D23 Expo 2011

[UmbrellaFish]

The Disney Legends ceremony in it entirety:

That was a joy to watch, thank you so much for posting that! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see it.

[Sotiris]

That was a joy to watch, thank you so much for posting that! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see it.

You're welcome!

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Yes, thanks a bunch, Sotiris! I've only watched about half of it, but I'm really enjoying it. Bob Iger sounded so enthusiastic! I just couldn't believe it!

[Sotiris]

Yes, thanks a bunch, Sotiris! I've only watched about half of it, but I'm really enjoying it.

No problem!

[milojthatch]

So I hear it wasn't very good this year? Thoughts? I wasn't able to go (as posted), so I'm just basing it on what I've heard. The D23 Expo Facebook page is filled with bad reviews.

[milojthatch]

So, I take it except Blu Ray 3D, there was no news for any DVD's or Blu Ray's out of D23? No news on the "Generations Collection?" Nothing on "Disney Treasures" on Blu Ray? Did I miss anything? I've been looking for any news, but I keep hearing about Blu Ray 3D releases only. That's kind of sad.

[Poody]

It was amazingly fun. Yeah, I only went to one panel though. Couldn't get into anything else. I was really disappointed at not getting into the Legends Ceremony. Waited in line for nearly 3 hours and they didn't even tell us they had reached capacity.

Other than that the Expo was awesome! I haven't even touched my camera yet LOL but here's a few pics I've found online from our adventures:

Meeting Susan Egan:




My new Prince Edward costume:




This was a funny scene.... LOL


Our fairy group:

[DisneyJedi]

OMG, is that a plushie of Stitch as Ursula in the picture?

[Arielle]

So I hear it wasn't very good this year? Thoughts? I wasn't able to go (as posted), so I'm just basing it on what I've heard. The D23 Expo Facebook page is filled with bad reviews.

I think the biggest thing were that the crowds were completely unexpected. I only went Saturday & Sunday, so I wasn't prepared at all on Saturday morning when I got to the Expo. The Studios panel was the thing I was most looking forward at the Expo. I even convinced one of my friends to actually go to the Expo because of that panel.

I went last year and didn't have a problem at all getting into the panels. The Studios panel started at 10:30am, so I thought we should be in line by 8:30am "to make sure to get 'good' seats." We ended up getting in line about 8:15-8:20ish. Apparently they were letting the members go inside to line up at 8am. We didn't set foot in the convention center until 9:10-9:15ish. We hurried right away to get in line at the arena and then at 9:30am we were told it was filled to capacity. And there were hundreds of people in front of us.

I was extremely upset. I mean it was my own fault for not lining up earlier - but it was all just so unexpected. If I had known, I would have gladly gotten up a few hours earlier to wait. I think the whole unexpectedness of the crowd really turned people sour.

And I really, really felt bad for the general admission people who lined up at 4am to get into the panel but were turned away since they didn't let non-members in until 10am. I'm sure that didn't give them a good impression of D23.

We learned our lesson quickly. The other panel we wanted to see was "25 Years of Pixar" which included John Lasseter on the panel. It started at 2:30pm, so we got in line around 11am to guarantee a spot. We got in, but we were still about halfway back from the stage. It was a really good history lesson, but I was really sad they didn't explore anything new.

Lion King 3d was fun. We got in line only an hour before it started (I didn't want to wait too long for a movie that I could see later) and still made it in (though we were in the top tier).

Sunday was much better in terms of crowds. We showed up at 9:15 and just walked right into the Marvel panel. Although the Marvel panel was nothing like I expected. It was really only about the history of Marvel and they didn't show anything new. I was a little angry that the Avengers showed up at the Studios panel and not the Marvel panel, but whatever. The Marvel panel was just one guy talking. Silly me for hoping that Joss Whedon would make a surprise appearance. In my opinion this panel didn't need the Arena (it was pretty empty and the presentation wasn't arena worthy).

We left the Marvel panel early to catch "The Art of 'Brave'" panel. That was probably my favorite of the ones I saw because it was the only one that showed something new. The art gave lots of hints for the movie and I'm really excited for it.

My final thoughts:

-D23 oversold on Saturday for the the content it had. There wasn't much to do besides the panels, so you were screwed if you didn't get into them.
-I think the Studios panel should have been divided up more. In my opinion, Pixar, The Avengers, and the Muppets really deserved their own panels and then more people could have enjoyed them.
-The staff were poorly trained. If you asked someone a question "I don't know" was the answer they gave 70% of the time.
-Last year they had characters you could have pictures with when you entered the floor, and they didn't do that this year. I missed that!
-The area was huge, but every other room was much smaller. I feel like they needed a room that was in between in size.


I still had fun despite the unexpected unfortunate surprises. However, if things don't change I may be hesitant to go next time.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Poody that new Edward costume is amazing! Would it be rude to ask how much it cost you to put it together?

I also like that big group shot that has a couple Haunted Mansion characters in it.

[Poody]

Poody that new Edward costume is amazing! Would it be rude to ask how much it cost you to put it together?

Thanks!!! It's actually not quite even finished and all... paid for haha. Hit me up at JimmySherfy@gmail.com (or facebook).

[UmbrellaFish]

So Susan Egan was there? I was thinking about her while watching the Disney Legends ceremony. Not only did she voice her own character in Hercules, but she's also often used for Belle. Seems a shame she wasn't included in the honors (and Ming-Na, too).

By the way, lovely pictures!

[milojthatch]

So I hear it wasn't very good this year? Thoughts? I wasn't able to go (as posted), so I'm just basing it on what I've heard. The D23 Expo Facebook page is filled with bad reviews.

I think the biggest thing were that the crowds were completely unexpected. I only went Saturday & Sunday, so I wasn't prepared at all on Saturday morning when I got to the Expo. The Studios panel was the thing I was most looking forward at the Expo. I even convinced one of my friends to actually go to the Expo because of that panel.

I went last year and didn't have a problem at all getting into the panels. The Studios panel started at 10:30am, so I thought we should be in line by 8:30am "to make sure to get 'good' seats." We ended up getting in line about 8:15-8:20ish. Apparently they were letting the members go inside to line up at 8am. We didn't set foot in the convention center until 9:10-9:15ish. We hurried right away to get in line at the arena and then at 9:30am we were told it was filled to capacity. And there were hundreds of people in front of us.

I was extremely upset. I mean it was my own fault for not lining up earlier - but it was all just so unexpected. If I had known, I would have gladly gotten up a few hours earlier to wait. I think the whole unexpectedness of the crowd really turned people sour.

And I really, really felt bad for the general admission people who lined up at 4am to get into the panel but were turned away since they didn't let non-members in until 10am. I'm sure that didn't give them a good impression of D23.

We learned our lesson quickly. The other panel we wanted to see was "25 Years of Pixar" which included John Lasseter on the panel. It started at 2:30pm, so we got in line around 11am to guarantee a spot. We got in, but we were still about halfway back from the stage. It was a really good history lesson, but I was really sad they didn't explore anything new.

Lion King 3d was fun. We got in line only an hour before it started (I didn't want to wait too long for a movie that I could see later) and still made it in (though we were in the top tier).

Sunday was much better in terms of crowds. We showed up at 9:15 and just walked right into the Marvel panel. Although the Marvel panel was nothing like I expected. It was really only about the history of Marvel and they didn't show anything new. I was a little angry that the Avengers showed up at the Studios panel and not the Marvel panel, but whatever. The Marvel panel was just one guy talking. Silly me for hoping that Joss Whedon would make a surprise appearance. In my opinion this panel didn't need the Arena (it was pretty empty and the presentation wasn't arena worthy).

We left the Marvel panel early to catch "The Art of 'Brave'" panel. That was probably my favorite of the ones I saw because it was the only one that showed something new. The art gave lots of hints for the movie and I'm really excited for it.

My final thoughts:

-D23 oversold on Saturday for the the content it had. There wasn't much to do besides the panels, so you were screwed if you didn't get into them.
-I think the Studios panel should have been divided up more. In my opinion, Pixar, The Avengers, and the Muppets really deserved their own panels and then more people could have enjoyed them.
-The staff were poorly trained. If you asked someone a question "I don't know" was the answer they gave 70% of the time.
-Last year they had characters you could have pictures with when you entered the floor, and they didn't do that this year. I missed that!
-The area was huge, but every other room was much smaller. I feel like they needed a room that was in between in size.


I still had fun despite the unexpected unfortunate surprises. However, if things don't change I may be hesitant to go next time.

What I heard was that Disney did not rent out the entire convention space. If that was the case, I really think they should have. I bet that would have helped with space. I'm really in high hopes that I can save the money to make it to the 2013 D23 Expo. I was kind of disappointed that bigger news wasn't revealed, not just about DVD's or Blu Ray's. The Marvel stuff alone I was hoping for more. Oh well, I bet it would have been fun to actually be there.

[SWillie!]

What I keep reading around the internet is that people are upset about the whole letting members in first, before people that had waited in line for hours.

But... this is the D23 Expo. Which, in my opinion, means that D23 members ought to come first. I mean, the expo is the biggest perk of being a member. So, I feel that the general admission people have no room to complain as it was their choice not to join D23.

Disclaimer: I didn't go to the Expo, but I am gladly a member a D23, and plan to renew every year for the foreseeable future.

[PatrickvD]

What I keep reading around the internet is that people are upset about the whole letting members in first, before people that had waited in line for hours.

D23 = Fastpass

If you don't have one, don't bitch about it

Just my 2 cents.

[SWillie!]

What I keep reading around the internet is that people are upset about the whole letting members in first, before people that had waited in line for hours.

D23 = Fastpass

If you don't have one, don't bitch about it

Just my 2 cents.

Hahahaha EXACTLY. I love the looks you get from people in the standby line when you run past them lol

[Sotiris]

The D23 Expo on YouTube
http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2011/ ... -tube.html

[CampbellzSoup]

sounds like a great time overall to be hoenst.

[jckdsnyfan]

Your are correct on all counts. I spoke to a couple of people in each of the “In Home Entertainment” pavilion – Disney Movie Club just said they will be continuing exclusives but didn’t know what the next tiles would be or when they will be available. The home video sections were really just set up to push 3D discs and the Second Screen application on the new discs. They were teasing new feature called “All Access” for home video – while they were tight lipped again about the actual details and roll out time frame, I got the impression this will be some sort of on-line way to access bonus content (since the company is scaling down the extras on the actual discs themselves).
No announcements or even an inkling of any classic or catalog material making its way onto disc. And when I asked about the Generation line I got mostly blank looks like they had no idea what I was talking about.
Completely absent was anything on not only Generations, but also the World Cinema line, Disney Family Movies (the PPV channel), or Disney On-Line Movies (which they had been touting 2 years ago at the last Expo). That side of the booth was really just set up to promote and display the packaging for Pirates 4, Cars 2, Dumbo, Lion King (including the big 8 disc set that didn’t impress me unless this was just a mock up and not the actual final packaging) and even Spooky Buddies. Not even a word about Winnie The Pooh. So overall, like Disney’s current trend in home video itself, the Pavilion was nice presentation but lacking content.

[Barbossa]

Was there any mention of National Treasure 3 at the expo? It seems NT3 went silent. I want to know what's on page 47!