It could be said that there really was no other convention like The D23 Expo. Established in 2009, the biennial event would very quickly become one of the premiere fan gatherings in the world. An amazing celebration of all things Disney that would, at times, top the heavy hitters like the San Diego Comic Con, Anime Expo, and New York Comic Con, to name a few, with immersive experiences that captivated and enchanted fans traveling from all over the world to the Anaheim Convention Center next door to Disneyland from August 16 through 18, 2026.

There was no denying that Disney had a lot of ups and downs over the years since the pandemic. Curious business decisions across all departments with positive and negative results, an almost even mix of major box office successes and failures, and a true roller coaster of fan appreciation hitting highs and lows. All amplified by the recent transition of leadership from Bob Iger to Josh D’Amaro. Many wondered how Disney could possibly pull off a major event like the D23 Expo in a way that would be seen as a rousing success.

It didn’t help that there were some interesting developments going into the convention. This included the complete lack of smaller merchandise vendors, dizzying price tags on products and Honda Center tickets, no use of the convention center arena, and a greater reliance on reservations for programs and experiences on the Show Floor. But while these concerns were weighing a little heavy in the days leading up to the D23 Expo, once fans were in, the majestic atmosphere and joyful wonder seemed to wash away all worry for three days of fun.

On November 22, 1991, Disney released Beauty and the Beast. A critical and commercial success unlike any other at the time, it would go on to become a hallmark of the Disney Renaissance and a monumental achievement in film, including being the first animated feature nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. 35 years later, it had continued to be held in high regard, enchanting audiences of all generations with its spellbinding animation and heartwarming storytelling. It truly was a beloved title that attracted audiences.

The Beauty and the Beast presentation would be the only Friday event that would stream on Disney+, as well as the first D23 live-stream for 2026. Despite this, thousands of fans filled the Premiere Stage to capacity to hear the stories behind the tale as old as time. Serving as host would be Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and featured Don Hahn (Producer), Mark Henn (Florida Supervising Animator of Belle), Paige O’Hara (voice of Belle), Alan Menken (Composer), Susan Egan (Original Belle on Broadway), and Kyra Belle Johnson (Belle on 5th US tour).

Beauty and the Beast was one of my three all-time favorite Disney animated features, and depending on what time of day asked would be at the top. So of course I would want to attend a celebratory presentation. And it was as delightful as was expected. Some of the information was well known, but they nonetheless were a joy to hear. The inclusion of multiple Belle performers in O’Hara, Egan, and Johnson made for a lovely listen on the development of the character. A great hour to be had and one that was a pleasure to attend.

Alongside John Musker, Ron Clements was one of the key figures to help launch the Disney Renaissance. Directing beloved features The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog, and Moana, Clements would cement his place as one of the true icons of Disney Animation. Initially retiring after releasing Moana, Clements would return to Disney as an advisor and mentor while also writing the book Making Disney Magic that would chronicle his 45 year history with the company.

Though I have seen and met Clements on a number of occasions, a couple at the D23 Expo even, I wasn’t going to pass up attending another presentation with him. Fans filled the Walt Disney Archies Stage to capacity to listen to one of the greats go over his legendary career. It would serve as a supplement to his forthcoming book, and be hosted by renowned film critic and historian Leonard Maltin as well as feature a number of colleagues as they went over the films Clements made and provide further insight into how he served as director.

They would go over The Little Mermaid with Jodi Benson (Ariel), Aladdin with Eric Goldberg (Supervising Animator of The Genie), Hercules with Susan Egan (Meg), Treasure Planet with Roy Conli (Producer), The Princess and the Frog with Mark Henn (Supervising Animator of Tiana) and Jim Cummings (Ray), Moana with Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), and a swing back to The Princess and the Frog for Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), who arrived late due to traffic. Even with the brief interview time, they got to tell a lot of great, intriguing stories working under Clements.

Though the guests were brought out one at a time and only spent a few minutes, fans were enthralled and would not have minded for it to have run longer. There was great affection for Clements’ work and he expressed his own enjoyment in working with such a roster of talent throughout his career. Maltin did a fine job setting the conversations up so that everyone had plenty of time to speak and to provide details in entertaining ways. A delightful presentation from start to finish. Making Disney Magic will be available on October 13, 2026.

It went without saying that the centerpiece of the D23 Expo would be the Disney Entertainment Showcase. The super event at the Honda Center would preview the slate of projects and programs Disney had on tap over the next couple of years. And they would be presented in grand fashion with a cavalcade of stars appearing and exclusive sneak peaks that would electrify and mesmerize fans fortunate enough to attend. This year’s showcase seemed to take further advantage of being held in the Honda Center by putting on a truly extravagant event.

The showcase would open with the professional dancers from this season’s Dancing with the Stars showing off their moves with a montage of Disney hits from the past few years playing on the screens to the tune of “Zoo” from Zootopia 2. A nice, energetic way to kick off the festivities. This would be followed by the reveal of this year’s hosts, Zootopia 2 stars Ginnifer Goodwin (Judy Hopps) and Ke Huy Quan (Gary De’Snake). Their approach was more fandom and geeky, which was appealing enough for all the fans to enjoy throughout the event.

Next up were a pair of speeches. The first from new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, who punctuated the magical quality of Disney entertainment for over a hundred years now. He was followed by a surprise appearance from Anne Hathaway, who bolstered D’Amaro’s message by explaining the impact her Disney and 20th Century Studios (formally Fox) films have had on her career. It almost seemed like Hathaway was going to announce a project with how the speech was going, but nothing of the sort happened. Nevertheless, her appearance was a pleasant one.

The last speech was from Disney President and CCO Dana Walden. Walden properly transitioned from what the company had achieved over the last few years into what’s to come over the next few. Walden was introduced by Bart Simpson, setting up the first featured project, The New Simpsons Movie. They would show off a fun animatic of Homer and nearly all of Springfield going to crazy extremes through the whole city to retrieve an important home run baseball. The New Simpsons Movie will roll into theaters September 3, 2027.

The festivities moved on from one animation institution to another as Pixar was next. Studio CCO Pete Docter appeared to run down the slate of films for the next couple of years, beginning with the highly-anticipated The Incredibles 3. Docter would explain that the film would focus on the kids looking to prove they’re worthy of being supers. Edna Mode made a brief appearance on the screens, seemingly to confirm Brad Bird’s continued involvement in the film, which is scheduled to hit theaters on June 16, 2028.

Next up was Coco 2. Production art was shown that featured a teenage Miguel, who would be dealing with the sudden reappearance of a vengeful Ernesto de la Cruz. Benjamin Bratt appeared on stage to express enjoyment at once again voicing the villain with the release date set for November 21, 2029.

Bratt continued to express delight at being part of the world of Coco as it would be expanded beyond the films. This led into the reveal of a 90-second teaser of Coco being featured in Kingdom Hearts IV. The second the Heartless appeared, the crowd reaction was deafening. The teaser ended with the video game set to release sometime in 2027. As it would turn out, that wouldn’t be the only Kingdom Hearts announcement. Bratt added that a long desired animated series was finally in the works, resulting in another deafening reaction.

A teaser scene was then shown for an upcoming original feature Ghost Market. It would tell of a teenage content creator vacationing in Hawaii where he would encounter hungry ghosts. More of a supernatural comedy than a thriller, it looked interesting enough and I’m rather tickled that there’s an increase in exploring stories set in or inspired by the Pacific Islands. Ghost Market will be scaring up a tasty feast on March 10, 2028.

Pixar closed out their section with more information on their next feature to be released, the original tale Gatto. Set in Italy, it would tell of a stray black cat beginning to question the lifestyle he’s been living. Bringing to mind mobster films and perhaps Oliver and Company, a scene was shown that showcased the sidekick character Saverio, a pigeon voiced by director Enrico Casarosa. Gatto will claw its way into theaters March 5, 2027.

The festivities shifted to live-action as Goodwin and Quan introduced Maia Kealoha, star of the live-action Lilo & Stitch. Kealoha announced that the sequel was scheduled to be released on May 26, 2028. The moving imagery on the screen not only revealed the date, but also that Angel, Stitch’s love interest from the animated television series, would be appearing.

Next was perhaps the biggest eyebrow raising announcement, that being a sequel to the 90s cult comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Mira Sorvino (Romy) and Lisa Kudrow (Michele) appeared in character, certainly sounding like they were having fun playing them again 30 years later. Romy and Michele 2 is expected to release in 2027.

It was time for television and the appearance of Artemis’ Hunters on stage and Poseidon’s Trident hanging above the center of the Honda Center meant a preview of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was in store. Star Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson) was joined below the trident alongside new guest stars Andra Day (Athena) and Ming-Na Wen (Hera) as they introduced the official trailer to the upcoming third season, which adapted the thrilling third book The Titan’s Curse. The new season swims onto Disney+ on November 20.

Next was a celebration of Camp Rock 3, which had just been released the previous day on Disney Channel. The Jonas Brothers took to the stage to welcome back the popular tween movie series they had starred in before sending it over to the cast of the new film for the first musical set of the event, giving a spirited performance of “We Rock” and “One Beat Away” that had a lot of heads bopping to the beat. Camp Rock 3 is now rockin’ on Disney+.

It was back to animation with a delightful teaser trailer for The Bluey Movie. Fans were very excited, even with the reveal of Bluey and Bingo in 3D animation as opposed to 2D. Goodwin and Quan would then lead on the audience into reenacting the teaser by keeping giant red balloons from touching the ground. It was a hearty sight as folks happily knocked the balloons up into the air. The Bluey Movie floats into theaters on August 6, 2027.

Blue Sky may be gone, but Ice Age seemed to keep on going. Stars Denis Leary (Diego) and Queen Latifah (Ellie) took to the stage to introduce a first look at the first theatrical feature in the series not produced by the parent studio with Ice Age: Boiling Point. Fans received the trailer well enough, particularly with the giant reveal of a new character. Ice Age: Boiling Point heads into theaters February 5, 2027.

The festivities detoured from screen to stage with a preview of the stage musical adaption of The Greatest Showman. Stars Oliver Tompsett (PT Barnum), Samantha Barks (Charity Barnum), and Malinda Parris (Lettie Lutz) joined the ensemble in dazzling the audience with spectacular performances of “Come Alive”, “A Million Dreams”, and “This Is Me”, earning a big standing ovation at the end. Following a premiere run that happened in Bristol earlier this year, The Greatest Showman will come alive on the West End in Spring 2027.

The appearance of paper lanterns floating in the middle of the Honda Center elicited screams of delight as the live-action adaption of Tangled was next. On the screens were Teagon Croft (Rapunzel) and Milo Manheim (Flynn) in costume as they provided a look at how the sets were looking during filming in Spain over the summer. A glimpse of Kathryn Hahn (Mother Gothel) in costume would lead to her actually being in the Honda Center to express her excitement at being in the film, scheduled to be released on March 31, 2028.

Hahn then went from one animated-related project she was working on to another, introducing Jon Favreau to talk about Oswald. Favreau explained his interest in Disney’s pre-Mickey Mouse creation while making some crowd-pleasing announcements about the mini-series’ production. He then showed off a neat teaser scene and followed with a look at the AR-coded trading cards all attendees would be receiving after the event. Oswald returns to the screen via Disney+ on February 17, 2027, the centennial of the character’s debut in 1927.

Favreau then gave a look at the National Geographic series was executive producer on, Lion. Drawing inspiration from work on The Lion King, it would follow the growth of a lion cub in the Maasai Mara. Fellow executive producer Mike Gunton joined in to express fondness of the time spent filming the cub and showcased a stunning trailer. Lion is now available to watch in full on Disney+.

It was time for super heroes as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took to the stage for a look at what Marvel had coming. Interestingly, he started with a brief look at the video game Marvel’s Wolverine, showing off the narrative trailer that had been playing since Comic Con. Nice little love for video games during the entertainment showcase, I’ll say. Marvel’s Wolverine is now available to play exclusively on the PlayStation 5.

Feige then moved onto VisionQuest. Calling it the third title in an unofficial trilogy with WandaVision and Agatha All Along, VisionQuest will see Vision try to better understand himself from within. Feige was joined on stage with stars Paul Bettany (Vision) and James Spader (Ultron) as they teased the heated interactions they would have in the series before showing off a fascinating trailer. VisionQuest uploads onto Disney+ on October 14, 2026.

Feige was about to move into one of the heavy hitters in Avengers: Doomsday when Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) suddenly appeared on screen. Jackman looked to be apart of the huge ensemble cast, though it played like he was reluctantly making this plea at the behest of the voice behind the camera, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). A nice little comedic moment before entering the seriousness of the next Marvel feature.

Appearing on stage to assist Feige would be Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), and Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom) Evans and Atwell briefly hinted at what the film will mean to their characters before Downey insisted on shooting over to the trailer, which the screen was set up to seamlessly transition into. Fans were extremely pumped over what they had seen and were very much looking forward to the epic premiere on December 18, 2026.

While Avengers: Doomsday would seemingly be the closer for Marvel, Feige stayed and brought up the ongoing success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In particular, the film’s introduction of Jean Grey and the foundation for mutants to truly enter the MCU. Sadie Sink (Jean Grey) appeared on stage with director Jake Schreier to announce the X-Men film and were then joined by cast members Kit Connor (Cyclops), Christopher Abbott (Charles Xavier), Samara Weaving (Emma Frost), Inde Navarrette (Rogue), and Maya Boyd (Storm). Fan reaction was high, notably for the dream casting of Navarrette realized.

This would be closed out with a video reveal of Adam Driver, who played up the idea that he mistook appearing on stage to mean appearing at the soundstage filmming would take place in. After joking saying he would be Magneto, he instead announced he would be Nathaniel Essex, aka Mister Sinister. The X-Men film is currently scheduled for release on May 5, 2028

It’s off to a galaxy far, far away as Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni would hit the stage to talk about Star Wars. First would be the mention of 2027 being the 50th anniversary of when the franchise first launched. All projects discussed would be released in 2027, including the notation of the original theatrical cut of Star Wars being re-released theatrically, particularly in IMAX.

Filoni went on to talk about the character who was near and dear to him, Ahsoka Tano. He would be joined by Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano) and later Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger) and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) to preview the second season of Ahsoka, which included screening of the impressive teaser trailer. Ahsoka Season Two will journey to Disney+ beginning January 20, 2027.

The venture into space would close out with Star Wars: Starfighter. Director Shawn Levy took to the stage and introduced star Ryan Gosling (Kade Auberon) by playing a highlight reel of him on The All New Mickey Mouse Club. Gosling first wore a Mouseketeer jacket before trading it for one with the insignia for Starfighter. They would show off the exciting trailer for the film that would have the daunting release date of May 28, 2027, three days off from the exact day of the original Star Wars 50 years prior.

The finale of the showcase would center on Walt Disney Animation Studios. Goodwin and Quay came out possessing plushies of their Zootopia characters before introducing Disney Animation CCO and Zootopia 2 director Jared Bush. Bush started by showing off the post-credits scene from Zootopia 2 as a means of confirming what was suspected, Zootopia 3 would be happening. As it was early in development, all Bush could reveal was that Gary was among the characters returning and that it would indeed focus on birds.

Bush would then announce a new original film in the works called Clay. He explained that it would follow one of the old Disney traditions of mentors and protégés with the story centered on “the worst mentor ever” in Flip (to be voiced by Kieran Culkin), taking under his wing a literal ball of clay named Mushy. The concept art displayed fascinated the intrigued audience enough to look forward to its release on November 22, 2028.

In the meantime, Bush moved over to the most immediate feature to be released next, Hexed. He would be joined by star Hailee Steinfeld (Billie Doe) to show off the dazzling first full trailer of the magical venture. They would then be joined by co-stars Walton Goggins (Beef Roger Crumbchuck) and Jodie Foster (Queen Celeste), with them bringing up Foster’s career having started with Disney films as a teen and was now finally voicing in an animated feature. Hexed will cast a spell on audiences on November 25, 2026.

So of course the closer would be Frozen III. There were apparently technical difficulties right from the start as Idina Menzel (Elsa) and Kristen Bell (Anna) were supposed to sing as they started to appear on stage, but it seemed Bell’s earpiece was malfunctioning. So they instead just came out on stage to enormous fanfare and Menzel led in singing a darker version of “Frozen Heart” with the lyrics modified to tell of a sinister figure. Even with the technical difficulties, the moment went down swimmingly with the excited crowd.

Menzel and Bell would explain that a key element of the plot to the third film would be romance, as it would seem that Anna and Kristoff’s wedding would see others looking for love. Including… Olaf? Josh Gad (Olaf) then took to the stage to perform a new song, that might be titled “Samantha”, an R&B ballad that had folks laughing heartily.

But what everyone wanted to see was footage. By now, it’s been leaked to high heaven, but the beautiful and dramatic preview of Frozen III definitely had everyone excited with anticipation. Particularly with an antagonist whose designs would appear to echo those of the original concept for a villainous Snow Queen Elsa. Frozen III will show itself in theaters on November 24, 2027. The showcase then came to a close as an instrumental of “Let It Go” played with confetti raining down from the ceiling.

I felt this year’s showcase was an improvement over the last one. There was the greater focus on animation and it seemed Disney chose the projects to announce a bit more thoughfully without having to rely too heavily on star-power, even if they still had that in ample supply. Nearly everything presented were crowd-pleasers, even Romy and Michele 2 to a degree, and the reactions were filled with excitement throughout. In short, the Entertainment Showcase once again was a big winner and continued to be an amazingly fun event to attend.

The idea of mixing Disney and Final Fantasy seemed like a bizarre, yet fascinating concept for a video game. But when Kingdom Hearts was first launched on the PlayStation 2 in Japan on March 28, 2002, it was a revolution. In the near-25 years since, it would become one of the most popular and adored video game franchises as each new game would be among the best selling and acclaimed titles. With the long awaited and highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts IV on the horizon, the legion of fans were salivating with excitement at what was to come.

Even with the presentation being streamed online, fans crowded outside the Backlot Stage more than three hours in advance. Kudos to the staff for staying calm and getting the room filled in an orderly fashon. Serving as host would be Khleo Thomas (Holes) and featured Nana Gadd (Disney Games Director of Product Development), Tai Yasue (Kingdom Hearts IV co-Director), Tetsuya Nomura (Creator), Renée Johnson (Disney Character Voices Creative Director), Haley Joel Osment (English voice of Sora), and David Gallagher (English voice of Riku).

Despite the uncertainty of whether or not I’d be able to get in, I fortunately had a great time attending the Kingdom Hearts presentation. What they were able to reveal about the forthcoming game alongside the historical information about the series development was as fascinating as it was enjoyable. The extended trailer was exciting, but it definitely was seeing Osment and Gallagher doing the live line reading that made it super special and worth the hours of anxiety of hoping to attend. An excellent time to be had in the end.

If there’s one thing that the D23 Expo did better than most every other convention I’ve attended, it would be providing top notch musical experiences. Consistently showcasing performances and concerts that were second to none. To attend a live performance of beloved Disney songs, often by the original singers, would be a majestic moment of pure bliss. For 2026, they would host a touring concert celebrating the Disney music from the ’80s and ’90s, redub it the Disney Rewind Concert, and plus it to the max that only Disney could provide.

The Disney Rewind Concert was held for two nights at the Premiere Stage. Both shows were filled to capacity with thousands of excited fans and the Saturday show would stream on Disney+, which I hear went extra compared to Friday as a result. Alongside musical director Benjamin Rauhala, performing would be Broadway stars Alyssa Fox (Frozen), Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin), Jared Dixon (The Lion King), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), and Raena White (The Lion King) with special guests Susan Egan (Meg), Jodi Benson (Ariel), and Bill Farmer (Goofy).

Since my first D23 Expo in 2015, I looked forward to any and whatever musical performances I could experience. The Disney Rewind Concert hit all the marks for me in being wonderfully fun from start to finish. I could watch Egan sing “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” numerous times and still enjoy it. Benson taking a stab at “Poor Unfortunate Souls” was phenomenal and the parade of talent singing “On the Open Road” was sheer delight. This enhanced my belief that there was nothing like attending musical performances at the D23 Expo they’re so much fun.

Within the roster of talent working at Disney over the past century was Ron Husband, who quietly was a pioneering figure as one of the first African-American character animators in the company. From 1975 to his retirement in 2013, Husband had a hand in animating many characters and became a supervising animator on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Fantasia 2000, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Atlantis producer Don Hahn became interested in bringing Husband’s accomplishments to light and would make the documentary feature HUZ: Drawn to Life.

Perhaps because of the Disney Worldbuilders premiere at the Premiere Stage and the scheduling chaos of Disney Legends on Sunday afternoon, there unfortunately weren’t as many folks as the room could hold who ventured to the Walt Disney Archives Stage for a presentation that supplemented the documentary film. Yet those who went were treated to an amazing discussion about Husband and African-Americans in animation. Hahn, serving as host, and Husband were joined by contemporaries Floyd Norman, Bruce W. Smith, Marlon West, and Phil Morris.

Alongside clips from the documentary, which had just released that weekend on Disney+, they would expand upon aspects of Husband’s upbringing and career as well as the parallel journeys the others had. A nice, delightful portion would spotlight Atlantis as it was recognized as having quietly introduced the first true African-American main character in a Disney animated feature with Dr. Sweet, animated by Husband and voiced by Morris. There was a lot of really fascinating and engaging stories told throughout the hour that had the audience engrossed.

I went to this presentation over Disney Worldbuilders and I’m glad I did. I went in already interested in Husband along with the connections to Atlantis. I walked out having heard a wonderful talk about African-Americans in animation and the continued work to give them the chance to shine. Everyone got to say some really intriguing and amazing things about their work and the impact they were making to the business in general, not just in Disney. It was a great and fine hour to be had. HUZ: Drawn to Life is now available to watch on Disney+.

Serving as Disney’s Hall of Fame, the Disney Legends Award Ceremony would become a major part of the D23 Expo, honoring the biggest names from all facets of the company. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, this year’s inductees were Lin-Manuel Miranda (Film and Music), Alan Tudyk (Film and Voice), Kim Irvine (Imagineering), The Jonas Brothers (Television and Music), Susan Egan (Voice), Chris Berman (Television), Jerry Bruckheimer (Film), Eric Goldberg (Animation), Anne Hathaway (Film), Dwayne Johnson (Film and Voice), and Bob Iger (Leadership).

Curiously, the ceremony would happen early Sunday afternoon as opposed to being the event closer like last year. This made scheduling way more hectic. And I imagine because of the affect on scheduling, this would be one of the events in which the notion that it would stream on Disney+ would impact attendance, specifically for the live simulcast at the Premiere Stage. Only a fraction of the room’s capacity was met, essentially meaning those who weren’t going to the Honda Center to attend live likely waited for it to be on Disney+.

The Legends Ceremony this year was a mixed bag for me. I did enjoy the extravagance of the Miranda celebration and that Goldberg was given major treatment as the sole animation inductee. But it felt overall like a little bit of a downgrade from the previous event more so because the presentation came off to me as any other banquet ceremony outside of Disney. Maybe it was because of the scheduling being in the middle of the day as opposed to being the closer. I still had a good time, it just didn’t feel quite as momentous as it had previously.

An instrumental figure in the Disney Renaissance would be composer Alan Menken. Beginning with The Little Mermaid in 1989, Menken would go on to score eight animated features and compose songs for dozens of Disney projects from live-action to television to stage musicals. He would also have a productive career outside Disney, working on the likes of Little Shop of Horrors, Rocky V, and Sesame Street. With such a legendary career, Menken determined that the best way to chronicle it would be a one man show titled A Whole New World of Alan Menken.

Menken’s concert would also serve as the event closer. Though it seemed like a no brainer for it to be such, it did add to the chaos of scheduling the Legends Ceremony in the afternoon. Those who ventured to the Honda Center immediately booked it as fast as they could to the Anaheim Convention Center in the hopes they would make it in time. Everyone knew this would fill the Premiere Stage to capacity that even those with reservations hauled it so as not to be late. Some folks left immediately afer Bob Iger’s speech in order to make the concert.

Menken previously held his concert at the D23 Expo in 2017. This year was updated with new material from the last ten years. This included working with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on the live-action adaptation of Aladdin and Lin-Manuel Miranda on the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. He performed “The Way It Was Before” from Spellbound to encompass his feelings of Howard Ashman’s passing. He even performed a song being considered for the upcoming stage musical adaptation of Tangled to close out the festivities in grand fashion.

Seeing Alan Menken perform in concert was an absolute must for me to attend this year. It was as delightful as I had expected and then some. Menken did a wonderful job going over as much of his career as he could in two hours with a brief, yet charming intermission in the middle ran by Jodi Benson and Nina West. The songs were a pleasure to hear him sing, particularly songs that had been cut from previous projects, and certainly the song for the Tangled stage musical. This was definitely a highlight in all my years attending the D23 Expo.

Alongside presentations that fans would go out of their way to attend, the D23 Expo would also have a Show Floor unlike any other convention I’ve been to. Experiences that were unique and extravagant that they had lines reminiscent of Disneyland. Many of the booths would be attractions themselves, taking up a lot of floor space with their awe-inspiring displays. Others would provide fun photo opportunities and a few would have free giveaways. It truly lived up to the notion that there was always something worth seeing at the D23 Expo.

The Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth would arguably be considered the marquee attraction on the Show Floor. It would be here that fans would get unique previews of upcoming features with impressive displays, reminisce on beloved titles through showcasing of original production artwork, and opportunities to meet and hear from some of the most revered creative talents. As such, there often was a great deal of traffic within the booth and multiple lines of folks looking to partake in experiencing in person the famed Disney magic.

The booth would often have at least two displays for upcoming Disney animated features fans would line up for official photo opportunities. These were always popular as they were not only fine attractions by themselves, but partaking in the photo ops would also net a free giveaway in lithographs of the associated feature. This year’s photography displays were for Hexed and Frozen III. Frozen III would see Elsa and Anna wearing the latest adventure clothes while Hexed would feature Billie Doe, Alice Doe, and a first look at Beef Roger Crumbchuck.

There would also be supplements to the displays. For Frozen III, there was a side section that offered a look at Kristoff and Olaf in their wedding reception clothing. For Hexed, the line would go through a gateway that was designed like the front of Crumbchuck’s residence. There would also be another stand for Hexed, displaying artwork from the film as well as showing off a magical journal and feather quill pen. If one got close enough to the display, they would hear the voices of Stephen Fry and Tracey Ullman as the sentient objects.

The booth contained a stage in which, every few hours, they held a presentation folks could sit in on. I happened to catch a couple for a few moments in-between events, both times the area was overflowing with fascinated attendees. One was a delightful conversation with Eric Goldberg as the legendary animator talked about his full career, not just Disney. The other was a charming presentation featuring talents who had voiced children in Pixar films. This definitely attracted folks wanting to get a look at the kids, who had since grown up.

I’ve always found myself venturing into this booth every year and many times I’m in awe at what I see. It’s a really impressive attraction by itself made all the more outstanding with the little touches included. I managed to get to the booth early enough that I was able to do the photo op displays without really being in line, just a few folks in front of me. And I enjoyed what few minutes I was able to spend listening in on the presentations. Admittedly, I ran out of time to check out the Pixar side, but I know I would’ve enjoyed it just as much.

Merchandise would be a big thing at the D23 Expo. If there was any convention in which exclusive merchandise would be as close to being absolute must haves, it would be here. So much so that the official shop booths would be packed year after year. It got to the point where folks had to quickly enter the online queue at six in the morning via the Disneyland app, not the D23 app, and hope they would be able to get in in a timely manner. And the one shop that would have the exclusives fans salivated for would be in the D23 Marketplace.

I’ve kept thinking that I would try to avoid the Marketplace as the trouble of trying to get in would be too exhausting just to end up not making the cut. This could’ve been the year I didn’t bother if not for the announcement of the Milo and Kida figure set that would commemorate the 25th anniversary of Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I was placed in what was labeled the reserve group and didn’t think I’d get in. But to my surprise, the Disneyland app notified me at around noon that my group could enter. Right when the Eric Goldberg signing was starting!

As soon as I got through the signing, I power-walked all the way to the hall that had formally been Hall D23, where the major programs used to take place. The Marketplace was among the big booths that now filled the space and I walked as fast I could to get in. I managed to find where the figures were and initially saw empty shelves. Then I saw what was the last set being sold for the day and just managed to snatch it! I got the Milo and Kida figures! Nevermind that the box was as big as the $300 price tag, I obtained the figures I wanted!

As a bonus, I threw in a figure of Esmeralda to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as a figure of Raya commemorating the 5th anniversary of Raya and the Last Dragon. It was after grabbing these that it really hit me how big all the figures and their boxes were. It was ten years all over again as they were quite literally on top of me on my way to the check out line. Fortunately, I was staying in a hotel on Convention Way, so I could drop off the figures as opposed to lugging them around all day.

A booth I’ve found myself coming back to recently was for the Disney Theatrical Group. Primarily it would display costumes worn in the stage musicals or in the Disney on Ice shows as well as have brief hourly presentations. The costumes themselves were lovely to look at up close, so they were a neat attraction as they were. This year featured a bonus in which, in-between the presentations, staff would bring out some of the props from the stage musicals and attendees would be given an opportunity to actually hold them in their hands.

The props I saw going around in the booth were the Lamp and Jafar’s Staff from Aladdin and the puppets for Zazu and baby cub Simba from The Lion King. Most folks were super nervous to even touch the props they were in sheer awe. Those who braved handling them were glowing with pure joy. I took a shot at holding the baby cub Simba puppet, which was used in “The Circle of Life” opening. The staffer directed me to the button on the back, when pushed correctly, causes the puppet to wiggle and move about. It was like being a kid again I was smiling.

The one presentation I ended up hanging out for was a sing-along of Disney Broadway tunes. Conducting the sing-along would be Ryan McCartan, who was taking a quick break from performing in The Great Gatsby on Broadway to be at the D23 Expo. McCartan would lead everyone into singing the likes of “Let It Go” from Frozen and “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman. It was actually quite fun watching folks have a good time and McCartan did a nice job in hosting as well as encouraging folks to sing-along with him on these songs.

The one other booth I spent time in was for Mundo Pixar. Mundo Pixar was a walkthrough attraction in which folks would go through immersive sets modeled after settings in the Pixar films, built to be life-size based on perspective. The attraction had been doing very well in London and Tokyo and will being having a United States tour in 2027. In preparation for that, they set up space on the Show Floor to sample the experience with two settings that would be introduced in the US tour, a set based on Toy Story and a set based on Inside Out.

Let me tell you, it was really astonishing to walk into the Toy Story set, essentially being the size of a toy in Andy’s room. The whole room was beautifully recreated and some of the little touches like Andy’s drawings pinned up and the titles of the books on the bookshelf made it all the more charming. The Inside Out set was rather neat, being the size of the emotions inside “Headquarters” and getting to pose at the console surrounded by the memory orbs. The experience was very nice and certainly got me interested in checking out the tour next year.

I will say that going to the Honda Center did create some challenges when it came to scheduling. Specifically, making time to check out the Show Floor as much as I could. Throw in the fact that nearly everything had some sort of line, then one had to consider how to go about setting up their times to get from one place to another and what booths would be worth the time to try to experience. It’s why I’m kinda wishing that Disney would consider expanding to four days because there’s so much on the Show Floor I really wanted to try out.

Every so often, attendees could score an opportunity to meet some of the talented creators they admired. If nothing else, the Autograph Signings at the D23 Expo would be where some of the big highlights happened. It helped that they were free, so long as folks were willing to wait in line and hope they were early enough to make the cut. Nevertheless, as soon as they were in, fans would be gushing with excitement at interacting with a beloved figure. It’s one of the few places where animators, Imagineers, and others were celebrated like movie stars.

Over the years, getting into an autograph signing would get more and more hectic. In 2017, I nearly crashed into a poor staffer when folks were trying to obtain the first come, first served tickets for the Coco filmmakers signing and just managed to be one of the last ones in. Incidents like these were why the reservation system was introduced. As a result, some autograph signings would require luck to get into. Particularly at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios, where having a reservation was mandatory to attend a signing.

I got a reservation for a signing at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth on the first day. It was initially listed for Walt Disney Animation Studios Filmmakers, so I was interested in what surprise was in store. Then the listing disappeared for a while, which had me concerned. It was about a week before the event that the listing came back, this time with a specific name: Eric Goldberg. I met Goldberg previously at San Diego Comic Con when he published his book Character Animation Crash Course!, but I was down for meeting him again.

The signing would happen after his conversation presentation. The autograph section was on the other side of the booth parallel to the presentation stage. Goldberg signed lithograph copies of an exclusive illustration he did for the event of some of his Disney characters including The Genie (Aladdin), Phil (Hercules), and Louis (The Princess and the Frog). I was among the first in line and noted our Comic Con meeting. He was tickled that not only did I still have the book, but I also still had the accompanying shirt! Just a fun man to meet.

Another major place to obtain autographs would be Talent Central. This would be the primary section for signings and would grow over the years to accommodate the increasing lines. Which made a good chunk of the former Hall D23 the ideal place to have Talent Central as it would allow for the space needed for the lines. Furthermore, Talent Central would have standby lines, so those who were not able to get a reservation would still have a chance at meeting the talent. It was a matter of getting there early enough and having to wait for possibly hours.

On the second day, my morning was wide open so I ventured over to Talent Central to see how the lines were for two signings that interested me: one with the Hexed filmmakers and the other with Pete Docter. I arrived an hour before either signing happened and saw that the standby line for Pete Docter was already three rows deep. The line for the Hexed filmmakers only had less than a dozen folks, so I jumped in line right away. It was definitely the right call to make as the line was starting to get three rows deep by the time the signing started.

Partaking in the autograph signing would be Fawn Veerasunthorn (Director), Jason Hand (Director), Josie Trinidad (Co-Director), Dana Ledoux Miller (Writer), Yvett Merino (Producer), and Roy Conli (Producer). Coming off the extended preview at the Entertainment Showcase the night before as well as the promotion at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios, they were just as excited as the fans were for the film. They were very pleasant and enjoyed interacting with everyone. A lovely meet and greet worth being in line for.

One of the joys of the D23 Expo for me had been the opportunities to meet talent outside of the autograph signings, though. These managed to happen a couple times following a presentation. Such was the case after the Ron Husband presentation as nearly everyone headed to the stage and interacted with the panelists, who were gracious enough to stick around for as long as they could to meet as many people as possible. Lighting was not great for pictures, but I nonetheless got to hang with Husband as well as Phil Morris and Marlon West.

Attend any convention, chances were that there would be quite a number of fans going about dressed in Cosplay. Dressing up as beloved characters would become an art form to express their admiration as well as becoming an integral attribute of such festivities for decades. And beneath the Disney umbrella were scores of franchises from which fans could cosplay and be right at home at the D23 Expo. In fact, it could be argued that Disney’s convention might perhaps house the largest delegation of cosplayers gathered together in one place.

This was bolstered by what seemed to be Disney’s encouragement, holding official meetups and photoshoots at the Grand Plaza Fountain in front of the convention center. This year had roughly seven meetups throughout the weekend. Due to scheduling, I was only able to check out the latter half of the Disney Princesses, Heroes, & Villains Cosplay Meetups. Which meant I missed out on seeing Jodi Benson (Ariel) make a surprise appearance. But even though I didn’t see her, the gathering itself was still loads of fun with all the impressive costumes on display.

I would say, though, that a personal favorite of mine this year was one of the rare crossover costumes. This one saw a group dressed as Disney felines Scar (The Lion King), Shere Khan (The Jungle Book), transformed Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove), Marie (The Aristocats), and Dinah (Alice in Wonderland) stylized as the Cats stage musical. It was so good and so creative I immediately ran up to them for a photo. Another crossover costume I caught was a Sailor Moon variant of Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) that looked pretty good.

A creative pair had Simba and Zazu (The Lion King) costumes designed to look like they were in motion and would occasionally go about in circles in a spot before collapsing to the ground. I managed to catch them outside the convention center at a nice spot with enough foliage to mimic a jungle setting. I also caught a couple of really good designs of Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet). And there was a cute couple as genderbent Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde (Zootopia) specifically posing before a sign that commemorated the film’s tenth anniversary.

The D23 Expo unofficially started the night before at the Anaheim Marriott, one of the hotels next door to the convention center on Convention Way. In the lobby was a huge gathering of fans engaging in pin trading and showcasing. It was quite the sight to see folks checking in and turn to the side to see dozens upon dozens of collectors flipping through their binders to display or trade Disney pins in their possession. I swear, there might have been around a hundred collectors engaged in this activity that I would not doubt went all night long.

The reservation system received a positive boost this year. About a week prior to the event, they launched a management program. Through it, if folks needed to bow out of something they had a reservation for, they could cancel the reservation and it would go up for others to obtain. Lightning fast reflexes were needed, but it was otherwise another chance to get a desired reservation. I started with reservations for the Eric Goldberg signing and the Alan Menken concert and later picked up the Disney Rewind Encore and the Ron Husband presentation.

There were two musical groups that went about the convention center, stopping at a random spot to play some songs and then going back on the move again. The two were the Spotlight Brass and the D23 Four. The Spotlight Brass were essentially a marching band, playing on brass instruments with a drummer tagging along. The D23 Four were a quartest of strings, woodwinds, and drums with a canine mascot. I caught both bands outside Talent Central, book-ending the Hexed signing and having no trouble attracting audiences to enjoy their music.

In taking the shuttle buses to the Honda Center this year, the venture would feature popular Disney songs being played from one of the Disney Radio playlists. Serving as host would be Jodi Benson as the “unnamed” Tour Guide Barbie (Toy Story 2). And in a change up from last time, there would be music played on the trip back to the convention center in the form of solo piano versions of known Disney tunes. The drop off and pick up this year was in one of the parking garages still in development next to the Honda Center and was way more organized.

The AR-coded Oswald trading cards were not the only freebies attendees of select presentations received. Outside of the Honda Center after the Entertainment Showcase, carts were giving away cans of Happy Coffee, a cold brew brand that was co-founded by Robert Downey Jr. The cans were themed after Avengers: Doomsday, specifically around Doctor Doom. Attending the Kingdom Hearts presentation netted a poster of the cover to the first game and attending the Disney Rewind concert provided one of the convention exclusive Disney+ Perks patches.

Jodi Benson got mentioned a lot in this recap. That’s because she was serving as the first official D23 FAN-bassador, as announced beforehand. She literally was all over the place participating in presentations, making surprise appearances, and doing just about everything as she interacted with fans throughout the weekend. It’s a real testament to her dedication to be able to do as much as she did, only starting to get physically affected when her voice was slightly hoarse on the last day during the intermission of Alan Menken’s concert.

Thousands of fans lined up outside the Anaheim Convention Center waiting for the doors to open on the first day of the D23 Expo.

The Frozen III display at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth provided a first look at Elsa and Anna’s newest adventure clothing.

One of the Hexed displays at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth showed off concept art and vocal samples of Stephen Fry as the magical journal Elias Quire and Tracey Ullman as the enchanted pen Ms. Quill.

The Sorcerer Hat at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth included brief information on Disney Feature Animation films and characters in the company’s 100 year history.

The Premiere Stage was filled with thousands of fans attending the Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time presentation.

Fans packed the presentation stage at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth to attend the Conversation with Disney Legend Eric Goldberg presentation.

A couple cosplaying as genderbent Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Zootopia at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

“I got the wind in my hair and a fire within, ‘Cause there’s something beginning, I got a mystery to solve and excitement to spare, Got a beautiful breeze blowing through, I’m ready to follow it who knows where, And I’ll get there, I swear, With the wind in my hair.” (Rapunzel, Tangled)

“Yes, it’s only in my dreams. But they say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s sure to come true, and I’ve dreamed that dream so many times.” (Briar Rose, Sleeping Beauty)

The Hexed entries on the Sorcerer Hat at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth provide a brief synopsis on Billie Dee, Beef Roger Crummchuk, and a third character.

Have a seat with the Parr family (The Incredibles) at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

There was a packed line of fans fortunate enough to have a reservation for the Eric Goldberg signing at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth.

There were so many desired merchandise items inside the D23 Marketplace, in particular the figures with boxes so big it made carrying them around while still shopping difficult.

“Originally, John Musker and I were actually gonna write a history book. Kind of about… I think it was Ed Catmull who wanted to [have] a book about the period after Walt Disney passed and the period kind of leading up to Moana, which has not been covered as much as, certainly as, other periods. And then John Musker decided to retire and make short films and he’s been taking them around the world and is having a great time. So the book fell to me. And it’s still a history book, but it’s very personal. It’s more of a memoir. So it’s really a history book told from a very specific point of view. From my point of view.” (Ron Clements, The Little Mermaid)

It was a full house at the Walt Disney Archives Stage for the Making Disney Magic with Ron Clements presentation.

“I asked for two things [for Tiana]. That she be left handed. And she needed a little booty. Because you can’t have the first black Disney Princess not have a little booty!” (Anika Noni Rose, The Princess and the Frog.

“And doctor, again with the greatest possible respect, zip your howling screamer.” (Captain Amelia, Treasure Planet)

As presented by Pete Docter (Pixar CCO) at the Disney Entertainment Showcase, The Incredibles 3 will reportedly focus on the Parr children, believing they are ready to be full fledge supers.

Benjamin Bratt (Ernesto de la Cruz) presented concept art for Coco 2 at the Disney Entertainment Showcase featuring an older, teenage Miguel.

Pete Docter (Pixar CCO) provided at the Disney Entertainment Showcase a first look at Ghost Market, a new feature that would be set in Hawaii, continuing a recent trend of stories based in the Pacific Islands.

Dave Filoni (Lucasfilm President) was joined by stars Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) to preview the second season of Ahsoka at the Disney Entertainment Showcase.

Jared Bush (Disney Animation CCO) presented at the Disney Entertainment Showcase a first look at Clay, which would center on “the worst mentor ever” in Flip (to be voiced by Kieran Culkin) and his protégé, a literal ball of clay named Mushy.

Alongside Jared Bush (Disney Animation CCO) and co-stars Hailee Steinfeld (Billie Doe) and Walton Goggins (Beef Roger Crumbchuck), Jodie Foster was introduced to great fanfare at the Disney Entertainment Showcase as the voice of the antagonist Queen Celeste in Hexed.

With Clopin and Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) around, the D23 Expo was essentially the Festival of Fools.

The escalators would include artwork in-between the steps showing off something that naturally elongated, such as Elastigirl (The Incredibles) stretching her arm out from the bottom to reach her son Jack-Jack at the top.

There was a healthy packed line of fans looking to get autographs from the Hexed filmmakers at Talent Central.

Cyclops and Marvel Girl (X-Men) had a rare day off from super heroics to spend the day at the D23 Expo as a couple.

Dan got all giddy like a child holding the baby cub Simba puppet from The Lion King stage musical and pressing the button to make it wiggle at the Disney Theatrical Group booth.

In-between hourly presentations at the Disney Theatrical Group booth, staffers would have in hand props like the Magic Lamp from the Aladdin stage musical that fans could hold, but were often too nervous to.

An Aladdin group shot during the Disney Princesses, Heroes, & Villains Cosplay Meetups at the Grand Plaza.

A Tangled group shot during the Disney Princesses, Heroes, & Villains Cosplay Meetups at the Grand Plaza.

A group of Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) cosplay variants during the Disney Princesses, Heroes, & Villains Cosplay Meetups at the Grand Plaza.

“Oh, isn’t this amazing, It’s my favorite part because, you’ll see, Here’s where she meets Prince Charming, But she won’t discover that it’s him, ‘Til chapter three.” (Belle, Beauty and the Beast)

A Kingdom Hearts group shot during the Disney Princesses, Heroes, & Villains Cosplay Meetups at the Grand Plaza.

Fans were already gathering in the hallway outside the Backlot Stage at 1pm, three and a half hours before the DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS presentation was scheduled to start.

As the DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS presentation was minutes away from starting at the Backlot Stage, fans still waiting in line pulled out their phones and loaded up the live stream.

Staffers managed to remain calm and kept the gatherings under control so they could fill the Backlot Stage to capacity in an organized and orderly fashion for the DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS presentation.

Both nights of the Disney Rewind concerts had full houses at the Premiere Stage, even with all the activity at the Honda Center and the Saturday concert streaming live on Disney+.

The food trucks outside the Anaheim Convention Center would take a few last second orders before closing up for the night right at 8pm when the D23 Expo would also end activity for the day.

In today’s episode of Woody’s Roundup, see what adventures await Woody and Jessie (Toy Story) at the D23 Expo!

“When I graduated from college, I went back home looking for a job in creative arts, illustrating books and magazines. Couldn’t find any of that, so I took a job… doing squares, guided graphics. After about a year and half, I said [to myself], ‘There must be something more creative I could do. So where can I find creativity?’ And that would be at art school.” (Ron Husband, Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

“Phil [Morris] and Ron [Husband]. You two created… I don’t know if we had thought about this much at the time, but the first human black character in a Disney animated film was Dr. Sweet. We are all storytellers and we needed that character as part of our ensemble. And it was just a no brainer to get Ron, you, to animate that character. You were a supervising animator by that time, had animated Djali on The Hunchback of Notre Dame and worked on every movie in-between. And Phil, we were really lucky to happen to stumble across you. And to put you two together was kind of magic for [Atlantis: The Lost Empire].” (Don Hahn, Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Following the HUZ: Drawn to Life presentation at the Walt Disney Archives Stage, some of the panelists stuck around and interacted with fans eager to meet them.

“Doctor, to muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic. And I mean that in a very caring way.” (Captain Amelia, Treasure Planet)

“His eyes were intense… and focused, and… I’ve never seen eyes like those before…” (Jane Porter, Tarzan)

The Toy Story set of the Mundo Pixar walkthrough attraction was a sight to behold, being inside Andy’s room from the point of view of a toy.

Even dogs were blown away being inside the Toy Story set of the Mundo Pixar walkthrough attraction, finding themselves the size of a toy in Andy’s room.

Staffers would be present in the Inside Out section of the Mundo Pixar walkthrough attraction as the console was sensitive, so they would direct those who wanted to do a photo with it alongside models of Joy, Sadness, and Anxiety.

It would be a full house at the Premiere Stage as the D23 Expo would close the year with the A Whole New World of Alan Menken concert.

“For our number when the enchanted objects, or characters, welcome Belle to dinner, I just wanted to give Howard [Ashman] a piece of dummy music to play with. Because I knew it was gonna be a typical French musical, and I said, ‘Lemme just give you a form, do the lyric, and I’ll give you the real music.’ So I gave him sort of… (plays melody) ‘Okay, just take that, it’s not the real music. Come back with what you got.’ [Ashman says,] ‘…Okay.’ Okay, so it came back… ‘There it is… “Be Our Guest.” Okay, got it, got it. Cool…’ (plays ‘Be Our Guest’ in a different tune) ‘No no no no… Um…’ (plays ‘Be Our Guest’ in another different tune) ‘No no no. It had to be…’ (plays ‘Be Our Guest’ in another different tune) ‘No, it had to…’ (beat) No matter what I did, it had to be that dumb piece of music! But it was perfect just to sit and let the brilliant lyrics just bounce off of that.” (Alan Menken, Beauty and the Beast)

Nina West (cosplaying Giselle) and Jodi Benson (Ariel) ran a “muse-ical” trivia game during intermission of the A New World of Alan Menken concert at the Premiere Stage.

A family getting their photo taken in front of this year’s Disney mural street artist Ryan “ARCY” Christenson painted live throughout the weekend.

Among the hot items at the D23 Marketplace this year included Raya and Esmeralda figures that respectively commemorated the 5th anniversary of Raya and the Last Dragon and the 30th anniversary of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Fans who participated in official photo ops with the Frozen III and Hexed character displays at the Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios booth received free lithographs to each of the films.