D23 Expo 2011! Who's attending?

[nunzia]

I hope I'm not the only one looking at the schedule and wishing that the "More screenings, presentations, and meet and greets to be announced" will hold true. I have no interest in the Disney channel and on Friday that would leave me 4 events to go to.

At this point I'm kind of underwhelmed by everything outside the arena events.

I think they will add much more...it does seem very heavy Disney Channel right now, but lots of areas have not chimed in..so hang on. I can see already that I will now have to miss the Dave Barry storytelling and announcement thing because it's on the same time as Legends..WHAA????.. I am wondering if they are so heavy with Disney Channel so parents CAN bring their kids and give them something to do. Also, looks like I'll be missing Lion King 3-D for the Imagineering panel...and off we go

 

[andrewilley]

Also, looks like I'll be missing Lion King 3-D for the Imagineering panel...and off we go

Yeah, it's not like I've never seen the Lion King - and I can see it in 3D soon enough anyway. There are a lot better things to do with my time at the Expo.

The only Disney Channel item I'd be interested in at all is Phineas and Ferb, which clashes...

Andre

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I hope I'm not the only one looking at the schedule and wishing that the "More screenings, presentations, and meet and greets to be announced" will hold true. I have no interest in the Disney channel and on Friday that would leave me 4 events to go to.

At this point I'm kind of underwhelmed by everything outside the arena events.

If you can make it to 4 events in one day, you will be doing very well. The best we did was on the first day last year, when we went to the Welcome presentation by Bob Iger/Legends ceremony, the Beauty & the Beast presentation, afternoon with Imagineering Legends and the showing of the The Boys with Dick Sherman and other musical guests.

We liked to have at least 1.5 hours between events to make the "connection," but we sometimes did fine with less, sometimes not.

One thing I noted that there are no only 2 venues other than the Arena (not counting the Disney Channel Pavilion), Stage 23 and Stage 28. For those of us with aging eyes, it might be easy to confuse these on a quick glance and we might race off to the wrong location. -- Suzanne

 

[tinkcollector]

Is there a map available showing the locations of the lecture rooms?

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Is there a map available showing the locations of the lecture rooms?

Both Stage 28 and Stage 23 are currently on the 2nd floor, however I talked with Steven Clark yesterday (interview to go up next week) and he said that they are considering moving one of them up to the 3rd floor so that they can increase capacity.

 

[bgsnmky]

But if you are a premier..you won't have this issue right? Meaning we have reserved seats.

Also did I read NO cameras?

Now people are starting to understand the problem. You probably need to be in line between 1-2 hours before the seminar you want to see, but the other seminar that gets out 30 minutes earlier, you also want to see. We were luky that with the two back to back seminars that we wanted to see we got in on the tail end of the second seminar seating.

There is so much going on you can't see it all. I have not actually seen the schedule yet, but once I get home I'll be able to look it up online. Can't wait to see the full schedule!

 

[bgsnmky]

I hope I'm not the only one looking at the schedule and wishing that the "More screenings, presentations, and meet and greets to be announced" will hold true. I have no interest in the Disney channel and on Friday that would leave me 4 events to go to.

At this point I'm kind of underwhelmed by everything outside the arena events.

Me too..can't belive how much Disney Channel stuff there is

 

[franandaj]

I think they will add much more...it does seem very heavey Disney Channel right now, but lots of areas have not chimed in..so hang on. I can see already that I will now have to miss the Dave Barry storytelling and announcement thing because it's on the same time as Legends..WHAA????.. I am wondering if they are so heavy with Disney Channel so parents CAN bring their kids and give them something to do. Also, looks like I'll be missing Lion King 3-D for the Imagineering panel...and off we go

I sure hope they add more! So far I'm really only interested in the stuff in the Arena (and not even all of it) and the Star Tours outside the Arena. They must have added the Disney channel stuff so that kids would be their parents to pony up for admission. I don't even know who any of those teeny bopper stars are!

But if you are a premier..you won't have this issue right? Meaning we have reserved seats.

Also did I read NO cameras?

All of which you are speaking applies to the Arena. Premier gets seating only in the Arena and the Arena is the only place they didn't allow cameras. It was only some of the presentations, not all.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

All of which you are speaking applies to the Arena. Premier gets seating only in the Arena and the Arena is the only place they didn't allow cameras. It was only some of the presentations, not all.

At the 2009 expo, there wre other presentations not held in the Arena that also prohibited cameras, such as the one for the Princess & the Frog. And it should be mentioned that if cameras were prohibited, so were ALL cell phones, even if it did not have a camera. -- Suzanne

 

[tinkcollector]

Just added on the D23 site, Dick VanDyke will be performing Friday evening on Stage 23!

 

[Peepster]

franandaj, don't feel alone! We thought we were just out of the Disney loop! Glad to hear we aren't the only ones who don't know over half the people announced.

Perhaps, as you said earlier, there will be more surprises coming.

Auntie Peep

 

[meg8182000]

I'm getting really excited now that they are starting to release more details and presentations! I'm not really interested in all the Disney channel stuff but it seems that the stuff I might have had an interest in is all while they have a big presentation going on in the Arena. Kind of a bummer as I would've liked to have heard the BIG announcement (hope they repeat it) and the Phineas & Ferb would have been fun. I knew there would be conflicts I can see now that I will have make some hard decisions. I am actually hoping for sometime to just explore the show room floor which I think will be really cool.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Just added on the D23 site, Dick VanDyke will be performing Friday evening on Stage 23!

Here's the official press release. I can't wait to see Dick VanDyke!!!

It’s a Musical “Jolly Holiday” as Dick VanDyke & The Vantastix
Bring Harmony and Melodic Fun to First Night of Disney’s D23 Expo, August 19-21, 2011​

From Disney D23's Press Release:

BURBANK, Calif. (July 29, 2011) – Disney fans attending the first day of Disney’s D23 Expo, presented by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center, will be able to end their day with an unforgettable evening of harmony provided by Dick VanDyke & The Vantastix. The popular vocal quartet is comprised of legendary television, Broadway, and film star Dick VanDyke and three renowned west coast musicians—Mike Mendyke, Bryan Chadima and Eric Bradley. The group will appear in concert on Stage 23 at the D23 Expo on Friday, August 19, 2011, at 8:15 p.m.

Songs from VanDyke’s varied entertainment career in addition to many well-known Disney hits and timeless pop standards will be performed by VanDyke and The Vantastix in a show rich in humor, pure entertainment and sing-along favorites. Much of the show’s song roster is based on Put On A Happy Face, the group’s inaugural a cappella album, which features 14 well-known tunes. The CD will be available for purchase in the D23 Expo Treasure Trove store.

Dick VanDyke & The Vantastix is the result of a chance meeting of VanDyke and Mendyke at a Malibu coffee shop in September 2000. With the addition of Chadima and Bradley, the group started "just for fun," gathering weekly for pizza and singing around VanDyke’s piano, and soon built up an impressive repertoire of children's songs and standards.

After their first casual performance during the wrap party for VanDyke’s long-running mystery TV series Diagnosis Murder, the group began to get requests to appear at charity events and benefits. They have performed at the City of Hope Hospital; the Beverly Hilton for the Society of Singers Concert honoring Dame Julie Andrews; the Hollywood Bowl as part of an evening of TV theme songs; and at the awarding of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Rose Marie, who appeared with VanDyke on The Dick VanDyke Show.

There have also been television appearances at the TV Land Awards, Larry King Live, and a performance of the National Anthem for the NBA Playoffs and more. The group continues to perform at benefits in the greater Los Angeles area.

“Hard work and planning are important if one wants to get ahead in life,” VanDyke says. “More important is leaving one's self open to the twists and turns, the wonderful surprises that life has to offer. If you can't bend with the wind, go with the flow, you're gonna miss some great adventures. These three guys walked into my life from out of nowhere and turned my Golden Years into pure platinum. We always have a great time performing together, and we’re looking forward to appearing at the D23 Expo.”

• Dick VanDyke – Vandyke began his remarkable career more than 50 years ago in a record-pantomime act called The Merry Mutes. He then went on to host several TV shows before starring on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie, for which he received a Tony Award®. The classic sitcom The Dick VanDyke Show came next, then the screen version of Birdie, followed by the classic Disney film musical Mary Poppins, the equally adored movie musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the recent hit Night at the Museum, and a host of other wonderfully entertaining films. Winner of five Emmy Awards®, VanDyke completed nine seasons of the TV series Diagnosis Murder.
  
• Bryan Chadima – Bryan Chadima is a writer, musical director, arranger, and singer. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and graduated from Western Michigan University. He has toured nationally and recorded albums with numerous vocal groups and shows including Blind Man's Bluff, Gold Company, Vox Lumiere, and The Three Waiters. His musical directing credits include Klub Kokomo and Baby It's You. Chadima arranges most of the material performed by the Vantastix.
  
• Eric Bradley – Bradley’s road to Los Angeles began in Connecticut where he grew up then at the University of Miami, where he studied music, film, and television, and then to Chicago, where he started his career as a vocalist and voice-over actor. Bradley now enjoys a career as a studio singer in LA. His film and TV credits include The Simpsons Movie, Spiderman 3, Blades of Glory, King Kong, Superman Returns, The Polar Express, Enchanted, I Am Legend, How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, and the Oscars telecast. He also sings with jazz sensation Sixth Wave, the 2001 National Harmony Sweepstakes Champions.
  
• Mike Mendyke – An MIT graduate and former NASA engineer with degrees in aerospace engineering and music, Mendyke believes every vocal group should include at least one rocket scientist. After eight years in the defense industry, he began recording albums and touring the U.S. and Japan with the vocal group Five O'Clock Shadow. A longtime advocate of vocal music, Mendyke is a past board member and former treasurer for The Contemporary A Cappella Society. Mendyke also runs an online marketing business, as well as music distribution services.

Tickets to the D23 Expo are available at http://www.D23Expo.com. Admission includes access to all experiences and entertainment at the D23 Expo, including the Disney Legends Ceremony, and can be purchased for single days or for the full three days of festivities. Admission is $47 for a one-day adult ticket and $37 for children 3-12. Three-day passes are $136 for adults and $106 for children. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club will receive a discount for up to four admissions, as well as early entry to each day of the D23 Expo for themselves and their guests.

 

[bgsnmky]

May seem like a weird question..but is the arena..the BIG stage area..and Stage 23 is smaller. I would have thought Dick Van **** would have been in the biggest stage area to kick it off

so on the schedule of events..which time is he?

 

[stacielee]

May seem like a weird question..but is the arena..the BIG stage area..and Stage 23 is smaller. I would have thought Dick Van **** would have been in the biggest stage area to kick it off

so on the schedule of events..which time is he?

I was thinking the same thing, especially since the event preceeding in the Arena is over at 5pm. He starts at 8:15pm; it hasn't been added to the official schedule but is on the News page.

 

[tinkcollector]

May seem like a weird question..but is the arena..the BIG stage area..and Stage 23 is smaller. I would have thought Dick Van **** would have been in the biggest stage area to kick it off

so on the schedule of events..which time is he?

The Arena is the main convention hall. And you are correct in your assumption that Stage 23 is smaller.

ImTooExcitedTo Sleep says:
"Both Stage 28 and Stage 23 are currently on the 2nd floor, however I talked with Steven Clark yesterday (interview to go up next week) and he said that they are considering moving one of them up to the 3rd floor so that they can increase capacity."

I also have seen where the Ultimate Trivia Contest has been located at the Arena then in another format it says Stage 23. So, my advice is be flexible on this until you have the program in your had, as the locations could change.
Also, I have never noticed that we are censored as to what we can say here. But, you cannot type Dick VanDyke with a space in his last name. I guess because I would never think of using "bad" words others may not be so respectful. Go figure.
As for the time of Dick VanDyke and The Vantastix, they are scheduled to perform at 8:15 p.m. , Friday the 19th.

 

[Peepster]

Let me get this straight.

So, finally, they schedule someone we've been hoping to see. Dick VanDyke...and then it appears that he wil not be performing in the Arena.

Hence, the two $500 tickets we hold are probably not going to assure us of seating?

 

[franandaj]

Let me get this straight.

So, finally, they schedule someone we've been hoping to see. Dick VanDyke...and then it appears that he wil not be performing in the Arena.

Hence, the two $500 tickets we hold are probably not going to assure us of seating?

This is what I'm thinking. I don't care about the Trivia Contest, so we'll be lining up during that for Dick VanDyke's performance.

I also wish the DIS was a little more open minded about their censorship, they make it like the last part of the aforementioned star's name is a bad word!

 

[Cheltenham]

Do you have to wait in a long line just to get into the arena events or could you show up, say, a half hour before the event and still get in -- even if it means you will have a bad seat? In other words, is the arena room big enough to hold everyone who wants to get in and do people wait in a long line to make sure they are getting good seats or do you need to wait hours just to be sure to get in?
In a related matter, do they have the speakers, etc projected onto a large screen so that you can see them from the back?

Thanks for all of the great info.

 

[Peepster]

And we, too, are not interested in the trivia contest. Seems to me the people interested in the trivia contest are the people participating in the trivia contest.
Another of D23's "pay to entertain yourself" schemes.

franandaj, we'll be in line with you for Dick VanDyke. Caught some of their acapella act on YouTube and it was pretty good.

Still looking forward to seeing Disneyland for the very first time.

A. Peep

(Someday I'll figure out how to do a ticker...till then....17 days)