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A Look Inside Disney’s D23 Ultimate Fan Expo

September 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

by Lori Cunningham

 

Two weekends ago I have the wonderful opportunity to attend the Disney D23 Ultimate Fan Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center.  Frenzied fans from all around the globe descended into Anaheim to hear about the latest happenings and “sneak peaks” of the beloved Disney empire.

 

I arrived 40 minutes before the Expo started.  A large line formed around the building as fans anticipated the sights and scenes they would soon see.

It was fun to see some of the fans dressed up as their favorite Disney characters like… Chimney sweepers?  Well, I didn’t see that one coming.  There were princesses, one Curella De Vil, even Ursula.  Once inside, it was hard to determine who was a fan and who was from Disney dressed up and paid to greet the guests!

Lightning McQueen and Mater greeted guests as they entered the “magical” doors.
Once inside, guests were treated to fun visual Disney eye candy like Perry the platypus trailer and Doofenshmirtz’ Evil air balloon at the Disney Channel stage.  Throughout the weekend, Disney Channel stars performed on the stage, gave autographs, and handed out fun souvenirs like Disney show branded sun glasses, bandannas, etc.
Disney has risen to the challenge to provide fans with those signature pieces for their homes through their Disney Living line.  Have the coolest coffee table on the block…in black or white!
One of the top attractions of the show was the Dream Store where fans could purchase items not yet available in the Disney stores.  Not surprisingly, similar to the Disney amusement rides, long lines were formed to enter the store.  Another store available also had long lines with special products available only to D23 members.
The great items in the stores weren’t the only items for sale.  There was also an awesome auction where fans could score some pretty cool stuff.  What home is complete without Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?  There was also a cool ship that transports guests in the Peter Pan ride, a beautiful “snow globe” with the Disney Castle inside, and lots more.
At the Disney Play Place, kids could play with a lot of fun Disney themed toys and take a break from walking the Expo floor.
When I Was a Young Warthog!
One area I spent a lot of time in was the Disney Interactive Media booth.  In fact, I spent so much time there I transformed into Pumba!
Disney Universe is a fun game dreamed up by Disney and Pixar where you “suit” up in over 40 fun familiar Disney characters and go on fun zany adventures.  This game will be releasing later this year and will be available for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC download.  It looked like a lot of fun to play.
Now available, the Phineas and Ferb 2nd Dimension game was a hit with guests.  Any Phineas and Ferb fan couldn’t stay away.  My kids would have eaten this up.  Note to self:  Christmas present!  Phineas and Ferb 2nd Dimension is available on the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo DS.
I have been writing about Disneyland Adventures for a while now.  I first saw the rough cut version at the E3 video games trade show in Los Angeles.  Then I got the chance to play one of the “rides” at BlogHer at the Sweet Suite party.  Now, at the Disney D23 Expo, I got to play the enhanced rough cut for about 15 minutes…and they have a lot more of the “attractions” produced now to try out.  The game is A LOT of fun.  I got to fly with Peter Pan, hug Alice in Wonderland, and go on a cool adventure on the Matterhorn ride.
If you’re familiar with the Disneyland campus, getting around this game is going to be a snap.  Having practically grown up at Disneyland, I had no problem exploring the park in this game.  Besides “going” on more than 20 attractions, you can interact with more than 40 Disney characters, dance with them, give them high-fives and hugs, and ask for their autographs.
Your kids are going to LOVE this game!  Disneyland Adventures will be available for purchase in the later half of November.
Disney now has a fun village/garden building app on Facebook called Gnome Village.   Very similar to the popular Smurfs app, you build your village and increase the number of gnomes in your village by harvesting veggies/fruits and buying more things.  What I like about this game is hacking at the weeds surrounding the village and discovering new unearthed buildings and bonuses while expanding your empire.  It’s a lot of fun.  Because it’s on Facebook, it’s not really well suited for younger children though.
Disney online has a very cool free drawing program called Digital Painter that gives kids all sorts of tools to create super fun original drawings and paintings.  At the Expo, Disney had a contest to see who could draw the most original Mickey Mouse using the Digital Painter.  There were some very impressive originals works of art!
 Rock Star Mickey made his debut appearance to Disney fans.  I had the privilege of seeing him perform at the Toy Fair earlier this year.  Mickey is quite impressive.  To add to the showmanship, Constantine Maroulis, from American Idol fame, performed the opening act and posed for pictures and gave autographs afterwards.
Now, if you’re like me, one of the biggest highlights of going to an ultimate Disney fan Expo would be to see what’s coming down the pike for the Disney parks and attractions.  In a fan filled sports arena dubbed the D23 Arena, we were enlightened on a number of projects Disney is working on.
Because I know it’s better to see/hear it first hand, I shot a number of videos so you can see the magic too.  I am showing 4 of the videos here, but there are more on the WellConnectedMom.com channel on YouTube.

New Fantasyland at Disney World

 

A More Personalized Experience at Disneyland

 

The Reinvention of California Adventure and a Closer Look at the New Upcoming Cars Ride

 

New Disney Shanghai

 

As you can see, there was a lot of things going on at the Disney D23 Expo, and yet, there’s so much more to show you.  If you’re curious to know more, search for D23 Expo in Google.  The Disney Blog is doing a good job of recapping their time at the Expo as well.

This was Disney’s 2nd Expo, the first one was held two years ago.  Based on its popularity, I’d say it’s a safe bet that they’ll be holding another one in two years.  What is your favorite Disney memorabilia or attraction ride?

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