EdKitten

I hadn't experienced slow loading pages -- until today. 🙁

Has anyone been to Station Unity Con? It's held at the Gaylord National Resort and Harbor Hotel (near Washington DC). I just found out about it (from upcomingcons.com). It's produced by Katsucon Entertainment, and it's an annual 3-day fan convention for Science Fiction & Fantasy fans. Upcomingcons says it was held in 2021 and 2022. Sounds intriguing. It'll be held August 11-13, 2023. url: station-unity.org The Gaylord hotel is really gorgeous and great for cosplay photos. It's right next to the National Harbor. I usually take the metro to National Airport and take a

Thanks so much for the info and pics. It looks great! Hopefully, Otakon will have it open for us to munch out!

Sorry it took a few days to respond -- I use public computers, so it's hard to get in front of a monitor/keyboard sometimes. Yes, they had the Moroccan/Mediterranean place in the food court next to the Video Game area. I was in the pizza line, and the Moroccan food pictures looked so good, I wanted to try it out, but all the lines were so long, I just stayed in the pizza line. The food court near the Marriott Marquis was still closed. 🙁 I haven't seen it open for a long time. I kinda miss it, the atmosphere there was fun -- low ceilings and dimmer lights. Hopefully it'll be open f

Yeah, the lines to get back into Otakon -- that's why I eat con food too, especially on Saturdays. $17 for pizza that wasn't even any good? 😲 Last weekend, I got a pizza but I think it was around $12 or $15 (can't remember exactly). Who knows -- the line was so long, things just seemed like a blur, it might have been $17. I just couldn't believe I FINALLY had a pizza in my paws, so didn't even look at the total -- just swiped the card and hurried to find a place to sit down and pig out. The pizza tasted good though. Sorry yours didn't taste good. Usually each day after Otakon I

I can't say that any of this will be the same for Otakon, but just made some observations from being at the WEWCC during June 16-18, 2023. Nothing was mentioned about covid or checking vaccination cards or wearing masks. Most people did not wear masks. A few here and there did wear them. Food prices went up a little. Chicken tenders with fries was around $15.50. Cheeseburger with fries was $14.00. Beyond burger (I think came with fries) was $18.00. Bottled water didn't go up (I think), at $4.75. I didn't eat at all the places selling food inside the WEWCC, but I did at a l

Ooops -- forgot the webpage: awesome-con.com

Just a reminder about Awesome Con this weekend, June 16-18, 2023, at the WEWCC (same place as Otakon), Washington, DC. Some guests listed are: Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) Levar Burton Billy Dee Williams My Hero Academia voice actors Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) Billie Piper (Dr. Who) Jodie Whittaker (Dr. Who) Caitlin Glass Danny Trejo Terry Brooks (author) And lots more 😀

On Upcomingcons.com I noticed Otakon isn't listed on their "Anime" list of conventions. I was just wondering if someone on Otakon's staff might like to list Otakon there for July 2023? Thanks for your help!

Just remembered another hotel: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel And Conference Center (across from the Bethesda North Metro (formerly known as White Flint Metro), it's a bit of a walk to the hotel because the hotel's parking lot is large, but also across from the Metro is a 7-Eleven and a McDonald's -- and about a block away from the Metro is Popeye's restaurant): $165+ (phone: 301-822-9200). I'm so sorry the high prices stopped you from going to Katsucon, Daniel! There must be others that the high prices are affecting too. I sure hope in the future, hotel prices come down --

E-gads! I Just looked at those prices. 😞 Did a quick search at the hotels I've stayed at, for a single room for the dates: July 27-31, 2023. They usually gave prices for members (it doesn't usually cost anything to become a member, but am not up to speed on their policies). And of course, staying at hotels near metro stops probably won't have other attendees around, so you'd miss out on meeting people this way. And you might not want to travel around there at really late hours (they are good sections of town, but you know, just a precaution, since I don't know what those areas

Ooops -- correction -- the hotel's address is Rockville, Maryland. Some webpages say North Bethesda (when it's not listing the official address). It's confusing. But the hotel's definitely across from the White Flint/North Bethesda metro, which is really handy. Also across from that metro stop is McDonald's and 7 Eleven -- also handy.

Thought maybe some people who like Otakon, might like this expo. It's really fun and it's the first time they're having it since lockdown. Small Press Expo (it emphasizes indie comics, graphic novels, and cartooning) September 17-18, 2022 Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center The hotel is across from the White Flint metro on the Red Line. (White Flint metro is in the process of changing its name to "North Bethesda" metro.) The hotel address is in North Bethesda, Maryland, but I put "Wash DC area" in the title, since you can get there via the subway w

Such a handy thread! Just some tid-bits: Binder clips -- for hotel curtains that don't close all the way -- just clip the edges of the curtains together. Nail clippers or nail file -- in case a nail tears a little, so it doesn't scrape or catch onto clothes, cosplay, etc. Little packs of tissues. Gift cards you can buy at stores (personally, I like VISA), in case you want to use a credit card at the con, but don't want to use your regular credit card which has your ID on it. Extra plastic bags -- especially handy for hotel rooms and/or carrying con merch.

Glad to help! And thanks again for all the videos!

Forgot to mention -- there's quite a few other restaurants at Union Station, like Wendy's and Potbelly's. But I've forgotten the names of the other ones. Whenever I'd ride a train from Union Station, it was always fun to get there ahead of time and get some food from the restaurants to bring onto the train.

Many thanks for the videos and all the info Steve!! In Part 2, Penn station was mentioned a few times -- I'm pretty sure you meant Union Station? Not to be negative, but I don't quite agree with everyone in DC being unfriendly, I've met a lot of people there who were really nice -- guess we've had different experiences. I totally agree with not driving around DC unless you absolutely have to -- not driving will save a lot of hassles and cursing. May I add that at Union Station, along with the restaurants Steve mentioned, there's also a Shake Shack, Chick-Fil-A, some s

OMG, thanks for the info! I hadn't even read Otakon's policy about vaccination status -- good to know this stuff WAY beforehand! Guess I'd gotten relaxed about covid policies for a while, because in the area where I'm puttering around, most everyplace doesn't require a mask anymore. Though I wear a mask anyway. 🙂

I'm not staff, but at the WEWCC near the beginning of June 2022 for Awesome Con, vaccination cards weren't even mentioned. We just had our bags looked into by security officers. Can't guarantee that for Otakon, but just wanted to let you know.

Hi! I'm not staff, but it seems it'd be handy to get the vaccination card in English, just in case someone at Otakon/WEWCC needs to see it. If someone from Otakon doesn't respond too quickly here, perhaps you can phone the WEWCC and ask about their rules?

Hi! Just a reminder: Awesome Con will be held this weekend, June 3-5, 2022, at the WEWCC in Washington, DC: www.awesome-con.com Some stars that are scheduled to appear, in no particular order (and always subject to change): Wil Wheaton Anthony Daniels (C3PO) Sean Astin Kel Mitchell Melissa Joan Hart Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) Meng'er Zhang (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) Noah Schnapp Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings) Timothy Zahn (writer, Star Wars novels)

P.S. Forgot to mention when you're entering the WEWCC, I think they have a separate line for Accessibility people, but if they don't, try going up to the entrance doors and explaining to the staff that you're an accessibility person.

I'm not staff, but if things are done the same way they have in the past -- when you enter the WEWCC, the registration area will eventually be on your left. Right before the big "Registration" sign, there will be a big sign saying Accessibility, or Member Accessibility, or something like that. In the accessibility section, they'll give you a ribbon to put on your badge that says accessibility (or a different word?). Most of the staff recognizes the accessibility ribbon, and all you have to do is show them the badge and they'll let you use the elevators. There's one place where I

P.S. Their "Shop" link shows the most variety of their dolls.

At an art festival last weekend, a booth had the most gorgeous, but highly expensive, Kokeshi Dolls. I don't normally collect these, but they were so beautiful and gave off such a fun atmosphere, I would've bought one -- if the price hadn't gotten in the way. But thought someone here might be interested. Url: www.hodsdonkokeshi.com