Official D23 Thread

[SirGoofy]

There are no current plans to bring D23 Expo to Florida. Disney has reserved a week in early September at the Anaheim Convention Center for four years, from 2009 to 2012. There is not a facility large enough on WDW property to put on such a show, and you would also lose the corporate energy from having all of the other Disney divisions headquartered in SoCal being able to pull in a lot of star power for the event. (Studios, Animation, Pixar, Consumer Products, Adventures by Disney, ABC TV, Disney Channel, etc.)

That said, I now fully expect to see D23 Expo go into hibernation for at least a year, if not several years.

Attendance was not nearly as strong as they had hoped, and most of the attendance was from locals in Orange County and Los Angeles who just stopped by for a few hours one day out of the four. And anyone who went to the Expo can tell you Disney very clearly spent a mint on this thing! It was huge, lavish, customized, and very expensive looking! They likely took a huge loss on it. :lol:

The local Southern California media covered the D23 Expo extensively, and in interviews this week all Disney execs backed away from committing to a return of the Expo next September. The Los Angeles Times even quoted Iger as saying they don't know how often they will have this event now, and it may be "five years" before another Expo appears.

As much fun as it was, I would not be at all surprised to see D23 Expo be a one-hit wonder and fade into the history books never to be seen again. I think this might have been it for D23 Expo. :shrug:

I completely agree with you.

Because even if Disney did it again last year, and more people came(which I think would happen), they would all be expecting these grand expansion announcements, which I doubt would happen again next year, and they would leave disappointed.

 

[Victoria]

R u on twitter, if so I will tweet you! Wait is that the appropriate term I just joined yesterday....:lookaroun

I am xxMissVxx on twitter. Also check out the Twitter Index thread here on WDWMagic if you want some other people to follow.

I completely agree with you.

Because even if Disney did it again last year, and more people came(which I think would happen), they would all be expecting these grand expansion announcements, which I doubt would happen again next year, and they would leave disappointed.

Exactly. They aren't going to be able to announce huge expansions and refurbishments every year. I am totally ok if they only do the Expo every few years. I think it would lose a lot of its momentum and interest if it was annual. Hey, maybe in 5 years I will be a teacher in a state that doesn't start school the first week in September *coughFloridacough* and I could actually attend. :shrug:

 

[krankenstein]

There are no current plans to bring D23 Expo to Florida. Disney has reserved a week in early September at the Anaheim Convention Center for four years, from 2009 to 2012. There is not a facility large enough on WDW property to put on such a show, and you would also lose the corporate energy from having all of the other Disney divisions headquartered in SoCal being able to pull in a lot of star power for the event. (Studios, Animation, Pixar, Consumer Products, Adventures by Disney, ABC TV, Disney Channel, etc.)

That said, I now fully expect to see D23 Expo go into hibernation for at least a year, if not several years.

Attendance was not nearly as strong as they had hoped, and most of the attendance was from locals in Orange County and Los Angeles who just stopped by for a few hours one day out of the four. And anyone who went to the Expo can tell you Disney very clearly spent a mint on this thing! It was huge, lavish, customized, and very expensive looking! They likely took a huge loss on it. :lol:

The local Southern California media covered the D23 Expo extensively, and in interviews this week all Disney execs backed away from committing to a return of the Expo next September. The Los Angeles Times even quoted Iger as saying they don't know how often they will have this event now, and it may be "five years" before another Expo appears.

As much fun as it was, I would not be at all surprised to see D23 Expo be a one-hit wonder and fade into the history books never to be seen again. I think this might have been it for D23 Expo. :shrug:

I think that having it in September hurt attendance to. If they had done it in the summer, I think more people would've been willing to go. :shrug:

 

[Victoria]

I think that having it in September hurt attendance to. If they had done it in the summer, I think more people would've been willing to go. :shrug:

I was willing....just not able! :lol: If it had been in the summer nothing would have stopped me from going.

 

[Next Big Thing]

So when should we start to see actually work start happening? Early 2010?

 

[wdwmagic]

There are no current plans to bring D23 Expo to Florida. Disney has reserved a week in early September at the Anaheim Convention Center for four years, from 2009 to 2012. There is not a facility large enough on WDW property to put on such a show, and you would also lose the corporate energy from having all of the other Disney divisions headquartered in SoCal being able to pull in a lot of star power for the event. (Studios, Animation, Pixar, Consumer Products, Adventures by Disney, ABC TV, Disney Channel, etc.)

D23 Expo exhibits were 20,000 sq ft in size according to the D23 guides.

The Walt Disney World Dolphin has 300,000+ sq ft of convention space.

Coronado Springs has 220,000 sq ft of convention space.

Contemporary has 110,000 sq ft of space.

Yacht and Beach has 73,000 sq ft.

Grand Floridian has 40,000 sqt ft.

Failing all that, you could go with Orange County Convention Center just 15 mins away, which offers over 2 million sq ft.

So as you can see, you could fit the Expo in at the resort of your choice at WDW, and it would be RIGHT on property. If they went with the Contemporary, it would be a stones throw from the Magic Kingdom.

 

[SirGoofy]

So when should we start to see actually work start happening? Early 2010?

January. I mean you won't be able to see anything. But that's when it'll start.

 

[TP2000]

I think that having it in September hurt attendance to. If they had done it in the summer, I think more people would've been willing to go. :shrug:

I think not giving people more than a few months notice also hurt.

Now at least we know what a D23 Expo is. We had no idea what D23 was a year ago, let alone what a D23 Expo would be like. Now we know.

But if they do another D23 Expo in 2011 or 2012, they have simply got to give people a years notice in advance. The demographic they want to attract to this for a multiple day visit does not all live between Santa Barbara and San Diego. People will now fly in from Boston and Orlando and England for this. But you have to give people a chance to budget for that type of trip, and plan it out with our busy personal lives. We don't all just have a corporate expense account to charge a 5 day trip to Southern California to, and we can't just tell a secretary to cancel picking the kids up from school for a week.

People need time to plan a big trip. D23 Expo really only gave the fans a few months notice of this event, and even then the details were sketchy and most fans couldn't figure out if it was something worthy of the time and money and effort.

I doubt there will be a D23 Expo in 2010. But hopefully the 2011 D23 Expo will be announced in early 2010, so people can begin the planning process.

 

[Victoria]

In addition to giving more notice of the next event, some sort of combo ticket to DL/DCA and the Expo might be a nice way to get people to show up. The 4 day Expo ticket was costly and so is a 4 day park pass. Combine the two somehow and they might get people stopping by Anaheim for more than a few hours. It would definitely lure more long distance people too.

 

[cdunbar]

In addition to giving more notice of the next event, some sort of combo ticket to DL/DCA and the Expo might be a nice way to get people to show up. The 4 day Expo ticket was costly and so is a 4 day park pass. Combine the two somehow and they might get people stopping by Anaheim for more than a few hours. It would definitely lure more long distance people too.

If they had some kind of vacation pkg I would totally be on board

 

[EpcotServo]

d23 expo exhibits were 20,000 sq ft in size according to the d23 guides.

The walt disney world dolphin has 300,000+ sq ft of convention space.

Coronado springs has 220,000 sq ft of convention space.

Contemporary has 110,000 sq ft of space.

Yacht and beach has 73,000 sq ft.

Grand floridian has 40,000 sqt ft.

Failing all that, you could go with orange county convention center just 15 mins away, which offers over 2 million sq ft.

So as you can see, you could fit the expo in at the resort of your choice at wdw, and it would be right on property. If they went with the contemporary, it would be a stones throw from the magic kingdom.

^EXACTLY

I'm betting it'll stay in California though.

 

[cdunbar]

People are umm apparently about to riot over the toy story showing line moving about:lookaroun

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

D23 Expo exhibits were 20,000 sq ft in size according to the D23 guides.

The Walt Disney World Dolphin has 300,000+ sq ft of convention space.

Coronado Springs has 220,000 sq ft of convention space.

Contemporary has 110,000 sq ft of space.

Yacht and Beach has 73,000 sq ft.

Grand Floridian has 40,000 sqt ft.

Failing all that, you could go with Orange County Convention Center just 15 mins away, which offers over 2 million sq ft.

So as you can see, you could fit the Expo in at the resort of your choice at WDW, and it would be RIGHT on property. If they went with the Contemporary, it would be a stones throw from the Magic Kingdom.

Win.

Another huge gripe of mine would be satisfied if they brought it here- and on DISNEY property!

Very cool.

 

[TP2000]

D23 Expo was 20,000 sq ft in size according to the D23 guides.

The Walt Disney World Dolphin has 300,000+ sq ft of convention space.

Coronado Springs has 220,000 sq ft of convention space.

Contemporary has 110,000 sq ft of space.

Yacht and Beach has 73,000 sq ft.

Grand Floridian has 40,000 sqt ft.

Failing all that, you could go with Orange County Convention Center just 15 mins away, which offers over 2 million sq ft.

So as you can see, you could fit the Expo in VERY easily at the resort of your chie at WDW, and it would be RIGHT on property. If they went with the Contemporary, it would be a stones throw from the Magic Kingdom.

I think you are mistaken. D23 Expo was not 20,000 square feet.

The D23 Expo used approximately 550,000 square feet of reserved space at the Anaheim Convention Center, not including the center's large lobbies and ticketing atriums.

The big Parks & Resorts Pavilion took up half of Exhibit Hall B and was 75,000 square feet just on its own.

D23 Expo took up the entirety of the A, B and C Exhibit Halls in the Anaheim Convention Center. In addition to the main floor exhibit halls, D23 Expo used theaters, presentation rooms and exhibits on the second and third floor of the Convention Center. They also used the 7,000 seat Anaheim Arena for the keynote speeches by Iger, Rasulo, Cook, Lasseter, etc.

Exhibit Hall A is 145,000 Square Feet (Disney Consumer Products, ABC TV, Radio Disney, Collectors Forum, Disney Dream Home, Disney Weddings, Queue for D23 Arena, Strombolli's Tratorria)

Exhibit Hall B is 145,000 Square Feet (Parks & Resorts Pavillion, Disney Corporate Responsibility, Disney Interactive Group, Disney Technology Labs, D23 Lounge, Expo Welcome Center, Walt's Diner)

Exhibit Hall C is 155,000 Square Feet (Disney Dream Stage, Disney Dream Store, DVC, Disney Pin Trading, El Capitan Theater, US Postal Service, Caballero's Cafe, Woody's BBQ)

The second floor used rooms 202, 204, 207, 208, 210, 212, and 213 for D23 Expo events for a total combined use of 41,000 Square Feet. (Stage 23 Theater, Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives, Baby Einstein, Storytellers Theater, D23 Auction Preview, ABC TV Screening Theater)

The third floor combined Ballrooms A,B,C,D and E to create the 38,000 square foot Walt Disney Studios Theater. It was a custom built, and rather luxurious and very large theater that was used to showcase feature length movies. It also had 3-D and digitial projection capabilities.

Finally, D23 Expo also made use of the 7,000 seat Anaheim Arena, christened the D23 Arena for the Expo and used for keynote executive presentations. In its D23 Arena format, it comprised 25,000 square feet of space.

So add that all up and the total square footage as used by the D23 Expo was 550,000 square feet spread over three levels of the center. Give or take a snack bar or two. :lol:

If the D23 Expo would need to expand in future years, there is still the 220,000 square foot Exhibit Hall D left vacant at the Expo, and 100,000 square feet of additional ballroom space on the second and third floor it could use at the Anaheim Convention Center.

We had discussed a few weeks ago these exact figures and the logistical hurdles of spreading all of these events out over the four WDW conference properties you mentioned above. In my opinion, breaking the D23 Expo up across multiple WDW properties would kill the energy and exciting purpose of having all of this stuff under one roof in 2009, with the ability to expand by quite a bit in future years at the Anaheim Convention Center if D23 Expo takes off.

 

[krankenstein]

I think not giving people more than a few months notice also hurt.

Now at least we know what a D23 Expo is. We had no idea what D23 was a year ago, let alone what a D23 Expo would be like. Now we know.

But if they do another D23 Expo in 2011 or 2012, they have simply got to give people a years notice in advance. The demographic they want to attract to this for a multiple day visit does not all live between Santa Barbara and San Diego. People will now fly in from Boston and Orlando and England for this. But you have to give people a chance to budget for that type of trip, and plan it out with our busy personal lives. We don't all just have a corporate expense account to charge a 5 day trip to Southern California to, and we can't just tell a secretary to cancel picking the kids up from school for a week.

People need time to plan a big trip. D23 Expo really only gave the fans a few months notice of this event, and even then the details were sketchy and most fans couldn't figure out if it was something worthy of the time and money and effort.

I doubt there will be a D23 Expo in 2010. But hopefully the 2011 D23 Expo will be announced in early 2010, so people can begin the planning process.

Agreed!

In addition to giving more notice of the next event, some sort of combo ticket to DL/DCA and the Expo might be a nice way to get people to show up. The 4 day Expo ticket was costly and so is a 4 day park pass. Combine the two somehow and they might get people stopping by Anaheim for more than a few hours. It would definitely lure more long distance people too.

And agreed!

Even if they did something where you show your Expo ticket from the day and get into DL or DCA for, say, $10 for the rest of the evening.

 

[Victoria]

Agreed!



And agreed!

Even if they did something where you show your Expo ticket from the day and get into DL or DCA for, say, $10 for the rest of the evening.

That is exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. Obviously Expo folks aren't going to be in the parks all day so they shouldn't have to pay for a full price ticket.

 

[Rosso11]

If Disney didn't buy Marvel last week I would say D23 would only be needed every other year or so. But now Marvel changes everything. I would guess Marvel will have a very big presence at the next D23 and they will actually start to compete with Comic-Con in San Diego. D23 was obviously greatly influenced by Comic-Con but now it will start to directly compete with it.

 

[_Scar]

D23 Expo exhibits were 20,000 sq ft in size according to the D23 guides.

The Walt Disney World Dolphin has 300,000+ sq ft of convention space.

Coronado Springs has 220,000 sq ft of convention space.

Contemporary has 110,000 sq ft of space.

Yacht and Beach has 73,000 sq ft.

Grand Floridian has 40,000 sqt ft.

Failing all that, you could go with Orange County Convention Center just 15 mins away, which offers over 2 million sq ft.

So as you can see, you could fit the Expo in at the resort of your choice at WDW, and it would be RIGHT on property. If they went with the Contemporary, it would be a stones throw from the Magic Kingdom.

I'd love it in WDW especially the Contemporary or Dolphin!

 

[_Scar]

If Disney didn't buy Marvel last week I would say D23 would only be needed every other year or so. But now Marvel changes everything. I would guess Marvel will have a very big presence at the next D23 and they will actually start to compete with Comic-Con in San Diego. D23 was obviously greatly influenced by Comic-Con but now it will start to directly compete with it.

What? It was?

 

[TP2000]

In addition to giving more notice of the next event, some sort of combo ticket to DL/DCA and the Expo might be a nice way to get people to show up.

That's an excellent idea! Let's hope they consider it if they do D23 Expo again.