Official D23 Expo schedule thread; August 19-21, Anaheim (Updated 8/17, post #179)

[pinksand]

Okay, all the questions about queues got me to dig out my D23 Expo 2009 pictures and a schedule. Here's what I have pulled together as an example for those who have not been before. (Disclaimer: These pictures are blurry and have NO artistic purpose at all. I took them to attempt to show a friend the new level of the "Art of Disney Queueing" as I called it.) I thought they were perfect for some of the questions arising here.

Thanks Dreams! You made me laugh and imparted info!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Thanks Dreams! You made me laugh and imparted info!

Awww, what a nice compliment. Any day that I can add laughter to someone's day is a good day. And a little info is always a plus. Thanks for the nice post.

- Dreams

 

[Disney Dreams]

- crickets -

So surprised not to see any posts on here all weekend from anyone. And even still. . Is everyone just still sitting in a line somewhere?

Anyone out there????

- crickets -

 

[HydroGuy]

- crickets -

So surprised not to see any posts on here all weekend from anyone. And even still. . Is everyone just still sitting in a line somewhere?

Anyone out there????

- crickets -

My line waiting did not end today. Stood in line at SNA to get on a plane this morning. Stood in line to get off. I live 75 minutes from Denver airport and there was a major accident that closed the Interstate - and so I waited in traffic.

Normally these kinds of things bother me but I think I am now conditioned by the Expo to accept them as normal.

 

[D23Ry]

anyone a charter member? I thought it was horrible that they would not let you bring a guest into the charter lounge

 

[LovinmyDisneylife]

anyone a charter member? I thought it was horrible that they would not let you bring a guest into the charter lounge

I'm a charter member and DH isn't. I just basically poked my head in the door to see what it was about and left. Didn't have enough time with all the line waiting we did. lol.

 

[D23Ry]

I'm a charter member and DH isn't. I just basically poked my head in the door to see what it was about and left. Didn't have enough time with all the line waiting we did. lol.

yeah, we just wanted to eat our lunch in there since the tables were all filled and we couldn't. kind of silly.

 

[franandaj]

anyone a charter member? I thought it was horrible that they would not let you bring a guest into the charter lounge

I was able to go in with my partner, but the Sorcerers / Premiere lounge was much more relaxing so we went back there. Besides they weren't out of coffee there.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I'm a charter member and DH isn't. I just basically poked my head in the door to see what it was about and left. Didn't have enough time with all the line waiting we did. lol.

We were in the same boat so I didn't even bother to stick my head inside the lounge. -- Suzanne

 

[BarbossasWench]

D23 Expo sucked. Too many people, very hard to get into anything, too many long waits. Very confusing, disorganized, Poorly run. Too little value, too expensive for what you got. I feel foolish for going. Never again!!!!!!

 

[D23Ry]

D23 Expo sucked. Too many people, very hard to get into anything, too many long waits. Very confusing, disorganized, Poorly run. Too little value, too expensive for what you got. I feel foolish for going. Never again!!!!!!

I think the majority of people i talked to have agreed with the statements you posted. Although, i enjoyed it.

 

[franandaj]

D23 Expo sucked. Too many people, very hard to get into anything, too many long waits. Very confusing, disorganized, Poorly run. Too little value, too expensive for what you got. I feel foolish for going. Never again!!!!!!

I think the majority of people i talked to have agreed with the statements you posted. Although, i enjoyed it.

This is very good to hear! That way all the people I talked to who are definitely planning on coming back will not have so many people to compete with for waiting in lines. I'm done convincing people that this is worthwhile event. Instead I will discourage people so that there aren't as many in line in front of me for merchandise and seminars!

 

[mvf-m11c]

This is very good to hear! That way all the people I talked to who are definitely planning on coming back will not have so many people to compete with for waiting in lines. I'm done convincing people that this is worthwhile event. Instead I will discourage people so that there aren't as many in line in front of me for merchandise and seminars!

Even though the waiting times in the queues for the presentations was just like the 2009 Expo, at least they added more shopping areas to get exclusive merchandise at the Expo. It was nice to have the Mickey's of Gledale, Disney Store and Disney Archives store instead of having one store back in 2009. It will be nice when they have another D23 Expo and there will be less people so we can get the D23 Expo merchandise and shorter lines for the presentations.

 

[D23Ry]

It will be nice when they have another D23 Expo and there will be less people so we can get the D23 Expo merchandise and shorter lines for the presentations.

No way the crowds will be any less the next time they have an expo...i am curious, do you guys think it will be another two years or do you think it will be yearly now?

 

[SuzanneSLO]

No way the crowds will be any less the next time they have an expo...i am curious, do you guys think it will be another two years or do you think it will be yearly now?

I understand from a trusted source that they announced late on Sunday that the next Expo would be in Spring 2013.

I agree that it will be crowded again next time, but maybe the show floor will be larger and there will be more presentations or even another day to help spread out the crowds better. I am sorry to hear anyone say they had a bad time. I spoke with many people who were frustrated with the lines but were still having a great time.

The only advice I would give for those planning to attend the next Expo would be to think about joining D23 and to come prepared for crowds. -- Suzanne

 

[FozzieFan]

I wouldn't say I had a bad time. After Friday morning I realized how bad the lines were going to be and I knew decisions were going to have to be made as to if I wanted to wait for a presentation or possibly do something else.

I was disappointed by the Parks and Resorts presentation. I know they can't give us a new Fantasyland every year but to not announce anything (of substance) new is a waste of everyone's time.

I enjoyed the Studios presentation up until the Avengers came on stage. I thought they could have at least said SOMETHING more then "hey how ya doin, let's see that again, have a nice day". I get it RDJ you're the "biggest celebrity there" but you don't have to act like it.

I would have to think again about going back in 2 years since it is so far away. I have a feeling though that the next one would have big announcements because they can't just rehash things AGAIN because all the current projects will be done.

 

[franandaj]

Even though the waiting times in the queues for the presentations was just like the 2009 Expo, at least they added more shopping areas to get exclusive merchandise at the Expo. It was nice to have the Mickey's of Gledale, Disney Store and Disney Archives store instead of having one store back in 2009. It will be nice when they have another D23 Expo and there will be less people so we can get the D23 Expo merchandise and shorter lines for the presentations.

This Expo was so much improved over the last one in many ways. The queues were much more organized. Not only were there more shopping areas, but they had better cashiers and more of a plan for when the lines got out of control. Where things were not better was the initial entry, evidently people waited hours before the convention center opened, only to take hours to get in the building. I'm not sure how that worked or if the people I spoke to were confused.

No way the crowds will be any less the next time they have an expo...i am curious, do you guys think it will be another two years or do you think it will be yearly now?

It will indeed be two years before something of this scope returns. However I spoke with Steven Clark Thursday afternoon before everything got really crazy. He mentioned that they were planning another Destination-D for September 2012. No location as of yet, but I am hoping it's in Southern California.

 

[mvf-m11c]

This Expo was so much improved over the last one in many ways. The queues were much more organized. Not only were there more shopping areas, but they had better cashiers and more of a plan for when the lines got out of control. Where things were not better was the initial entry, evidently people waited hours before the convention center opened, only to take hours to get in the building. I'm not sure how that worked or if the people I spoke to were confused.

Yes, you are right Allison that this Expo was improved over the last one. The queue for Stage 23 was way improved over the 2009 where they added another room instead of having people wait outside. But there were times when the queues were so long, we saw people wait outside.

It was nice that there were more shopping areas. Interesting on Friday morning when I was in the Archives store shopping, the ACC staff were extending the queue for the check out line. The line was all the way inside the store and took quite awhile. At least they extended the queue that morning and made it a little easier.

Waiting outside is not fun, but it is always neat to talk to some Disney people while we were in line and times go by quickly when you talk to someone. We wait hours in line outside of the ACC and then we have to wait awhile again when we were allowed in the ACC. I hope when they do another D23 Expo in the future, they learn from these mistakes.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

Did everyone get the email with survey? I'm sure something of this magnitude is quite an undertaking and regardless of months/years of planning some things can only be worked out after experience. I'm looking forward to completing my survey, as I believe I have a little constructive criticism. It's good to know that D23 is interested in hearing our feedback.

Also, if you want to read a slightly different perspective on the events, here's a link. Hope you enjoy!

Insignificant as a Mouse?

 

[BarbossasWench]

I'm trying to understand why people think that it's OK to wait for hours to see a panel discussion? I've been to other fandom expos and haven't had to wait at all. Also I have no idea why Disney didn't have overflow rooms with the content on close-circuit video. I believe they did have this availability in 2009. Also why did they not have Stage 28 programming on Sunday?