Shandy's Corner, A Disney Blog | Magical Mountain

Sorry for the delay in following up on my last blog post, folks, but hopefully what I have for you this time will have been worth the wait. 

I’m sure everyone’s been keeping up with all the news items, videos, and blog posts from last month’s D23 Expo, and it’s been kind of a struggle to figure out what I could bring you from Expo that  you haven’t seen. Then it occurred to me: While people have seen the headlines and the photos of the big names from Expo, what about the stuff that the average D23 Expo visitor got to see just walking around? Well, the next couple of posts (hopefully, over the next few days) will give you a feel for everything that was going on at D23 outside of the seminars.

Let’s start our visit to D23 Expo the way everyone else did – walking from the hotel to the Anaheim Convention Center. By the looks of things, I’d say Disney’s been expecting us.

 

 

It probably helps to think of D23 Expo less like a convention and more of an extension of Disneyland next door. I mean, at Expo you’ve got the usual helpful cast members…

 

 

You’ve got a queue of guests patiently waiting…

 

 

…and  you’ve even got a few characters.

 

 

Just like at the park, there’s only one door that leads in to the main attraction. Since you’re all special guests of Magical Mountain, we’re going to skip the queue and go right inside. We’ve got a few pictures of our Disney friends to add character to the place…

 

 

…we’ve got a large row of booths where we can get our Expo wristbands and ask questions…

 

 

and – whaddya know – we’ve got another queue! In this case, they’re shoppers waiting to get some exclusive Expo poins and merchandise.

 

You weren’t planning on doing any shopping, were you? Good – let’s head to the show floor.

 

 

Don’t you just love the giant balloons? The D23 information booth is just inside the stands if you’d like some more info  about the Expo or if you decide you’d like to become a member of D23.  I think our best bet for the moment might be to just stop for a moment and have a seat in the D23 Lounge…

 

…have a peek at the Expo Guide, and figure out what we want to see first.

Okay, I already know what you want to see first – the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts exhibit…

 

  

…but let’s not be too hasty. There’s a lot of things here for us to see and do.

For instance, if we go to our left, there are a couple small booths ready to help give us something to do after the show floor closes, like sell us tickets to a show at the El Capitan or tickets to Disneyland – maybe even get us into the Disney Vacation Club or a get us signed up for a Disney Rewards Visa Card.

 

 

Now, if you’re really in a shopping mood, you can  join the queue outside and be one of the first people into the D23 Expo Dream Store, which features all kinds of stuff, both Expo-exclusive and from the parks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, but the Peter Pan’s Flight pirate ship’s not for sale until the D23 Expo Auction a couple of nights from now.  You could always head over to the pin trading area, or see who’s appearing at the Disney Dream Stage while you’re here, though.

 

 

Okay, so you’re not ready to shop just yet. Well, next to the U.S. Postal Service booth (where you can buy Art of Disney stamps or ship packages home), there’s Disney Technology Magic, where Disney’s showing off all the creative stuff they can do through high technology. Ever want to see yourself on a 3D TV screen or see what’s inside of an ABC TV station’s news van? This is the place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personally, I’d rather hang out with the bug from the Main Street Electrical Parade.

 

 If your taste in technology leans more towards the interactive, Disney’s got you covered. Disney Interactive has a booth right across from Technology Magic with stations where you can try out some of their latest games.

 

 

Next to Disney Interactive is a fan art gallery, with Disney fans’ paintings and drawings of the characters. The gallery also contains the finalists for the contest to have a D23 member’s artwork to be chosen as the official 75th anniversary portrait of Donald Duck.

 

 

And that’s just what’s on one side of the main show floor. Wait until you see the other half of this floor and the other floors, not to mention the special exhibits! We’ll stop here so you can rest in the lounge (and drool at the theme park poster images at the entrance to the Theme Parks and Resorts Pavilion) and cwe’ll ontinue our tour of the Expo show floor next time.