1. It’s incredibly well-staffed and organized as shit. Seriously they had forming a queue down to a fucking science. All of the staff (almost all of the staff) were friendly and helpful and good-humored despite the fact that it was 8 am and already starting to reek of nerd in the building. This was a HUGE difference from Dragon*Con, where the only line that is ever organized is the registration line. You might not think this is a big deal but when 50-100+ people are all trying to get into the room at once and it’s a total free-for-all, you get closer to humanity than you ever care to. I have been mashed up against so many boobs, butts, and (most likely) wangs at Dragon*Con for no other reason than I’m being crushed between a Luigi and a female Sub-Zero.
2. The Floor. Again, more organized. To be fair, NYCC is held at a convention center, whereas Dragon*Con has to deal with more space restrictions. However, NYCC had a lot bigger names as far as vendors/booths. As soon as we walked in the door we were accosted by a rep from Showtime, who asked if she could interview us. Granted, it was 8 am and I was still mostly asleep but it never dawned on me that “interview” meant “on camera.” The problem with this was they wanted to discuss the new show they’ll be premiering, Penny Dreadful, and the premise sounded…well, dreadful. Every time the interviewer asked me a question I had to bite back a snide “Oh Victorian London? SUPER ORIGINAL, GUY!” or a “Oh Frankenstein with no bolts or visible scars? So you’re Beauty and the Beast-ing him?” Needless to say I didn’t say much in the interview. Thankfully, Sarah had plenty to say, though she swears now she can’t remember any of it. What was I saying? Oh yeah, booths. So there was a HUGE Image Comics booth where I picked up the first two volumes of Saga (and got 1 free!), some major publishing talent, including Richard Kadrey at the Harper Collins booth. He was an absolute gentleman and I got a free Guillermo del Toro tote bag, which was kind of amazeballs. So yeah, better booths, better freebies, bigger names.
3. The cosplay was not as prevelant. I did see a lot of costumes, but nowhere near in the amount you see at Dragon*Con. I also think that because it was in a convention center and NOT in a hotel, there wasn’t the nonstop party atmosphere you get at DC. At DC  you can just pop up to your room and drink or join a dance party that goes until 4 am, whereas the Javits Center closes up shop at 7 p.m.!!!  I can imagine the scoffs that would get at DC.

Whatever, Malfoy.

So overall NYCC is cleaner and more organized, which contributes a LOT to my enjoyment. But Dragon*Con is a lot more of a no-holds barred, full-tilt boogie extravaganza.