Disney's D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event opens Friday morning at the Anaheim Convention Center, just across the street from the Disneyland Resort.
The biennial convention will welcome tens of thousands of Disney fans across three days of events and presentations. But Disney allowed a select group of reporters, including me, to get a sneak peek tonight at what's in store for fans.
"We have reimagined D23 - it is more expansive, more immersive, than ever before," Asad Ayaz, Chief Brand Officer, The Walt Disney Company, said. "This is for our biggest fans from around the world, and we're celebrating what they love about Disney. This convention center alone is home to over 230 presentations - interactions with talent, storytellers, and immersive pavilions on the largest show floor we've ever had in D23 history.
"And for the first time ever, we've added an additional venue, the Honda Center, which will be home to three nights of marquee showcases that are anticipated to draw over 10,000 fans each night from Disney Entertainment, Disney Experiences, Disney Legends - all of which sold out in record time when tickets went on sale."
Let's start at the Marvel pavilion where, for the first time at D23, the studio is offering an interactive walk-through experience. Welcome to the TVA! Sarah Beers, Marvel's VP, Franchise Creative & Marketing, sets the stage.
At the Lucasfilm pavilion, we were treated to a first look at the D23 demonstration of Industrial Light & Magic's StageCraft - the technology behind "The Volume" video facility used for The Mandalorian and other Lucasfilm productions.
If you're a nerd and geek like me, you might also be interested to see what the back of The Volume looks like.
But let's not overlook what you Theme Park Insider readers came here for - the preview of the Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion: Behind the Dreams.
And here is a photo of the Disney Adventure World (aka Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris) scale model.
The sold-out D23 event continues through Sunday. Follow Theme Park Insider for more coverage of the Disney Experiences presentation at the Honda Center on Saturday night, when Josh D'Amaro - and special guests - will let us know what is coming to Disney Parks around the world over the next few years.
While the presentations will not be live-streamed this year, the 2024 Disney Legends Awards Ceremony will be available to watch on Disney+ starting on Monday at 2pm Pacific. There also will be a Fortnite-related reveal livestream within Fortnite at 8:30pm on Saturday.
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I'm having dejavu to 2008-2012 when Disney really screwed up by cruising on their laurels and not having any major projects when Harry Potter was under construction, basically being caught flat footed when it became a huge phenomenon and everyone was saying it was better than anything at Disney. A few years after Potter opened they signed the deal with James Cameron to build Avatar and by the time Avatar opened Hary Potter had already been open 7 years.
Disney seemed to have made a bonehead decision to mothball their entire imagineering department during the pandemic while Universal was quick to construct Beijing and get Epic Universe going again, and now here we are and whatever Disney has planned once again is not even under construction yet and probably won't be open for 5+ years. Look how long it is taking to build that Frozen area in Paris which was announced in FEBRUARY 2018...its still under construction and doesn't even look close to being done!
the_man: "... and whatever Disney has planned once again is not even under construction yet"
Me: Comcast has nothing under construction at its original two Orlando parks and may hold Epic Universe hostage -- demanding its guests by ticket a to USF and IOA if they want to visit the new park.
After spending that much money to get in the park here's hoping the new Epic attractions don't have any technical problems.
To add to the_man7’s point, Universal opened the Wizarding World’s Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley in a 4 year span. The Disney projects take so long and so many get cancelled. In recent memory, SS Earth redo, Play Pavillion, Mary Poppins ride, a worthy festival pavilion and a new China film were all announced and never came to fruition. Not to mention the Magic Kingdom theater though they seem to have lost interest in broadway style shows with the DCA Hyperion sitting dormant.
I hope we hear something about Disneyland Forward, Avengers Campus and (of course) DAK and BBTM.
A nice surprise would be something about PLAY! They fixed the roof. It's conditioned space and prime real estate.
@Richard West
Some of the Parks and Experiences presentation is being live-streamed in the game Fortnite. It’s unclear exactly how much or which part. I imagine Disney will announce more during the panel about their Fortnite partnership.
Here’s the link with details: https://www.fortnite.com/news/watch-live-fortnite-disney-reveals-from-d23-on-august-10-at-830-pm-pt-1130-pm-et-livestreamed-exclusively-in-fortnite
I was too young, and so was the internet, to remember the construction of premium E-ticket attractions at Disney parks in the 90's. How long did it take for the Indiana Jones Adventure and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to be constructed?
I do agree that Disney seems to take a bit too long to construct attractions, at least in the last 10 years or so. Maybe that has been the case the past several decades?
A fifth gate that is just Fortnite might be the most awesome thing ever. Battlebus. Epic Laser Tag and Paintball facility. Do you have it guts live shows like Nickelodeon. Go Kart tracks with some speed. Outdoor concert venue for outdoor concerts like Woodstock or Lollapolooza. An Ice Hockey rink for tournaments and summer league kind of like what the NBA is doing. A light rail station that reaches all destinations. Conversion to electic buses.
THs greatest hits... I'm shocked.
>> Me: Comcast has nothing under construction at its original two Orlando parks
But they did just have some notable openings…
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I’m gutted D23 aren’t live streaming the Parks and Experiences presentation so the rest of us can’t hear the news first hand. Is it to support thier media pals who can break the news first, who also may be live streaming the event themselves. Or because they want to give ticket buyers value for money? ?????