I love D23 Expo! I consider myself to be into the theme parks, Disneybounding, and classic Disney. While I do disagree with recent business decisions from One Bob Chapek, D23 Expo always delivers something for all generations of Disney fans. I busted out cosplays from Marvel’s Agent Carter, Disney’s Mulan, and my own take of Arthur from Sword in the Stone to D23 Expo.
D23 Expo is a three day convention in September. It happens every few years. Tickets will sell out pretty fast. As D23 members, we got early ticket sales and that sweet, sweet discount. Everyone has a general plan for D23 Expo be it focusing on trailer premieres, park news, or basking in the glory days of Walt. My takeaways from D23 Expo were to get selfies with various photo ops (and they are plenty), take my time with exhibits highlighting the parks and Disney history, and getting exclusives.
And if you were a fan of Duffy and Friends, there were plenty of Duffy plushes to go around. You also found folks bringing in trash bags full of Duffy’s foxy friend, Lina Bell. I even had to get a Lina Bell plush, set of ears, and a keychain. My partner and copy editor, had to get his favorite, Gelatoni. Let’s just say, he was in good company during D23.
Duffy was so popular that the Duffy and Friends panel had already filled up two hours before start time. My partner and I really wanted to check it out, but we knew this was going to be recorded. Yet, the thrill of being in the room with other fans of Duffy would have been thrilling. It’s one thing to view a panel from the comfort of your home. It’s another thing to be in a room full of like minded Disney adults with the penchant for the Duffy friends!
Panels were hit / miss a this trade show. Popular panels warranted a reservation or lining up wicked early in the morning. We got to the Expo three hours before the parks panel to snag a spot in line, but it was already filled. However, for some of the archives panels such as ones that were focused in on the life and times of Walt Disney’s private aircraft or UCLA’s film restoration archive were walk-in’s. Film restoration and planes may not be as sexy as the MMC or the new Indiana Jones trailer, but it reminds us that it all started with a mouse.
We did check out the Disney television programming panel because I misread it as being a panel about musicals. Yet, it was a musical presentation of Disney television programming. I ended up getting a reservation for this panel. We were treated to Electric Mayhem and that was the best part of it all! We had live performances to promote High School Musical: The Series, Under Wraps, and more. I think the most memorable one was Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur because you had people dancing on roller skates Starlight Express style on stage to a cute theme song that is an instant earworm.
We were also treated to seeing celebs on stage like Cowboy Curtis, Tim Allen, John Stamos, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and others. I even squeed when the Chesire Cat showed up to promote Wonderland Bakery. It was a nice surprise to hear celebrities talk about their latest projects for Disney television and streaming.
Shopping is a huge component of D23 Expo. If you are a collector, this is the stop for you. However, some popular booths warranted a reservation you had to make at 6AM. I did this for the main D23 marketplace. It was nice to get exclusive access to parks merch before they became available. Not only I snagged Lina Bell merch, but I picked up a purse and a few pins. I wouldn’t be a middle man shopping for D23 Expo because you could only hold one reservation at a time and some pins just go out just like that. Be sure to have your wallet (and hands) ready to shop at D23 Expo.
The parks panel is always my main highlight of D23 Expo. We ended up watching a live simulcast in the dealers hall among other childless millennials of D23 Expo. Much of us were anticipating the renovation of Disneyland’s dying Tomorrowland. While we did get some announcements for Disney @ 100 Years and were teased Big Hero 6 at DCA, it wasn’t enough. We did hear about the latest Avengers Campus E-ticket, but not much in terms of ride style or experience was laid out. Is it a dark ride? Something like Soarin’ over CA? Who knows!
The parks panel also spent a lot of time with Blue Sky concepts. In other words, the Imagineers spent time talking about “what’s beyond (WDW’s) Big Thunder Mountain?” A lot of the language used was “could.” We were treated to concept art and a lot of use of “could.” While concept art is beautiful and it’s nice to imagine, it would be nice to see progress on what’s to come.
I felt so-so after the parks panel. It was still nice to be there in person to hear the news. I was excited about the Splash Mountain re-theme to Princess and the Frog finally. Yet, with Disney turning 100 and nothing said about Disneyland’s Tomorrowland was a great disappointment.
One of my favorite parts about D23 Expo was taking photos around the convention. There were so many booths an exhibits to explore. I had a few favorites including Avenger Con, Disney Parks, and Pixar.
Cosplay was also a big staple to the convention. You had official sanctioned Disney cosplay gatherings at the front of the convention center (though the themings were kinda funky – Princesses and Parks were the same gathering when it should be separate). You had people come in as their favorite characters or even come in as cosplay rarities. It was nice to see a lot of obscure Disney cosplay too!
Of course, we did have a few problems at the convention. We had an abelist security person (Chris) on the Katella entrance trying to convince my (blind) partner he was faking his blindness. While my partner was cosplaying as Matt Murdock, a canonically blind character and my partner is actually blind (maybe this representation thing is a good thing?), it does not give security a right to determine if he is blind or not. This soured our day one experience, but we got a lot of traction on social media bringing it to people’s attention.
Also parking became an issue to the point where we decided to just take a rideshare into the convention. On day 2, we had issues with Anaheim police telling us not to make a left turn and expected us to back up into incoming traffic to return to our lane when we had already made the turn. In other words, instead of letting us pass, he expected us to risk our lives. After parking, I had a huge panic attack from dealing with Anaheim police. After that experience, it’s either parking at the Gardenwalk or take a rideshare to the event.
Overall, D23 Expo is an experience every Disney fan needs to do at least once. 2022 was not the Disney company’s strongest year in terms of entertainment and offerings, but I do respect Disney’s continued tradition in creativity and storytelling. I was even convinced at D23 Expo to finally go to an Disney Cruise! Aside from the run in with the Anaheim po-po and not-so-magical abelist CM’s, I still enjoyed myself at this event. I do admit, by Day 3 afternoon I was feeling burnt out especially after the parks panel. Yet, I got a lot of shopping done and I was able to celebrate the awesomeness of Disney with likeminded childless millennials of the Pepsi generation.
Written by Dame Aznable IG: @damescarletaznable Twitter: @dameaznable TikTok: @damescarletaznable
