D23Jason's Thoughts & Observations

Thoughts & Observations: D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2024

Jason @disneygeek.com

D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2024

The 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event has concluded and I wanted to share some of my thoughts and observations from the weekend while they are fresh in my mind.  This was the biggest Expo style event to date and encompassed more space at the Anaheim Convention center than past Expos and had evening events at the Honda Center.      I have had the opportunity to attend all eight D23 Expos/Events and found this one to have a different feel to it.

A disclaimer/note up front. I was invited media for all eight events which means that I did not experience the ticket purchase process, virtual queues, and most stand by queues.   So I will not be commenting on those aspects of the event.

Overall I had a good time at the event.  It is always enjoyable to catch up with old friends and make new ones at these events and this year was no exception.  The weekend is always a marathon and this year with the evenings stretching later at the Honda Center it really took a toll on many people, myself included.   The way the event utilized the convention center taking up more space for the main show floor plus the north building space really helped to make it feel not as densely crowded as past Expos. There were times it got really crowded in certain areas but usually the crowd dispersed rather quickly.

I really enjoyed the roaming entertainment this year.  I saw four groups.  A drum line with Mickey Mouse, a brass band, a jazz band, and an acapella group.   I thought it was great that they were playing near some of the dining areas so you could sit at a table, relax, and enjoy some music.  Speaking of sitting  they could have used more places to sit in general.  Many people just resorted to sitting on the floor or any spot they could find.   Some additional locations would be a nice addition, this is not new as the challenge is present at all large scale events like this.

As with any event of this type you have to make tough choices because there simply is not enough time to see everything. You hope you choose the panels that are going to be interesting/different/entertaining.  Sometimes you choose wisely, other times you opt to skip something and then regret it.   This time around I had some hits, the Richard Sherman Tribute was a highlight and some misses, the Muppets 70th was disappointing and some regrets such as the Worlds Fair one that was on my list then I decided not to venture up to check out the standby wait and missed what looked to be a great panel.   With the evening being at the Honda Center it did mean you could not see the later presentations/events, which there were several I would have liked to have seen.

Honda Center

There were a number of questions going into this year’s event.  How was the Honda Center going to change things?   What impact would this have on the convention center and the guest experience.   I spent all three evenings at the Honda Center so I do not have any first hand experience but I did talk to some who stayed behind and they said the convention center did thin but still had a healthy crowd.

My big question was how was transportation going to be?  From what I experienced/saw getting there was relatively smooth with the crowd spread out and enough capacity to minimize waits for the buses and security.   I used the buses both ways the first night and apparently really lucked out with my timing  exiting.  Many reported a much worse experience and longer waits up to an hour to get onto a bus.  The issue seemed to be the queues. They were not well defined and with the mass of people exiting the building all at once became a mob of people and not well formed.  They really could have benefited from a more formal queue with some barriers vs tape on the ground or just people standing in line.

After the first night’s experience it seems people shifted their strategy for the second night and the lines formed more quickly.   The second night it took me almost 10 minutes to find what I thought was the end of the line.   I was growing frustrated and weighing my options as I was looking at at least an hour to reach a bus probably.   Luckily a friend texted and offered a ride, so I left the queue and was able to avoid the bus.  For Sunday I talked to some friends earlier in the day and secured a ride both ways.    Did anyone take the ART?  I am curious how those queues were? I wanted to try it but opted to go with friends who had cars instead.

Disney Entertainment Showcase

The Disney Entertainment Showcase was held Friday evening and was the first event in the Honda Center. The stage was on one end of the arena and featured a huge video wall flanked by smaller video screens.   I would say about ¾ or so of the arena seating was used with sections on the floor.  I was in the far corner of the 200 level,  which offered an elevated view but I was looking to my left the entire time.   The lighting and stage video is similar to what you would see in a concert set up.

The evening followed a format similar to past presentations with each studio being represented and bringing out stars and other creatives to discuss various projects.   Upcoming projects for Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm were highlighted.

I thought doing all the studios in a single presentation made for too long of a presentation.  The length seemed hard to keep the energy level up.  The pacing was also off to me and it did not really flow as it was a series of disjointed announcements.   The show stopping Disney on Broadway performance was a high point in terms of entertainment and may have worked better as a strong finale vs mid show.    The closing segment with Walt Disney pictures Mufasa and Snow White did not seem to be that strong with the audience compared to reactions to the other films/studios.  For a more detailed look I have a separate post with my pictures and video from the Disney Entertainment Showcase

Disney Experiences Showcase

Saturday night at the Honda Center it was time for Disney Parks to take center stage.   The Disney Experiences Showcase was hosted by Josh D’Amaro and featured a full orchestra with a number of entertainment breaks including a lengthy Deadpool segment, parks music and a number of musical guests performing.

This presentation packed a lot in and went over the top to point out and discuss active projects this time vs the presentation at the last Expo where everything was blue sky.   The glaring omission from the presentation was where many of the projects were going and firm timelines.

Editors Note: The Monday after the event Disney started to release those details starting with the news that the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom was going to be removed.   In late August news came out that the Red Cars in Disney California Adventure will close in 2025.  Disney has not announced what will close for the Avatar or Monsters Inc projects but more closures and removals are expected.    I fall into the camp that is not happy with the announced closures.  Many of the attractions and spaces that will be removed are ones that I think add character to the theme parks and are good over the overall experience of the parks.  Also I do not understand the mindset to keep adding to the Magic Kingdom vs the other parks.  The Magic Kingdom is already the most visited and most crowded park. Adding more to it will only drive more people to visit the park. Where as if say the Villains and Cars additions went to the Studios that would help to boost that park and even out the crowds more across Walt Disney World.

I thought there was a missed opportunity with the Fortnight/Interactive segment.  It should have been its own presentation to give it more detail.  They had more than enough parks news and this seemed too much and much of the audience was not engaged.  If it would have been its own presentation it may have brought in a more enthusiastic crowd that were really interested in the gaming aspects.  For more details from this presentation I have several posts:

Disney Legends Ceremony

Sunday night to close out the event the Disney Legends Ceremony was held at the Honda Center.  After the previous two nights setting a high bar for entertainment and production I was expecting more this year for the ceremony.  I thought this would be a grand finale to cap off the event.   I was wrong and set way too high of a bar.  Instead it was a very nice ceremony for those being honored but it was more run of the mill and did not really take advantage of the Honda Center.   I thought this was a missed opportunity and not the best way to end the events.   It would have worked better as a first night or morning/afternoon event than the closing night.    It was not a bad show, it just was not spectacular or over the top.

This year they honored 14 new legends which made for a very lengthy ceremony and I still question a number of them as they are still rather young and/or active in the company.   A smaller group would have made for a tighter show and maybe given them an opportunity to offer some additional entertainment.     Here are my pictures and video from the 2024 Disney Legends Ceremony

Show Floor

 Imagineering: Behind the Dreams, Disney Experiences

This year the Imagineering exhibit featured a stage in the center with a number of presentations by Imagineers throughout the day all three days.   The research and development group had a large presence too and were a big draw with the BDX droids and Halotile Floor.   Around these spaces were a number of smaller displays with Imagineers to talk to.  I really enjoyed the pavilion and just roaming around and talking with the Imagineers.

On Sunday a new section was open with models and concept art for several of the projects that were announced Saturday evening.   This was great to see but it meant a large influx of people trying to see them and a very limited time being only one day and it was a short day with the Legends Ceremony starting 2 hours earlier than the previous two nights.   There was a queue but due to space issues they had to keep cutting it which was frustrating for those who wanted to see the exhibits.  I did appreciate that they kept this queue separate from the main pavilion so you could go see everything else just as you had the previous two days with no queue.

Here are some of my Imagineering posts:

The Walt Disney Archives: A Great Big Beautiful Car Show

I enjoyed the idea of the car show and did find several of the cars really interesting to see but I thought the exhibit was lacking. I would have liked to have seen more along with the cars.  Maybe some additional pictures, history or video?   I found it interesting there were minimal barriers up around the cars and for the most part guests seemed to be observing the no touching rule.  Here are my pictures from the Walt Disney Archives: A Great Big Beautiful Car Show.

 

Other Show Floor Thoughts

  • The ILM StageCraft demonstration was a must see on the show floor.  They had a partial volume set up and were demonstrating how the technology works and was applied to several scenes/shows.  I thought this was really interesting to see and there always seemed to have a good size crowd. My pictures and video from the Lucasfilm Pavilion – StageCraft Demonstration
  • I enjoyed the number of smaller pretensions that were available throughout the event at a number of locations such as the Disney Animation area and the Disney on Broadway areas.
  • For the most part the show floor felt like it always does.  There is a mix of booths, entertainment, exhibits, etc…  It felt a little more spread out and less busy at times.   One of the main stores was moved to the North Hall so that helped to spread out the crowd.
  • This was the first time I recall a large space for an  ESPN exhibit. ESPN teamed with Marvel to promote College Football.    I am not sure what they were expecting, but every time I walked by this was one of the least crowded areas.   I would have liked to have seen more.  I did enjoy seeing the couple USC related things on display.

Presentations & Panels:

 The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective

Yvette Nicole Brown, Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline, and The Muppets Producer Dani Iglesias discussed some of the Muppet items recently added to the Walt Disney Archives collection.   They talked a little about preservation and what the archives does and then took a look at several items.  I thought it was entertaining and interesting to listen to the three of them and see the items. I would have liked for this section to be longer.   The second half or so of the time was taken up with guest questions and answers and I am not a big fan of these. I know those who ask the questions find this great but overall I find most to be too personal in nature and not interesting to me.   As this drug on and there was still a significant amount of time left and no indication of changing course I opted to leave early along with several others.   Unfortunately this meant I missed the Jodi Benson finale unfortunately.  My pictures from The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective.

Directing Disney

This was a traditional presentation by Pete Doctor, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar, and Disney historian Don Peri talking about their book “Directing at Disney”.  They discussed the inspiration behind the book and the evolution of the Disney Studio organizational structure over several eras they defined.   I always enjoy these presentations to learn more about the origins and other nuggets that were uncovered during the process of creating the book.   They spent a good portion of the time talking about the organizational structure of the studio which I knew a little about but not a lot so it was great to hear.   The book is on my list and look forward to reading.   My pictures from the Directing Disney Presentation.

Jolly Holiday A D23 Musical Celebration of Richard Sherman Tribute

This was the highlight of the presentations I attended this year at the convention center.  The tribute included two panels that shared some great stories and memories of Richard Sherman and the Sherman Brothers Music.   Several Disney Legends were on hand, entertainers and Bob Iger to honor a Disney Legend in every sense of the word.  The tribute included several live performances including Haley Mills singing Let’s Get Together.    Theses are the types of moments that make the D23 Expo Events so special to attend in my book. My pictures and video from the Jolly Holiday A D23 Musical Celebration of Richard Sherman Tribute

For all my posts visit my 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event Summary Page