Awesome Con 2024
Awesome Con is a con where all types of fans attend. Next to your major cons like San Diego or New York Comic Con, Awesome Con will bring in a lot of famous guests ranging from big screen media, to voice actors. The location has a lot of great places for photography including locations outdoors. In my experience with conventions that draw in famous actors, the amount of cosplay is limited. Like regular fans, many cosplayers are signed up to meet one of the actors and their cosplay will reflect one of the characters. As an example, with Christian Haydenson being there, there were countless Padme Amidala cosplayers around.
It is held in the heart of DC, held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and it is surrounded by several hotels within walking distance. Parking is very limited and there are a few underground parking facilities. It is highly recommended to pre-register your parking as the con is very popular and draws people in from several states away. Driving in the city can be challenging as some of the main roads do not have dedicated left turn lanes and often the intersections can get gridlocked. If you are local, I would recommend taking the Metro train as the station is very close to the convention center.
It's been a few years since I last went to Awesome Con and one change was badge pick up was all the way in the back of the convention center in Hall E. Interestingly, that allowed several people to “lobby con” by just hanging outside of the merchandise area and panel rooms. Most were there to say hello, take photos, or get their photos taken. Even with the lobby con crowd, it did not add to the overall crowd, which moved very well. I will say that the volunteers did a great job controlling traffic and conducting badge checks as required. It is always a risk if you try to lobby con as it is unknown how much the volunteers will enforce badge checking.
The merchandise area was sectioned off in a traditional layout of artists, merchandise, comics and cosplay guests. The celebrity guests were in their traditional section in a long row with plenty of room for guests to line up. One negative part of the merchandise is that it is several floors underground and cellular reception is very poor when it gets crowded. I am still convinced that the very large merchandise space that feels like 3 to 4 stories under street level serves as a fallout shelter since the convention center is in the heart of Washington DC.
I would say that part of my favorite memories was staying at the Marriot Marquis. It’s a smaller resort style hotel and has so many amenities. One of the best hotel gyms I have ever come across. It’s two stories and has all the equipment you need, including a squat rack. This is the hotel location that many photographers and cosplayers will congregate during Otakon as the natural light is amazing. The hotel is not available for photos during Awesome Con as the convention does not have a contract with the hotel.
