The Ups and Downs of the 2013 D23 Expo

The Ups and Downs of the 2013 D23 Expo

 The 2013 D23 Expo was filled with ups and downs.

I like to start with positive so I’ll talk about the UPs first.

There were amazing presentations! Where else could you see Disney Legends being honored! Sneak peeks behind the scenes of upcoming movies and even hit TV series. Huge presentations on what is coming out of all the Disney Studios. Many panel discussions with Q&A with Disney Imagineers and other Disney Luminaries. Pavilions with displays on what is happening in the parks/cruise and resorts. There were pavilions for Disney In-Home Entertainment, Disney Interactive and Disney Stores as well as Disney Investment just to name a few. There was also the mysterious Mickey’s of Glendale Store! This is the store reserved exclusively for the Imagineers!

Then there was the Collectors floor with the vendors! Oh my Lord!! You could find anything Disney that you could think of!!  David Smith and Nancy Temple Rodrigue, authors of the Hidden Mickeys novels were there to greet people and sign books. (Great books by the way!) Disney Fan sites had booths and were sharing the fun and some had Disney Luminaries hanging out with them.

There were some super special events such as the Richard Sherman & Alan Menken Disney Songbook Concert on Saturday evening. The voices of the Disney Parks were there to make personalized phone messages for your cell phones outgoing message!

Three solid days immersed in all things Disney! What could be better or more enjoyable!!!

Now for the downers.

The line to get into the Expo was long and started the night before on Harbor Blvd.

Due to long lines to get in and when it ended at night there was very little sleeping done during those 3 days.

The lines were crazy! For the most popular presentations you could wait 6 hours or more and still run the risk of not getting into the event.

Many people were there for the limited edition collectable so the lines for the stores were CRAZY the entire time. Only way past that was to pay $1,500 for the Sorcerer Pass.

Confusion was in abundance. Those working at the Expo did not seem to know what was going on ½ the time. They did not know the access for the different level of passes. They often did not even know who to ask.

Many of the best events were scheduled at the same time or were offset in ways that made it impossible to get to more.

WAY TOO MANY THINGS TO SEE AND DO!!!!! No way to do it all!

So will I be going to the 2015 D23 Expo? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will not miss it!!!! The chance to hear some of these people speak is not to be missed!!! The chance to learn something that can change your life is possible!

So I’ll be seeing you in 2015 at the next D23 Expo!!!