D23 Expo 2017

 

Costume from the movie Maleficent—Disney archives exhibit

 

D23, the Disney fanclub, has held its big three-day convention in Anaheim every two years since 2009.  What began as a low-key, rather amateur event eight years ago has evolved into a mega-media extravaganza comparable to a mini-Comic-Con and not in a good way. Attendees have to wait on line for hours to see their favorite Disney celebrities and/or shop in one of several exclusive pop-up Expo stores. One young man told me he waited three hours to get into the on-site Disney Store to buy a special "convention-only" set of Mary Poppins tsums-tsums for a friend. He kept his fingers crossed the entire time, hoping they wouldn't sell-out by the time he finally got inside. (Luckily, they didn't.) I commended him on being a truly good friend.

 

 Waiting, in what I call "the holding pen," to see Pixar animators

The fifth D23 Expo was this weekend. Tim and I have attended every one and, though, I often threaten to never return, I always do because, despite the lines and the crowds, it always ends up being a memorably fun time. We even got a hotel room, this time around, making traveling back-and-forth to Orange County a lot less stressful.

 

 Photo op with pile of books

 

The first major event on Friday was the induction of this year's Disney "Legends"—a prestigious hall of fame for celebrities and other talented Disney employees who have made major work contributions to the company. This year's group included several animators, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Garry Marshall, Julie Taymor, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. The Legends ceremony is always a highlight for me, so we arrived especially early to wait on line. It took two hours to get in; but even Tim had to admit the event was wonderful once we were inside, celebrating each person's accomplishments.

 

 Waiting for the Legends ceremony. Can you find Tim?

The other highlight was seeing the huge 3-dimensional model of the new Star Wars Land, called Galaxy's Edge, currently under construction at Disneyland. Though I resent how much the recently-acquired Stars Wars franchise now overshadows the more traditional Disney universe, even I'm excited to see the park's expansion into a world far, far away. It's scheduled to open in time for the next D23 Expo in 2019.

 

 Panorama of the new Galaxy's Edge, the largest land ever

to be added to any Disney property

Galaxy's Edge detail

 

More detail

 

One of the "other-worldly" characters to

populate the new land

 

Visitors will be able to fly the Millennium Falcon

 

Besides events, exhibits, and things to buy, the Expo lets fans release their inner Disney personas through costumes and other creative means not usually allowed in the parks.  Lots of adult princesses and villains, of course, But the most amazing was a young woman dressed as Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain ride, complete with a running model train! 

 Big Thunder Mountain costume

A fan dressed as the villain Ursula 

from Little Mermaid

 

When we're lucky, we even see real-life heroes wandering around the convention hall. I was gazing lovingly at my new Groot coin-purse, when I heard Tim say, "Babe, there goes SHAG!"

Sure enough, our all-time fave artist, SHAG (i.e., Josh Agle), was walking through the exhibits, unnoticed, with his children. We followed behind, until someone stopped him for a photo. We then we leaped in. SHAG was extremely gracious while I gushed about loving his work, etc. I then asked if that was him depicted in his 50th-anniversary painting of Disneyland's Frontierland and he said, "yes," pointing to his daughter, adding that she's in the picture, too. I was beyond thrilled and completely forgot how grumpy I was, just a few hours before, about not being able to see a panel discussion on upcoming live-action Disney movies because the line was too long! Hands down, meeting SHAG was the best part of this—or any—year's Expo.

With SHAG

 

The Frontierland 50th-anniversary print that hangs above our bed

 

Since we were spending the night anyway, we decided to go to the Angels baseball game just a mile from our hotel. Our seats were good, but the team not so much. Still, we did get to take a photo with staff characters from Disney California Adventure's Guardians of the Galaxy show, one of the sponsors of that night's game.

 

 In front of the stadium

With Peter Quill and Gamora

 

The perfect ending to this year's D23 Expo experience. Back to reality tomorrow . . .

D23 Expo: Hurry-Up and Wait

The second D23 Expo, Disney’s three-day “ultimate fan event,” was held this past weekend. No big shock that I had the dates saved on my calendar for almost a year. The first Expo, in 2009, was a fun but rather low-key affair. Not so much this year.

Day 1 (Friday)

The doors opened at 9AM on Friday. Since I was able to easily saunter in and out of the 2009 Expo, I didn’t feel at all compelled to get up earlier than usual before heading out to Anaheim. Imagine my surprise, then, when I arrived and saw (literally) thousands of people waiting outside the convention center! I parked my car and went searching for the end of line.

I stood behind a young man, from Pasadena, who had also gone to the 2009 Expo. In front of him was a young woman from San José, CA, and behind me a 30s-ish woman and her mother, both from Sacramento. Not too many people in costumes, though we did see a Mary Poppins and two distinctly different yet credible Cruella de Vils. Almost everyone else was sporting some sort of Disney t-shirt or paraphernalia. I, of course, fit right in with my Mickey Mouse tank-top, Nightmare Before Christmas sweatshirt (stylishly tied around my waist), Mickey flip-flops, and Walt Disney World charm bracelet.

The women in front and behind us had never attended a fan convention before, so Mr. Pasadena and I scooped them in on what to expect. We also commiserated about the massive crowds, which neither of us had expected.

“Last time, I just waltzed right in without having to wait on any lines,” I groaned. “I’m afraid D23 is becoming like Comic-Con.”

“Yes and it’s too bad,” Pasadena said.

After waiting more than an hour, we finally got in. I had already missed the first event of the day—a panel discussion and slideshow on the history of the Disneyland Hotel—so agreed to join Pasadena and Ms. San José on line for the Disney “Legends” induction ceremony at 11AM. All the truly big Disney names—like Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Roy E. Disney, etc.—were immortalized as “legends” years ago, so the event seems more of a publicity stunt now than an awards ceremony. Still, the audience—all 4000 of us!—were thrilled to see minor, as well as major, Disney stars. This year’s inductees included the actresses who voiced five of the most recent cartoon princesses—Jodi Benson (Ariel), Linda Larkin (Jasmine), Paige O’Hara (Belle), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), and Lea Solonga (Fa Mulan)—Regis Philbin, and Muppets creator Jim Henson and Guy Williams (Zorro), both deceased. The arena went wild when the princesses each sang a song from their individual movies. I’m not a fan of the princess genre, but even I got a little misty-eyed, especially when I noticed the burly man in front of me wiping away tears during Paige O’Hara’s Beauty and the Beast medley. The real highlight for me, though, was seeing Kermit the Frog and Rowlf sing “Rainbow Connection,” the sentimental hit song from the original Muppets Movie. (Click here to see a video of the performance.) How many times does one get to see the Muppets perform live on stage? Never.

My new friends and I floated out of the arena, comparing notes about our favorite parts of the program. It was nearly 1:30PM.

“Do you want to get on line for the next program at 3:30PM?” Mr. Pasadena asked. Ms. San José said yes immediately, but I had other plans.

“It was great getting to know you both, but now I’ve really got to go shopping!” I declared. “Enjoy the rest of the Expo!”

And with that I ran over to the "Collectors Forum," where vendors were hawking all sorts of marvelous things. I spent the next two hours searching for Disney gold.



As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, the older I get the more nostalgic I am about the Disneyland of my youth, when the park seemed so much more magical than it does today. To recapture those days, I’ve begun collecting (mostly paper) items that remind me of the original Disneyland. I hit the jackpot several times over at Expo, buying (among other things!) a vintage silk scarf (pictured above) decorated with scenes of the park’s various “lands,” a brochure commemorating the long-gone Monsanto “House of the Future,” and—the pièce de résistance!—a 30” x 44” wall map of Disneyland ca. 1964, when I was just 10 years old.

I was exhausted by 4PM, but decided to see one more exhibit before going home: “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” displayed in a special room on the 2nd floor of the convention center. The line was 30-minutes long, but well worth the wait to see costumes and memorabilia from the Mouseketeers, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Pirates of the Caribbean, the original Tron, the most recent Alice in Wonderland (Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter gear!), and Lost, the popular Disney-owned TV show that ended last year. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Tim all about it!

Day 2 (Saturday)

Tim went back with me, Saturday morning. The line was half as long as the day before. Yet well before we could even see the front door to the convention center, we heard an announcement that the first event of the day, featuring the stars (Robert Downey, Jr.! Scarlet Johansson!) and footage of upcoming Disney movies, was already full. We had just arrived and were already disappointed! This did not bode well for the rest of the day.



While everyone else was in the arena watching movie-clips, we strolled the vendor booths (again!) and admired artwork inspired by various Disney films. Once the program ended, however, the place turned into a mob scene. If we hadn’t already reserved a hotel room for the night, we probably would have left in disgust.





But then we discovered the D23 “charter member” lounge, a secluded room where charter members (me!) could relax and help themselves to free drinks and snacks. Rejuvenated, we decided to get on line for a presentation about the planned renovation of Disney California Adventure (DCA), the less-loved theme park located across from Disneyland.



An hour-and-a-half later, we and several hundred others were directed into a large ballroom, where we oohed and aahed over artist renderings of “Buena Vista Street,” DCA’s new entrance that will incorporate iconic elements of 1920s Los Angeles (e.g., the old “red car” trolley and the much lamented Carthay Circle theater, where Walt premiered Snow White). It's going to be absolutely fabulous.







The man sitting next to me, who shared my passion for all things Disneyland, recommended that Tim and I see the enormous “Parks and Resorts” exhibit downstairs, so we ran over there after the program ended. My new friend was right! Behind a secluded wall were small displays on all the new Disney travel and amusement park features still under development. Very fun. But once again, while there, we heard a voice from above announce that the line for the 6:30PM event we wanted to attend (two hours later!) was now closed. What to do?

We decided right then to skip Expo on Sunday and instead stay up late (i.e., past 10PM) to see DCA’s “The World of Color” light show, which we’d never seen. So we checked into our hotel, took the shuttle to the parks, ate dinner at Uva, our new favorite restaurant in Downtown Disney, and then stood on line (one last time!) to catch the 10:15PM “World of Color” show. It was fantastic!




Day 3 (Sunday)

On the way out of Anaheim, we stopped for a leisurely breakfast at the LaBrea Bakery in Downtown Disney. After shopping briefly at my favorite Disney Store, I looked at my watch and noticed it was only 10:30AM.

“There’s still time to go to Expo and stand on line for the 1:30PM program on DCA’s new Cars Land ride,” I said to Tim half-jokingly.

Getting no response, I grabbed his hand and headed home.

D23 Expo

I’m still recovering from this past weekend’s D23 Expo, the three-day fanfest where all things Disney are promoted, passionately debated, and sold. Like I wrote two years ago, the last Expo experience was far from ideal. And yet, Tim and I got up at the crack of dawn, Friday and Saturday, to schlep out to Anaheim and stand on line with thousands of other fans. Exhausted, we decided to stay home on Sunday.

Although not as wacky as Comic-Con, some fans do

dress as their favorite Disney characters

A big part of Expo is learning about new and upcoming Disney projects. Each day we waited more than two hours to see clips and performers from Disney’s slate of animated and live action movies due to be released over the next three years. Celebrity presenters included Bill Hader, the voice of various characters in three upcoming animated films (so this is why he left Saturday Night Live!), Tom Hiddleston (cue the screams!) and Christina Hendricks, both lending their voices to characters in the new Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy DVD, Dane Cook, the lead voice of Planes, Natalie Portman, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Hiddleston (again), all starring in the Thor sequel being released this November, Chris Evans, without his Captain America costume, a very funny Ty Burrell (Tim’s favorite), talking about Muppets Most Wanted due out next spring, and Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak, who play the famous songwriting Sherman brothers in Saving Mr. Banks, a dramatization of the making of Mary Poppins. Schwartzman, who has a very good singing voice, by the way, and Novak were joined by the real Richard Sherman to sing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” The audience, of course, went wild and, without invitation, sang along.

We were not-so-secretly hoping Tom Hanks, who plays Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, would appear, and were holding our breath in anticipation of George Clooney, who’s been cast in next year’s strangely mysterious live action movie Tomorrowland. Instead, we got Angelina Jolie, who stars as the title character in Maleficent, an origins story about Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis and my all-time favorite villainess (evil but beautiful!). Jolie looked thin but fit and was extremely gracious, relaying her enthusiasm for the project as well as the character. In fact, everyone appearing on stage proclaimed his/her life-long love of Disney, prompting Tim to whisper a pointed comment about “drinking the Kool-Aid.” Hmmm . . .

Me sporting Maleficent head-gear

The real deal

For me, one of the best things about Expo is meeting like-minded people who love the same things I do. It’s amazing how quickly one can make new friends while standing on line for two hours. Among the more interesting folks we met: a member of the Disneyana fan club, who lives here but frequently flies to Orlando to attend Walt Disney World events; a British podcaster, who plans his family’s trips to the U.S. around Expo dates; and an 18-year-old, who knows everything about every Disney ride ever created. I felt completely at home.

Tim and Monsters University characters

The Dark Side and me

D23 2015

Lines and more lines at D23 Expo 

Funny how we always seem to end up in Anaheim for our anniversary. This year it fell on the last day of the D23 Expo—the huge Disney extravaganza that happens every two years. I went early, Friday morning, and attended a program on the history of Disney merchandise—mostly just a big pimp for soon-to-be-released items—plus a wonderful panel on the early days of Disneyland. Elder Disney statesmen and "legends" Marty Sklar, Richard Sherman, and Orlando Ferrante talked about working with Walt back in the day. I didn't learn anything new, but it's always wonderful to hear the old stories.

Tim took the train to Anaheim, late Friday, and joined me in time for dinner. We spent the night and then returned to Expo the next morning. We saw the presentation on new park attractions—e.g., Star Wars (Disneyland and Orlando), Toy Story (Orlando) and Avatar (Orlando)—and then dashed upstairs for a panel commemorating the 20th anniversary of Toy Story. Director and Pixar head John Lasseter, animator Pete Docter, et al., reminisced about creating the movie that would set the standard for all animation that followed. Needless to say, we're big fans.

7000 people waiting to see the park attractions presentation

The convention was lots of fun, but the lines were obnoxious. After waiting on line outside in the broiling heat for two hours, the first day, I finally left and retreated to the hotel. I returned at noon after everyone else got inside, only to stand on more lines to get into the programs and D23's "Dream Store." In the store, I went crazy buying limited-edition items celebrating Disneyland's 60th anniversary, including a fabulous Harveys seatbelt bag decorated in an old paper-ticket design. A woman, who also grabbed one, asked if I knew how much the bags were.

"Does it matter?" I asked her incredulously.

"No!" she replied, as we both burst into laughter. By then, we were both giddy!

The famous Harveys bag

Surprisingly, not much cosplay this year; but lots of Mary Blair skirts and dresses in evidence. Lots of Star Wars, too, which I could have done without, even though I, of course, love Star Wars. We speculated that if Disney hadn't bought Lucasfilms, half the people wouldn't have gone to Expo and then the lines wouldn't have been so long.

Star Wars art: Imperial Tacos foodtruck ("Bite the darkside")

Me and Storm trooper

 Pixar's lucky charm: Pizza Planet

Bing Bong maquette and rest of characters (below) from Inside Out

 

More Inside Out: "Every day is full of emotions"

 

Sadness from Inside Out

Paperman

Little Bo Beep (Toy Story)

Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland)

Eric and Ariel (Little Mermaid)

D23

It should come as no surprise that I love almost everything related to Disney. Not only did I grow-up in Burbank, just a couple of miles from Disney Studios, but Disneyland opened just seven months after my first birthday. You might even say the park and I have grown old together, but only one of us gets regular face-lifts. (Hint: it’s not me!)

My fascination with all things Disney has only deepened since Tim went to work for the Mouse some twelve years ago. I was, therefore, ecstatic when I heard the company was finally starting an official fan club. Called D23, after the year (1923) Walt came to California to start his own studio, the club offers members insider scoops on events and, of course, special merchandise. Members also receive a beautiful quarterly magazine, Twenty-Three, which is destined to become a collector’s item.

Corporate heads also figured out the time was ripe to stage their own mini-Comic-Con and so the first-ever D23 Expo is being held this weekend in Anaheim, across the street from the Disneyland Resort. As soon as I heard about it, I became a D23 member and asked Tim to buy (hugely discounted!) employee passes to the Expo. I couldn’t convince anyone to go with me, so I took yesterday off and went by myself.

Disney CEO Bob Iger was speaking at 10AM, so I left early enough to park and saunter into the convention center. There was a handful of people walking into the exhibits area, but basically the place was pretty dead. I started to worry that the Expo was a bust and no one was going to show-up. Then I turned the corner heading to the arena and stopped dead in my tracks. Hundreds of people were waiting to get into the arena! As I found out later, many fans had arrived well before 5AM to stand on line. I knew then that the Expo was a success. But was I too late to see Iger?

Turns out the arena holds over 4000 people, so after snaking around on a typically long Disney line, we all surrendered our cameras and cellphones and made our way inside. Despite my fear of heights, I was happy to get a seat in the balcony. A few minutes later, a short video of various Disney clips was shown on three big screens above the stage. People cheered for their favorite Disney shows and characters (everyone—including me!—screamed for Johnny Depp as both captain Jack Sparrow and the red-haired Mad Hatter, from Tim Burton’s soon-to-be-released remake of Alice in Wonderland).

Into this frenzy walked Iger, whom the crowd adored. He thanked the fans for their support and told of innovations looming on the horizon (e.g., a new attraction based on the movie Cars, being built inside Disney’s California Adventure Park). He then treated us to the first 30 minutes of the new film The Princess and the Frog, animated in the hand-drawn style of Disney’s great old movie-length cartoons. (My quick review: the first 30 minutes are terrific!) The actress who voices the princess, Anika Noni Rose, came out next and sang the theme song live. The crowd went wild!

The best part of the morning, however, was the induction of the latest “Disney Legends,” employees and celebrities alike, who have left their mark on the company. Many Disney regulars, such as Fred McMurray, Julie Andrews, Kurt Russell, and the original “Nine Old Men” animators, have been inducted over the years. But this was the first time “outsiders” were invited to participate in the festivities.

This year’s inductees included: the current voices of Goofy (Bill Farmer) and Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo); Don Iwerks, uncle to Larry Iwerks with whom I went to high school; Imagineer Leota Toombs Thomas, whose likeness is world-renowned as the Haunted Mansion’s creepy disembodied head-in-a-jar; all four Golden Girls (Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White); and actor/comedian Robin Williams. The acceptance speeches, especially from White and Williams, were funny and often quite moving. As someone said afterward, “If I see nothing else today, that ceremony alone was worth the price of admission!” And she was right.

From there I jumped right into the collectibles section of the exhibits area. Now I’m a fan of most Disney films, but my real passion is Disneyland—especially the Disneyland of my childhood: the Monsanto “House of the Future,” which, I’m convinced, launched my fledgling interest in mid-century modern architecture; the “barf-buckets” (i.e., Skyway tram), which were sadly dismantled in 1994; the Rocket to the Moon, which I thought really did take us to the moon; the Flying Saucers (i.e., space-aged bumper cars, which were grounded in 1966); Dumbo; and the cups (i.e., Mad Hatter’s Tea Party). Although many of these rides have long ago been disassembled, they still spark tremendous nostalgia for me and so I’m always on the lookout for books, postcards or posters that recapture the Disneyland of yore. One guy offered an almost inescapable temptation: a seat from a Monorail train that had just been decommissioned. But, unfortunately, everything was far too “collectible” (i.e., expensive!), so I made do, quietly reliving my past by looking through boxes and boxes of other people’s memorabilia.

A screening of vintage home movies of early Disneyland was too crowded, so I roamed around the rest of the exhibits downstairs. Disney bridal dresses, vacation packages, furniture, and lots of artwork, were all being hawked by various vendors. There was also a museum-style display of props and mementos from the TV show Lost, which airs on Disney-owned ABC. Ben’s wire-rimmed glasses, Hurley’s lottery ticket, cans of Dharma Initiative food, etc.—all fun stuff for Lost fans.

Winding down, I saved the best for last: a darkened room upstairs filled with one-of-a-kind “treasures” from the Disney archives. Included here were costumes from Mary Poppins, Enchanted, Pirates of the Caribbean, and High School Musical; Annette and Cubby’s Mousketeer outfits; an 11-foot model of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; maquettes from Pinocchio; life-size robots from The Black Hole; the jewel-encrusted book from the opening scene in Sleeping Beauty; Herbie the Love Bug; and the sleigh from Babes in Toyland. It was the perfect way to end a perfectly magical day!





The good ol' days!