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SDCC Wrap-Up
11 years ago
Here's the SDCC insanity as it was. Better late than never?? XD
Wednesday - Preview Night (AKA, Day 0.5 of Insanity)
silverhuskywolf and 
temperance and I flew down to San Diego on the Wednesday afternoon. After settling into the hotel and unpacking, we ran out for groceries before heading to the convention hall to pick up our badges. After badges were obtained, it was time to hit the hall to begin the madness.
A few exclusives were wanted, but sadly only one set could be had this day. The line ups were nuts, as to be expected! This was preview night, so we only spent a couple of hours at the hall before heading back to the hotel.
We turned in early, as we knew we'd have a long day ahead of us on the Thursday.
Thursday - Day 1 of Insanity
We woke up early and had breakfast before heading down to the hall for the day. We didn't want to get there *too* early, as almost everyone wants to be the first in. We weren't interested in fighting the masses just to get in. I wore my Star Trek uniform, Silver wore her Team America outfit, and Temp was dressed up as a Faun. Many pictures were had of us all!
We wandered around the main convention hall, and actually managed to see about 3/4 of everything on the floor. As it's almost 500,000 sq/ft of space, this was quite an accomplishment! Pretty much the entire day was spent just wandering, so we didn't have time for panels or autographs. We really didn't have these in our plans for the weekend anyway, so it was no big deal for us.
We had enough time for a quick supper, before running to see W00tstock in the evening. This was a great event and well worth the few $$ it cost. Don't be a dick, says Wil.
The absolute biggest highlight of this for me was Rob Paulsen singing Yakko's World. After all these years, he still never misses a beat! Outstanding.
After the show, it was time to get back to the hotel, shower and bed time. After a long day in the hot sun and high temperatures, we were quite tired.
Friday - Rest Day!
We decided before going down that we would take a day off from the con, as its a lot to attend for 4 days straight. Plus we knew we'd be incredibly busy on the Saturday with the masquerade. Friday was the day we picked to take off.
We woke up and headed over the the Waffle Spot for an amazing breakfast. I was thinking to myself that $12 for one waffle was a tad much. Then it came out. This massive waffle was worth so much more than what I paid. I left stuffed and quite happy.
After breakfast it was time to head over the the San Diego Zoo. I have to admit, it makes the zoo we have in town look like a petting zoo. All the animals are brought to the front stage and all looked very well taken care of. 2 thumbs way up! We spent the late morning and most of the afternoon here. After we were done, we walked back to the convention hall, which took about an hour and a half. It was a welcome walk, considering we'd gone through 2 days prior of shuffle-shuffle-stop.... shuffle-shuffle-stop.
We relaxed and cooled off for about an hour at the hotel across from the con hall. We had discussed the possibility of going into the Walking Dead Escape, and at that time decided to go for it!
We paid to be survivors, signed the waiver and prepared ourselves for who-knows-what! The event was so very much fun. They turned Petco Field into an apocalyptic, over run zombie adventure. People paid to be dressed up as zombies, complete with prosthetic and everything. It was our job as survivors to run through (and sometimes over!) an obstacle course. My clothes were stuck to my body from the exertion and sweating from the run. It was an absolute blast and very much worth the effort! I highly recommend it.
After the run, we were pretty much spent. Walking in the heat all day had us happy to crawl back to the hotel, shower and pass out. Plus we knew the next day was going to be long again.
Saturday - Day 2(3??) of Insanity
Masquerade day!!! Ermahgerd!! After 7 month of laboring away on the dragons and prepping ourselves, I couldn't believe the day was finally on us.
We packed up the dragons and headed down to the con early in the morning. We needed to check into the masquerade and go through the lighting, sound and other details with the masq staff. After this, we were free to wander the convention for a little bit
We headed down to the main area and finished off what we had missed on the Thursday. You really don't have any idea the massive scale of this hall until you've witnessed it for yourself. I'm still amazed we saw (almost) everything. Amazingly, we managed to get most of the exclusives we wanted this day. The line ups were almost non-existent. No idea why, but I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth!
We had to be back to the masquerade room and get into the dragons by 7PM. Being cautious souls, we made sure to give ourselves more than enough time.
Hanging out in the 'lounge' was quite the surreal experience. Seeing the amazing costumes and all of the hard work each person put into them was such a treat. The talent back there goes beyond words. I also *may* have been approached by Ve Neill, and I *may* have not known who she was at the time. After having a very candid conversation with her about the processes on building the dragons, we thanked each other and she went on her way. The look of shock on Silver and Temp's face is something I won't forget for a very long time. When I was told who she was, I still didn't get the issue. Then I looked at her IMDB. Oh. That's who she is. Oh.... I still do an internal facepalm thinking about it.
Around 8PM, they start lining people up and getting them prepped to head out to the stage. It's pretty quiet back there at this point, as the nerves start setting in. We were number 15, so we had a little bit to wait. When we finally were waiting on stage and they called our number, it was show time. It's amazing how fast and slow 90 seconds is when you're in front of 4,500 people in the audience and another 2,500 watching on TVs in other rooms. The applause is what makes it worth it. Words can't do it justice. Such a feeling!!
After we were done, they lead you off stage and into a room where about 20-30 professional photographers take your picture. Once that was done, it was time to relax back out the lounge and wait for the show to end and the judging to begin.
The process of winning a prize is simple. If they call your number, you wait and go back on stage to see what you've won. If they don't call your number, you haven't won anything and can go to the change rooms and take off your costume. When the person comes out and calls for quiet to read the numbers, it was comical just how quickly everyone became quiet.She didn't need to raise her voice, as it was as silent as it could get!
It's a truly amazing feeling hearing your number called. After all of the hard work and planning that went into these costumes, to be recognized for it was beyond words. The fact someone else thought these were worthy was something I hope to never forget. Of course we still didn't know what we'd won at this point, only that we had won something.
Once all of the winners had been put in line again, we shuffled our way back to the stage. We stood and waited our turn and with great honor accepted the David C. Copley Award for Most Innovative Costume, presented to us by Deborah Landis, Director of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design at the University of Los Angles. Ms. Landis was an absolute pleasure to meet. She actually stopped the show while we were on stage to take a picture with us in costume! This still makes me shake my head with disbelief.
After accepting the award, it was time to go back to the photographers and have our picture taken with the award. Ms. Landis graciously joined us for the pictures, and then followed us back to the lounge to meet us in person, without the masks on. I can't say enough how much of a delight it was meeting her.
After such a long day, it was time to get out of costume and get back to the hotel for a shower and rest. It was a day I'll remember for a very, very long time.
Youtube video for good measure!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8B2X_4u5BU
Sunday - Day 3(ish) of Insanity
After the masquerade, we could finally wear the dragons to the convention. One of the stipulations of entering the contest is that you can't wear the costumes before the show. This is understandable, as they want the people that waited in line to see the show get the first view of everyone. It's also a bummer for us when we dragged the costumes all the way down there, only to be able to wear them around for one day. Ah well! So worth it!!
We got into the dragons at the hotel, as we were not able to snag a close enough hotel to walk down. Each trip to the hall from the hotel took about 1/2 hour, so we weren't going to walk there in the suits!
We made it all of about 10 feet from the shuttle before we were mobbed for pictures. It's about a 5 minute walk across an overpass and then across the street to the con hall. It took us 45 minutes to get there. We finally had to start counting down and telling people we had to get going. We didn't want to be rude, but it's San Diego, 25 degrees Celsius and damn hot in these costumes! We finally made it inside and to blessed AC.
We wondered around the outside of the main hall, then decided to head upstairs to the autograph area. We found an excellent area where the AC was blasting right on our backs and stayed there for about an hour and a half. We were joined by two women dressed as Daenerys and Missandei. They were dressed almost perfectly! We enjoyed quite the time with them and had many, many pictures taken. There was a large group in the masquerade dressed as GOT characters, and we thankfully were able to meet up with them for some pictures as well.
Unfortuantely the crowd started to become too large and the security asked us to move along. The area where they wanted us to continue was outside and not air conditioned. After almost 3 hours in costume, we we're really not that interested to move away from the AC. At that time we decided to pack it up and go back to the hotel. The walk back to the shuttle took about another 45 minutes.
After that, it wasn't really worth going back to the con for an hour, so we decided to have a quiet evening relaxing and reminiscing on all of the amazing things we had done and witnessed at this convention. We packed up that evening, as our flight left shortly after lunch the next day. The flight home was uneventful and we were quite happy to be home. Tired, but with huge grins on our faces from the adventures we had.
I can't thank Silver and Temp enough for all of the hard work and amazing effort they put into everything. These costumes turned out far better than I could have dreamed, and it's all thanks to their spectacular talents.
Special thanks goes to Temp for doing all of the dirty work in getting the hotel, passes and planning the event. We couldn't have done it without you!
Super, duper special hugs to both of you amazing ladies for allowing me to join you on this truly epic adventure! Thank you both so very, very much.
What's next for Drogon? I'm honestly unsure how much use this suit will get now that this convention is over. Possibly selling him is something that has crossed my mind several times. The fact that they are a one piece suit will make it a tad more difficult to find the right fit. I'm 6'2" and 225lbs, so it won't fit anyone more than a couple of inches either way. If there was someone who could fit him and he'd go to a good home, I'd be very open to the idea.
As for what's next con wise? I'm not sure. SDCC next year probably won't happen, but we've discussed doing Dragoncon, and I think we'd all like to make that happen! I have a number of cosplays I'd like to start on, and have already begun one in particular. We shall see!
Sorry for the long rant, and if you've made it this far, thanks very much for reading!
Wednesday - Preview Night (AKA, Day 0.5 of Insanity)
silverhuskywolf and 
temperance and I flew down to San Diego on the Wednesday afternoon. After settling into the hotel and unpacking, we ran out for groceries before heading to the convention hall to pick up our badges. After badges were obtained, it was time to hit the hall to begin the madness. A few exclusives were wanted, but sadly only one set could be had this day. The line ups were nuts, as to be expected! This was preview night, so we only spent a couple of hours at the hall before heading back to the hotel.
We turned in early, as we knew we'd have a long day ahead of us on the Thursday.
Thursday - Day 1 of Insanity
We woke up early and had breakfast before heading down to the hall for the day. We didn't want to get there *too* early, as almost everyone wants to be the first in. We weren't interested in fighting the masses just to get in. I wore my Star Trek uniform, Silver wore her Team America outfit, and Temp was dressed up as a Faun. Many pictures were had of us all!
We wandered around the main convention hall, and actually managed to see about 3/4 of everything on the floor. As it's almost 500,000 sq/ft of space, this was quite an accomplishment! Pretty much the entire day was spent just wandering, so we didn't have time for panels or autographs. We really didn't have these in our plans for the weekend anyway, so it was no big deal for us.
We had enough time for a quick supper, before running to see W00tstock in the evening. This was a great event and well worth the few $$ it cost. Don't be a dick, says Wil.
The absolute biggest highlight of this for me was Rob Paulsen singing Yakko's World. After all these years, he still never misses a beat! Outstanding.
After the show, it was time to get back to the hotel, shower and bed time. After a long day in the hot sun and high temperatures, we were quite tired.
Friday - Rest Day!
We decided before going down that we would take a day off from the con, as its a lot to attend for 4 days straight. Plus we knew we'd be incredibly busy on the Saturday with the masquerade. Friday was the day we picked to take off.
We woke up and headed over the the Waffle Spot for an amazing breakfast. I was thinking to myself that $12 for one waffle was a tad much. Then it came out. This massive waffle was worth so much more than what I paid. I left stuffed and quite happy.
After breakfast it was time to head over the the San Diego Zoo. I have to admit, it makes the zoo we have in town look like a petting zoo. All the animals are brought to the front stage and all looked very well taken care of. 2 thumbs way up! We spent the late morning and most of the afternoon here. After we were done, we walked back to the convention hall, which took about an hour and a half. It was a welcome walk, considering we'd gone through 2 days prior of shuffle-shuffle-stop.... shuffle-shuffle-stop.
We relaxed and cooled off for about an hour at the hotel across from the con hall. We had discussed the possibility of going into the Walking Dead Escape, and at that time decided to go for it!
We paid to be survivors, signed the waiver and prepared ourselves for who-knows-what! The event was so very much fun. They turned Petco Field into an apocalyptic, over run zombie adventure. People paid to be dressed up as zombies, complete with prosthetic and everything. It was our job as survivors to run through (and sometimes over!) an obstacle course. My clothes were stuck to my body from the exertion and sweating from the run. It was an absolute blast and very much worth the effort! I highly recommend it.
After the run, we were pretty much spent. Walking in the heat all day had us happy to crawl back to the hotel, shower and pass out. Plus we knew the next day was going to be long again.
Saturday - Day 2(3??) of Insanity
Masquerade day!!! Ermahgerd!! After 7 month of laboring away on the dragons and prepping ourselves, I couldn't believe the day was finally on us.
We packed up the dragons and headed down to the con early in the morning. We needed to check into the masquerade and go through the lighting, sound and other details with the masq staff. After this, we were free to wander the convention for a little bit
We headed down to the main area and finished off what we had missed on the Thursday. You really don't have any idea the massive scale of this hall until you've witnessed it for yourself. I'm still amazed we saw (almost) everything. Amazingly, we managed to get most of the exclusives we wanted this day. The line ups were almost non-existent. No idea why, but I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth!
We had to be back to the masquerade room and get into the dragons by 7PM. Being cautious souls, we made sure to give ourselves more than enough time.
Hanging out in the 'lounge' was quite the surreal experience. Seeing the amazing costumes and all of the hard work each person put into them was such a treat. The talent back there goes beyond words. I also *may* have been approached by Ve Neill, and I *may* have not known who she was at the time. After having a very candid conversation with her about the processes on building the dragons, we thanked each other and she went on her way. The look of shock on Silver and Temp's face is something I won't forget for a very long time. When I was told who she was, I still didn't get the issue. Then I looked at her IMDB. Oh. That's who she is. Oh.... I still do an internal facepalm thinking about it.
Around 8PM, they start lining people up and getting them prepped to head out to the stage. It's pretty quiet back there at this point, as the nerves start setting in. We were number 15, so we had a little bit to wait. When we finally were waiting on stage and they called our number, it was show time. It's amazing how fast and slow 90 seconds is when you're in front of 4,500 people in the audience and another 2,500 watching on TVs in other rooms. The applause is what makes it worth it. Words can't do it justice. Such a feeling!!
After we were done, they lead you off stage and into a room where about 20-30 professional photographers take your picture. Once that was done, it was time to relax back out the lounge and wait for the show to end and the judging to begin.
The process of winning a prize is simple. If they call your number, you wait and go back on stage to see what you've won. If they don't call your number, you haven't won anything and can go to the change rooms and take off your costume. When the person comes out and calls for quiet to read the numbers, it was comical just how quickly everyone became quiet.She didn't need to raise her voice, as it was as silent as it could get!
It's a truly amazing feeling hearing your number called. After all of the hard work and planning that went into these costumes, to be recognized for it was beyond words. The fact someone else thought these were worthy was something I hope to never forget. Of course we still didn't know what we'd won at this point, only that we had won something.
Once all of the winners had been put in line again, we shuffled our way back to the stage. We stood and waited our turn and with great honor accepted the David C. Copley Award for Most Innovative Costume, presented to us by Deborah Landis, Director of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design at the University of Los Angles. Ms. Landis was an absolute pleasure to meet. She actually stopped the show while we were on stage to take a picture with us in costume! This still makes me shake my head with disbelief.
After accepting the award, it was time to go back to the photographers and have our picture taken with the award. Ms. Landis graciously joined us for the pictures, and then followed us back to the lounge to meet us in person, without the masks on. I can't say enough how much of a delight it was meeting her.
After such a long day, it was time to get out of costume and get back to the hotel for a shower and rest. It was a day I'll remember for a very, very long time.
Youtube video for good measure!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8B2X_4u5BU
Sunday - Day 3(ish) of Insanity
After the masquerade, we could finally wear the dragons to the convention. One of the stipulations of entering the contest is that you can't wear the costumes before the show. This is understandable, as they want the people that waited in line to see the show get the first view of everyone. It's also a bummer for us when we dragged the costumes all the way down there, only to be able to wear them around for one day. Ah well! So worth it!!
We got into the dragons at the hotel, as we were not able to snag a close enough hotel to walk down. Each trip to the hall from the hotel took about 1/2 hour, so we weren't going to walk there in the suits!
We made it all of about 10 feet from the shuttle before we were mobbed for pictures. It's about a 5 minute walk across an overpass and then across the street to the con hall. It took us 45 minutes to get there. We finally had to start counting down and telling people we had to get going. We didn't want to be rude, but it's San Diego, 25 degrees Celsius and damn hot in these costumes! We finally made it inside and to blessed AC.
We wondered around the outside of the main hall, then decided to head upstairs to the autograph area. We found an excellent area where the AC was blasting right on our backs and stayed there for about an hour and a half. We were joined by two women dressed as Daenerys and Missandei. They were dressed almost perfectly! We enjoyed quite the time with them and had many, many pictures taken. There was a large group in the masquerade dressed as GOT characters, and we thankfully were able to meet up with them for some pictures as well.
Unfortuantely the crowd started to become too large and the security asked us to move along. The area where they wanted us to continue was outside and not air conditioned. After almost 3 hours in costume, we we're really not that interested to move away from the AC. At that time we decided to pack it up and go back to the hotel. The walk back to the shuttle took about another 45 minutes.
After that, it wasn't really worth going back to the con for an hour, so we decided to have a quiet evening relaxing and reminiscing on all of the amazing things we had done and witnessed at this convention. We packed up that evening, as our flight left shortly after lunch the next day. The flight home was uneventful and we were quite happy to be home. Tired, but with huge grins on our faces from the adventures we had.
I can't thank Silver and Temp enough for all of the hard work and amazing effort they put into everything. These costumes turned out far better than I could have dreamed, and it's all thanks to their spectacular talents.
Special thanks goes to Temp for doing all of the dirty work in getting the hotel, passes and planning the event. We couldn't have done it without you!
Super, duper special hugs to both of you amazing ladies for allowing me to join you on this truly epic adventure! Thank you both so very, very much.
What's next for Drogon? I'm honestly unsure how much use this suit will get now that this convention is over. Possibly selling him is something that has crossed my mind several times. The fact that they are a one piece suit will make it a tad more difficult to find the right fit. I'm 6'2" and 225lbs, so it won't fit anyone more than a couple of inches either way. If there was someone who could fit him and he'd go to a good home, I'd be very open to the idea.
As for what's next con wise? I'm not sure. SDCC next year probably won't happen, but we've discussed doing Dragoncon, and I think we'd all like to make that happen! I have a number of cosplays I'd like to start on, and have already begun one in particular. We shall see!
Sorry for the long rant, and if you've made it this far, thanks very much for reading!
but this one was worth reading x3 thanks for it.
you transported strong feelings over here. *hugs*