Destination D23 2025 Aug 29-31, 2025 at Coronado Springs

[ngl]

I have not been able to find a post on this (besides shopping related) so wanted to start one (but if not, hopefully the admins can redirect). We have been to D23 in Anaheim a few times. Although we live in FL (~1hr from WDW) have not been to Destination D23. Believe it or not, we already have reservations for that weekend at WDW (surprised to see they are doing it over Labor Day but have to say the last few years WDW has not been remarkably busy).

I know they do not have the big panels like D23 but still hoping to get tickets. A few questions: anyone think the difference in Premier, Preferred or General seating is as important for this event? Also, I did not see that the tickets were non-transferable except for the named adult (at least that is how I read the T & Cs currently listed). The adult going would be the same but one of our kids has an event on Sunday night so wondering if one could go on Sat and one on Sun with the same named parent on the ticket (both minors but not under 3 so not free)?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!!!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I have been to the last few conventions, both in Anaheim and Orlando. I think given that you're conveniently so close, it'll be fun for you to experience this event and see how it differs from the larger one on the other coast. Some thoughts about your questions:

1. The importance of the difference in seating is up to you. Do you have to be close to the stage or are you okay with potentially watching the presentations on a screen from farther away? In 2023 we paid extra to be closer and I'm glad only because they had some special musical performances/presentations for the 100th anniversary that made it worth it to me. In 2021 we didn't pay extra and I'm glad because there were fewer performances and most of the panels were by the Disney Archives, like the "Weird Disney" presentation that they do every time around strange stuff in their archives. For those kinds of presentations, you're looking at a screen regardless of where you sit since they're showing either slides or old videos. I expect there will be a lot of that kind of presentation again, Destination D23 is usually more about Disney history than, say, park announcements, though who knows this time given that there are so many projects in development. I'm especially intrigued by the 80s/90s concert (as mentioned, I like musical performances) so I haven't decided what type of ticket to try to get, otherwise I would go for general.

2. In practice, once you pick up your badge, nobody is going to be checking ID at the entrance to see that your badge matches a specific name. So just bring your other child on Sunday if you want, they'll tap in with the badge all the same. The more important question is: will your child get bored, say, watching an old video of Walt carrying the grandma animatronic for the Carousel of Progress in his personal plane? That is actually one of the things shown last time. He wheeled her around like she was a real person during the journey from Burbank to the NY World's Fair. For a big Disney nerd, that stuff is cool, for others it's boring (and while i found it cool, there were plenty of people who fell asleep during stuff like that last time). Note that there isn't a show floor or multiple panels running concurrently that can give you options if you're not enjoying a given presentation like at D23 Expo in Anaheim. I've seen very few young children at Destination D23, but I've seen some teenagers among the mostly adult audience. At least there's the free evening at Typhoon Lagoon, that sounds like it could be fun for all ages!

 

[ngl]

I have been to the last few conventions, both in Anaheim and Orlando. I think given that you're conveniently so close, it'll be fun for you to experience this event and see how it differs from the larger one on the other coast. Some thoughts about your questions:

1. The importance of the difference in seating is up to you. Do you have to be close to the stage or are you okay with potentially watching the presentations on a screen from farther away? In 2023 we paid extra to be closer and I'm glad only because they had some special musical performances/presentations for the 100th anniversary that made it worth it to me. In 2021 we didn't pay extra and I'm glad because there were fewer performances and most of the panels were by the Disney Archives, like the "Weird Disney" presentation that they do every time around strange stuff in their archives. For those kinds of presentations, you're looking at a screen regardless of where you sit since they're showing either slides or old videos. I expect there will be a lot of that kind of presentation again, Destination D23 is usually more about Disney history than, say, park announcements, though who knows this time given that there are so many projects in development. I'm especially intrigued by the 80s/90s concert (as mentioned, I like musical performances) so I haven't decided what type of ticket to try to get, otherwise I would go for general.

2. In practice, once you pick up your badge, nobody is going to be checking ID at the entrance to see that your badge matches a specific name. So just bring your other child on Sunday if you want, they'll tap in with the badge all the same. The more important question is: will your child get bored, say, watching an old video of Walt carrying the grandma animatronic for the Carousel of Progress in his personal plane? That is actually one of the things shown last time. He wheeled her around like she was a real person during the journey from Burbank to the NY World's Fair. For a big Disney nerd, that stuff is cool, for others it's boring (and while i found it cool, there were plenty of people who fell asleep during stuff like that last time). Note that there isn't a show floor or multiple panels running concurrently that can give you options if you're not enjoying a given presentation like at D23 Expo in Anaheim. I've seen very few young children at Destination D23, but I've seen some teenagers among the mostly adult audience. At least there's the free evening at Typhoon Lagoon, that sounds like it could be fun for all ages!

Thank you so much for this detail!!! It is very helpful. Great info re the badge! Although I will also call them my kids, they are 16 and 14 and both are huge Disney fans (both want to work in the parks - my 16 yr old has a job already in another amusement park near us) so it is all good. Thank you again!!!

 

[grahamindisney]

From what I heard Destination Disney IS what they call D23 now. There is no difference. It is where this year's D23 will be.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

From what I heard Destination Disney IS what they call D23 now. There is no difference. It is where this year's D23 will be.

I think you could be conflating some of their terms.

D23 = Disney's official fanclub. The conventions are only one part, they do a lot of other events throughout the year, studio tours, and the quarterly magazine + yearly gift (for the paid memberships).

D23 Expo, which last year was rebranded as D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, began in 2009 and has always been the bigger event (140,000+ people) held at the Anaheim Convention Center every two years (except 2021 because of the pandemic). It usually offers a giant showfloor and multiple concurrent panels throughout a 3-day weekend. They do big announcements about coming movies and park attractions among all the other programming.

Destination D23 began in 2010 and is a smaller event held in the years between the Expos, traditionally at the Contemporary Resort ballroom (which doesn't fit more than 4,000 people). No showfloor and only one set of presentations during 2 days (they advertise as 3 days but the first day is just a shopping opportunity). Normally, this is mostly focused on Disney history and nerdy stuff. This year they're moving to Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center, which is a little larger (5,500 people). I wonder if they'll do a bit more of Disney Parks announcements this time than normal given the venue change and the fact that there are many projects in development, but I wouldn't expect anything near what they did last year. Sometimes folks think D23 = big announcements and then are disappointed to not get much of that at the Destination D23 event at WDW (whether as attendees or hearing about it online).

 

[supercarrie]

I am holding a cash reservation at Coronado Springs for Labor Day weekend and am trying to get a ticket for Destination D23 when they go on sale on Monday. It will be my first Destination D23 event, but I've gone to the last several expos in Anaheim. I hear the tickets sell out FAST - as in like less than 15 minutes in 2023 - so hoping the odds are in our favor!

This year at least promises to be bigger - of course, that likely means a worse view for the presentations - but I'm used to sitting in the back at the massive presentations at the D23 Expo (or worse, being shut out altogether!) At least at Destination D23 you are guaranteed a seat in the presentations.

 

[ngl]

Yes we were shut out of tickets for the last Destination D23. I am hoping the shift to a holiday weekend (for those up north the end of summer and many have other plans!) and change to a slightly bigger venue helps. Although last time it was the weekend after Labor Day and shouldn't have been busy so I don't really know. Good luck to all on Monday!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Yes we were shut out of tickets for the last Destination D23. I am hoping the shift to a holiday weekend (for those up north the end of summer and many have other plans!) and change to a slightly bigger venue helps. Although last time it was the weekend after Labor Day and shouldn't have been busy so I don't really know. Good luck to all on Monday!

We got tickets! Decided on standard as we are spending a lot of Disney money this year already because of a Hawaii Cruise. How did you fare?

 

[pdarrah]

I;ve been in the queue since noon. The wait time was steadily dropping and was at 8 minutes when it suddenly jumped back up to 54 minutes. Has now dropped to 51, but I don't understand what is going on. I've never tried to get tickets to one of these events before. Going to be really disappointed if we can't get tickets
Now it says 12 minutes - this is really weird...

Worked down to 6 minutes then back to 9 .... still waiting

 

[soniam]

Missed out on the last one but went in 2018. Got tickets this time. I had already booked Gran Destino, since we’ve never stayed there. Decided to stick with that.

 

[MTW]

Is anyone having trouble? We just keep getting into a loop to confirm our email address

 

[soniam]

I’ve heard of this before but can’t remember the fix. Are you logged into your account? Is there space after the email? Is the email exactly as it is listed for your account, capitalization even?

Forgot to reply to your post @MTW

 

[pdarrah]

It just let me in and it says everything is sold out What is particularly annoying is that I also have my phone in the queue which still has a 2 minutes wait and it has NOT said anything about being sold out. They are making people wait in queue for nothing.

 

[stout]

Same. I had two devices going. My experience was the same as yours. Once device still says 17 minutes...

 

[morgsmagic]

I had three devices going, that was super disappointing

 

[MTW]

I’ve heard of this before but can’t remember the fix. Are you logged into your account? Is there space after the email? Is the email exactly as it is listed for your account, capitalization even?

Forgot to reply to your post @MTW

Everything was correct to my knowledge. We were logged in.
Got through to guest relations and they said they couldn't help. It's just ridiculous that it would glitch like that and super frustrating.
Now the wait time for guest relations is over an hour.

 

[stout]

I now have a message on my computer that says: Preferred Seating tickets are now sold out. Remaining tickets are currently being held in carts.
That is as of 12:57 CDT . . .
As my other device said sold out, that's curious.

 

[soniam]

I feel bad, but unfortunately, disappointment and frustration are the general feelings with D23 event registrations. I had pretty much assumed I wouldn’t get in after some previous events.

 

[morgsmagic]

I feel bad, but unfortunately, disappointment and frustration are the general feelings with D23 event registrations. I had pretty much assumed I wouldn’t get in after some previous events.

That was more brutal than my runDisney registrations...

 

[pdarrah]

Super disappointing. I would have been sad to miss out, of course, even if it was handled better, but I'm really annoyed that I probably skipped my lunch hour for no reason - If I had been told that tickets were nearly gone earlier, I could have made my own choice of whether to sit staring at a computer screen all that time. For that matter, if they told you where you were in the queue, you could make a decision. If I had been told I was spot 3000 or something like that, I would know not to bother waiting or to at least not get my hopes up. As the time counted down and finally let me in, I got more excited thinking I would be able to get tickets. I just needed 2 General tickets for myself and my 25yo son. We were going to do this as a special trip for the 2 of us since we are the big Disney history fans in the family.

I'm not sure if we will ever try to attend a D23 event again. It doesn't seem worth the time, hassle & disappointment.