If you’re not familiar with the D23 Expo, then you’re in the right place! First of all, D23 is the ultimate Disney fan club. The name D23 refers to D for Disney and the year 1923, when Walt Disney arrived in California and founded the company. They hold the D23 Expo every two years in Anaheim, California. The expo is held in the Anaheim Convention Center, within walking distance of Disneyland.
The 2019 event was from August 23-25. You can purchase tickets for one day, or all three days. I was fortunate to be able to attend all three days. The expo itself is huge, with shops and booths galore! There was never a dull moment (except maybe when I had to wait in line to get into some of the amazing panels!). I was able to attend most of the panels I wanted, except for the mega-popular Disney Legends panel. This is where they announce the newest Disney legends. This is one of the most popular panels, since everyone loves seeing their favorite celebrities. I did attend the introduction of the new Disney+ streaming service coming in November 2019, and two Disney Imagineering panels—one showing some of the processes behind the creation of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora Aulani and Treasure Cove in Disneyland Hong Kong, and one panel highlighting some of the women imagineers behind the creation of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I also attended a celebration of Aladdin where the Aladdin’s from the animated film, the national Broadway tour AND the new live action movie were all on stage!
On the final day I was able to attend the panel I was really looking forward to—the Disney parks panel! This was the presentation on all of the new things coming to all of the Disney parks around the world, and even the Disney Cruise Line! There are so many new things coming that I am going to need another blog article to name them all. So check back next week to see all of the new things coming. It’s safe to say that you will want to visit your favorite Disney park very soon!
Here are just a few highlights of the 2019 D23 Expo:
- Some of your favorites including Robert Downey Jr, Tom Holland, Jon Favreau and Kenny Ortega (who by the way we saw at the Disneyland resort!) were added to the long list of Disney legends.
- A new Avengers campus is coming to Disneyland, California and Disneyland Paris. You will be able to try to become an avenger yourself!
- Epcot is getting some major new updates, including a new nighttime show, the addition of Cherry Tree Lane from Mary Poppins in the UK area of the World Showcase, several new attractions.
- The Disney Cruise Line will add the first of three new ships, the Disney Wish soon. And there will also be a new private port in the Bahamas named Aluthra.
It was an exhausting weekend, but worth every minute of waiting in line and walking around. And of course I got to visit Disneyland too, since it was so close! So it was definitely a trip to remember! I will be back in 2021 for sure!
