D23 – 3rd Anniversary/Current Disney Twenty-Three Magazine – Thoughts

D23 celebrated its third anniversary on March 10th. It seems like only yesterday we started seeing those Are you 23 banners around the parks and elsewhere online and everyone was speculating on what Disney was to announce. Looking back at the past three years of events and opportunities it has been a fun experience. The D23 team has brought a spot light to the history of the company and given many of use disneygeeks the opportunity to meet each other and learn more than we previously could as well as opening doors to experiences that before were not available, such as the Disney Legends ceremonies.

As I have mentioned before one of the challenges for D23 is their own success and the limited nature of some of the venues/offerings vs the demand for them. For example the Studio Tours or more recently the Disneyland Off the Map Event which I read sold out in minutes. These events and interactions are really at the core of the D23 experience for a good number of folks out there. For example at the D23 Expos the park/history related panels and sessions always seem to be at capacity early on.

If you have not found the time to sit and read through the Spring Issue of Disney Twenty Three, it is an interesting read. I finally foun a quiet weekend a few weeks ago to read through mine and really enjoyed it. The focus of this issue is Disney Feature Animation which is celebrating 75 years, hard to believe Snow White has been around that long. The issue seems to have a lot more “density” than previous issues. I really enjoyed reading about the six older men. Many of us disneygeeks know about Walt’s nine old men, but who came before them? This story looks at six who mentored the nine. Inside Walt’s Story Meetings was also a great piece learning more about how Walt worked on the films. There are other features looking at other aspects of feature animation ranging from the music to marketing. Also a look forward at the upcoming Wreck It Ralph film.

What are your thoughts on the first three years of D23? Were you able to attend any of the events? Hits/misses??