explain what they were and why it was trash, and then give one to the person who asked a question. It was a free autograph fromAlan Tudyk and for one very lucky person, a photo signed by Alan and Nathan. He did this with all sorts of items, from actual empty bags of popcorn that was trash to photos to concept art photos used on the Resident Alien show, he would sign and give free to the person asking a question. How awesome is that? I’ve been to many cons and many panels, and though I’ve seen a few hand out something to one person for one reason or another, this was the first time I’ve ever seen someone give away multiple free signed items and to do it in every panel. It might not be much for him, a few thousand dollars worth of free autographs being given away, but for those fans who got a free Alan Tudyk autograph and on something that was personal(ish) to Alan, that makes that a once in a blue moon happy event.

So, with each year, I plan, I have a list, and by the end of Dragon Con I’ve done at best about half of what I wanted to do. For the most part this way of the con life doesn’t bother me too much. Yes, I do have times that I would really like to be at a panel or get to talk to a guest or get some merch that I don’t get to check off, but, even with my plans changing and me not getting what I want, I realize that I’m at Dragon Con, and the happiness returns.

If you have been watching the videos that are posted in this article or maybe you watched them already, you can tell I did a lot of walking this year. What I wanted to do was just get video for people that have never been to Dragon Con and for anyone that wasn’t able to make it there this year. Typically I do photos, just walking around getting shots of the cosplay and the fun, but this year I wanted to get some video. It was a lot of fun but it was different. I think next year I’ll do a little different because I felt like I spent more time or almost all my time trying to get videos posted. I fought a lot with the signal for live feeds and then with trying to get the videos uploaded. It was a process I tell you that. I also had a new camera that I had never used before and I was learning as I went along. I got it just days before Dragon Con began and I didn’t have any time in those days to learn all the options and what it’s capable of because I had to pack for my trip. That meant for this year the videos I did was more a learning experience than anything else but they did come out to be fun to watch.

On the bright side, I worked out some kinks of doing the video. My style of video shooting, along with my photography, are completely different from doing a con. One most important thing and the biggest thing to know, at a con you most likely won’t get a chance for a do over shot or multiple shots. Even when you are getting a photo of a cosplay where the person is just standing there, there will be so many other people waiting in line to get their photo, there will be people standing in a group around you and the cosplayer trying to get the photo, there will be people walking in front of you, and sometimes, the cosplayer just wants to move on after being in one spot for so long. This means, take the shot fast and hope you get it on that first go.

For 2027, I plan on doing a few things differently. One thing I want to do is a better timelapse. I will find me a good seat to get that I can carry with me, a spot to sit at, and then set up my camera in that one spot for a few hours so I can get the timelapse. I will try to make it to more panels. I will try to get some interviews from the fans on their experiences. Above all, I will continue to have fun.