This post is a shout out to all the Volunteers and Staff at BronyCon for going that extra mile for those of us with special needs.

This is also a shout out to the kindhearted people at the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel for also providing individuals with special needs service that goes far beyond expectations.

The accolades begin with how, the night before BronyCon, I contacted the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel and asked if there was anyway we could secure handicapped parking. I've never been to Baltimore before and the last thing I wanted to do was walk around a foreign place with my six year old son while putting a whole lot of responsibility upon my friend who brought us. To my request, I was greeted with a level of courtesy never before given to me. That being that not only did they have handicapped spaces available, but they would mark off a spot exclusively for us to park in that allowed direct access into the hotel!

The kindness didn't stop there, though. Despite our check-in time being approximately 3:00 PM, they allowed us to check our bags at the front desk, put them in a secure area, and gave us a voucher to come back and get them once it was our time to check in!

We now move to BronyCon itself. As some of you may have heard, the registration line was TERRIBLE! Whether you preregistered, or not, everyone had to wait in the same, seemingly endless line. Needless to say, my six year old was not exactly thrilled with this.

Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, a BronyCon volunteer came forward and explained how they felt that, "It is cruel to have people with disabilities have to wait in a line." This got me, my son, and my friend direct passage to the registration table! Just-in-time, too, as this warp was what allowed us to make the Friday, Voice Actor panel where my son did his amazing Apple Bloom impersonation for Michelle Creber (Apple Bloom).

Later that day, when it came time for Cathy Weseluck to sign, my "Disabilities Pass" came into play again by allowing my son and I to go straight to her. I felt a little guilty as, no pun intended, I didn't want to seem like I was playing "Blind Card". However, being able to zoom right to Cathy was spectacular and allowed my son and I to have an epic conversation with her that resulted in her taking our picture and posting us on her Twitter page! See below if you wish to Tweet the awesomeness on and/or show Cathy just how wonderful a person she is for being so kind to not only me and my son, but everyone at the convention.

https://twitter.com/CathyWeseluck/s.....56050427711488

The night of kind courtesy ended when we returned to the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel. It was here a man came up to me and said, "Mr. Palumbo!" Curious, I turned about to actually meet the Security Worker who had helped make the arrangements for my arrival to BronyCon! It was so awesome to not only be recognized by him, but to thank him in person for his courtesy.

The next day, Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel. Here, we were greeted by a Brony who had a 17 year old son. She just came up and told my son, "What a great helper you are![/u]". My son seemed happy with the comment as she and I stood out of the way and talked. She explained how she felt it was important how children with special needs parents get recognition by strangers for doing what they do. She went on to add how she and her husband both had some degree of disability and that her son had never thought anything of it for having grown up being there for mom and dad as much as mom and dad were there for him. It was touching.

Upon returning to BronyCon, we visited the Vendor booths where, through help from my friend, I found someone who actually had the trading cards! I was able to give her a card she needed. In exchange, she gave me all her Spike, Rarity, and Fluttershy cards from Base Set 1 and Base Set 2. The two of us then talked about our respective interest in the show as she shared how she had a friend who was blind and was a judge! It was too cool to hear her story while remarking on the joys of trading cards. I would certainly like to meet her again as, despite all the Vendors being nice, she was extra nice and a blast to talk to.

Before we left the Vendor Hall, I was surprisingly approached by the very volunteer who had found me in the Registration Line. She asked me if I was doing okay and if everything was accessible. The fact she cared enough to ask me, while reminding me to refer other disabled people to her, was super-ultra touching.

Lastly, I return to giving accolades to the fine folks at the [i]Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel. While attending Saturday's panels, my sunglasses broke in half! I didn't have an extra pair and the sun was beginning to creep back from out of the clouds. My eye can't take the sun, even with my tinted lenses. I thought I was doomed!

It was at this point that, on a hope, I asked the lady at the front desk if they could help me fix my sunglasses. She took them, called maintenance, and said to come back later.

Upon coming down before the epic Crusader Clubhouse Mystery, I was delighted to find she herself had made the repairs to my glasses! I once again had protection from light again! I was so, so happy!

Backtracking a bit, I also would like to add how the folks at the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel got me a refrigerator for my medications in a most timely manner upon getting into our room on Friday and, despite being out of fold-out beds, were nice enough to lend us a bunch of extra comforters to make a bed of our own so me, my son, and my friend could comfortably sleep through the night.

This pretty much wraps up my BronyCon 2013 experience. To all those that went, I thank you for being so kind and keeping it as family friendly as it was. To those who couldn't make it, I hope I was able to bring you a wonderful tale and provide reasons to save up to make it to next year's convention. I know, health allowing, I'll be there!