Have you ever collected prized products/trinkets, dreamed of meeting your favorite celebrities, made a wish, wanted an exclusive look into popular films or view upcoming films before they aired, or have you ever wanted the opportunity to purchase or see rare and treasured memorabilia?
Well that is exactly what tens of thousands of excited fans/people dreamed of too and why they traveled across the world to attend the Disney D23 Expo, The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
Disney D23 is Disney’s Official Fan Club. The name D23 came from D (Disney) and 23 from the year the company was founded (1923). D23 is a year round fan club that provides it’s members with a closer relationship with The Walt Disney Company.
About D23 Expo:
The first D23 Expo was held in 2009, making this only the second D23 Expo. D23 Expo brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof through screenings, exhibits, celebrities, artwork, demonstrations, launches, meet and greets, and so much more.
Happenings at D23 Expo
Here are some of the highlights.
Friday:
History of Disneyland Hotel- Meet and greet with artist Jim Salvati. I got to be apart of this. Fans were so excited to meet Jim and get his autograph.
- Jake, Captain Hook, and Smee character appearances.
- Disney Legends Ceremony. This was an unbelievable once in a life time venue to see. You could hear tears of excitement and joy throughout the area and couldn’t help but feel the magic that the princesses brought to life as they sang.
- Christmas in August-Prep & Landing: Naughty vs Nice (line was so long that I didn’t make it in)
- Making of The Little Mermaid. This is one of my favorite Disney movies.
- Rock Star Mickey and American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis. I can’t wait to share with you more about this AMAZING experience. It was beyond fabulous.
- Meet the cast of Good Luck Charlie
- Pixar Shorts. I tired to see this one too, but was there after the cut off. HMMM learned that I needed to be in line 1.5 hours earlier to make the cut. This did help me out for future viewings.
- Why We Create featuring author and film maker Don Hahn. You may know him from creating two of my favorites, Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.
- Meet Cast of Lemonade Mouth.
- It’s A Small World:Celebrating 45 Years.
- Meet Cast of So Random.
Saturday Happenings:
First of all I awoke to my phone going crazy from the massive #D23 tweets mentioning Saturday D23 Expo tickets were sold out and that lines were out to Katella (FAR and LONG). Here are some of the Saturday D23 happenings.
- The Wonderful World of Disney: Behind the Page: Pete & The Starcatchers
- Meet and greet with Disney Store Princess Designer Collection artists.
- Phineas and Ferb character appearances.
- Melissa Joan Heart and Joey Lawrence meet and greet.
- Building Worlds: Inside The Walt Disney Studios. I wanted to see this one really bad. The area was so full for this venue and so was the LONG waiting line. There were enough people wanting to see this venue, it could have filled the area two times. Definitely a DON’T WANT TO MISS event that left a lot of people sad they missed it. It was so awesome and top notch, that NO cell phones, cameras, or other devices were allowed in the area. Definitely because the lucky people inside would have the chance to experience Disney an indescribable way.
- Michael Giacchino’s Music of Pixar. I LOVE PIXAR.
- Meet Fish Hooks Cast.
- How Disney toys are made with the Disney Toys creative team.
- Performance by Chine Anne McClain and meet the cast of A.N.T. Farm.
- The Characters of Monsters University.
- The Lion King 3D-Exclusive D23 Expo Screening. AHHHHHH I can’t begin to tell you how sad I was to miss this one. Lion King is another one of my favorites. I had a 16th Lion King Birthday party and for my 27th birthday my husband took me to see the Lion King musical in San Fransisco (he got me front row seats since I love Lion King).
Sunday Happenings:
- The Lion King Vinylmation series launch with character artists Jim Valeri and Oskar Mende debut. Only a select number of people (about 25-50 with red wrist bands) were allowed the opportunity to have their Lion King Vinylmations to be signed.
- Meet the Voice of Handy Manny.
- Marvel. Learn the evolution of Marvel and what the future will bring.
- The Art of Brave. Uncover the secrets behind Pixar’s upcoming release Brave. This was UNBELIEVABLE. I will never look at another Pixar film again the way I did before. After attending this presentation I have a much a deeper appreciation into all the detail behind creating a Pixar master piece. I can not wait to see Brave when it comes out in theaters.
- Meet the cast of Pair of Kings.
- Live Demonstration with artist Trevor Carlton.
- Fashion designer Kidada debuted Wish-a-littles. Only a select number of people with red wrist bands were granted the access/opportunity to take pictures and have Kidada sign their Wish-a-Littles
- Radiator Springs Reality. John Lasseter and Roger Gould join Imagineers for a sneak peek look at the NEW Cars Lands coming to California Adventure.
- Shake It Up Cast Photos. I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THIS. Wow what a unique experience.
- Disney Channel Shake It Up cast live performance and interviews. New D-Signed Clothing Line Fashion Show. This was such a great show. You could really see wall the the mutual love between the cast and the fans of all ages. We got to see an advanced screening of Shake It Up’s Halloween Special and then a surprise performance from Instant Noodle (they are so awesome to watch). After the show the choreographer came out and showed the fans a few moves so they could dance like their favorite character from Shake It Up.
- Perry-Oke
- The Making of Star Tours. See how the Imagineers updated the attraction. This one had a wild line. The line situation was very intense from what I heard (I was downstairs checking out all the new upcoming toy releases from Jakks and Mattel).
Then there were Pavilions that were open for fans. Pavilions included Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Disney Living (there was always something exciting happening here).
This was an event unlike any I have seen or experienced before. I could see the raw emotion pouring out of die hard Disney fans as they cried and screamed at the slight glimpse of Disney Celebrities, making the cut of the line to get into special venues, and as they held their prized memorabilia (some signed and some not). Talking to the fans, you could hear in their voice how special this event is to them and how many of them were able to make their dreams and their kids dreams come true. It was truly a special event to attend, even for someone like me who experienced it for the first time and was not a D23 Member.
Disney sure knows how to make dreams come true and make their fans feel special. I know I did.
For those of you who have not been to or heard of D23 Expo and are Disney lovers, be on the look out for the next one. It is a special event you won’t want to miss. My secret tip to you though, is buy your tickets EARLY and ONLINE. The line to buy tickets on Friday was SO LONG and tickets were sold out for Saturday.
I also look forward to sharing with you my D23 Experience.
Disclaimer: I received an opportunity to attend D23 Expo through my affiliation with Disney. I was not compensated nor was I obligated to publish a review.
*Photos are compliments of D23 Media and some are my own.
