You’ve Got to be Kidding is parody. Allow yourself to have a little fun. Enjoy the Expo you never heard about . . .

I have really enjoyed reading the reports on this year’s D23 Expo.  From everything I’ve seen it was a fantastic event and a good time was had by all.  However, lost in all the hype and hoopla was another event held that same weekend.

For those of us who have to watch our budget and pinch our Disney dollars, there is a much more frugal option:  the D19 Expo.  Just like D23, the name commemorates the year of Walt’s arrival in Hollywood (the “19” in 1923), but it also reflects the thriftier opportunities this particular Expo provided.   You see, for just $19.99, (there’s that 19 again) participants attended a three-day Disney fan experience that included all the joy of Disney – the parks, the movies, the television, the gaming, the nostalgia, the memorabilia, the commercialism – without all the overhead of top-tier events.

Now it may not have the glitz, glamour, or glitter of the D23 Expo, but it is an experience that should not be missed.  Here is just a sample of what it was like to attend the 2015 D19 Expo.

The Venue

This year’s event was held at the recently renovated Kona Kai Motor Hotel and engulfed almost half of their first floor.  (It should be noted that Kona Kai only has one floor, but that just made navigation easier as attendees didn’t have to worry about escalators, elevators, or stairs.)  Every square inch (for some reason, they don’t measure the hotel’s space in square feet) was filled with stages, exhibitions, a show room, and even a D19 Emporium.  because the Kona Kai is a motor hotel, the various venues were connect by an outside breezeway and lines had to form outside.  But standing in lines under the beating sun seems to be a prerequisite for attending any conference, and participants were just happy that the lines didn’t seem to stretch all the way to Katella.

There were four stages:  Stage 19, Hall 19, Center Stage 19, and Center Hall Stage 19.  It was nice to see organizers maintain the “19” theme, but the similarities caused some confusion.  People were often unsure where they needed to be.  However, even though the volunteers were often even more confused than the attendees, everyone took it in stride.

The one major hiccup was for the popular panel discussion “We All Talked to Somebody Who Talked to an Imagineer” which was held in the largest venue, Stage 19.  (Or was it Hall 19?)  The room quickly filled to its 30-person capacity, which upset those who had arrived late because they had not been sure which venue to attend.  But the event organizers made a quick navigational change and opened up the room next door – Center Stage 19 (or was it Center Hall Stage 19).  Panelists were then asked to shout so they could be heard through the walls.  A perfectly acceptable solution that kept everyone happy.

The D19 Emporium was also a delight with many of the less affluent vendors able to be a part of a Disney fan extravaganza.  As was to be expected, the selections were limited.  Most vendors just visited the park each day and returned with maps, schedules, napkins, and other miscellaneous ephemera to sell.  For those of us with less to spend, it was an excellent way to start or build that Disneyland collection.  The Emporium also included a number of artists whose work was not quite up to D23 snuff.  However, we all thought it was quite good and, in some instances. you could even recognize the character they were trying to draw.  (And let’s be honest; artist interpretations of Disney characters never look like the real thing, anyway.)  There were also a surprisingly large number of authors at the emporium.  None of them had anything to display, but they were promoting some very impressive and creative book ideas.  Each had their own Kickstarter campaign and most attendees took the opportunity to fund some very promising products.  I’m willing to bet that, two years from now, we’ll see all of these fledgling genius entrepreneurs on the floor of the D23 Expo.  I invested heavily and assume my profits will allow me to be there with them.

Imagineering

There was quite a representation from the field of Imagineering.  Of course, there were no actual Imagineers in attendance as they were all busy down the street.  But there were plenty of people more than willing to fill the void.  Highlights included the panels “The Function and Design of Disney Parking Lot Cones”, “If I Wrote the Back Story for the Clam Chowder Bowl in New Orleans Square” and “Building Exact Audio-Animatronics Replicas:  The Ins and Outs of Copyright Law.”  The most popular Imagineering event was held on Saturday in Hall 19 (or was it Center Stage Hall 19).  The entire day was devoted to individuals reading from books by and about Imagineering.  The books included Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real, Bob Gurr’s Design: Just for Fun, and Rolly Crump’s It’s Kind of a Cute Story.  Unfortunately, one of the most embarrassing moments of the D19 Expo occurred during this event.  The individual responsible for reading Marty Sklar’s Dream it!  Do It! became confused and began reading Brian Smith’s Wish It, Want It, Do It! He only realized his mistake when he got to the fifty blank pages.

There was also an Imagineering presence on the show floor with the exhibition “A Lot of Years of Disney Magic in Motion.”  Attendees were first gathered into a curtained-off area where there was a short presentation discussing how much Walt enjoyed seeing movement within the parks.  At the conclusion, the curtains parted to reveal an amazing collection of cardboard cutouts representing the many vehicles in Disneyland history.  We all had fun having our pictures taken in front of such icons as the Mike Fink Keel Boats, the PeopleMover, the Monorail, the Skyway Buckets, the Mine Train, and even the original parking lot.  Amazing how such a small investment can allow everyone to have so much fun.

Disneyland History

A popular set of panels were those that celebrated Disneyland’s history.  There was a presentation about The Jungle Cruise (“What Would I Say If They Ever Let Me Be a Skipper”), The Blue Bayou (“Just How Dark Does it Have to Be Before Patrons Have No Idea What They Are Eating”), and Tomorrowland (“Carousel of Progress or America Sings: Which is Better Given That We Can All Agree Anything is Better than Innovations?”)  One of the shortest presentations was titled “Dole Whip:  Is There Anything Better in the World?”  The speaker took to the podium, opened his notes, and said “Nope.  Any questions?”  There being none, the panel was adjourned.

The most popular attraction-related presentation was in celebration of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln’s fiftieth anniversary.  All day Friday, local high school students used Stage 19 (or was that Center Stage 19) to reenact aspects of Lincoln’s life.  Included were the Lincoln/Douglas debates, the Gettysburg address, and the various versions of the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln speeches.  Unfortunately, the day ended with a reenactment of Lincoln’s assassination.  Everyone agreed that was a bit off the mark.

On the Show Floor

I’ve already talked about the Emporium, the various vendors, and the Imagineering show.  But there was a lot more happening on the show floor.  Let’s start with the opportunities to get autographs from the near great and nearly, near great.  This included Dick Van Dyke’s chiropractor, Stan Lee’s acting coach, and Ed Asner’s proctologist.  Believe me; they all had stories to tell.

The highlight was probably an appearance by Joey, Martin, and Susie who came over to sign autographs after their presentation “So Close, Yet so Far.”  These three actors almost became Mouseketeers, losing out to Cubby, Tommy, and Annette.  It is hard to get much closer to greatness.  The line for autographs stretched all the way to the next booth as people anxiously stood waiting for their chance to hear the stories of how these three didn’t quite make it onto television, how they got to see some of the Mouseketeers from a distance (including Roy and Jimmie – at least, that’s who they think they were), and how they never really saw Walt.

Was there cosplay?  How can there be a gathering of Disney fans without Cosplay.  Of course, in keeping with the unintended but necessary theme of frugality that permeated the D19 Expo, some of the more elaborate costumes were not evident.  That meant there were a number of trash can R2D2’s, some shag rug abominable snowmen, and more princesses than one could shake a poison apple, spinning wheel, or ice cube at.  As always, everyone enjoyed the obscure costumes the most.  Examples included individuals dressed as Disneyland mechanics, members of the crowd scenes from Enchanted, and hard core Disney Infinity players.  (At least, we think that last group was cosplaying.)  The absolute best?  There were four gentlemen who always kept together as they wandered around the Expo.  They spoke to everyone very precisely and in even tones.  It took a while, but we finally figured out who they were:  The Dapper Dans on their day off.

Announcements

A highlight of D23 is always the announcements about parks, movies, and animation.  Well, obviously D19 didn’t have the same access to the movers and shakers of Disney, but they did do an excellent job of providing something close.

When it came to the parks, we all now know the big announcement was Star Wars.  D19 refused to be left out of the excitement.  When it was time for D23’s announcements, the D19 organizers arranged to have every meeting room wired so that, as soon as there was any live tweet from the D23 event, it would be produced on screens in all the rooms.  Because of a huge investment in technology (believe me, that $19.99 entry fee wasn’t wasted) we were able to see the tweets two microseconds before anyone else.   Yes, we were able to join the celebration before anyone else in the world.

For the live action announcements, D19 didn’t try to match what D23 was presenting.  Instead, they used archival footage and announced a new movie based on Yellow Submarine, as well as a joint project with Guillermo Del Toro titled “Disney Double Dares You”.  The thinking was that these were perfectly good ideas that had remained unused for far too long.  A similar approach was used in announcing the Royal Ribbon Festival in Disneyland’s Fantasyland and the celebration of Aurora’s birthday at the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland.

Announcements about animation are always highly anticipated at D23.  Once again, it was impossible for the event organizers to get access to the information that would be announced.  However, they were quite innovative in this instance.  Rumors abounded that many of the upcoming animation efforts would be sequels.  Therefore, D19 went out on a limb and announced Toy Story 4, A Bug’s Life II, Finding Nemo Again, The Incredibles 2, Cars III-D, Ratatouille Touille, Wall-E 2, Up 2 (No Good), Braver, Monsters Inc. Meets Monsters U, and Inside Outer.  Afterwards, we were all very impressed with how close the organizers were to the actual announcements, even if they got a few of the titles wrong.  And we did our best to ignore the wags who kept quoting Walt’s famous line “You can’t top pigs with pigs.”

Wrap-Up

For the final event on Sunday evening, everyone went to the parking lot just outside of Hall 19 and Stage 19 (or was it Hall 19 and Center Stage 19, or was it Center Hall Stage 19 and Stage 19, or was it Center Stage 19 and Center Hall Stage 19.  Shoot.  It doesn’t really matter.  We went to the parking lot.)  The original plan had been that, just like D23, we would have a Frozen Fandemonium.  For D19, this would be a giant sing-along.   However, there had been a lot of discussion during the Expo, and everyone agreed that we were all just a little sick of that particular franchise.  Instead, we decided to go back to the originals.

So, as the sun set, the entire group of attendees, vendors, volunteers, and organizers joined to sing the songs of Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs.  With “Heigh-Ho”, “Whistle While You Work”, and “Some Day My Prince Will Come” ringing through the air, we all said ado to our weekend of inexpensive but fun fan celebration.

Next time, I hope I’m able to attend the D23 Expo.  But the D19 Expo is a nice reminder that, as a fan of all things Disney, it doesn’t have to be about the whiz-bang shows, exclusive content, and cavalcade of stars.  Sometimes it can just be about fans and friends getting together to share something special.

Mike Jacka
Mike lives in Phoenix, Arizona and has two claims to fame. The first is that he was born the day Disneyland opened. So, yes, he is old. The second is that he is the funniest internal auditor in the profession of internal auditing. Yes, a very low bar. Yes, this is akin to being the sanest person in the asylum. So why not combine those two great achievements? Why not combine that love for Disneyland with a slightly offbeat sense of humor? I guess we'll all find out.