We arrived at the Anaheim Convention Center on a summer's day in Mid-July at about 7AM, hours before the show started. Even by then, there was a huge crowd to be the first to pass through the doors.There were two ways of obtaining your badge to D23 - 1) badges are mailed to attendees who paid registration and 2) picking up tickets at will call. The former does not have an extra charge. Badges were printed on stock paper; no special laminations of backing which made it worrisome should a badge rip from the lanyard.

Before getting in, we were looped around the Anaheim Convention Center and then to be placed inside in the waiting halls. Doors didn't officially open in the expo until at 10AM. Fortunately, our first panel did not have any lines or a need for a stage pass. Just waltz right in…

 

Star vs the Forces of Evil / Gravity Falls by Eri Kagami Sews
Disney XD is home to animated series that have captivated audiences of all ages - even adults. There's something special about Disney XD animated programming; while not available on all cable packages, it's no secret that the Gravity Falls fandom is alive and kicking even after the show's end and Star vs the Forces of Evil is ever growing and ever emerging. The panel brought in the creators behind Gravity Falls and Star Vs. the Forces of Evil. The first part of the panel was the creators talking about what it is like working behind the scenes. However, the main focus of the panel was the books that were made in tandem with these series.

Star vs the Forces of Evil recently came out with the first book, "Star and Marco's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension." While the series is still running, it does provide new canonical insight to the characters and world of Star Butterfly. Daron Nefcy, creator of Star vs…, announced that there would be a new book based on Star's book of spells. We were even shown a preview to the season three opener where the new Queen Moon is about to confront Toffee.

Alex Hirsch also talked about his work on both the regular and special limited version of Book 3. The special version of Book 3's behind the scenes story was very interesting. Alex wanted the book to be leather bounded, black light effects, etc and was not sure if people would buy it at the high price point it was retailed at. He was surprised when it sold out fast! He even talked about personally signing all of the special versions of Book 3. We got two announcements that there would be a Gravity Falls coloring book and a comic series. Summer is not over yet!

 

Autographs by Eri Kagami Sews
After the panel, we went to the autograph line; it was just outside the arena, not too hard to find. We were planning on getting autographs from Daron Nefcy and Dominic Bisignano. This was one of the first autograph sets of the day. While the line for Alex Hirsch was longer (and also required a purchase of Book 3 to be signed), the Star vs…line was much shorter. However, it did come with confusion. We weren't sure at first what was permissible to sign. Some people in line were confused where to buy Daron's book or if the book had to have been purchased at the expo. Some people also had other Star related merchandise to be signed. However, we did find a cast member on the higher ups to clarify that anything can be signed, as long as it was not body parts. Autographs and selfies with the creative team were free. Daron and Dominic gave us mini sketches in our copy of "Star and Marco's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension." Also Daron said I was the first Princess Star cosplayer she's ever seen. We even took a selfie!

To show you how personal this event is with Disney fandom, Adam Mcarthur, voice of Marco Diaz, ran into us after getting Daron's autograph. He also wanted a selfie with us too! You never know who you will run into at D23 Expo!

 

Belle is Alive by Eri Kagami Sews
At the Disney Consumer Products booth, there was a main stage where you can watch mini-panels live. Because the line for animated features was already at capacity an hour before panel start, we decided to wander the consumer products section. The main stage featured the latest Belle doll. The doll could be programed to mimic dance moves via an app on a tablet or phone. You can have Belle glide across the floor or have her hands raised. Endless possibilities. There was a contest between old and young fans of Beauty and the Beast to see who had the better dance moves programmed into the doll. Both participants won the latest Belle doll from the movie.

If this isn't the start of Skynet, I don't know what is.

 

Daron vs.Alex by Jared the Greek
One of the unique types of event you can find at D23 is the speed drawing contest between the creator of Gravity Falls and the creator of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. The panel began with a discussion about their designs and inspirations. This was then followed by a contest between both artists as fans from the audience had to guess what they were drawing. Both artists were given a secret topic and had to draw as their team tried to guess. The Gravity Falls team won, but all participants won a prize and special lucky few in the audience got the drawings they did for the contest. It was a fun way to spend some time at the con.


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