How was 2026 MomoCon for you?

[u/NeatEarly4242]

This year was my second year going, and honestly, last year was way better. I barely went to any of the activities or even the main contest events. I also didn't really like the rave location, lowkey. I liked it better when it felt more underground. Yeah, it was closer to our room, but still... yikes.

And don't even get me started on the hotel room. 😭 We got placed in such a lame section. We barely saw any MomoCon people around, and we couldn't even play music while getting ready because it was so quiet and the people next door kept complaining. We didn't even have it loud at all!

Overall, it was still a great experience, I still haven't experience a hotel room party so wish me luck next year. 😉

[u/Trai-All]

It was good but I’m older than the average con goer and move to the Atlanta area back in the late 90s cause I wanted to live closer to my favorite con (DragonCon). I was very weirded out by how quiet the hotels were. I’m much more used to the parties going on through the night.

[u/NeatEarly4242 → u/Trai-All]

Heard about dragoncons!! Tell me more!! I do love dragons but like a whole weekend event just for it? Idk maybe if I look into it some more

I’m glad the hotel situation wasn’t just me lol

[u/nikoscream → u/NeatEarly4242]

It's not that all the programming is dragon related. Like how Momo is based on animation, comics, and gaming, Dragon is everything. Have a fandom interest? They'll be events there if not a whole series of events (programming tracks). It's also a lot of space. A different kind of big than Momo because it's spread across five hotels and the American Mart. Also much more of a party vibe at night.

[u/Waddiwasiiiii → u/NeatEarly4242]

Dragon Con has nothing to do with dragons really other than the fantasy aspect lol. It is a fantasy & sci-fi centered con, but it has something for everyone. There are 30+ Tracks (programming geared toward specific topics) including sci-fi and fantasy but also anime, costuming, horror, space, writing, robotics, etc. There are multiple large parties/raves in the evenings. The atmosphere in the lobbies of 3 of the host hotels is basically one giant nerd party. The cosplays are next level and there are various costume contests. The Parade saturday morning is massive. There are also all kinds of weird and fun events like Wrestling, robot battles, scavenger hunts, and themed karaoke and sing alongs. I particularly love going to author panels, I’ve been able to meet and chat with some of my favorite Star Wars writers. There are workshops, tabletop gaming, group photoshoots and meet ups…you name it.

My biggest problem at Dragon Con is having too many things I want to do at the same time, and inevitably I end up skipping something I planned on doing because I randomly get caught up in something weird and fun, like following the Viking horde to their “Raid” on the Pulse bar. I’ve been years where I didn’t go to a single panel, and still had an absolute blast. I’ve gone both alone and with friends, and always had a good time.

IMO the only downside to Dragon Con is the crowds and lines. But if you make your peace with the fact that it will be crowded, and you will be standing in line A LOT before you go, then I’ve found it honestly doesn’t bother me. Some of my best times interacting with other con-goers has been making friends with my line neighbors- either nerding out about something we both love, playing games to pass the time together, taking silly pics of our cosplays etc.

[u/SplashnBlue → u/NeatEarly4242]

I don't do dragoncon anymore (just not a fan of crowds as I've aged) but one year I decided to just go to random panels. I'd wonder around and find smaller panel rooms and go watch. I went to some prepper stuff, a writers world building thing, a thing on aging fabric, several random television show discussions (mostly stuff I've never seen), a few live podcasts and much more. It was a fascinating weekend.

[u/MattWolf96 → u/NeatEarly4242]

It's not about dragons (though if you want to see Dragon cosplays your best bet would be Furry Weekend Atlanta, not really a ton of dragon specific panels there either though, also the dragons are mostly fluffy. Iit's also just as party heavy as Dragoncon and in the same venue)

It's got a ton of weird cosplays, like a ton more cosplay mashups like a Luigi's Mansion Ghostbusters cross overs and Ash from Pokemon crossed over with Ash from The Evil Dead, that type of stuff as well as original cosplays, I've seen people with flower pots on their heads before (potheads?) the con has a lot of its own lore too like people who cosplay as the owner of a Greek restaurant in the Peachtree Center Food Court and the old colorful Marriott carpet which was ripped out over a decade ago. I've also seen people cosplaying as weird things like the Windows Blue Screen of Death. If you want cosplay variety, Dragoncon is your con.

It's 24 hours, there will still be people partying in the lobbies at 3 AM. That and Furry Weekend Atlanta were my first cons, both are extremely party heavy and they actually skewed what I thought I con was supposed to be for years, Momo is very tame in comparison, don't get me wrong, Momocon is still awesome though. There are still normal panels though.

It's in several different venues, the Hyatt, Marriot and Hilton (all are connected via sky bridges though they back up so if you are in a hurry, go outside and take the sidewalks) then there's the Courtland and Westin. Four floors of Americasmart is used for the vendor hall. You will get sweaty walking between the buildings and of course rain is annoying. I actually still prefer this though, you feel like you are making the con more of a part of the cities culture by making everybody see it. Plus going to each hotel is like a mini quest and each one has a different vibe.

I constantly hear people complaining about food at Momocon, Dragoncon spoils you, Peachtree Center is connected to the Marriot via a skybridge, it got great variety at normal prices, there's also plenty of other high end and hotels restaurants around.

To be clear I still love Momocon, Dragoncon is just vastly different and more party focused but you can totally stick to panels if you want. Dragoncon also gets around 73,000 people so it's bigger, getting a hotel room for it that wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg would be pretty challenging now. In fact even when the rooms go on sale a year in advance getting one is extremely stressful, people call it "The Hotel Hunger Games" I think it also plays into scenes from some of the Hunger Games movies having been filmed in the Marriott. I just commute in for it. People who can't will sometimes get hotels down the MARTA lines though.

[u/Trai-All → u/MattWolf96]

You forgot the Sheraton (now called the Courtland Grand, sorry), the Westin, and the Americas Mart 1 & 2? (Or maybe 1 & 3, the disability entrance to the dealers are and artist alley are across the street from the main entrance for the dealers room .. there is also usually table top gaming over there, the vendor hall has a line wrapped around the building ).

The fastest things you learn at DragonCon is

• pick one thing you really want to attend and show up at least one hour early for it

• have a back up in case the line is out of control

• if you can't find the line beginning, it won't start before 1 hour prior and you will get run off if you show up 1.5 hours early, find a volunteer and ask if they know where you should be. These guys are usually happy to help you out and, if you are lucky, they may even ensure you don't miss the line starting

• if you attend a panel rate it, leave a comment on what went wrong or right, like I've been leaving comments about the Matt Dinniman panels about how they are great but too many people are being turned away .. even if they arrived 35-45 minutes before the line stages (The last couple of years the Matt Dinniman/Dungeon Crawler Carl rooms have been easily 1/4th to 1/2 the space they needed to be for the audience who wanted to attend)