D23 Expo Theme Park News and Announcements

[TP2000]

I was contemplating going or not going, too, TP. I decided not to. It'll be the first Expo I'll miss. The first one was great but the last one was a letdown. Maybe I'll decide to attend the next one after this one. If you do go, be safe and watch out for crowds!

Wanna know my secret? I go later in the afternoon and park at the Morton's Steakhouse two blocks away on Convention Way. I tip the valet parking guy ten bucks, go in and get a Manhattan and an order of beef sliders at the bar, then wander over to the Expo for an hour or two. I return to Morton's and maybe have a nice dinner, or at the very least go back to the bar for another Manhattan and a snack of some sort, maybe have a cigar on the patio and make new friends. Then tip the valet guy again and drive away.

Self parking at the Anaheim Convention Center's satellite garages is $15.00. The whole Morton's valet parking thing costs me an extra five bucks over what it would cost to park in the bowels of the Convention Center garages only to forget what level I was on and where my car was. And I don't have to eat a steamed Convention Center hot dog or down an 8 dollar lukewarm Budweiser from the snack bar.

But it's all dependent on the Expo actually having stuff worth seeing. I'll probably go, unless the reviews that come in on Friday are truly bad.

 

[RadioHead]

So what's this about StarWars land i'm hearing?

An this "Orange Harvest" being some sort of teaser for a star wars themed land?

What's the rumor (assuming that it's accurate)? Will it be a Tomorrow Land re theme, or will it be a dedicated land at DHS? Really hoping it's for DHS, that place is in desperate need for something of that sort.

 

[OldBill71]

I hope an office scene decorated in an Avatar motif and some crates with Star Wars references on them don't end up being the extent of the Parks and Resorts "announcements" at D23. But, considering posts in this thread, and the general history of the Expo; I think that is just what those scenes, might be.

 

[TP2000]

So what's this about StarWars land i'm hearing?

An this "Orange Harvest" being some sort of teaser for a star wars themed land?

What's the rumor (assuming that it's accurate)? Will it be a Tomorrow Land re theme, or will it be a dedicated land at DHS? Really hoping it's for DHS, that place is in desperate need for something of that sort.

According to Al Lutz on Miceage a few days ago...

Star Wars Land attractions will be coming to Disneyland's Tomorrowland and DHS. The first phase kicks off for Disneyland's Tomorrowland just in time for the 60th Anniversary in 2015 in the form of a new Star Wars 3D show in the current Captain EO theater, and an update to Star Tours with new destinations and characters based on Star Wars VII coming out in '15.

Then the fully fledged brand new Star Wars E Tickets open at Disneyland and DHS after Disneyland's 60th in 2016-17.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Wanna know my secret? I go later in the afternoon and park at the Morton's Steakhouse two blocks away on Convention Way. I tip the valet parking guy ten bucks, go in and get a Manhattan and an order of beef sliders at the bar, then wander over to the Expo for an hour or two. I return to Morton's and maybe have a nice dinner, or at the very least go back to the bar for another Manhattan and a snack of some sort, maybe have a cigar on the patio and make new friends. Then tip the valet guy again and drive away.

Self parking at the Anaheim Convention Center's satellite garages is $15.00. The whole Morton's valet parking thing costs me an extra five bucks over what it would cost to park in the bowels of the Convention Center garages only to forget what level I was on and where my car was. And I don't have to eat a steamed Convention Center hot dog or down an 8 dollar lukewarm Budweiser from the snack bar.

But it's all dependent on the Expo actually having stuff worth seeing. I'll probably go, unless the reviews that come in on Friday are truly bad.

Great plan, though the underwhelming Budweiser doesn't sound appealing. I did something like that during the last Expo, only I took the bus from my apartment down the street (lived in Anaheim at the time), saw a couple of things, went to a hotel, came back, saw that the crowds grew, then decided to leave and go to Disneyland instead.

People are already lining up for today's presentations. Good luck to all those who are going. I'll be dealing with another crowd tomorrow, as I make my way down Sunset from my LA home to get to Dodger Stadium.

PS: Can we talk about the outrageous prices for food at the Anaheim Convention Center?!

 

[TP2000]

People are already lining up for today's presentations. Good luck to all those who are going.

My God, you are kidding! It's two in the morning here in Southern California, and people are lining up for the Friday kickoff presentations? What is it, a display of the high-waisted trendy swimsuits used in Teen Beach Movie?

I may stop by late Sunday afternoon, since Saturday is now sold out. I may not.

As for the snack bar food at the Anaheim Convention Center, it's vile. For not a lot more you can eat at Morton's Steakhouse two blocks away, or the Anaheim Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that is three blocks away.

FUN FACT: Did you know that the Anaheim Resort District is the only town in America that has a Morton's and a Ruth's Chris within a block of each other? It's true! Steak lovers are thrilled, while cows are sad.

 

[SirLink]

Doubt it. They just finished making substantial investments in that park.

Expect more substantial investments. When HK Government say to Disney "Jump", Disney says "How high?".

 

[danlb_2000]

Yep, this is just about what I expected. Even the little "hints" they are dropping could be red herrings that have no relation to what eventually gets built.

 

[SirLink]

Yep, this is just about what I expected. Even the little "hints" they are dropping could be red herrings that have no relation to what eventually gets built.

Actually the only hint is what they will sell as the beverage and that is quite clearly Blue Milk.

 

[Lee]

Not much to go by.
Parts for a Millineum Falcon, pod-racing engine, light sabers, thermal detonators...

 

[devoy1701]

According to Al Lutz on Miceage a few days ago...

Star Wars Land attractions will be coming to Disneyland's Tomorrowland and DHS. The first phase kicks off for Disneyland's Tomorrowland just in time for the 60th Anniversary in 2015 in the form of a new Star Wars 3D show in the current Captain EO theater, and an update to Star Tours with new destinations and characters based on Star Wars VII coming out in '15.

Then the fully fledged brand new Star Wars E Tickets open at Disneyland and DHS after Disneyland's 60th in 2016-17.

Looks like Disneyland every 4 years is going to be a tradition of ours. First trip was in 2009, went a second time in March of this year, and StarWars E-Ticket would put us right on track in 2017.

Not a bad tradition to have. Though I promised the wife we'd stay at GC nex time.

 

[devoy1701]

So what's this about StarWars land i'm hearing?

An this "Orange Harvest" being some sort of teaser for a star wars themed land?

What's the rumor (assuming that it's accurate)? Will it be a Tomorrow Land re theme, or will it be a dedicated land at DHS? Really hoping it's for DHS, that place is in desperate need for something of that sort.

WDW's Tomorrowland retheme isn't on the table. Just Disneyland's. With the "huge investment" they're doing to Fantasyland in WDW, I doubt we'll see a substantial addition to MK in the next 5 years.

 

[Master Yoda]

My God, you are kidding! It's two in the morning here in Southern California, and people are lining up for the Friday kickoff presentations? What is it, a display of the high-waisted trendy swimsuits used in Teen Beach Movie?

I may stop by late Sunday afternoon, since Saturday is now sold out. I may not.

As for the snack bar food at the Anaheim Convention Center, it's vile. For not a lot more you can eat at Morton's Steakhouse two blocks away, or the Anaheim Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that is three blocks away.

FUN FACT: Did you know that the Anaheim Resort District is the only town in America that has a Morton's and a Ruth's Chris within a block of each other? It's true! Steak lovers are thrilled, while cows are sad.

Believe it or not, we had a Ruth's Chris and a Morton's about 1200 feet from each other here in Jacksonville Fl. Sadly, the Morton's closed in early 2012.

 

[wdwmagic]

If only things were like the old days at WDI (or current days at Universal). Start building without officially saying anything, then make an announcement about it a year or so before opening, and then open it. The unnecessary drama around upcoming WDW projects is not the way to do things in my opinion.

 

[Lee]

If only things were like the old days at WDI (or current days at Universal). Start building without officially saying anything, then make an announcement about it a year or so before opening, and then open it. The unnecessary drama around upcoming WDW projects is not the way to do things in my opinion.

I'll take my share of the blame.
I don't like not knowing what's going on, and Disney doesn't like us to know what's going on.
So, unless they want to make some sort of deal.....

 

[OldBill71]

If only things were like the old days at WDI (or current days at Universal). Start building without officially saying anything, then make an announcement about it a year or so before opening, and then open it. The unnecessary drama around upcoming WDW projects is not the way to do things in my opinion.

Completely agree. I'd rather have not known about Avatar for the last two years, then to have to sit around and complain that "they haven't even started doing anything yet!"

Perhaps, social-media has contributed to the fact that it is harder and harder to keep secrets these days. I think that is the case today, no matter what business you are in, let alone one that draws in guests by the millions every year and is the front-porch of a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate.

 

[devoy1701]

Believe it or not, we had a Ruth's Chris and a Morton's about 1200 feet from each other here in Jacksonville Fl. Sadly, the Morton's closed in early 2012.

i think Tampa wins in largest concentration of Steak Houses though... and best (Berns).

 

[Master Yoda]

Completely agree. I'd rather have not known about Avatar for the last two years, then to have to sit around and complain that "they haven't even started doing anything yet!"

Perhaps, social-media has contributed to the fact that it is harder and harder to keep secrets these days. I think that is the case today, no matter what business you are in, let alone one that draws in guests by the millions every year and is the front-porch of a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate.

I think the internet in general has made secret keeping nearly impossible. In the 80's rumors had to spread from person to person and occasionally a local news program might mention it in a filler segment on a slow news day. Now all it takes is a random blog post from an anonymous source or a grainy out of focus picture on Twitter and the internet just explodes.

 

[Master Yoda]

i think Tampa wins in largest concentration of Steak Houses though... and best (Berns).

All the one's we have here seem to be chains (eg Ruth's Chris, etc). I don't know of a single, really high end steak place that is locally owned. We have plenty of local places that have a good steak, but nothing on the order of a Shula's or Ruth's Chris.

 

[Joseph Robinson]

If only things were like the old days at WDI (or current days at Universal). Start building without officially saying anything, then make an announcement about it a year or so before opening, and then open it. The unnecessary drama around upcoming WDW projects is not the way to do things in my opinion.

But if we didn't know and couldn't be disappointed, then what would everyone here talk/complain about?