#033 - Dragon Con 2026 Pre-Game Show

We take a slight departure from TV reviews this week to discuss Dragon Con, the huge pop culture event that occurs every Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. It's part of the reason this podcast exists, and Dragon Con 2026, the 40th anniversary of the event, is just a few days away.

- How did Nick & Todd get started with Dragon Con?

- Do either co-host have any specific favorite thing about Dragon Con?

- What does one co-host mean when he says that Dragon Con is a very customizable con?

- What is special about the Dragon Con parade?

- What are Dragon Con's tracks all about?

- What are the advantages & disadvantages of Dragon Con being so huge and having so many things to do?

- What different strategies do people use to schedule (or not schedule) their preferred activities at Dragon Con?

- How did Nick get started speaking on panels?

- Last year, Nick and a friend from the "Fandom Hybrid" podcast defended "Howard the Duck" in last year's sci-fi court on the classics track. How did that go, and how much did Nick enjoy it?

- How does the Walk of Fame work, and how do fans get autographs from and/or photos with celebrity guests?

- How & why did Todd miss out on the Walk of Fame in his first year, 2012, and how did he make up for it starting in 2013?

- Which celebrities have Todd & Nick interacted with at Dragon Con?

- Which celebrity dressed up like a Ghostbuster? Which celebrity dumped a pitcher of ice water on himself during a panel, the year people were doing the ALS ice bucket challenges? Which celebrity should have had a line but didn't at one point, making a convenient moment for Nick to chat with him?

- If you're too shy to talk to celebrities and/or don't want to spend money on autographs or photos, why is it still interesting to go to Walk of Fame?

- What are some of Nick & Todd's favorite tracks & types of panels?

- What is the layout of Dragon Con's five hotels & two buildings of the Americas Mart?

- Does the con suite exist, where is it, and what is it for?

- What is meant by Hotel Hunger Games?

- What are Todd's experiences with hotel reservations and what are some helpful hints & tricks for seeking hotel rooms?

- What are Todd's favorite & least favorites hotel ballrooms where the big actor panels and other major events take place?

- Is there really a never-ending odor outside the American Sci-Fi & Fantasy Media track room, or is Todd just crazy and imagining things (or was there only an odor one year, and he just can't let it go)?

- What unofficial Wednesday night event does Nick really enjoy?

- What other information do the co-hosts have about the parade, concerts, costume contests, the vendors hall, and more?

- How did Nick & Todd meet and how was Dragon Con involved in them starting this podcast?

- Since recording this episode, the Dragon Con 2026 schedule has come out? Which panels will Nick be speaking on? What example does Todd already have of schedule conflicts which inevitably occur?

- And, how many meals, hours of sleep, and showers, should every Dragon Con goer get every day?

Listen now for the answers to these and other convention-al and un-convention-al questions, as Nick & Todd explore...Dragon Con.

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Royalty-free music used in this episode comes from Pixabay.com.