D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I’m a WDW vet, but wanting to try DLR. Thinking of one day at the expo and 3 days at the parks. Is there historically a “best day” to go to the expo? And do you thinks parks are busiest before, after, or during the expo days?

Last expo, we went one day before the expo and two days after. After was definitely busier, but who knows what will happen this expo. I think they were pretty dead during the expo because so many people went to the expo, not the parks.

I think you could pick your expo day based on panels. The smaller panels will be announced as we get closer to the expo. What we do know at this point is the following:

Friday will have the Legends inductee ceremony and the animation panel.

Saturday will have Live Action (but if you want to get into that you'll have to get in line sometime between midnight and 2 am) and the Parks and Resorts Panel.

Those are the big 4. Sunday still has great panels, like last year they had the Lion King anniversary panel and another panel where Richard Sherman performed Feed the Birds.

Saturday is usually considered the 'big day', but it will also be the busiest.

 

[Mathmagicland]

I’m a WDW vet, but wanting to try DLR. Thinking of one day at the expo and 3 days at the parks. Is there historically a “best day” to go to the expo? And do you thinks parks are busiest before, after, or during the expo days?

Last expo, we went one day before the expo and two days after. After was definitely busier, but who knows what will happen this expo. I think they were pretty dead during the expo because so many people went to the expo, not the parks

This Expo might be different because it is when most kids are back in school. So maybe fewer kids at the expo? Same with Disneyland. One unknown is what Disney will be changing re DLR annual passes. Historically the local SoCal resident passes that have been blocked all summer can be used again end of August, so evenings and weekends can get pretty busy with locals wanting to catch the last couple of weeks of the summer happenings. Next year is an unknown until Disneyland posts the AP blockout calendar. They have started blocking some passes by park, likely in anticipation of the opening of Star Wars land. If some of the locals are still blocked then it might help with the crowds.

 

[ej119]

For past Expos, I have actually booked my D23 discounted hotel before buying my tickets (in an attempt to get the cheapest price). However, it sounds like for this year, they are going to make you have tickets before booking a hotel. Is that what others are reading into it as well?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This Expo might be different because it is when most kids are back in school. So maybe fewer kids at the expo?..

When Expo was regularly held in August, we used to see plenty of kids there. There are local schools in SoCal that don't go back until September, and there are plenty of homeschoolers who don't have to stick to a traditional schedule. Since Friday is the only school day on the Expo schedule, it wouldn't even surprise me if some parents choose to pull their kids out for one day for something so special as this.

 

[mickeyd78]

And now a reversal from D23:

First, I want to personally thank you for being a member of D23, Disney’s official fan club. We love celebrating all things Disney with you, and we are incredibly grateful that you are a part of the magic.

We sincerely apologize for the notification you received last week regarding the suspension of new and renewed D23 Gold and Gold Family Membership sales for our international guests. This was due, in part, to newly adopted international privacy regulations. I am happy to share that we have identified a solution to allow members outside of the United States to continue their Gold and Gold Family Memberships, which we are working furiously to implement as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we want to make sure you can continue to enjoy your D23 benefits uninterrupted, so in the coming days we will add an additional 12 months to your membership—at no cost to you. We will take care of the extension. No action is needed on your part, and you will receive an email once it has been processed. This also means you will have no issues when purchasing tickets for—or attending—D23 Expo 2019.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to our guest services team at GuestRelations@D23.com, and they will be happy to address them.

Once again, I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused, and we thank you for your patience and support of D23.

Yours,

Michael Vargo
Head of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club

 

[Simba001]

Thanks for this info, I had not yet seen anything about the new auto renewal policy.

I caution people to read your D23 membership screen on the Shop Disney site very carefully when setting up auto renew. I have a D23 Gold membership and a credit card on file. I logged in to set up the auto renewal, and when I clicked to set up Auto Renew, it said I was setting up auto renew for a General membership at no cost. I had to scroll down the screen and click to upgrade my membership to Gold to set up the auto renewal at the Gold level. The D23 website FAQ info on the new auto renew process does not make mention of this.

If folks do not read carefully, some may miss this and end up unintentionally renewing af the General level without realizing it or until it is too late for an event where Gold level is required.

Thank you so much for posting this. I just went to set up the auto renewal and saw what you spoke about. Its poorly set up. It should set up the renewal at whatever your present category is and give you the option to change, rather than renew at "General" and having to click a button on what your current status is....

 

[Nonsuch]

...I just went to set up the auto renewal and saw what you spoke about. Its poorly set up. It should set up the renewal at whatever your present category is and give you the option to change, rather than renew at "General" and having to click a button on what your current status is....

D23 Membership renewal has always been somewhat confusing, certainly not as straightforward as it should be -- which might reduce renewals. Auto-renewal might be an attempt to increase renewals, but continued website confusion will not help...

 

[JupiterSprinkles]

So excited!

 

[sadliltear]

Has anyone gotten the email with the Sorcerer link yet? They said they were sending it out 24 hr in advance and I just want to make sure it's not a problem with my email. lol.

 

[Nonsuch]

Has anyone gotten the email with the Sorcerer link yet? They said they were sending it out 24 hr in advance and I just want to make sure it's not a problem with my email. lol.

The link should appear on the page describing the Sorcerer Package, but the page no longer says "24 hours in advance"
(so don't expect an email)

Purchase links for the other 2 events which went onsale this week did appear 24 hours in advance

 

[Mathmagicland]

D23 Expo ticket links are on the D23 site this morning

 

[eryeal]

Wow so sad .. Was waiting for Sorcerer tickets to go live as I've been saving for two years for this, refreshing every second .. Went into the queue right when it went live, probably within 1 second. After about 5 minutes it went to the ticketing page, only to say sold out. Can't believe it. Seems like they sold out in under 1 second?!

 

[tobikaye]

I was just curious on the Sorcerer package so I just now logged in to check, and I got: "At this time, all Sorcerer tickets are currently in guest checkout carts. You will remain in queue and may have the opportunity to advance into the ticketing transaction process should a guest not complete their transaction. To maintain your spot in line, DO NOT REFRESH THIS PAGE!"

 

[BriarRose59]

Ditto! Mine just rolled over to sold out. I can’t figure out how people get in so fast. We had 3 people on 6 devices and still couldn’t get a ticket.

 

[Deluch]

Agreed. It is crazy how fast they went.

 

[AllyGirl_79]

Ditto! Mine just rolled over to sold out. I can’t figure out how people get in so fast. We had 3 people on 6 devices and still couldn’t get a ticket.

This actually makes me feel better. I clicked on the link at the second my phone rolled over to the right time, and I went into the queue, only to almost immediately get the notice the tickets were all in carts and then sold out. I was so upset that I did something wrong or missed something. Oh well.

 

[soniam]

Ugh! What a headache. It would only let me purchase 2 3 day tickets, even though I have a gold D23 family membership. I had to logout out of D23 and log back in. Also, I don't see the Hilton or Marriott at the convention center on the hotel discount page. Their websites also say sold out or not available for booking yet

 

[dina444444]

Ugh! What a headache. It would only let me purchase 2 3 day tickets, even though I have a gold D23 family membership. I had to logout out of D23 and log back in. Also, I don't see the Hilton or Marriott at the convention center on the hotel discount page. Their websites also say sold out or not available for booking yet

It’s probably too early for booking.

 

[soniam]

It’s probably too early for booking.

I was looking at the link provided on ticketing page for D23 for the hotel discounts. Maybe it is too early. I didn't think they would add hotels after tickets went on sale though.I know that Marriott's & Sheraton's direct websites say that it's too early, but Sheraton was listed for some days with the special rate.

 

[thetallone101]

I'm so excited that I got sorcerer tickets but sad for those that didn't