My Trip to the 2013 D23 Expo - That's a Wrap!

[dgbg100106]

Our first stop was the Dream store. There were plenty of Harvey bags today, but with the way folks were picking them up they will go fast.

Hands rubbing in anticipation...

 

[dgbg100106]

Yeah, we erred on the side of Buy it Now and sell on eBay later. When I post the pics, you will see!

HeHe.... I cant tell you how many times, I have walked away and then regretted it....

 

[dgbg100106]

OMG!!!!!!!!!

Brandi, I bought the Dooney bag for you with the perfect placement of the Prince cartoon. If you don't want it, I'm sure we can sell it on eBay! I may have a Harvey seat belt bag to sell, I'm not sure I want two and I bought a second one at the preview. I only want one, I just need to figure out which one I like better.

I am so excited... I can't hardly stand it..... You are so wonderful my friend... Hugs to you and Fran both...

 

[dgbg100106]

You're right, they are huge. I couldn't see what we would do with them.

Today was the last day. Fran is taking me out to a steak dinner tonight. We are going to have to make two trips home to get our purchases and luggage home. How insane is THAT?

So glad you had a wonderful time and two trips OMG!!!!

Good thing you live close.

 

[dgbg100106]

Just to put my two cents in, and to add in the stuff Alison probably won't remember, I stayed up the night before we were going to make those 4:00 AM calls so I could wake Alison up. This is our usual routine when we need to be up at an inhuman hour of the morning, as I don't want to take any chances on me not waking up. Alison does not wake up very easily, usually I have to pull the covers off her and pull her up and out of bed (normally to a chorus of very cranky words). This time when she finally heard me say "It's 4 AM and you have to call Disneyworld" she came to and bounded up.

With both of us calling on the cel phones, doing about 20 calls each a minute, it was probably about 1000 calls before one of us got an answer. Then, the recording said that the wait was over 30 minutes long....

10 minutes later I got answered, so we both waited, and waited, and ... well, you get the idea. Suddenly, Alison burst out with words I would not want to put on a Disney related site, ending with "....I got cut off!"

I gave her my phone, got hers and started dialing again.

An hour and a half after we started dialing Alison finally got a human being on the line and was able to make all 3 of the reservations she wanted!


I was finally able to roll over and go to sleep for the night.
Take care
Fran

Hi Fran..... Nice to "meet" you.

Sounds like you both had a wonderful time at the Expo....

Brandi

 

[rentayenta]

Like Pam, I haven't watched anything on You Tube aside from what you linked us too.

The improved photobucket hasn't been very kind to me. Lol!

 

[lurkergirl]

I know! Isn't is nice to have Fran's commentary....even if it isn't the most complimentary towards me.....

Now y'all will hear the other half! I always give you the sugar coated version, evidently now we're going to get the one from the bottom of the bag where sugar wore off!

So this will be like the pixie dust version and the anti-pixie dust version?

But, to be fair, I think that at any given hour at the Expo I could have presented both of those views. Ha!

(I've been watching eBay for a pin that was given for The Optimist ARG finale at the Expo that I couldn't get and one sold last night for $205...that would be another anti-pixie dust moment!)

 

[franandaj]

I have finally pretty much given up on Photobucket when they removed the unlimited storage option as the amount of storage that I ideally need would be way to expensive. I have switched my loyalty to Flickr where all the photos I uploaded from my last trip did not even start to make a dent in my free allowance.

Corinna

I may consider switching, but for now, I've got plenty of space with photobucket. I hate learning new systems.

I was going to use this photobucket option so I feel I have been spared... Thank you. A sliding doors moment...

So is this an English phrase? I don't know what that means, but I can guess.

I have not watched a single thing online, patiently waiting for your TR

And sugar coated or bottom of the bag it doesn't matter to me

Thanks!

Hands rubbing in anticipation...

Update coming right away!

HeHe.... I cant tell you how many times, I have walked away and then regretted it....

I am learning not to do that, especially at Disney!

I am so excited... I can't hardly stand it..... You are so wonderful my friend... Hugs to you and Fran both...

I'll get you the information by the end of the weekend.

So glad you had a wonderful time and two trips OMG!!!!

Good thing you live close.

Hi Fran..... Nice to "meet" you.

Sounds like you both had a wonderful time at the Expo....

Brandi

Like Pam, I haven't watched anything on You Tube aside from what you linked us too.

The improved photobucket hasn't been very kind to me. Lol!

Awwww, you're sweet!

So this will be like the pixie dust version and the anti-pixie dust version?

But, to be fair, I think that at any given hour at the Expo I could have presented both of those views. Ha!

(I've been watching eBay for a pin that was given for The Optimist ARG finale at the Expo that I couldn't get and one sold last night for $205...that would be another anti-pixie dust moment!)

No, Fran has plenty of pixie dust! She likes to make fun of me for my "moments" just like I like to tease her about shopping.

That's nuts! However, I would have loved to been on the selling end for that pin! We have a few listed...

 

[franandaj]

So here we are back at the Sorcerer’s Preview Day for the Expo. We just went to the Sorcerer’s lounge and registered for all the sessions we wanted to see and now we were going to the Dream Store to shop and pick up our RSP purchases.

But first a look at our packet with all our instructions and stuff.







We went inside the Dream Store.







This was the first thing to catch my eye.





These were the first things to catch Fran’s eyes. I think she bought the first one, but perhaps she will chime in and tell me.







Even though I had ordered the bottom purse here through RSP, I decided that the top one might actually be more practical, so I grabbed one of those.



We had already ordered these jackets, but they had them there for sizing purposes in case you wanted to change the size you ordered.





Click on the link to see the animation of the jacket. And the end of the video, the CM tells us that we can order them if we like....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PXQHoIuJpU&feature=em-upload_owner

It wasn’t long before the shiny objects caught my eye.



Now I am always wearing a piece of jewelry from the Disney Dream store. I’m not the type who changes my jewelry with my outfits, I will go months wearing the same necklace and earrings. I was wearing my Mickey Journey pendant that day, and immediately the folks at the counter recognized it. She also saw that I was wearing a pair of earrings which were prototypes that she (the Dream Collection designer) had made by hand.

It’s really bad when the folks at the Jewelry Counter recognize and remember you. She had remembered that I preordered the necklace at the last Expo and immediately got out these pieces for me to look at.







They were all so beautiful! However, with the fact that Fran was considering bidding on Si and Am. I had no idea what she would be spending in the Collector’s forum, and this was our first stop of the trip, I declined. However, I did tell them that I would certainly keep considering them.

Well, we were off to pay for our loot after that. For those of you who shopped on Friday or Saturday, I bet you never saw the checkout area like this!





And with that we were off to check our packages and continue our day!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love the Haunted Mansion artwork. I do like the first one best. This shop would have been such a temptation for me. I still adore the Harvey bags and normally I don't really get them.

Corinna

 

[lurkergirl]

No, Fran has plenty of pixie dust! She likes to make fun of me for my "moments" just like I like to tease her about shopping.

That's nuts! However, I would have loved to been on the selling end for that pin! We have a few listed...

Hee. I get the dynamic, trust me.

Ha! The best part of the pin mark-up is that it was given to you for completing a scavenger hunt of sorts - all it took was a few hours at the Expo and in Disneyland. So, save time, it was free. If you took the pin back to the booth in the Expo, then you got posters.

A set of those sold for $255. Sigh!

I cannot believe how empty the Dream Store looks. You can see the floor!

This shop would have been such a temptation for me. I still adore the Harvey bags and normally I don't really get them.

Corinna

The Harveys bags are pretty polarizing, I've found - most people either love them...or totally hate them. I'm in the love camp.

 

[Wonder2008]

Now that's a jacket! May I ask if you know how much that jacket was?

Please keep these pictures coming. I loved that picture of all those empty cash registers. Do you have a picture of the same area from Friday or Saturday, or did you steer clear of the area?

Robert

 

[kaoden39]

I love the Haunted Mansion pictures. My oldest daughter is decorating her bedroom in a Haunted Mansion motiff.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Thanks for the great post. Omg like others I love the HM pics! But being well into bling I also love the jewellery. How pretty! I would have been like a child in a candy store there. Love Disney jewellery items. Your jackets are nice! Love the bags. Wow re the check out lol. I haven't seen a line up like that since the check ins at some of the Vegas hotels! Amazing. I am so pleased you both had a nice time

 

[dgbg100106]

Alison, love the jewelry....I am sure I would have spent too much time in there...

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love that heart/Mickey diamond necklace.

Wonder if Fran did get that HM picture?

 

[Leshaface]

Not this time, it seems I'm fashionable late to the party.

Phew!

Just to put my two cents in, and to add in the stuff Alison probably won't remember, I stayed up the night before we were going to make those 4:00 AM calls so I could wake Alison up. This is our usual routine when we need to be up at an inhuman hour of the morning, as I don't want to take any chances on me not waking up. Alison does not wake up very easily, usually I have to pull the covers off her and pull her up and out of bed (normally to a chorus of very cranky words). This time when she finally heard me say "It's 4 AM and you have to call Disneyworld" she came to and bounded up.

With both of us calling on the cel phones, doing about 20 calls each a minute, it was probably about 1000 calls before one of us got an answer. Then, the recording said that the wait was over 30 minutes long....

10 minutes later I got answered, so we both waited, and waited, and ... well, you get the idea. Suddenly, Alison burst out with words I would not want to put on a Disney related site, ending with "....I got cut off!"

I gave her my phone, got hers and started dialing again.

An hour and a half after we started dialing Alison finally got a human being on the line and was able to make all 3 of the reservations she wanted!


I was finally able to roll over and go to sleep for the night.
Take care
Fran

Yay! Hi Fran



Oh my gosh I love those Haunted Mansion pictures! Can't wait to see it displayed with your other HM things

 

[franandaj]

I love the Haunted Mansion artwork. I do like the first one best. This shop would have been such a temptation for me. I still adore the Harvey bags and normally I don't really get them.

Corinna

She did get the first one. I didn't realize that the third one was a picture of the WDW HM, she got the one of the DL HM.

Hee. I get the dynamic, trust me.

Ha! The best part of the pin mark-up is that it was given to you for completing a scavenger hunt of sorts - all it took was a few hours at the Expo and in Disneyland. So, save time, it was free. If you took the pin back to the booth in the Expo, then you got posters.

A set of those sold for $255. Sigh!

I cannot believe how empty the Dream Store looks. You can see the floor!

The Harveys bags are pretty polarizing, I've found - most people either love them...or totally hate them. I'm in the love camp.

I figured that room would have been totally packed for Friday and Saturday. I'll give you some foreshadowing, we were back on Sunday and it looked like that again.

I saw people doing that scavenger hunt, there were some decals on the windows and people were pointing. We were darting to a session or something.

Now that's a jacket! May I ask if you know how much that jacket was?

Please keep these pictures coming. I loved that picture of all those empty cash registers. Do you have a picture of the same area from Friday or Saturday, or did you steer clear of the area?

Robert

It was somewhere around $1000. I do not have a picture of that area from Friday or Saturday because we didn't go anywhere near the Dream Store. I could see the line to get in and stayed away.

I love the Haunted Mansion pictures. My oldest daughter is decorating her bedroom in a Haunted Mansion motiff.

We plan to have a room in our new house in a HM motif, but we have to build it before we can decorate it.

Thanks for the great post. Omg like others I love the HM pics! But being well into bling I also love the jewellery. How pretty! I would have been like a child in a candy store there. Love Disney jewellery items. Your jackets are nice! Love the bags. Wow re the check out lol. I haven't seen a line up like that since the check ins at some of the Vegas hotels! Amazing. I am so pleased you both had a nice time

But the check out was empty....I bet that the whole middle section of that queue was packed on Friday and Saturday and it extended into the store. I was so glad we got to shop a day early. And they knew we would spend the big bucks, that's why we got a day early.

Alison, love the jewelry....I am sure I would have spent too much time in there...

We spent way too much money in there, in very little time!

I love that heart/Mickey diamond necklace.

Wonder if Fran did get that HM picture?

She got the first one. I loved the heart/Mickey necklace too! The people at the Dream store knew that too. All through the weekend, I kept running into them, in the elevators at the Hilton, on the show floor and they kept reminding me about that necklace.

Phew!

Yay! Hi Fran

Oh my gosh I love those Haunted Mansion pictures! Can't wait to see it displayed with your other HM things

It might be a while, we have to build a second floor on the new house for the HM room before we can put the HM stuff out.

 

[franandaj]

So we had just finished our shopping spree, and right outside the Dream store they had some of the pieces that were being auctioned off in the silent auction.









After browsing the Silent Auction pieces, we went back upstairs to the package check (which was across from the Sorcerer’s lounge). Next was our tour of the show floor. On our way back to the show floor, we saw some people sitting on the ground in somewhat of a clump. As an experienced D23er, I recognized this as a line in formation.

When I asked what they were lining up for, the said that the Disney Store would be opening at 2PM. It was only 12:30, and we heard they were ending the tours of the show floor at 1:00, so we decided to come back to shop at the Disney store.

We had to wait about 15 minutes for the previous tour to come back before they would take us out on our tour. The first place we stopped was the stage where they had performers going all weekend. From the folks who play at DTD, to magicians, community groups and all sorts of different people, this stage was almost always full. I never had the time to sit and watch anyone, we were running too fast to somewhere else.



This area was reserved for Autographs. After various panels the Imagineers or other folks would be sitting here for people to come and talk and get autographs or just chit chat.



Here was the booth promoting the new movie Frozen. I never made it to most of these places, too busy with shows, panels and shopping.



This ended up being the pavilion for the new “Tomorrowland” movie. I don’t quite get it, and when I update from the Studios presentation I will try to explain it. This pavilion stayed covered up like this until after the presentation.



Now during this tour was the only time that I got a glimpse of some of this stuff. We were so focused on shows, panels and shopping that I didn’t stop to visit most of these booths or anything!









Fran had me take a picture of these Mickey benches/chairs so that we could make some for our new house.



This was the queue for the Stage Passes which we luckily did not have to use.



I steered CLEAR of this area during the Expo, this was where all the kids were all lined up to see all their favorite Disney teeny bopper stars.




[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


The entrance to the Arena. To the right of this was a MASSIVE queue area that was almost always full.



This was official D23 luggage. I thought they were cute, but WAY too small to be useful for Fran and my luggage.





I didn’t even visit the DVC people!



We did eventually visit the Imagineering pavilion.



I see that KOST was broadcasting live for those who couldn’t make it.



We certainly visited Mickey’s of Glendale!



Here were some more silent auction pieces.







This was for the new Tinkerbell movie. A lot of the time it was fairly empty, but when they had something going, there were throngs of kids with their parents.



And that pretty much wrapped up our tour of the show floor. Most of it we didn’t get to see during the Expo so I’m glad we got a whirlwind glimpse at what there was that we couldn’t see!

Next up the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives!