Disney D23 Expo 2013

[ILoveRides]

The 2013 D23 Expo was just held on August 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center and TPR was there with David and Spears! The D23 Expo is billed as, “The Ultimate Disney Fan Event,” and it didn’t disappoint. There were new announcements, surprises, celebrities, and lots more. Check out our full report below:

 

Day 1 Coverage: Below!

Day 2 Coverage: Page 2

Day 3 Coverage: Page 4

Minnie Mouse Spears is dressed up and ready to go!

We kicked things off with the grand opening of the Phineas and Ferb Waffle-inator Challenge.

To celebrate, members of the press were greeted with a waffle breakfast.

And not just waffles...

There were all sorts of delicious treats.

Spears studied up on the Waffle-inator rules. Do not eat the waffles!

No Spears!!! Don’t eat it! Rules are rules.

Phineas and Ferb showed up and posed for photos.

Radio Disney host Jake Whetter greeted the crowd.

Jake then introduced the Waffle-inator. The goal of the Waffle-inator is to hit Doof with waffles to help Phineas and Ferb get to the top of the building and free Agent P. You can see the waffle shooting cannons in the bottom of this photo.

Jake introduced members of the cast and crew of "Phineas and Ferb" and "Marvel Universe," and everyone got ready to start shooting waffles.

The cast took turns launching waffles at the screen.

After they were waffled out, the cast posed for some press shots. From left to right: Vincent Martella - voice of Phineas; Alyson Stoner - voice of Isabella; Dan Povenmire - co-creator, executive producer, and voice of Doofenshmirtz; Jeff “Swampy” Marsh - co-creator, executive producer, and voice of Major Monogram; Jake Whetter - Radio Disney host; Fred Tatasciore - voice of Hulk; Travis Willingham - voice of Thor; Adrian Pasdar - voice of Iron Man; and Drake Bell - voice of Spider Man.

Spider Man and Iron Man joined in on the fun.

Spears hobnobbed with all the celebrities.

Here’s Spears with Alyson Stoner.

After the animation presentation we headed to Stage 28 for Marty Sklar’s “Dream It! Do It!” panel. For those who don’t know, Marty Sklar is a famous Imagineer and Disney Legend who worked with The Walt Disney Company for 54 years. His new book, “Dream It! Do it!: My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms” was just released.

Marty offered some insight into his life and his process writing the book. He also went over ten guidelines to theme park design called, “Mickey’s 10 Commandments.” Just for kicks, here they are: 1. Know your audience 2. Wear your guest’s shoes 3. Organize the flow of people and ideas 4. Create a weenie 5. Communicate with visual literacy 6. Avoid overload 7. Tell one story at a time 8. Avoid contradiction 9. For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of treat 10. Keep it up

One of the cool things about the D23 Expo is you never know who you’ll bump into. On the way out of the theater we said hi to Disney Legend Bob Gurr.

Next up we checked out the silent auction. Shhhhhhhh!

There were all sorts of neat Disney items for auction.

I remember these!

Who wants a Mufasa or Sarabi figure in their home?

Or how about an authentic Disneyland Park sign? How cool is that?

We headed down the escalator to check out the rest of the auction items on the main floor. Guests are encouraged to wear costumes, and plenty did! This Jack Skellington costume was one of my favorites.

In the main hall there were more items being auctioned like this car from DCA’s Monsters Inc. ride.

This romantic Mickey and Minnie bench was under $1,000 when we were there on Friday. (Although I’m sure the price went up by Sunday!)

Okay, I KNOW some TPR members would love to have these authentic Matterhorn Bobsleds. I know I do! The bidding was already at $12,000 when we saw them on Friday. I wonder what they ended up selling for?

There’s no shortage of shopping at The D23 Expo.

Disney art, sculptures, pins, and more were all on sale. Look at all those pins!

You could even purchase a giant Sully if you were so inclined.

That must’ve taken awhile to make!

Throughout the convention floor there was always something going on wherever you looked. There was plenty of entertainment throughout the day - everything from yo-yo performances to dancers. Here’s Magician Todd Migliacci entertaining crowds.

We caught the tail end of the costume contest, and got to see lots of elaborate costumes.

Hi Buzz!

I loved how intricate everyone’s costumes were.

5 winners were awarded special bronze statues. Here’s one of the winners!

A close-up of the statue.

Lets check out more of the convention floor. Throughout the hall there were plenty of give-aways and raffles. We saw bags and pins being given out, and nicer items being raffled off.

At this Cars Land inspired booth you could purchase Disneyland tickets. I think Spears makes a good Mater.

If you haven’t visited Cars Land yet, you should! It’s awesome!

The Build-A-Bear booth had some photo ops available.

Artist Kristen Cumings was creating this delicious looking painting out of jelly beans at the Jelly Belly booth.

Huffy had some cool limited edition Mickey and Minnie cruiser bikes for sale.

There was a play area set up with foam blocks and parts for kids to build things.

Being kids at heart, we of course went in and played.

Here’s Spears striking a 100% Official Manly Pose.

There were Planes and Cars toys on Display. They were all either previously in stores, currently in stores, or soon-to-be in stores.

Spears liked the strawberry car with pink headlights.

My favorite toy was the Lightyear blimp.

A “Draw Your Favorite Muppet” area was set up. There were papers that taught you how to draw different muppets, and once you honed your skills you could draw one on the chalkboard wall.

I was surprised how good all the drawings were.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for Spears!

Spears is nurse for a day with Doc McStuffins.

I have no idea what’s going on here.

If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.

Disney Consumer Products was teaching guests how to draw various different Disney characters.

We ran into famous cosplayer and model LeeAnna Vamp while wandering around.

The “best in show” costume contest winners were posing with Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper.

There was a Star Wars display with various figures and toys. I’m excited to see what Disney will do with the Star Wars franchise in the coming years.

Minnie Spears and Minnie Mouse decided to hang out.

After checking out the convention floor we headed upstairs for the “Broadway and Beyond” show.

It was a full house!

Host Thomas Schumacher introduced music from various Disney Broadway shows, and five of Disney’s biggest broadway stars performed the songs over a live band.

There were songs from lots of Disney plays including Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Newsies, and more!

From left to right are Disney Broadway stars Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast), Merle Dandridge (Tarzan and Aida), Heidi Blickenstaff (The Little Mermaid), and Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King).

And here’s the fifth performer, Josh Strickland (Tarzan).

The performances were incredible. You could really see and hear why these performers were on Broadway. They were some of the best singers I’ve ever heard live.

As an added bonus, famous Disney musician Richard Sherman (pictured) was sitting just a few seats down from us. As were Disney musician Alan Menken and Holly Madison of Playboy fame.

Ashley Brown gave a performance of “Feed The Birds” from Mary Poppins that garnered a well-deserved standing ovation.

TPR loves Newsies!

This show was the highlight of the day for me. It made me want to go see every Disney Broadway show.

On the way out Holly Madison posed for a picture with Spears!

As we left the parking structure we kept asking ourselves, “WHY does the fun have to end?” Then we decided - it doesn’t! We headed over to Trader Sam’s for the Tiki Luau D23 Expo After Party.

Just for the D23 Expo, Trader Sam’s expanded its footprint onto the Frontier and Adventure towers’ lawn areas.

Polynesian dancers performed while guests mingled, drank, and dined under the stars.

We ran into one more of the costume contest winners at the after party. Her dress had so much detail! There were Disney heroes on the left side and Disney villains on the right side. Can you find the Yeti?

There were bars and tables set up all over the lawn, and along with a full drink selection was a special punch (available in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic form) available for purchase - it was really good!

The Polynesian dancers and music were a great touch.

After a long day at the convention, it was nice to just kick back and relax at Trader Sam’s.

That’s it for day one of the D23 Expo. Thanks for checking out our trip report! Don’t forget to check out part 2 on page 2 of this thread - there are lots more fun surprises in store!

After our waffle-tastic intro to D23, we headed inside for the Walt Disney Animation presentation. Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, welcomed everyone to D23. Photography wasn’t allowed during this presentation, so the photos from this presentation are courtesy of Disney.

Pixar showed off the first 10 minutes of “Toy Story OF TERROR!” - premiering Oct. 16, 2013 on ABC. They also gave a peek at “The Good Dinosaur” (May 13, 2014) and showed the “Party Central” short that will precede the movie. Additionally they gave a first look at “Inside Out” (June 19, 2015) and “Finding Dory” (Nov 25, 2015). Walt Disney Animation Studios showed off “Frozen” (Nov. 27, 2013), and the short “Get A Horse!” that will precede it. The Animation Studios also gave a first look at “Big Hero 6” (Nov. 7, 2014), and Zootopia (2016). Disneytoon Studios gave first looks at “The Pirate Fairy” (Spring 2014) , “Planes: Fire & Rescue” (July 18, 2014), and “Legend of the NeverBeast” (Spring 2015).

There were lots of surprise guests and celebrities during the presentation. Bill Hader and Phyllis Smith, pictured here, came on stage to introduce their characters in Pixar’s “Inside Out.” Hader will play the emotion of fear, and Smith will play the emotion of sadness.

Kristen Bell, Tom Hiddleston, and many others also made appearances.

Edited August 20, 2013 by ILoveRides

[SoCalCoasters]

I see you ran into my friend Milana at Trader Sam's! Her costume was absolutely gorgeous, and I was ecstatic when I saw that she'd won best original design!

 

Bummed I had to miss out on the event this year. Maybe I'll make it next time around.

[cfc]

I've always wondered what one would do with something like an old Matterhorn bobsled. Build your own Matterhorn, perhaps?

[PKI Jizzman]

Ahhhhhh Adrian Pasdar!~ I looooooved Heroes. Before the writers strike. Nice to see him.

 

 

and Drake Bell. Who didn't love Drake and Josh.

[DenDen]

I've always wondered what one would do with something like an old Matterhorn bobsled. Build your own Matterhorn, perhaps?

 

Lounge chairs in an awesome theater room.

[gisco]

Was there an explanation for number four of Mickey's 10 commandments?

 

4. Create a weenie

[SoCalCoasters]

Was there an explanation for number four of Mickey's 10 commandments?

 

4. Create a weenie

 

www.blueskydisney.com/2007/11/all-disneys-weenies.html

 

A "Weenie" is a visual icon in a Disney theme park that draws in guests.

[ILoveRides]

^^ I knew someone was going to ask that!

[gisco]

^^ I knew someone was going to ask that!

 

I'm not a fanboy, I didn't know!

[ahhculdee]

Guardians of the Galaxy footage from D23 is the most amazing thing ever!

[VegasCoasterGirl]

I saw all the twitter talk about the expo and felt so left out. I will need to go next year.

[805Andrew]

Cool D23 Expo pics. A friend whom I went to college with went to D23 and posted on Facebook that Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is going to be a must see on ABC this fall. I'm assuming that the Toy Story of Terror is going to be some type of Halloween special. I was going to ask about the weenies if someone else hadn't beaten me to it. I like the 10 Disney Commandments.

[ILoveRides]

I'm assuming that the Toy Story of Terror is going to be some type of Halloween special.

 

Yep, it's a Halloween special that will debut on ABC on Oct. 16. Here's the description from the press release:

 

What starts out as a fun road trip for the “Toy Story” gang takes an unexpected turn for the worse when the trip detours to a roadside motel. After one of the toys goes missing, the others find themselves caught up in a mysterious sequence of events that must be solved before they all suffer the same fate in this “Toy Story OF TERROR!”

 

The first 10 minutes were great. It looks like it will definitely be worth watching if you're a Toy Story fan.

[805Andrew]

I'm assuming that the Toy Story of Terror is going to be some type of Halloween special.

 

Yep, it's a Halloween special that will debut on ABC on Oct. 16. Here's the description from the press release:

 

What starts out as a fun road trip for the “Toy Story” gang takes an unexpected turn for the worse when the trip detours to a roadside motel. After one of the toys goes missing, the others find themselves caught up in a mysterious sequence of events that must be solved before they all suffer the same fate in this “Toy Story OF TERROR!”

 

The first 10 minutes were great. It looks like it will definitely be worth watching if you're a Toy Story fan.

 

I'll have to set my DVR for this in October. I wonder if it will be a 30 or 60 minute special.

[SharkTums]

Imagination Playground!!

 

Did they show or talk about how they may use this in the resorts in the future? They had these at Universal Osaka and it was FANTASTIC! Kristen spent over an hour creating all kinds of cool things.

[ILoveRides]

^ I wish there was more info on it. It was just kind of "there." No one was talking about it or anything, at least when we were there. We were trying to get coverage of everything so we didn't get to stay and play long, but I totally could've! Even as an adult haha. I can totally see this working at the parks (Toontown?) or on the Cruise Ships. I can only imagine how fun it would be if it were 10x the size with 10x the things to play with. You could build an empire!

[sspaz1000]

looks like an awesome experience Thanks for reporting for TPR

[ILoveRides]

Here’s our coverage from day two (Saturday, August 10, 2013) of the D23 Expo:

(Some photos provided by Disney)

 

Also, be sure to check out these two videos from day two...

 

The first video is of John Lasetter’s emotional Disney Legends acceptance speech on behalf of Steve Jobs:

(Video courtesy of Attractions Magazine)

 

The second video is of Disney Legends Alan Menken and Richard Sherman performing “A Whole New World” and “It’s a Small World”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKrVyztYlzo

We’re back, and we’re starting off day two with the Disney “Live Action” Presentation. That means movies! There were lots of fun announcements.

The presentation was hosted by The Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. If you ask me, those four brands shown on the screen are all synonymous with “quality.”

Now before everyone gets too excited, let me break the news - there were no new Star Wars announcements. They did confirm what we already knew though, that “Star Wars: Episode VII” is still slated for release in 2015. And they said details will come, just not yet.

But fortunately Marvel did have news and announcements to share! Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, was brought on stage to share what’s up and coming.

Marvel gave a look at, “Thor: The Dark World” (November 8, 2013). Here’s the description of the movie from the press release: “Thor, the Mighty Avenger, battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.  In the aftermath of Marvel’s ‘Thor’ and ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness.  Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.”

Three huge stars from the movie - Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston - were introduced and the crowd went wild.

Next up from Marvel, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (April 4, 2014). The description: “After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.”

Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and Chris Evans greeted the crowd.

Marvel also gave a first look at, “Guardians of the Galaxy” (August 1, 2014) which is based on the Marvel comic book that first appeared in 1969. They also announced “Avengers: Age of Ultron” which is scheduled for release in summer 2015.

Next up after Marvel was Disneynature.

Disneynature announced “Bears” (April 18, 2014) which follows a year in the life of a bear family as two impressionable young cubs are taught life’s most important lessons. Spears says, “Cute baby bears? Count me in!”

Next up, Walt Disney Studios.

Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, introduced “Muppets Most Wanted” (March 21, 2014). I’m not usually a big Muppets fan, but the clips they showed from this movie looked great.

Ty Burrell then drove on stage in a tiny European car from the movie.

The car was hilarious. I’d love to try driving one.

Next Bailey introduced Disney’s “Into the Woods” (December 2014). The movie follows a baker and his wife’s quest to break a witch’s curse in order to start a family. Along the way, they encounter several well-known fairy tale characters and together they learn what happens after “happily ever after.” 

Disney also gave a sneak peek at “Cinderella” (March 13, 2015), showing some pre-production test footage. Cinderella is Spears’ favorite Disney cartoon, so she’s really excited for this movie.

Disney gave a first look at “Maleficent” (July 2, 2014), starring my favorite actress, Angelina Jolie.

And then the best surprise ever happened! Angelina Jolie made a live appearance!!!

How cool is that? I don’t think I stopped smiling for the rest of the day.

Do we really need to continue after Angelina Jolie? I feel like I could just end the report now. But okay, okay, I’ll continue... The next announcement confused the crowd a bit. Filmmakers Brad Bird (director, co-writer, producer) and Damon Lindelof (co-writer, producer) displayed a black box labelled "1952" that was found in the basement of the old animation building at Walt Disney Studios. It contained symbols, clues, and a video left by imagineers. This box is the inspiration for “Tomorrowland” (December 12, 2014).

Some of the contents of the box were shown on stage, but the whole presentation left more questions than answers for me. Is the box even real, or was it just created for the movie? I’m looking forward to learning more about this box and movie in the future.

Finally, Bailey discussed and showed clips from Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks” (December 13, 2013) which tells the untold story of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen.

Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak, who portray the famous composing team of Richard and Robert Sherman, appeared on stage. To end the presentation, they welcomed “Mary Poppins” composer Richard Sherman on stage, and everyone sang along to a performance of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” while performers danced through the theater.

After the presentation we took a quick drive around the convention floor.

Spears found some Minnie nail polish she liked - so if anyone is trying to find a present for Spears, there you go.

The next presentation we went to was the Disney Legends ceremony.

Bob Iger (Disney CEO) and Tom Bergeron (Host of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and America’s Funniest Home Videos) hosted the ceremony.

The hosts asked any Disney Legends in the audience to stand and the Legends were honored with a round of applause.

Disney then saluted the Disney Legends who have passed away since the last ceremony.

Annette Funicello, Lucille Martin, Norman Palmer, Mel Shaw, Robert Sherman, Ginny Tyler, and Ray Watson were all honored in the tribute video.

An a capella group sang the background track for the video.

8 new Disney Legends were then honored. Here’s Tony Baxter giving his acceptance speech.

A relevant Disney character was brought out for each new Legend. John Goodman was given his award with Sully from Monster’s Inc.

Billy Crystal was honored beside Mike Wazowski from Monster’s Inc.

The other new Disney Legends are Collin Campbell, Dick Clark, Steve Jobs, Glen Keane, and Ed Wynn. Here’s John Lasseter accepting the award on behalf of Steve Jobs.

Lasseter’s acceptance speech was a moving and fitting tribute from a close friend and colleague of Steve. I highly recommend watching it. If you missed it, it’s posted at the beginning of this report.

Lasseter barely made it through the speech. He had tears in his eyes, and many people in the audience were crying too. It was a really emotional moment.

After all the legends were honored, the characters all came out and waved goodbye.

To the side of the theater, all the legends had their handprints and signatures immortalized in concrete. Here’s Tony Baxter signing his name.

Billy Crystal making his handprints.

One more! Here’s Glen Keane signing his name.

After the presentation we hopped right into line for the night’s big show - Disney Legends Richard M. Sherman and Alan Menken in “The Disney Songbook” concert. We wanted to be sure not to miss it! Spears showed off her mouse ear ring while we were waiting.

It’s showtime! Minutes before, that entire area behind us was filled to the brim with people waiting in line. They all headed into the theater, and now it was our turn to follow!

For those who don’t know, The Sherman Brothers and Alan Menken are the who’s who of Disney music. If you have a favorite Disney song, there’s a good chance one of them wrote it!

Tim O'Day hosted the evenings festivities.

Alan Menken and Richard Sherman came on stage to a standing ovation. (One of many they received that evening!)

Sherman played first. He played songs from The Parent Trap, Jungle Book, Aristocats, The Tiki Room, Mary Poppins, and MANY more!

The screen behind the performers displayed images relating to each song.

Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak made a cameo appearance and sang along to “A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins.

When Sherman was finished the crowd went wild!

The crowd then went equally wild when Menken came out to play.

Menken played songs from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Newsies, Pocahontas, Hercules, and more!

To finish the concert Menken and Sherman both played songs they had written about the world - Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” by Menken and “It’s a Small World” by Sherman. Menken and the crowd sang along to Sherman playing “It’s a Small World,” and it was the perfect end to a perfect evening. It’s hard to describe what it feels like being in the presence of living legends performing their greatest works, but this night is one I’ll remember forever.

And the icing on the cake was Disneyland’s fireworks bursting overhead as everyone drove home. Thanks for checking out part 2 of our report, and don't miss part 3 on page 4 of this thread!

Edited August 16, 2013 by ILoveRides

[sspaz1000]

Great update! That legends concert sounds amazing! Sounds like it was an amazing time for you and Spears!

[Waltrane]

Did I miss the Orange Harvest announcement?

[kmshimfe]

AMAZING report! Can't help but get a little "misty-eyed" listening to Richard Sherman sing and play Small World. Can't wait for part 3!!

[cfc]

I'm curious to see what Disney does with Into the Woods. The first act of the original stage musical, with a little tweaking, would be a good fit for Disney--but what about the much darker second act (or are they skipping that entirely)?

[robbalvey]

^ Was wondering exactly the same thing...

[Paul Arthur]

Into The Woods started rehearsals last week. All accounts point to doing the whole show with few cuts.

 

With so many fairy-tale reboots going dark lately (Snow White and The Huntsmen, Maleficent, etc.) I don't think it will be a shock to moviegoers.

[SharkTums]

^&^^ I saw Into the Woods on Broadway with my mom before we moved out of NYC. It is still my favorite musical and I can't wait to see what Disney does with it!!!