News Destination D23 2025

[Kamikaze]

If for some reason there was significant confusion and a majority of customers called to complain, do you think Twix marketing would do nothing, satisfied in the knowledge that it must be user error? Or do you think they would find out where the confusion was coming from and modify the packaging?

The majority of customers aren't complaining here, though. Only the most devoted and deluded few that were expecting things that were never promised. They hyped themselves up to expect things that Disney never mentioned.

I guess I see Disney more as a business, albeit a beloved business. If you see them more as a hobbyist organization or something like that in this particular situation, ok, that’s another point of view. I’m not trying to excoriate them or something, honestly I’m not particularly bothered by the situation. I do think it was confusing though.

I don't know exactly what you're talking about here with calling it a 'hobbyist organization'.

Disney doesn't have to take blame when people read only what they want to read out of a press release and ignore the rest. That's on that person. You can't read half of a sentence like Max Rebo is doing any say 'THEY SAID NEW ATTRACTIONS!!!!111!!'. Thats not fair to anyone.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

But it was. They had extra time and more panels than the other Destination D events.

definitely not true - it ended at 5:30 on Sunday and the last hour+ was performances ... I went 4 years ago and they had panels until hat time and then a party into the evening, so no, not extra time

Again, you're still doing the same thing. Yes, it said 'new projects and attractions'. But it said 'hear from the people behind new projects and attractions'. It was one sentence. You're the one misinterpreting the sentence. You can't do what you're doing. That's still your fault, not Disney's.

which is 100% my point that people may misinterpret it and they should be aware of that and avoid confusion. I very clearly said "misinterpret"

Where did the 'tone of the messaging' promise literally anything for Parks and Resorts?

Again, they didn't specifically say parks again, people will "misinterpret" - but when they say "Buckle in for a sneak peek at the company’s limitless future" and the parks are a pretty big part of the company, don't think it is crazy for people to expect something

really don't understand why this is confusing - people will misinterpret which I was pointing out

But I can understand why people may feel disappointed, that is all. If you think there is zero reason to be even slightly disappointed and cannot understand why anyone possibly could feel that way then I guess we disagree there

 

[DisneyHead123]

I don't know exactly what you're talking about here with calling it a 'hobbyist organization'.

I should’ve said fan organization, that would’ve been clearer.

I mean that if I view them as a business, that’s a one way relationship and it’s their job to sell me something, period. If people keep complaining to Twix that their candy is green then they don’t sit around playing “AITA?”, they just change the packaging.

If it’s a local model train club or something like that, then that’s different of course.

 

[ManicMillennial]

Where did the 'tone of the messaging' promise literally anything for Parks and Resorts?

Isn’t the “Destination” part of the name there because these “off years” were meant to focus more heavily on the parks and experiences segment of the company?

To be clear this is a serious question. I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything.

 

[Kamikaze]

Isn’t the “Destination” part of the name there because these “off years” were meant to focus more heavily on the parks and experiences segment of the company?

To be clear this is a serious question. I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything.

Have never heard of or thought that before. The Destination D events had themes originally, the first one was Disneyland 55, then WDW 40, then 75 years of animation.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Isn’t the “Destination” part of the name there because these “off years” were meant to focus more heavily on the parks and experiences segment of the company?

To be clear this is a serious question. I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything.

Not sure if they were specifically to focus on the parks but do think they typically had much less on the studios and films vs Expo which usually has all the actors and stuff there. That was definitely something with this years Destination that was bigger/better than in the past

So maybe it just *seemed* like more parks as a % of info where it was really just less on the movies vs more parks.

I think Destination has definitely had more on the archives and history of the company which often includes a lot related to the parks, but not park news

 

[ManicMillennial]

Have never heard of or thought that before. The Destination D events had themes originally, the first one was Disneyland 55, then WDW 40, then 75 years of animation.

For some reason I’ve had that in my head for years. Thank you for responding to the question.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Quite frankly, I don't understand the desire to receive new information on the parks at these events. I mean, yes, it's always good to hear about new things.

But...

The moment they're announced at these events, it's being reposted on social media such that the whole world now knows, too.

I do look forward to see what announcements are made at these events, but not enough to go and to hear it in person. Whatever those in person hear, I hear, too, within the next one to ten minutes.

I'm not a very good shill about this.

 

[Figments Friend]

Yep.
This is why I will likely never attend a D23 Expo again.
Once was enough with the crowds and chaos.
And that was back ten years ago or so!

Now I get to enjoy all the announcements from afar, saving my money and time and sanity.
It’s fun to hang out with the gang here and watch it all go down live in the comfort of our own home.
Thanks, technology.

However…I would consider doing a Destination D event again.
As I mentioned earlier, the smaller scale makes it easier to handle and D23 still has a chance to pull out some fun surprises for the fans.

-

 

[BrianLo]

Quite frankly, I don't understand the desire to receive new information on the parks at these events. I mean, yes, it's always good to hear about new things.

But...

The moment they're announced at these events, it's being reposted on social media such that the whole world now knows, too.

I do look forward to see what announcements are made at these events, but not enough to go and to hear it in person. Whatever those in person hear, I hear, too, within the next one to ten minutes.

I'm not a very good shill about this.

Indeed. And that speaks to the expectation mismatch. If you are only going for a parks keynote you aren’t going to have a good time. Even at Expo, which is highly erratic and inconsistent for parks news. 2017 and 2023 were stellar and then we have some mixed bag years and some rather bad ones.

If you instead are going for everything else these events offer (or at least BOTH), you’ll have a good time.

Plus expo had the added twist of not even being able to get into a panel.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Indeed. And that speaks to the expectation mismatch. If you are only going for a parks keynote you aren’t going to have a good time. Even at Expo, which is highly erratic and inconsistent for parks news. 2017 and 2023 were stellar and then we have some mixed bag years and some rather bad ones.

If you instead are going for everything else these events offer (or at least BOTH), you’ll have a good time.

Plus expo had the added twist of not even being able to get into a panel.

Oh, no! You found my sock puppet!!!

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Yep.
This is why I will likely never attend a D23 Expo again.
Once was enough with the crowds and chaos.
And that was back ten years ago or so!

Now I get to enjoy all the announcements from afar, saving my money and time and sanity.
It’s fun to hang out with the gang here and watch it all go down live in the comfort of our own home.
Thanks, technology.

However…I would consider doing a Destination D event again.
As I mentioned earlier, the smaller scale makes it easier to handle and D23 still has a chance to pull out some fun surprises for the fans.

-

I likely will never attend one of the expos, because if I did, they'd probably have to escort me out after they announce the closure of another beloved attraction.

 

[HMF]

I likely will never attend one of the expos, because if I did, they'd probably have to escort me out after they announce the closure of another beloved attraction.

Me too.

 

[Bocabear]

The Expo I attended ( a long time ago...I think Hong Kong and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train were the new things) was fun...but a huge crowd and a lot of confusion... There was a vendor space that had mostly are back then...by a lot of imagineers who were there selling their work....which was pretty cool.
THe Panel were ridiculous cheerleading shows...and nothing of any real substance was revealed. Best part of the trip[ was the stuff that happened outside of the Expo... The DCA 2.0 and Little Mermaid/Carsland had recently opened as did World Of COlor 1.0 original show...Which was spectacular... Other than that, I am not sure I would ever go to the Expo again... it has gotten bigger and seems even more like a "Pat ourselves on the back Cheerleading event"...yuck

 

[Salted Nut Roll]

Quite frankly, I don't understand the desire to receive new information on the parks at these events. I mean, yes, it's always good to hear about new things.

But...

The moment they're announced at these events, it's being reposted on social media such that the whole world now knows, too.

I don't understand the need to be present for big announcements, either. I guess it's kind of exciting to be sharing the excitement with a room full of people (if the announcement is something to be excited about), but as you say, the moment the panel is over, the news will be made public. It's why I'm never pressed about attending the major "news" panels at the D23 Expo. I'd rather go to panels that actually sound interesting or entertaining. I feel like if you're going to spend the time and money to attend an event solely to hear announcements, you're missing the the forest for the trees. I wasn't at Destination, but it sounds like they pretty much delivered what they promised.

Yep.
This is why I will likely never attend a D23 Expo again.
Once was enough with the crowds and chaos.
And that was back ten years ago or so!

I hear you on that. The first couple of years I attended, I still had a blast, but it was a mess. Panels getting delayed because staff weren't told where people were supposed to line up, folks sleeping overnight in the basement, police being called because attendees were shoving each other. Good times! I was actually pleasantly surprised when I went last year, and everything was so much more streamlined and organized. It seems they finally got their act together and had things running smoothly. It was still crazy-crowded, but much easier to navigate than in the past. The only negative I had from the event was the heavy presence of Fox and Marvel. But that's a whole separate topic.

 

[Figments Friend]

I don't understand the need to be present for big announcements, either. I guess it's kind of exciting to be sharing the excitement with a room full of people (if the announcement is something to be excited about), but as you say, the moment the panel is over, the news will be made public. It's why I'm never pressed about attending the major "news" panels at the D23 Expo. I'd rather go to panels that actually sound interesting or entertaining. I feel like if you're going to spend the time and money to attend an event solely to hear announcements, you're missing the the forest for the trees. I wasn't at Destination, but it sounds like they pretty much delivered what they promised.


I hear you on that. The first couple of years I attended, I still had a blast, but it was a mess. Panels getting delayed because staff weren't told where people were supposed to line up, folks sleeping overnight in the basement, police being called because attendees were shoving each other. Good times! I was actually pleasantly surprised when I went last year, and everything was so much more streamlined and organized. It seems they finally got their act together and had things running smoothly. It was still crazy-crowded, but much easier to navigate than in the past. The only negative I had from the event was the heavy presence of Fox and Marvel.

Oh yeah, the first couple of Expo years were…….interesting indeed!


Very encouraging to hear that you felt last years mega Event went so smoothly.
Sounds like they may have finally figured out how to properly manage the crowds and avoid a lot of the issues we both had to deal with in the past.
I was skeptical of last years event when it was announced, with the changes to bring the masses over to Angels Stadium.
Seemed like it was lining up to be a hot mess….but for the most part it sounded like they pulled it off with minimal issues.

I have a friend who has been wanting to attend an Expo and has begged me for several years now to go with them, but I have been very hesitant after my prior Expo experience back in 2015.
Hearing you mention how the chaos seems to have been reigned in a bit may make me reconsider.
But I am in no hurry…..as I do enjoy watching from afar with the great gang of friends here and immediately getting to comment on the proceedings and announcements.
Quite entertaining ….!

-