D23 Expo Impressions
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Disney Animation Studios autograph session with
Tangled film makers
The Party Gets Bigger
Disney department representation on the Expo floor was huge. Disney Consumer
Products, Disney Publishing, Disney Stores, Home Entertainment, Disney
Animation Studios and Disney Interactive Media Group all had large presences
on the floor. And the new kid on the block, Marvel, was well represented in
two arena presentations (though a spot on the floor would have been fun). And
I love seeing much smaller departments of Disney like the El Capitan and
Corporate Responsibility. It�s great that the D23 Expo is about all of Disney,
not just the theme parks and movies.
Shut Out of Events
I understand that there is a limited amount of space and not everyone can see
every event, but even with that, I would think Disney would do everything they
can to make sure as many people as possible saw each event. So putting John
Lasseter�s Cars Land in a smaller room near the time of a relatively empty
Disney Channel arena presentation is an odd decision. I also understand there
were some events listed as for D23 members only. But there were others that
weren�t yet still ended up that way. For example, the 9:30a Disneyland Hotel
presentation on Friday was not listed as a D23 member event, but the
Convention Center doors did not open until 10a for non-members so there was no
way they could get to it. I was able to find on the D23 website where it said
doors wouldn�t open for non-members until 10a, but when you have an event that
shows as starting at 9:30a, you�re going to get (and they did get) many guests
who thought they�d be able to attend and couldn�t.
The Mobile App
Disney created a mobile app (actually a mobile-optimized web page) for the Expo that did a good job of letting you
know everything planned, letting you create your own schedule and alerting you
to things throughout the day like queues being full so you wouldn�t waste your
time going upstairs to check. As I result, I never once opened my very nice
event booklet. I just used the app instead. I really applaud them for that.
Where Were the Showstoppers?
In 2009 the Parks and Resorts presentation had the Stormtrooper invasion. The
Studios presentation had Johnny Depp�s amazing appearance and Miley Cyrus
singing The Climb. Even the opening event, the Legends Ceremony, had a live
appearance by Disney CEO Bob Iger. Even though Iger wasn�t live this year, the
first Arena event still had a great showstopper with the live performances by
the voices of the Disney Princesses. Truly spectacular. But that was it. The
Parks and Resorts presentation was a series of discussions with no real show
element. While I didn�t attend the Studios presentation, I�ve talked to
several people and there was nothing close to 2009�s highlights (though the
free cupcake to celebrate Pixar�s 25th was very nice). I really had high hopes
for the History of Marvel presentation on Sunday and while I learned a lot
about Marvel and got excited about their future place in the Disney family,
based on their Comic-Con history I really thought there would be some big
surprises and there weren�t. �I love the information, I love seeing the people
that create the magic, but Disney is also all about the show and that really
seemed to be lacking this year.
The stern of the Disney Dream. Who's painting the
Fantasy?
Why Hold Back?
At the 2009 Disney Cruise Line presentation they announced the Disney Wonder
would be going to Alaska and that the Disney Dream�s lobby icon would be
Admiral Donald. Wonderful - something new to announce to the fans. This year�s
Cruise Line presentation was focused on creating the Disney Dream and it was
great. As a Disney Cruise fan I enjoyed it immensely. But at one point one of
the Imagineers was talking about how they put a character on the stern of each
ship as if they�re finishing the painting. He mentioned that they had decided
what would be on the Disney Fantasy but he couldn�t say what it was. Why hold
back? Making such an announcement in a media event isn�t going to exactly stop
the presses, but that�s exactly the kind of tidbit that thrills the fans. It
seemed like a perfect opportunity, missed, to make an announcement the fans
would eat up.
Catching Up
One of best aspects of the Expo is it brings Disney fans from all over the
world into one place. Having been a part of the online Disney fan community
for about 15 years now, I saw too many old friends to count - most of whom I
hadn�t seen in person since the last D23 Expo. And if for no other reason than
that, I hope there are many more D23 Expos to come.
Discuss It
-- Posted August 23, 2011
-- Text and Pictures by Doobie Moseley