I am still working on my June trip report which I am about half done and I might not get it done until the D23 Expo trip in 6 days [post= 48881547]Quick Trip with the Family during the Heat Madness - 6/28/13 to 6/30/13[/post] This trip was a fun trip with my aunt (not my DA that goes with me to DL a lot but my dad’s sister), cousin Chris and my aunt DM. This trip was an unexpected one in just a few months before the trip. This trip was all about my aunt, cousin Chris and DM where Chris and DM haven’t been to DL since 2009. My aunt was just with me at DL back in early January which is her first time in over 20 years. They all had a great time and it was great to experience some restaurants that I haven’t went to in years and go on rides that I haven’t rode on as well. We got to see the new show at DL called “Mickey and the Magical Map” at the Fantasyland Theater. We did quite a lot of rides, shows and restaurants during a busy summertime.
Now I am planning my pre-trip for August 8 – 12, 2013 during the 3rd Annual D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Cast: Me Bret 31 & DA Fae 61
This will be my fourth trip to the DLR this year (Jan. 12 – 14, May 4 – 6, & June 28 – 30). This will be my DA 2nd trip to DL this year (May 4 – 6).
This trip is all about the D23 Expo. For some of you don’t know what it is here is the website for the
D23 Expo. This is the big Disney convention that any Disney fan has ever dreamed of. I have been to the first D23 Expo back in 2009 and the second D23 Expo in 2011. You can read my trip from
First Trip Report DLR & D23 Expo 9/9 – 9/13 & [post=42394078]2nd Annual D23 Expo August 18 – 22, 2013[/post]. The 2009 D23 Expo trip was the very first Expo and it was an amazing one. The 2011 was just as great as well. I do miss the four day event which the 2009 had where the 2011 and the 2013 have 3 days. I have participated at all three Expo’s and this will be my DA 2nd time to the D23 Expo which she attended with me in 2011.
Here are some of my pics from the 1st ever D23 Expo back in 2009.
D23 Expo Sign outside the Anaheim Convention Center
D23 Expo Sign outside the Anaheim Convention Center
D23 Expo Dream Store Entrance
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavilion Entrance
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Posters of the attractions
Radio Disney Pavilion
2011 D23 Expo
The Wonderful World of Disney Parks & Resorts presentation
Stage 28 presentation of Buena Vista Street
Stage 23 presentation of Cars Land
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Carousel of Projects
D23 Arena Queue
The Lion King 3D Screening at the D23 Arena
Here are some merchandise that I bought during the D23 Expo in 2011
We will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like my DA and I always do on our previous trips together. It is nice to fly, but I do bring a lot of bags and camera equipment so it does make sense to drive down in just 7 hours. It is not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. We will be driving down in DA Honda Civic. We will stop at Livingston (close to Merced) that is always on our way to Anaheim to see my grandmother. After we stop at my grandmother house, we will head on over to Anaheim. The plan for us is to leave Thursday morning and head on over to my grandmother house at 7am. Than we will head on over to Anaheim and be there around 3pm.
We will be staying at the BW Stovalls. I have stayed at BW Stovalls in the past and it is a very nice hotel that is just across the street from the DLR and the Anaheim Convention Center. I have chosen this hotel is that it was cheaper and in between the hotel. I wanted to stay at any of the hotels that is just across from the ACC, but the price wasn’t right and I got a free night staying at BW Stovalls. I like staying at the BW Stovalls since the beds are way better than the other hotels that I have stayed.
The only time that we might be in the parks is on Thursday and Monday when we leave that day. I might be able to get on over to the parks that day. But with the D23 Expo the top priority, I might not go on any of those days during the Expo but I was able to go to the parks each night during the D23 Expo. I should have just rested up on those night after the Expo and I might not be able to go in the park except for Thursday and Monday. There is a DISer meet up at the Hearthstone Lounge at the Grand California Hotel on Thursday at 5pm which should be really fun to meet other DISers before the D23 Expo. I was able to meet a lot of DISers during the 2011 D23 Expo trip where I got to meet frandandaj (Alison), HydroGuy, and a lot of DISers and hope to meet more during the meet up on Thursday.
Our goal for this trip is the D23 Expo. I plan on going early all of those days during the Expo since I am a D23 member and the Expo will let the members in one hour before the general public. The times that the D23 members are allowed to enter the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 Expo will start at 9am so I can use that time to get into the D23 Expo Dream Store queue to go shopping for the merchandise. The one pavilion that I will be looking forward to is the Journey into Imagineering.
I plan to get in line for the D23 Expo Dream Store and get the LE D23 merchandise. I plan on buying a lot of items and I will also be taking pictures of everything at the D23 Expo. Not only the Dream Store but the Mickey’s of Glendale Store which is an outlet of WD Imagineering’s employee-only store.
Right now, we don’t have a plan of what we plan on seeing during the D23 Expo. We did come up with a few screenings that we will be very interested in seeing. This year doesn’t seem like they have a lot of screenings for the Disney Parks and Resorts which I was looking forward to the most. This year it almost seems like they don’t have much about the Parks and Resorts like last year with Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and the New Fantasyland.
The screenings on Friday that we are interesting to see are Undiscovered
Disneyland at Stage 23 from 12:30pm to 1:30pmExclusive Screening of Disney’s Planes in the D23 Arena at 3pm to 5pm, & Pixar: Doing Our Homework in Stage 28 at 6pm to 7pm. We are considering going to see Art and Imagination: Animation at the Walt Disney Studios at the D23 Arena but it will depend on how much time we have when we do our shopping.
On Saturday, Disney Legends Awards Ceremony at 2pm to 4pm at the D23 Arena, Richard M. Sherman and Alan Menken: The Disney Songbook from 6:30pm to 8pm at the D23 Arena.
For Sunday, Walt Disney Imagineering 60th: working with Walt at 9:30am to 10:30am at Stage 23. We need to get to Stage 23 first thing in the morning since this is the screening that I want to see. They do have 5 different Walt Disney Imagineering 60th screenings but this one has Disney Legends Marty Sklar, X Atencio, Alice Davis and Bob Gurr talk about what it was like to work with Walt.
As for the days that are not the D23 Expo, I do plan on going to the DISer meet up at the Hearthstone Lounge at the GCH at 5pm which there will be a lot of DISers that are here for the D23 Expo and to meet them. If I do have some time during the trip, I might go around the parks and just walk around like I usually do and go on some rides.
I will keep planning for the August trip which will be in less than 6 days.
Please feel free to say something about my upcoming trip during the 3rd Annual 2013 D23 Expo.
Thank you
and your Tinkerbell picture really captured her well!
