Since being established in 2009, The D23 Expo would grow beyond being merely “The Ultimate Disney Fan Event”. Over its fifteen-year run, it would become one of the premiere conventions. Easily rivaling the likes of the San Diego Comic Con, Anime Expo, and Fan Expo Canada, among others. Tens of thousands would flock to the Anaheim Convention Center, just next door to Disneyland, to immerse themselves in all things Disney. And from August 9th through 11th, the biennial event would expand in presentation and experience on a grander scale.

Dan: I’ve said it many times, but my first D23 Expo in 2015 made me a life-long attendee instantly. It’s a convention that continued to dazzle me in ways that not even the San Diego Comic Con could best from time to time. And there’s so much to see and experience that I often struggled to figure out what I should check out because I wanted to go through everything despite knowing that I couldn’t. This was all the more apparent when Disney made the intriguing move to hold their biggest programs at the Honda Center to host 12,000 fans.

Previously, it wasn’t difficult to obtain a badge to the D23 Expo in general. The issue then was having to figure ways to ensure a spot in the big programs, be it spending the night at the convention center or hoping to luck out with a reservation. For 2024, things got a little more complicated with the move to The Honda Center. Most notably, it was ticketed and required a D23 Expo badge in order to get a ticket. As everyone and their grandmother wanted in on the big events, they were going to jump the second badges and tickets went on sale.

It got so packed that thirty minutes in the system crashed and was down for nearly an hour. I was laughing as I had just related to a colleague about the disaster of the reservation system in 2019 and this was turning into that. It took two-and-a-half hours before I was up and trying to get a ticket to the Honda Center was insane as open seats flashed for only seconds. I determined I needed to play whack-a-mole by focusing on one area to grab an open seat as quickly as possible. This worked out and I was set for all three events at the Honda Center.

Rand: It is amazing how differently Dan and I experienced D23. There is so much going on that each individual in attendance could easily have a totally unique weekend. I was traveling with a wife and teenage son, too, though they let me set the agenda. When planning to attend these types of things, planning ahead is an absolute must; but even then, it is a challenge to set one’s priorities. There is just a wealth to see and do!! At best, you will only see a small fraction of what is available. I never hit the boutique stores (aside from Disney Music Emporium), and only went to one signing event. The one thing I wish I’d realized early on is that it was actually pretty easy to get into every presentation I wanted to see, even without a reservation. Reservations were requested in advance online, but out of the many choices made by us, my wife and I each only got a single reservation for the presentations, yet we managed to see quite a bit, and they never really seemed to fill completely anyway. So, we would have planned on seeing even more if I had known how easy it would be to get into most things. Only the nighttime events at the Honda Center were off-limits to us, as we did not manage to get the separate tickets needed for those events. Dan got lucky, though, and got in for every night. We were, however, able to at least see the simulcast for Disney Legends.

Rand: My initial stop on the first day was this panel with Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh. I know that my now-grown daughter watched Phineas and Ferb when she was young, sometimes accompanied by my wife; and since getting Disney+, I have been watching it with my son. We both may have aged past the supposed target audience, but I have to say, we both think it’s a pretty wonderful show – supremely creative and positive, with many entertaining characters, and a nice dose of heart. And that is, of course, all by design, so it was a real treat to hear the creators of the show describe its genesis and their goals for the show. (Not to mention entertain us with doing voices!) Their intent was to make a show that would encourage kids to get outside, create, and play, all while avoiding negativity. They addressed how challenging it could be to have their other writers veer away from the sarcasm and cynicism that they were accustomed to including in their scripts for other series, but also how that process resulted in rewarding work. The creators also naturally addressed the series’ upcoming re-start, their favorite episodes, and lots of behind-the-scenes info, like how the show was only picked up several years after the initial pitch was submitted (Disney reportedly only wanted “girl shows” at the time) – and how one of the creators actually had to move back to the USA from the UK in order to start work on the series. Throw in a nifty Phin & Ferb pencil & pad giveaway, and you have all the makings of a great panel, and a terrific start to my D23.

Dan: Pete Docter would collaborate with author Don Peri to write Directing at Disney: The Original Directors of Walt’s Animated Films. The book offered a look at the men who laid the foundation of Disney filmmaking for generations that followed. It also explored their roles as directors and the processes by which they would craft an animated program from start to finish. In conjunction with the book’s release, Peri and Docter got together with contemporary Disney and Pixar filmmakers to discuss how the role had evolved over the decades.

The Walt Disney Archives Stage was packed with fans savoring at the opportunity to hear about the process of directing an animated feature under Disney and Pixar. Peri would serve as host while Docter (Up) would be joined by Domee Shi (Turning Red), Peter Sohn (Elemental), Jennifer Lee (Frozen), Jared Bush (Zootopia), and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid). By in large, everyone focused on talking about the role of the director and hardly touched upon the films themselves. In other words, an educational panel that happened to be entertaining.

An aspect that was emphasized was being a central voice within a collaborative environment. Lee explained, “You have to be able to hold a vision. But you have to hold it with flexibility to evolve. You don’t evolve it alone. And you have to leave your ego at the door and do everything that’s right for the story.”

Docter would add that, for Disney and Pixar, “You’re making the movies, not for yourself, but for the audience.” This led to an anecdote from a recent conversation he had with Hayao Miyazaki. “I was asking him, ‘How do you know when you are making a change for you versus for the audience?’ And he said, ‘I never think about the audience.'”

Peri essentially stayed aside and let the directors talk. He only spoke to set up a subject of discussion and the directors would spend several minutes explaining the lessons they learned from their experiences. Be it how they would address notes they received to working with actors in finding the right voice. The one subject that was a slight deviation, but was fun to hear nonetheless, was what each director would ask Walt Disney personally. It turned out to be a great hour-long presentation filled with fascinating insight and delightful chatter.

Dan: It was nearly 70 years ago when Jim Henson introduced the first iteration of The Muppets as part of his Washington DC-based TV series Sam and Friends. In the decades that followed, they would grow in interest and popularity, with the highly beloved 1976 ABC TV series The Muppet Show launching their stardom into the stratosphere. Since then, the Muppets were globally renowned and recognized figures, in particular the diva Miss Piggy, and were celebrated at every turn. Anything about them would be one fans would attend in droves.

I didn’t get into the presentation until just a few minutes after they started. I understand there was a moment where the panelists did sit down, but that had to have been super brief as they were already on their feet and stayed that way for nearly the rest of the hour. Yvette Nicole Brown served as host with Dani Iglesias, producer for The Muppet Studios, and Rebecca Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives. The three would explore the 70-year history of the Muppets through the various Miss Piggy-realted props that were present on stage.

Showcased were a bicycle from The Great Muppet Caper, the original Foo-Foo puppet, the engagement ring from Muppets Most Wanted, the tribal dress from Muppet Treasure Island, and the Kermit costume from Muppet Haunted Mansion. It was noted that the bicycle had arrived in pieces and was reassembled just days before. The panel was one of the few at D23 to have audience questions and one about props they would like to obtain was answered with interest in locating movie customes worn by human actors like Michael Caine and Tim Curry.

While there were the standard questions like favorite Muppets and adaptations they would like to see the Muppets take on, the more interesting questions were from aspiring puppeteers about taking care of their creations. The presentation would more or less conclude with a suprirse appearance from Jodi Benson, who performed “Never Before, Never Again” from The Muppet Movie. When the panel did wrap, Brown stuck around to interact with fans for a good long while. This was a very nice event with everyone having fun reminiscing and celebrating the Muppets.

Dan: The centerpiece of the D23 Expo was undoubtedly the Disney Entertainment Showcase. Previously broken up into separate presentations, this year would combine them all into one mega event. With fans having previously spent the night at the Anaheim Convention Center to ensure they were among the near 7,000 to attend these spectacles, it was more than likely the biggest reason for it and a couple other major events to be moved to the Honda Center so that 12,000 could experience the awe-inspiring festivities that only Disney could offer.

Yvette Nicole Brown served as the evening’s host. Her first order of business was to introduce Disney CEO Bob Iger to say a few words. Given all that had and was still happening over the last couple years, Iger getting a hearty standing ovation spoke volumes to me. Iger expressed humbleness in his brief speech before getting the showcase started.

And it opened with a performance of a new song “We’re Back” from Moana 2, as sung live by Auli’i Cravalho (Moana). She would quickly be joined by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Maui) as they introduced the full trailer to the film. This was an excellent way to start the festivities and had me all the more excited to see the film.

Johnson would stay for a moment and be joined by Disney Co-Chairman Alan Bergman to announce a live-action feature Johnson would be doing for Disney in Monster Jam, set in the motorsport of the same name. Not much more to say about this one.

Next up was James Cameron to give an update on the next chapter in his Avatar franchise. Along with stars Sam Worthington (Sully) and Zoe Saldaña (Neytiri), they announced the title of the third feature as Avatar: Fire and Ash. Even with the lack of footage, there was clearly some positive anticipation just from how Cameron hyped it up.

It was back to animation as Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter arrived to rundown what the studio had lined up. He began with a look at Dream Productions, a limited series for Disney+ set in the universe of Inside Out that focused on dreams Riley would have. He then showcased a final trailer for the upcoming Win or Lose series, which had been in development for some years now. Both looked pretty good and seemed like titles worth checking out.

On the feature end, Docter officially confirmed Andrew Stanton as the director of Toy Story 5. Stanton appeared to explain the narrative of the feature alongside the first production art to be revealed. It was very interesting with how there was some interest while at the same time there was an air of reservation over the necessity of a fifth film.

Next was a teaser trailer for the feature to come out in 2026, revealed to be Hoppers. The zany film looked and sounded like it could end up being a lot of fun, and quite a break from the usual Pixar mold.

Before that would get released, there would be Elio in 2025. Star Yonas Kibreab (Elio) appeared to present another look at the feature along with Zoe Saldaña returning to confirm her taking over the role of Olga, now redeveloped as Elio’s aunt. The expanded look at the film had it looking like a potential sleeper hit.

The Pixar portion closed out with the sudden announcement that The Incredibles 3 was in development. This definitely got a huge reaction from the audience, even with Docter explaining that they had only gotten started and it would be a while before they had anything more to share.

Disney Animation was up and first would be Zootopia 2. Star Ginnifer Goodwin (Judy) appeared to explain the the adventure Judy and Nick would be embarking on as well as announcing that joining the cast would be Ke Huy Quan as Gary, the story’s prime suspect. They showed a fun little scene that further expanded on the series’ top-notch world-building.

Jennifer Lee, who was Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer at the time, appeared. First was the assurance that there was an original feature planned for 2026, it was just too early in development to reveal any details about it. If you ask me, this was them taking a lesson from some previous D23 showcases, in which they announced something early only for it to get shelved, like Gigantic. Curious to see what this unknown feature will end up becoming, though.

Lee then finished up by talking about about Frozen III. This was another one that got a huge reaction despite there being little to present. Though Lee did provide a look at the first piece of concept art developed by Brittany Lee. This was on the level of teasing during the early stages of Frozen II‘s development, so getting concept art was a huge plus in my book.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Disney on Broadway. Celebrating the occasion was a wonderful performance featuring Michael James Scott (Genie) with “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin, L. Steven Taylor (Simba) and Pearl Khwezi (Nala) with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from The Lion King, Kara Linday (Belle) and Adam Jacobs (Beast) with “Beauty and the Beast”, Bradley Gibson (Hercules) and the Muses with “Go the Distance” and “Zero to Hero” from the upcoming Hercules, and Samantha Barks (Elsa) with “Let It Go” from Frozen.

Then came what was a legitimate showstopper. Ryan Vasquez, Aisha Jackson, Josh Strickland, Hannah Corneau, Mykal Kilgore, and Anastasia Talley appeared suddenly in the middle of the Honda Center and made their way to the stage as they performed “The Greatest Show”, signifying that the popular feature The Greatest Showman was becoming a stage muscial. One or two instances where the microphone didn’t pick up some of the singing didn’t bother any one as the otherwise electrifying performance got one of the loudest reactions of the night.

The festivities then moved on to Star Wars. First, Jude Law (Jod Na Nawood) came out to present a first look at the forthcoming series Skeleton Crew. The impressive footage hearkened to the 80s sci-fi/fantasy wonder, which was more than enough to give it a positive reception.

Diego Luna (Cassian Andor) was next to preview the highly anticipated second season of Andor. The dramatic footage definitely got fans very excited to see events that would lead up to the popular Rogue One feature.

Closing out Star Wars would be Jon Favreau and Filoni discussing The Mandalorian and Grugu, taking the extremely beloved television series to the big screen. They talked about the journey the story had gone through and, in what had become a Favreau tradition, showcased exciting footage even though they had only started filming mere weeks ago. This looked to be loads of fun.

It was time for Kevin Feige and Marvel. First up was Captain America: Brave New World. Feige brought out Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson) to present extended footage of what looked to be a thrilling good time. Everything appeared to be coming together swimmingly from what was shown.

Mackie stuck around for a minute to help introduce The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Shown was a delightful piece that was presented as a 1960s colored newsreel with Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm) in character along with a teasing look at Galactus. I really liked how it looked.

Feige then went to television, starting with Ironheart. Executive Producer Ryan Coogler and stars Dominique Thorne (Riri Williams), Anthony Ramos (Parker Robbin), Lyric Ross (Natalie Washington), Alden Ehrenreich (Joe McGillicuddy), and Regan Aliyah presented a first look at the limited series, that appeared to take a more gritty approach to aspiring super heroes.

That was, until we moved over to a proper street level super hero series in Daredevil: Born Again. Stars Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock), Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Fisk), Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle), Debroah Ann Woll (Karen Page), and Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson) presented exciting footage of the returning series. It seemed like the creative overhaul paid off as fans were pumped over what was shown.

The Marvel portion closed out with Agatha All Along. It started with preview footage of the series that tickled the interest of fans. But what pulled them in was the sudden performance of “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” by the cast Kathryn Hahn (Agatha Harkness), Joe Locke (Billy Kaplan), Patti LuPone (Lilia Calderu), Ali Ahn (Alice Wu-Gulliver), Sasheer Zamata (Jennifer Kale), Debra Jo Rupp (Sharon Davis), and Aubrey Plaza (Rio Vidal). It was delightful enough to raise interest a bit more.

Staying with television, Percy Jackson and the Olympians was presented. Author Rick Riordan was joined by stars Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Aryan Simhardi (Grover Underwood) as they talked about what audiences could expect in the second season. Even with the lack of footage, fans seemed pleased enough with what they heard.

Next was The Descendants. Aside from Rita Ora (Queen of Hearts) announcing an interactive arena tour mixing The Descendants with Zombies called the “Worlds Collide Tour”, it was more of a celebration of the recently released Rise of Red feature. And what better way to celebrate it than with performances of “Red”, “Perfect Revenge”, and “Life is Sweeter” by stars Kylie Cantrall (Red), Dara Reneé (Uliana), Malia Baker (Chloe), Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget), and Morgan Dudley (Ella). It was neat for what it was.

Things took an interesting turn with a look at David Blaine: Do Not Attempt from National Geographic. The series itself seemed intriguing enough. Then Blaine appeared to perform a card trick with the audience. It felt like it was going on a little long at first, until we got hit with the reveal that we admitted was very well done.

The return to features began with the unexpected sequel to Freaky Friday, with a goofy video montage that implied it was inspired by an Instagram post of Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reuniting some time ago. Curtis and Lohan would appear to talk about the film, titled Freakier Friday, with accompanying stills. Some fans seemed to be on board.

This was followed with a tease specific to D23 for the live-action Lilo and Stitch feature. It was merely a point-of-view clip of Stitch crashing into the Honda Center during the day and causing chaos. It was what it was.

Next was the live-action Snow White feature. Stars Rachel Zegler (Snow White) and Gal Gadot (Evil Queen) appeared to show off footage of the film, as they had done two years ago. Among the footage was the now infamous “Whistle While You Work” sequence that revealed the CGI appearance of the dwarves. There were certainly a lot of reservations about what was seen over the dwarves, while everything else seemed to be regarded as fine enough.

To get the audience back, the festivities moved over to Tron: Ares. Fans were definitely excited for this one. Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn) appeared first to express enthusiasm about the franchise returning before introducing fellow cast members Jared Leto (Ares), Greta Lee (Eve Kim), and Evan Peters (Julian Dillinger). They talked a bit about their characters before showing off excellent footage of the film. Everyone was as pumped as could be when things went further by showing off Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) as the music composers.

Closing the showcase would be Mufasa: The Lion King. It started with Lebo M appearing in the middle of the Honda Center to sing “The Circle of Life” on his way to the stage to join a backing chorus. Director Barry Jenkins then appeared to talk about the film and introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda, who would write the new songs. They should off a sequence for one of those new songs “I Always Wanted a Brother”, which was catchy enough.

Then they brought out the cast in Aaron Pierre (Mufasa), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Taka), Anika Noni Rose (Afia), Braelyn Rankins (Young Mufasa), Theo Somolu (Young Taka), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), and Billy Eichner (Timon) to present the trailer for the film. It looked impressive enough to at least turn out better than the 2019 remake of The Lion King. Lebo M and the chorus returned to perform another new musical track “Ngomso”. This would end the showcase on an exciting note, as accentuated with the raining confetti bursting from the ceiling.

The move to the Honda Center allowed for the Entertainment Showcase to become an even bigger spectacle than it had been previously. This was exemplified by the many musical performances taht were staged, nearly all of them fantastic and elevated the fan atmosphere to another level. The star power of display was as impressive as ever, and there was plenty to like about many of the programs that would be released in the years to come. I had a great time from start to finish, continuing to look forward to see what they would do next.

Rand: The New York World’s Fair of the Sixties has an amazing legacy. It brought Disney into closer contact with corporations, gave him a new venue for the creative work of him and his Imagineers, and originated the famed park attractions Carousel of Progress and It’s a Small World. The panel included mostly entertainment journalist Leonard Maltin and Pixar director and Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, who discussed the history of the Fair and Walt’s involvement, and all that it led to. That was all fascinating enough, but then Marvel Studios head Kevin Fiege and director/actor/producer Jon Favreau came out. Fiege and Favreau shared their own stories of how the Fair affected their lives, even though they were each too young to have attended it. This made me think that their presence there was unwarranted, but then they had a neat surprise: footage of legendary Disney songwriter Richard Sherman demonstrating his World’s Fair-like song for Iron Man 2! Okay, so that was pretty cool. Topping off the panel was film composer Michael Giacchino coming out to discuss his work on the Fair-inspired film Tomorrowland, then addressing his score for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, which reportedly has the same optimistic energy. While this panel was a bit of a mishmash, it was all good stuff.

Dan: The Marvel Animation division of Marvel Studios was established in July of 2021 as part of centralizing Marvel Entertainment under the watchful eye of Kevin Feige in his role as chief creative officer. In the three years since, the studio released a few projects that had been very well received, from the fun What If…? series that connected with the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the highly acclaimed X-Men ’97 that revived the classic 1992 original series. As a result of these early successes, there was now great anticipation to see what they could do next.

Hosting the presentation would be Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming, television, and animation. In a way, it came off like a major program that wouldn’t have been out of place with the Honda Center events. This was thanks to the inclusion of various figures appearing to showcase the shows they worked on, a few being surprise guests. Case in point, the festivities started with X-Men ’97 as voice actors Cal Dodd (Wolverine) and Lenore Zann (Rogue) appeared to talk about the success of the first season and what fans could expect from the second season.

Winderbaum moved over to What If…? with executive producer/director Bryan Andrews teasing what would come in the third and final season. This included screening a fun scene of a timeline where an Avengers team operate a Voltron-like mech.

Next was the first new series Eyes of Wakanda. A limited series that would explore various generations of Wakandan warriors, it was presented by creator Todd Harris and executive producer Ryan Coogler. They showed off an impressive scene that introduced Noni, described as Wakanda’s version of a disrupter.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man followed with creator Jeff Trammell and voice actors Hudson Thames (Peter Parker) and Colman Domingo (Norman Osborn). They noted the focus on the mentor/student relationship between the two characters and its destined fracturing. Along with the title sequence, two scenes were screened: the first revealing the show’s version of the spider bite and the second seeing one of the early instances of Osborn serving as the “man in the chair” to Spider-Man. The scenes came off pretty decent and were well liked overall.

Andrews returned to close out the presentation with a look at the mature-rated Marvel Zombies. Spinning off from the popular What If…? episode, the limited series would see other Marvel heroes trying to survive in the zombie-infested alternate universe. The scene screened focused on Shang-Chi and how instrumental the Ten Rings would become. It was an interesting enough scene, and I’m still highly amused by the notion of Skrulls becoming a biker gang. In the end, this showcase of Marvel Animation was good enough to elicit positive excitement from fans.

Dan: The original Inside Out, directed by Pete Docter in 2015, was already among the most successful films produced by Pixar both critically and commercially. Though the notion that a sequel was considered an inevitability, hardly any one could have imagined it would be an even greater success. Directed by Kelsey Mann, Inside Out 2 unexpectedly became the highest grossing animated feature of all-time while garnering high critical reception similar to the original. The world had fallen in love with the emotions inside a teen girl named Riley.

Not even Disney expected Inside Out 2 to be as successful as it was. As such, the newly established franchise’s presence at D23 was relatively low key: a whole room dedicated to an interactive experience of being in the emotions’ headquarters and one presentation, that being production designer Jason Deamer talking about the look of the film. It was pleasant to hear him talk fondly of the film, honestly. Some tidbits that got fans interested was everyone wanting to work on the Lance character and a deleted sequence that was called “Cry Hard”.

Some of what Deamer discussed was also covered in our Jérémie Noyer’s lovely interview with him, which you should definitely check out here.

Deamer’s presentation itself was kept fairly short. As it turned out, there indeed was “a Dreamy surprise” for attendees. Producer Jaclyn Simon and director Mike Jones appeared to present their show Dream Productions. By having an advance screening of the first episode in full.

Review: Like everyone else in the room, I really enjoyed what I saw from the screening. It’s the mockumentary style akin to The Office that made it all the more engaging to watch. It managed to flesh out so much more of the universe that I’m looking forward to diving back in.

Jones had one more surprise after the screening finished, such that he didn’t have a microphone. It turned out that in attendance was Kensington Tallman, the voice of Riley in Inside Out 2 and Dream Productions. Those who heard him were quick to meet her, even while D23 staffers were clearing the room. Everyone eventually mingled outisde the room and Tallman graciously hung out with the fans, which grew once word spread of who she was. It was a delightful end to what turned out to be a fun presentation that went in unexpected directions.

Rand: This two-hour event also covered King Of The Hill and Family Guy, and gave each creator ample time to discuss his show on stage. Matt Groening, Nancy Cartright, Mike Judge, Loren Bouchard and Seth McFarlane were among the participants. Seeing all these talents together felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and what a pleasure it was to see titans of TV animation all discussing their series, sharing anecdotes, answering questions and drawing sketches, and also showing some sneak peeks.

At a separate signing event earlier that same day, I managed to get a Futurama poster that was signed by the producers and cast. AND I was pretty thrilled to see that Groening had doodled a Zoidberg on the poster. Still makes me smile!

Dan: What would be better than witnessing the Disney magic brought to life? How about experiencing it for real? For 70 years, Disney had been offering unique and sometimes revolutionary means by which they brought their entertainment to life. From their park attractions to their line of cruise ships, fans could interact with their favorite characters and experience their favorite moments for real. As such, the Disney Experiences Showcase had been one of the more popular events to attend as fans got to preview would be brought to life soon.

The showcase kicked off with a bit of a surprise: the return of the Mad T Party. A staple of the nighttime activities at California Adventure ten years ago, they were a popular cover band themed as the Alice in Wonderland characters. They made for a very fun start to the festivities, going for nearly half-an-hour performing songs like a “What I Like About You” and “Happy” mash-up, “The Unbirthday Song”, and “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”, among others.

When the showcase proper started, Chairman of Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro served as host. All throughout, he pushed the theme for this year’s presentations being dubbed “Horizons”. No doubt to play up the notion that the forthcoming attractions being announced were the grand Disney experiences that were “on the horizon”, as it were. It was an interesting way of presenting the event.

There was an orchestra band on stage throughout the showcase, signifying that there would be more musical performances to come. This was examplified by going right into one following an introductory sizzle reel. And joining the band would be John Stamos. Stamos would perform “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” on stage at the piano and then made his way to the center of the Honda Center to finish on “When You Wish Upon a Star”. In-between would be a musical montage of the Disney parks. This bit turned out to be quite nice, honestly.

Stamos took a moment to recognize the forthcoming 70th anniversary of Disneyland before throwing things over to Darren Criss and Skylar Astin. The two came off as secondary hosts, jumping in a couple times to do a big band performance mixing comedy with parodies of Disney attraction songs. Their first appearance was an especially delightful performance with some good jokes to boot.

It took an hour, but we finally got our first preview of an upcoming experience. D’Amaro announced an Avatar Experience would be coming to California Adventure. Ali Rubinstein from Imagineering explained that the land would draw from The Way of Water as well as offering teases of Fire and Ash and perhaps from future films. Most notable was the inclusion of an attraction themed on guests taking an excursion to discover the wildlife of Pandora. Sounded like a winner to me.

Next, an Ernesto de la Cruz character appeared to perform his version of “Remember Me”. This would set up the announcement of a Coco attraction at California Adventure. It seemed to be an immersive boat ride venturing through the Land of the Dead. Looked like it would be loads of fun.

Appearing in the middle of the Honda Center would be Rachel Potter and Eden Espinosa. Both noted their start at Disney parks on their road to Broadway, singing snippets of “Journey to Fantasy Springs” and “Just Around the Riverbend”, before previewing the upcoming nighttime spectacles for Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The highlight from this being that, for Magic Kingdom, there would be a new parade called Disney Starlight. The concept art displayed made it look to be a dazzling show.

This would lead to a performance by famed a cappella group Pentatonix. The group picked bits and pieces from numerous songs, be it from the animated features or the attractions, themed around the nighttime spectacles to come. Their harmonizing were undeniably impressive.

D’Amaro returned to preview the upcoming addition to Disneyland Paris in Disney Adventure World. This would include the anticipated land dedicated to Arendelle from Frozen, a new nighttime show at Adventure Bay, and a new Lion King attraction. Celebrating the occasion would be Tank and the Bangas giving a lively performance of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”.

Next was the attraction that intrigued me the most. D’Amaro announced for the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland a new show called Walt Disney: A Magical Life. This would feature an audio animatronic of Walt. D’Amaro noted this was an idea that had been thought about for a long time and recently invited Roy P. Disney to tour their progress with his approval. This led into a beautiful performance of “Feed the Birds”, regarded as one of Walt’s favorite songs, by Meghan Trainor. This was a stand-out for me.

The orchestra band would then play a lovely performance of “The Raiders March”. And it would be revealed that there was a guest conductor, Short Round himself Ke Huy Quan. Quan’s appearance would lead into the announcement of a new Indiana Jones attraction to be set up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Imagineering Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn appeared to explain how different this would be from the classic Indiana Jones Adventure that’s been in the parks for nearly 30 years. Looked to be a lot of fun.

Vaughn added that the Indiana Jones attraction would be one of two key centerpieces to the land update that would see them replace Dinoland USA. The other centerpiece being Casita from Encanto. Fans were definitely in to check this one out. The featured attraction would be based around the early moment in the film when Antonio received his gift to communicate with animals.

Curiously, the accompanying performance was of “Surface Pressure” by pock rock band Plain White T’s. This was apparently in conjunction with the release of a rock cover album of Disney songs called A Whole New Sound. Not bad, honestly, but it seemed way off from the tone of the rest of the showcase.

Criss and Astin returned to help get through a quick succession of announcements through song. These included the opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland, Zootopia: Better Zoogether! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and a pirate lounge at the Magic Kingdom. It was quick enough that they were kinda buried beneath everything else.

There was one announcement Criss and Astin felt someone else could do better. To the tone of “If I Didn’t Have You”, they brought out Billy Crystal to one of the loudest reactions of the night. Crystal would announce the development of a land themed on Monsters, Inc. to be at Hollywood Studios. There was a fun bit where Crystal had a voice chat conversation with Roz before finishing up his presence with a reworked version of “If I Didn’t Have You”. Definitely one of the big highlights of the showcase.

D’Amaro would further explain planned details for the new land. The one that got everyone excited was the inclusion of the first suspended coaster at a Disney park. It would be based on the exciting door vault chase sequence from the first film. This was the ride announced that all couldn’t wait to experience.

Moving from one Pixar property to the next, D’Amaro would be joined by Mater, on the display screen, to present two Cars attractions coming to Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. One would be a vehicle race through the Frontierland landscapes, the other would be a more kids-based attraction with no further details. Accompanying would be a performance of “Life is a Highway” by Shaboozey, which was spirited enough in comparison to the others.

Next would be the Disney cruise line. A notable announcement would be the launch of the Treasure, which would feature a new stage show The Tale of Moana. Another would be a new ship receiving a signature production of Hercules. This led to Susan Egan doing a unique performance of “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” that delighted fans. I couldn’t imagine ever going wrong with a Susan Egan performance, I’d say.

In summarizing that they would have ten cruise ships active within a few years, D’Amaro pulled an interesting surprise. This would ultimately be for the announcement of four more ships in development, but it was how this was made that caught everyone off guard, which was a sudden performance of “I Swear” by All-4-One in the middle of the Honda Center. This was quite the surprise that it took me a while to confirm it really was them, given their more high-profile presence in mainstream was back in the 90s. And they were still as good as ever.

Electro-funk duo Chromeo took the stage to play up a remix of some Disney park tunes in the lead in to the section dedicated to Fortnite. After D’Amaro noted that the showcase was being simulcast specifically to Fortnite players, they moved over to collaborations for the game through announcements from Jennifer Lee (Disney), Pete Docter (Pixar), Dave Filoni (Star Wars), and Kevin Feige (Marvel). It was what it was.

A Deadpool character would crash the festivities to pitch attraction ideas for the Disney parks. The childish illustrations and the poking fun of actual unfortunate moments at the parks like the Maleficent dragon catching fire made for a hilarious bit. I got the impression it woke some folks up who didn’t care about the Fortnite section.

Sticking with Marvel, Scott Trowbridge from Imagineering took the stage to discuss some super hero attractions in the works. Shanghai Disneyland would be receiving a Spider-Man coster and Hong Kong Disneyland would be adding to the Stark Expo with a separate Spider-Man ride. The concept art shown looked like these were gonna be heart-stopping thrillers.

For Avengers Campus at California Adventure, they would be opening up a walled section for a new narrative-based attraction in Avengers Infinity Defense. But as exciting as that seemed from the concept art, the introduction of Stark Flight Lab got fans pumped for the wild ride it offered. And that was before it was revealed they got Robert Downey Jr. to portray Tony Stark once more for the attraction. Very much looking forward to that.

Deadpool returned to crash the festivities again. This time, he brought along this year’s American Idol winner Abi Carter to perform “Like a Prayer”. I found it crazy that this song specifically was being performed at a Disney event, but there you go. It was actually a fun performance, thanks to Carter’s singing and the Deadpool antics that included more hilarious illustrations.

D’Amaro would begin to end the presentation when the Magic Mirror appeared for a proper final announcement. Accompanied by a sultry performance of “Trust in Me” by Rita Ora, they announced the highly desired Villains land for Magic Kingdom. This had the biggest reaction of the night, bigger than Billy Crystal even. Looking forward to seeing how this would pan out.

Following a heartfelt closing speech, many of the musical guests returned for a final performance as Rachel Potter, Pentatonix, Darren Criss, Skylar Astin, and All-4-One sang “Try Everything”. Keen eyes caught Deadpool jamming with the DJ for a second before a Mickey Mouse character joined the festivities on the stage just as the confetti rained down on the crowd.

This being my first time checking out the Experiences Showcase, it turned out alright. This one was definitely built upon the suprise appearances and the performances more than the content itself, since the most they could show off was concept art. That’s not to say what was revealed wasn’t any less interesting, there were a few attractions that certainly grabbed my attention. I’m just on the fence as to whether this would be an event worth checking out in general. Nevertheless, I’m glad I was finally able to at least attend one and enjoyed myself.

Dan: The Princess and the Frog marked several milestones for Disney Animation upon its release in 2009. Though it served as a brief, yet welcomed return to producing traditional animated features, it also introduced Disney’s first African American princess in Tiana. Further breaking away from stereotypical tropes as hard working and dedicated in becoming her own woman, Tiana had become a popular role model to fans of all cultural backgrounds. Fifteen years on, her story would finally be expanded with a plethora of projects on the horizon.

Yvette Nicole Brown served as host with the panel consisting of the voice of Tiana herself Anika Noni Rose along with Joyce Sherrí (Tiana writer and director), Carmen Smith (Disney Experiences Senior Vice President), Charita Carter (Tiana’s Bayou Adventure executive producer), and Ted Robledo (Walt Disney Imagineering portolio executive creative director). Rose revealed that she was feeling a little under the weather, but was not going to pass up participating in what was seen as an important discussion on her character’s growth.

Sherrí noted that the Tiana series would examine her life beyond ever after. This included a chance to really explore Naveen’s kingdom of Maldonia, of which Tiana was now princess and leader of. There was a lot of discussion about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, from explaining the ride’s narrative to the exciting music coordinated by the returning Terence Blanchard. Rose brought up her children’s book Tiana’s Perfect Plan and they also noted that they continued to draw inspiration from the late Chef Leah Chase in shaping Tiana’s development.

The presentation closed out in style with Rose managing to perform the finale version of “Down in New Orleans” to the delight of fans. With it taking place at the Premiere Stage in the convention center arena, it was curiously not as packed as one would’ve expected for a program such as this. Nevertheless, there were still a lot of fans in attendance and everyone thoroughly enjoyed getting to hear how Tiana’s story would be progressing over the next few years. It was a pretty good presentation as all shared in the enthusiasm for what’s to come.

Rand:The best part of D23 for me was undoubtedly the Richard Sherman tribute. Sherman was, of course, part of the brother duo that formed Disney’s in-house songwriting team for many years. Together, they wrote many of the songs that are easily identifiable with the company to this day, from the tunes of Mary Poppins and Jungle Book to The Monkey’s Uncle and “It’s a Small World.” The lengthy presentation started with my first look at Disney boss Bob Iger that weekend, as he introduced the tribute. Actor John Stamos, who knows the Sherman family personally, hosted and also performed. Leonard Maltin and his daughter Jessie, Disney Legend Floyd Norman, and Kevin Fiege participated in the discussion. Sherman’s son said a few words, and Richard’s granddaughter sang. Surprise guests Hayley Mills and Lesley Ann Warren – each who appeared in Disney films of the 1960s, with songs by the Sherman Bros. – teamed up to sing “Let’s Get Together” from The Parent Trap. That was a jaw-dropping moment for all, as the two veteran actresses (now in their late seventies and still looking beautiful) bopped around on stage like teenagers. Everyone on stage ended the presentation with singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”, and the audience spontaneously joined in almost immediately, and tears were everywhere after that. What a wonderful tribute to a talented and much-loved man.

Dan: Mickey Mouse might be the face and mascot of Disney through and through, it could be argued that the one other character who was the closest to being his equal in recognition and popularity would be Donald Duck. The temperamental duck would be as widely beloved for his hilarious piteousness that view him much more of an everyman compared to Mickey and Goofy as well as his partially intelligible speech so unique that it would be identified as “Donald Duck talk”. It seemed only appropriate to celebrate the character’s 90th anniversary at D23.

Host Jenny Lorenzo kicked off the festivities with Jill Breznican and Doug Engalla from Walt Disney Animation Research Library presenting some delightful animation sheets to the packed room. These included a great comparison of the two versions of Orphan’s Benefit as well as the rarely seen sheets from the unproduced Ghost Story and Yukon Duck. Fans were mesmerized by the illustrations displayed. Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration and Library Management, would then screen a newly restored Donald’s Day Off that looked absolutely beautiful.

The last third was dedicated to the recently released D.I.Y. Duck. Following a fun screening of the new short, director Mark Henn and producer Dorothy McKim got to talk about developing the cartoon alongside current Donald Duck voice actor Tony Anselmo. An interesting factoid mentioned was that Anselmo, who originally started as an animator before voicing Donald full-time, was a colleague of Henn’s at the California Institute of the Arts and both studied under Jack Hannah, cited as having developed Donald’s personality in animation.

An endearing moment was the family of Clarence Nash, the late original voice of Donald Duck, sending an audio greeting to the attendees in celebration of the character’s 90th anniversary. To close, Lorenzo would lead everyone into singing “Happy Birthday”, with Anselmo singing in Donald’s voice, that concluded with a Donald character running out to take in the celebratory cheers in a cute moment. This turned out to be very fascinating for an anniversary celebration as the behind-the-scenes material displayed made for an entertaining presentation overall.

Rand: Director of Restoration Kevin Schaeffer and animation legend Eric Goldberg were on hand for this presentation, discussing their work restoring the hand-drawn animated films in the Disney library. While I felt that I had already heard much of this information before from various online articles, it was nice to hear it from those closest to the projects, and my wife certainly found it interesting.

Dan: What would become one of the hallmarks of the D23 Epo was the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony. Established in 1987, it would serve as the company’s hall of fame. Attending the ceremony was an opportunity to see some of the biggest names from all facets of Disney gathered in celebration. Previously, it served as the opening ceremony of the convention and was held in Hall D23. This year would see it become the closing ceremony of the convention, be held at the Honda Center, and recorded to be streamed on Disney+ beginning the next day.

This year’s inducees consisted of Harrison Ford (Film), Jamie Lee Curtis (Film), Kelly Ripa (Television), Martha Blanding (Parks and Resorts), James L. Brooks (Film and Television), Colleen Atwood (Costume Design), Frank Oz (Film and Television), Miley Cyrus (Television and Music), Steve Ditko (Publishing), Mark Henn (Animation), Joe Rohde (Imagineering), James Cameron (Film), Angela Bassett (Film and Television), and John Williams (Music).

From the perspective of attending at the Honda Center, it was quite the spectacle and a more exciting event compared to last time. For example, a large portion of fans sang along as Lainey Wilson performed “The Best of Both Worlds” for Cyrus’ induction. It was almost deafening, at least from where I sat. There was even a bit that got cut from the stream where Jamie Lee Curtis tried to put on the Mickey Mouse Ears Jodie Foster gave her, but was struggling to remove the barcode tag.

I did like when during the Brooks career retrospective video the side screens listed off almost all the movies and television shows he made. A real nice way for many fans to truly understand what a major name he was in entertainment beyond The Simpsons. The pagentries afforded by being at the Honda Center made this year’s ceremony a delightful way to close the convention.

Dan: Having gone to the D23 Expo for nearly ten years now, I could say with certainty that few other conventions could come close to the wonder of Disney’s Show Floor. Offering unique experiences that could not be found anywhere else, their booths and exhibits would be extravagant in size and presentation. From photo opportunities to free giveaways to dazzling displays, there would always be something that drew the attention of attendees. And if one were to be in the right place at the right time, they might meet a familiar face or two.

Admittedly, my initial uncertainty of how things were going to go with travel to the Honda Center and how presentations of interest where scheduled made for my time to check out the show floor to be more limited than it had been in the past. Coupled with the high probability of long lines for some of the booths I would have liked to have otherwise checked out and I knew I was not going to be able to hit as many hot spots of interest. Nevertheless, I managed to make the most of the time I did have to wander the show floor when I could.

So the very first thing I did during the convention this year was head over to the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios booth. Arguably the centerpiece of all the show floor exhibits, I always made it a point to see what was presented every time out in the hopes of experiencing something unique and fun. There were a lot of neat displays this time around, a notable one for me being a showcase of all the key anniversaries of Disney animated features being celebreated that included showcasing the rough animation reels and sheets to those films.

The big photo op displays this year would be for Moana 2 and Zootopia 2. Both were beautifully crafted and worth spending several minutes in line for, in my opinion. Getting a photo op with either display would also net attendees a nice lithograph of production art from each film for free. There would be a secondary Moana 2 display of Maui’s fishhook at full size and next to the Zootopia 2 display would be one of Tiana in celebration of the 15th anniversary of The Princess and the Frog. Both were nicely crafted in their own right.

Another booth I managed to hit was the Magic of Disney on Broadway. It displayed costumes from the stage musicals as well as other live performances such as Disney on Ice. But the main appeal would be the hourly programs. I happened to arrive in time for the very first program, the Sven Character Transformation demonstration. Performer Collin Baja would show how he would play Sven in the Frozen musical with assistance from puppet supervisor Sue McLaughlin as they explained the challenges of doing so regularly and on tour. It was delightfully fascinating.

One of the major exhibits this year was A Great Big Beautiful Car Show from the Walt Disney Archives. A plethora of vehicles from the vast array of Disney and formerly Fox programs were on display for attendees to admire. These included “Guinevere” from Onward, the 1966 Ford GT40 MK II and 1967 Ferrari 330 P4 from Ford v Ferrari, two versions of the 1974 Panther de Ville from the Glenn Close starred 101 Dalmatians and the Emma Stone starred Cruella, and the 1987 BMW 32S “The Homer” from The Simpsons. A stand out for me was one version of the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle “Herbie” being from the Bruce Campbell starred The Love Bug 1997 TV movie.

There were a few attraction vehicles, like the 1939 Bantam Roadster from the Cruisin’ the Kingdom cavalcade. These would be positioned before a portal to the “Worlds Beyond” section showcasing a few futuristic vehicles. These included the 2054 Lexus Roadster and 2054 Lexus Maglev Pod from Minority Report as well as the Lightcycle from the ElecTRONica nighttime activity at California Adventure. Rey’s Speeder from Star Wars: The Force Awakens would have the most elaborate display by containing Rey’s costume, BB-8, and her salvage cleaning tent.

The one other exhibit I managed to wander through, albeit briefly, was Imagineering: Behind the Dreams. This both would showcase props and models for forthcoming Disney attractions. My visit was before the Experiences Showcase, so I missed out on seeing most of those that were highlighted. I did manage to take a look at the model display of Disney Adventure World for Disneyland Paris and it looked impressive enough. Also catching my eye was a neat looking display of props for The Haunted Mansion Parlor being installed in the Disney cruise ships.

Getting into the main D23 Expo store to purchase exclusives would become more challenging with each progressive convention. Of late, one would have to reserve an entry slot through the Disneyland app. And because so many people wanted to get in, there would be a limited number of reservation slots that nonetheless got filled within seconds. This year took it a step further by only having two time periods in which reservations would open. One of them being four in the morning. I gave it a shot and managed to get in on the last day.

Dubbed the D23 Marketplace, this would be where the convention exclusive hot items would be sold for a pretty penny. These included the Star Tours Starspeeder 3000, a Hot Toys produced Iron Man figure, a wedding doll set of Carl and Ellie from Up, and numerous merchandise celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. There had been a limited edition Ariel designer doll, but that was all sold out by the time I got in. With limited funds, I ultimately went with a Midnight Masquerade set of Jasmine and Aladdin.

Rand: For me, a big part of the show is the shopping on the show floor. No, not so much the much-publicized boutique stores that set up there and require guests to take reservations – those places have new merchandise that does not interest me as much. No, what I love is the Emporium area, where numerous dealers set up booths or tables and sell vintage (and also new) collectibles. It is here that I found someone selling 1950s Dell Four Color comics. I picked up numerous treasures, including the first appearance of Uncle Scrooge (Christmas On Bear Mountain, from Four Color 178), valued at thousands of dollars in mint condition… but just ten bucks for the ratty copy he had. It may be in lousy shape, but I never thought I’d ever be able to own a copy at all, so I’m happy with it.

There was really just a single booth that sold a lot of vintage collectibles, but what a booth it was! They seemed to have everything. Want to find the largest dealer of Orange Bird merchandise? These are the folks for you. As for myself, I picked up numerous vintage records and Little Golden Books. I was also happy to find the people behind Hyperion Historical Alliance Press elsewhere on the sales floor, so that I could pick up their latest wonderful book, Walt Disney & El Grupo In Latin America. On hand to sign the book were authors Theodore Thomas (son of Frank, of the famed Nine Old Men), J.B. Kaufman, and Didier Ghez. These gents do great work in chronicling Disney history. Pictured here is J.B. and me; he is actually holding the copy of the book that I had signed for my Animated Views colleague Ben, as he could not attend the show.

Dan: For the last several years, the big presentations were held in what was dubbed Hall D23. Around 7,000 fans would pack the enormous space to witness the most extravagant presentations to be showcased at a convention. But as the programs got bigger, so did the lines of attendees who wanted in. Folks would event spend the night at the convention center to ensure getting into these events. It was only a matter of time before Disney had to move to a larger venue. So it was that the three biggest programs would be held at the Honda Center.

The Honda Center was an arena and would allow attendance for the major presentations to be around 12,000. Though one of the drawbacks was that the Honda Center wasn’t around the corner from the Anaheim Convention Center. Rather, it was three miles east. That might not seem so bad normally. But as part of activities for a convention like the D23 Expo, it meant a lot of time would be spent just to travel from point A to point B. Therefore, fans going to the Honda Center for the evening events would have to sacrifice their afternoons just to get there.

The two most common modes of travel would be to personally drive and park in one of the lots surrounding the arena or to take a shuttle bus that would pick up and later drop off attendees at the convention center. I took the shuttle bus on the first two days and parked on the last day as I would be driving straight home when it was over. Parking wasn’t too terrible, though this was because I got there early enough that the walk from the lot to the arena wasn’t as long as it could’ve been. And getting out wasn’t all that bad either, all things considered.

The shuttle bus trips, at least the ride to the arena, was kinda nifty as there were pre-recorded audio played. These contained Don Hahn serving as host playing Disney songs and occasionally offering some commentary. The ones that stuck out to me were Hahn, Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, and Tim Rice talking about the development of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King and Chris Sanders talking about “Hawaiian Roller Coaster” from Lilo & Stitch. It was a nice way to keep the convention spirit going during the twenty minute ride.

Upon entry into the venue, each attendee was given a lighted wristband. Once activated, the lights would be operated to fit with whatever would be happening in the presentations, whether it was matching the lighting of the stage or flashing rapidly during a spirited performance. I had such a wristband for the LiSA concert at San Diego Comic Con, so I was familiar with the potential they had in adding to the atmosphere. I did kinda found it funny that I would receive a separate wristband for each of the programs, thereby going home with three in tow.

Within the arena proper, ongoing music would be played courtesy of the Dueling DJs, DJ SP and Keybo. They would be on the stage and would go from the second fans entered the venue to when it was time for a program to start. An hour beforehand, regardless of how many people would be seated, the DJs would be joined by CoryLive and his hype crew Skye Isaac and Sasha B. They would get the crowd going by handing out freebies like shirts and hats as well as conducting some crowd interaction contests. I found myself enjoying these and they ended up being fun.

The return trips to the convention center was a bit chaotic at first. It seemed like there was a game plan of how attendees would line up, but it broke down on the first night incredibly fast. It took a good while to get the overflowing crowd organized. This was fortunately addressed for the second night by getting staffers some direction lights so they could point everyone to where they needed to go to line up. I did wish they had some audio program playing during the return trips, but then I could concede everyone being too tired to care.

Dan: It wouldn’t be a convention without fans wandering about in Cosplay. The art of dressing up as beloved characters had grown to become an integral hallmark of fan gatherings for decades. To a degree, it’s taken to a different level of pageantry at the D23 Expo. With so many franchises under the House of Mouse, there was a plethora of characters for fans to dress up as and feel right at home with everyone else. If anything, it’s perhaps at the D23 Expo that one could argue the largest contingent of cosplayers could be found gathered in one location.

This could be best exemplified by how crowded the Cosplay Meet Ups and Photo Shoots at the Grand Plaza Fountain in front of the convention center were the entire weekend. Waves upon waves of cosplayers gathered several times on each day to enjoy one another’s company as they got their pictures taken for official use and display, allowing for their craftsmanship to be looked upon and admired. Be it an impressive roster of Pixar favorites to the many variations of Wolverine, everyone who had dressed up did so proudly and were having lots of fun.

There were so many really good cosplay out and about that it’s hard to pick a favorite. Surprisingly, it was groups that ended up becoming the stand-outs simply because a great many impressive costumes were gathered together. It was perhaps because of this that I hung around the Grand Plaza Fountain as often as I could. Even if they weren’t partaking in the photo shoots, smaller groups like the Madrigal family from Encanto, the Sugar Rush racers from Wreck-It Ralph, or the For The Birds collective were delightful in their own right.

That’s not to say there weren’t any splendid individuals or pairs that could be found throughout the weekend. One I liked in particular was Disney Princess comics artist Brianna Garcia dressed as Rapunzel in the original green dress concept design. Another was an excellent puppet of Anxiety from Inside Out 2 and a Powerline from A Goofy Movie was stunning enough for the official D23 marching band to play “I 2 I” as he danced. And I would always try to locate any from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, managing to find a lovely pair as Milo and Kida.

Dan: Attending the major programs at the Honda Center meant that I would miss out on afternoon and evening activities taking place at the convention center. As such, I would not be able to go to presentations like Making A Goofy Movie: The Road to Lake Destiny, Pixar’s Win or Lose Watch Party!, or even some of the programs Rand got to attend, among others. So I would have to schedule my time around how much I could check out before needing to head over to the Honda Center. But even with that limitation in place, I managed to experience a lot.

Frankly, my entire D23 Expo 2024 was made within the first hour. I simply happened to be at the right place at the right time. It was just a few minutes after getting in line for the Moana 2 photo op display that a person in front of me spotted Zootopia director Jared Bush walking by. The person happened to be one of the first to have done the Zootopia 2 photo op display and managed to get Bush’s attention to have a look at the gift lithograph, leading to a great moment of fan interaction. It was certainly a great way to kick off the convention.

It was mere minutes later that we discovered Bush wasn’t the only one wandering around. Frozen director Jennifer Lee swung by to check out the Moana 2 display. Another fan next to me decided to seize upon an opportunity and went up to meet her as she was making her way through the rest of the booth. I almost hesitated for second, but decided to follow along. Lee was wonderfully gracious and allowed each of us to say “Hi” and quickly get a picture with her. I would have no trouble enjoying the rest of the D23 Expo after such a highlight.

While I was wandering through the Car Show exhibit, I heard a familiar song being played live called “I’d Do Anything” by Simple Plan. I had not heard them in a very long time so I was surprised they were still active. It turned out that they had a crowded mini concert over at the Spotlight Stage on Day One. This was apparently in conjunction with them having recorded a cover of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” for the A Whole New Sound album. Thought about checking them out, but it was nearing time to head to the shuttle bus to the Honda Center.

I didn’t have too much trouble getting into most of the programs I wanted to get in at the previous D23 Expo, so I figured the same would happen this year, which was the case. Coupled with going to the Honda Center for the major programs, I entered the reservation lottery looking to get in on talent signings instead. I ended up only getting one, with Elemental director Peter Sohn. We got to briefly express our enjoyment of the Directing Animation panel he partook in the day before as he signed an Elemental poster for me. A very pleasant fellow to meet.

I’m not sure if it was because they were Disney employees, but I did see the guys who operated a near life-like WALL-E robot hanging out for a bit near the security check station at West Convention Way. They had been at other conventions before like San Diego Comic Con and they would usually just wander around having WALL-E interacting with attendees. I happened to be around when there turned out to be a fun moment in which a baby met WALL-E. It was the cutest thing in the world seeing the baby at a loss for words and everyone in awe at the sight.

Dan: This year’s D23 Expo was another delightful venture. Even with all the uncertainty about scheduling around the Honda Center events, I managed to have an absolute blast.

Everything that I got to experience was fun and worth spending long waits in line for. The surprises added to the appeal of what made this convention different from all the others and why I would be continuing to attend for as long as I would be able to. And the spectacle of the major programs at the Honda Center were as magnificent as would be expected from the House of Mouse.

It’s a bummer that I couldn’t meet up with Rand this time around due to schedule and other circumstances beyond our control. But I’m rather pleased that he and his family were able to have a good time checking out programs separate from me.

It showed me that they had a unique experience that was their own. And I’d like to think that was one of the main appeals to this convention. Each person could experience the D23 Expo their own way and enjoy themselves. Not to sound like a Disney pitchman, but that seemed to in the spirit of Disney to me.

The former Hall D23 was now the entryway into the Show Floor when attendees arrive first thing every morning.

Inside Out cosplayers posing with the Inside Out 2 display at the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

Worn costumes from the Frozen, Aladdin, and The Lion King stage musicals displayed at The Magic of Disney on Broadway booth.

“You kinda have to be a really good communicator cause, like you guys said, you have to work with tens, maybe hundreds of people. And you kinda have to be their compus sometimes and steer everyone’s really cool ideas, but maybe sometimes it’s not super relevant to that one idea that you guys have to unify on. You have to steer them and navigate them towards this North Star. And you have to clearly be able to communicate that to them.” (Domee Shi, Turning Red)

“I tried to explain computer animation to my brother. After five minutes, he said, ‘Don’t you just push a button?'” (Peter Sohn, Elemental)

“I actually would love to know what [Walt Disney’s] guilty pleasure viewing would be. I’d like to know what weird, crappy show or movie he just loved and would never tell any one else.” (Jared Bush, Zootopia)

“I took a class once from Ernest Lehman, the great screenwriter who wrote North by Northwest and worked with Alfred Hitchcock a lot, this was years ago. He said he attributed his success in the film industry to losing the right arguments.” (Ron Clements, The Little Mermaid)

“The real work happens in the dark editorial room, watching all your dreams crumble.” (Pete Docter, Up)

“Pressure doesn’t make you better creatively, ever. Pressure actually makes you get into your head and it makes you look at everything from outside it. But pressure is important. The part that pressure does is when the pressure is on, that’s when we come together. That’s when we go, ‘We can’t give up. We can’t quit. We gotta push ourselves.’ So you look to each other.” (Jennifer Lee, Frozen)

A recently reassembled and restored bicycle from The Great Muppet Caper was showcased during The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective presentation.

The tribal dress from Muppet Treasure Island was showcased during The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective presentation.

The original Foo-Foo puppet was showcased during The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective presentation.

Host Yvette Nicole Brown stuck around to interact with fans following The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective presentation.

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and Ariel (The Little Mermaid) could definitely take care of themselves.

“There’s no case too big, no case too small, When you need help, just call.” (Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers)

The Guardians of the Galaxy photo shoot at the Grand Plaza Fountain.

The X-Men photo shoot at the Grand Plaza Fountain.

The Spider-Verse photo shoot at the Grand Plaza Fountain.

“This is not what magic does. That’s just your fear. Fear is what can’t be trusted.” (Elsa, Frozen II)

“Woody’s Roundup, Right here, every day, Woody’s Roundup, Come on, it’s time to play!” (Toy Story 2)

Julie Andrews’ handprint from her 1991 Disney Legends induction was displayed at the Disney Legends Photo Spot booth.

A life-size “Guinevere” from Onward was displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

The 1963 Volkswagen Beetle “Herbie” from the Bruce Campbell starred The Love Bug 1997 TV-movie was displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

Cruella de Vil’s 1974 Panther de Ville from the Glenn Close starred 101 Dalmations (Top) and the Emma Stone starred Cruella (Bottom) were displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit..

A life-size 1987 BMW 325 “The Homer” from The Simpsons was displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

The Disneyland Main Street, USA Runabout Vehicle was displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

A life-size Lightcycle from Tron: Legacy was displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

The 2054 Lexus Roadster (Top) and the 2054 Lexus Maglev Pod (Bottom) from Minority Report were displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

Rey’s Speeder along with a Rey costume and BB-8 model from Star Wars: The Force Awakens displayed at the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show exhibit.

Ginnifer Goodwin (Judy Hopps) announced Ke Huy Quan would voice Gary in Zootopia 2 during the Disney Entertainment Showcase presentation.

Diego Luna (Cassian Andor) presented an exlusive look at Andor season two during the Disney Entertainment Showcase presentation.

Aryan Simhardi (Grover Underwood), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson) joined author Rick Riordan in discussing Percy Jackson and the Olympians season two during the Disney Entertainment Showcase presentation.

Jamie Lee Curtis (Tess Coleman) and Lindsay Lohan (Anna Coleman) presented an early look at Freakier Friday during the Disney Entertainment Showcase presentation.

The Zootopia 2 display at the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

The Walt Disney Animation Studios Anniversaries display at the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

A model of Disney Adventure World coming to Disneyland Paris was displayed at the Imagineering: Behind the Dreams booth.

Props from The Haunted Mansion Parlor coming to Disney cruises was displayed at the Imagineering: Behind the Dreams booth.

Disney Princess comics artist Brianna Garcia cosplaying as concept design Rapunzel (Tangled).

“A dinglehopper…” (Ariel, The Little Mermaid)

Dan meeting Kensington Tallman (Riley Andersen, Inside Out 2) following the Exploring New Parts of the Mind: Behind the Design of Inside Out 2 + a Dreamy Surprise! presentation.

“You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, For especially in the month of June, There’s a wealth of happiness and romance, All in the golden afternoon.” (The Flowers, Alice in Wonderland)

“S-U-G-A-R, jump into your racing car, Say Sugar Rush! Sugar Rush!” (The Sugar Rush Racers, Wreck-It Ralph)

Imagineer Ali Rubinstein previewed the Avatar Experience coming to Disney California Adventure at Disneyland during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Eden Espinosa and Rachel Potter preview the Disney Starlight parade coming to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Ke Huy Quan (Short Round) revealed as the surprise guest conductor of the Raiders March during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Host and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro chatting with Mater (Cars) during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Host and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro previewed The Tale of Moana performance coming to Disney cruises during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Deadpool presented his attraction ideas, while poking fun at Rocket Rods, during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) revealed to be involved in the Stark Flight Lab attraction coming to Disney California Adventure at Disneyland during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Deadpool poking fun at the Festival of Fantasy fire malfunction as Abi Carter performed “Like a Prayer” during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

Host and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro previewed the Villains land coming to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World during the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation.

The Star Tours Starspeeder 3000 being sold at the D23 Marketplace.

The Mr. Toad display before The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 75th Anniversary merchandise being sold at the D23 Marketplace.

The Aladdin and Jasmine Midnight Masquerade dolls being sold at the D23 Marketplace.

A timeline of Disney merchandise displayed outside the D23 Marketplace.

“I read those sides and I thought, ‘I know this girl. I am this girl!’ I am from a small town. I did have very big dreams that people didn’t really get and said I could not do. … I knew this was for me. And I don’t say that with a whole lot of ego. I think sometimes you just feel something in your spirit. I knew it was for me. So I made that audition work.” (Anika Noni Rose, Tiana)

The continuing inspiration from late Chef Leah Chase was discussed during the Disney Princess: Creating Tiana’s World presentation.

Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins) and Jane Porter (Tarzan) having a holiday trying out the food truck delicacies.

“You crazy rabbit! I’m out there risking my neck for you, and what are you doing? Singing and dancing!” (Eddie Valiant, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

“Honk!” (For the Birds)

Jasmine (Aladdin) and Mulan (Mulan) becoming one with The Force.

“Hola, batata!” (Amity Blight, The Owl House)

“When Mr. Oogie Boogie says, There’s trouble close at hand, You’d better pay attention, now, ‘Cause I’m the Boogie Man!” (Oogie Boogie, The Nightmare Before Christmas)

“Remember! Reality’s an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! Byeeee!” (Bill Cipher, Gravity Falls)

Wart and Merlin were taken aback by what the Sword in the Stone turned out to be.

An army of Wolverine Peely (Fortnite) cosplayers invading the Grand Plaza Fountain.

Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) and Meg (Hercules) were not bad, they were just drawn that way.

“Cookies are sweet, but yours is not. Sweet is kindly, but that is not his name. Audrey is sweet, but she is not your doctor. And the little digging animal called Mole, he is your pet?” (Milo Thatch and Princess Kida, Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

“Who’d ya think you’re kidding? He’s the earth and heaven to ya, Try to keep it hidden, honey we can see right through ya, Girl ya can’t conceal it, We know how you’re feelin’, who you’re thinking of.” (Meg and Hercules, Hercules)

“Think of the happiest things, It’s the same as having wings, Take the path that moonbeams make, If the moon is still awake, You’ll see him wink his eye, You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!” (Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, Peter Pan)

Disney animation researchers Jill Breznican and Doug Engalla presented some rarely seen Donald Duck illustrations during the Donald Duck’s 90th Quacktacular presentation.

“We find ourselves in peaks and valleys in productions. And it was kinda one of those slow periods and I got thinking about it. And I said, ‘Why don’t we have an early Donald Duck short? I think it would be fun do that.’ It’s what I call our Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney moment. It’s like, ‘Hey! We got artists, we got a studio, we got, you know, everything we need to make a movie. Let’s make a movie!'” (Mark Henn, D.I.Y. Duck)

“[Jack Hannah] would start [teaching] by saying, ‘Now I don’t want y’all to start doin’ blowin’ up heads and a lotta blood. I wanna get some nice story.'” (Tony Anselmo, Donald Duck)

Even The Honda Center hype crew and the Dueling DJs dressed up for the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony presentation.

Jamie Lee Curtis’ struggle with the barcode tag on her Mickey Mouse Ears would be cut from the stream broadcast of the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony presentation.

Titles James L. Brooks worked on were displayed for The Honda Center attendees during the career retrospective video during the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony presentation.

Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O’Hara (Belle), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Linda Larkin (Jasmine), and Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) received the largest reactions as they inducted Mark Henn, the animator of their characters, during the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony presentation.

The Moana 2 (Left) and Zootopia 2 (Right) D23 Expo exclusive lithographs for doing their respective photo op displays.

The Elemental payoff poster signed to Dan by director Peter Sohn.