Hey all! This is going to be my first D23 Expo (though not my first big con) so I’ve got a few questions. I’m mostly just hoping for some general info, not anything too specific, as I know there’s no guarantee things will be the same this year. I also hope this is the right thread to ask on – I haven’t found any other Expo specific ones.
(Oh geez, this came out way longer than I expected. I tried to hold back, I swear!)
First question – originally, it was just going to be me and my mom going on the trip, but my sisters are now tagging along as well. Mom and I have tickets for all three days and my sisters have Friday only tickets. Unfortunately, my mom has a close family member in California that we recently learned has been diagnosed with something serious and she is considering going to visit for a day. So, if she chooses not to attend the con for one of the days, would one of my sisters be able to use her ticket instead? The past cons I’ve been to used badges that were not tied to one specific person and could be used by different people, but I noticed when buying D23 tickets the webpage specifically said they were non-transferable.
Second – what are the merchandise queues and shops like? I looked at the con map from the 2015 D23 Expo and there are three different Disney stores – I assume they had different types of merchandise? The bare minimum I’m hoping to get is a con t-shirt and pin – is the con logo merch sold in only place? Have those items sold out in the past? For Star Wars Celebration this year, my group got in line for the show floor a few hours before it opened on the first day and made a beeline for the store but it still took a total of three hours to get in and check out (the wait was even longer later in the day). Are the D23 Expo stores similar?
Third – merch related again. Does anyone have any idea if the poster designs that have been released will be for sale? The BB-8 one would be a great companion to the poster I got at Star Wars Celebration. I looked at past D23 Expo merch posts on the Disney Parks Blog, but they don’t say anything about posters for sale.
Fourth – I currently am not planning to try to make it into any of the huge panels, but what are lines and wait times typically like for the ones not in Hall D23? Are the rooms cleared out between panels or will some people camp out all day in a room waiting for a specific panel?
Fifth – any idea what the
Disneyland crowd will be like
before the con? I’ve only seen a few people talk about the days after the con. Regardless, I expect it to be busy anyway so we’re probably going to do four full days.
Sixth (and final!) – are there any other websites or resources I should keep an eye leading up the Expo? Besides the obvious official Disney ones?
Thanks so much if you read through the whole thing! I’m just starting to plan for the con and trying to get all the info I can!