September 17, 2009: The First D23 Expo

[fcanfield]

Great commentary. I was there for all four days and really enjoyed most of it except for the lines. I was by myself but in a handicap scooter. This was both a curse and a blessing. I was on a fixed eating schedule and couldn't send someone to get food but many of the queues had shorter waits for wheelchairs. The food situation should be improved with longer hours and better locations. The good grill in the Arena Lobby was very hard to get to. The voucher system really improved things. I was able to attend 21 presentations and only missed two that I was interested in because of timing and queues.

The miceage crew and booth was terrific but they should take better care of the Fan groups ($$$)

[mcow1]

Nice report, Werner. Della and I enjoyed getting to spend so much time with you.

[JiminyCricketFan]

The real problem for the Expo was the lines. It could have been managed much better by using free tickets which could have given them a heads up as to the popularity of presentations. Disney has had a poor track record of these big events.

I believe that Disney was disapponted at the turn out, but I felt that with the current financial conditons it did great. I hope that Disney makes the needed adjustments to continue it in some form.

[whamo]

Interesting thread. Sounds like it was a good convention, except for the lines and frustration. I don't think I'd spend money to attend.

[kurtisaurus]

Well stated Werner, I think you hit all the main points I thought of while standing in the many lines and wondering how things could be improved. Really they did a tremendous job with putting together a ginormous show considering this is year one; most conventions start very small and grow as people find out about it and join in the years to come. As it was I think Disney managed to reach the fanbase just fine but I was surprised how many locals I chatted with in line hadn't heard anything about it until the big Iger celeb showings made the news so they dropped by on the last day to see what they'd been missing. By next year (and maybe with a less confusing name for the Expo for the casual fans) hopefully attendance will greatly improve.

Kudos also to the cast and organizers for adapting so well on the fly, things were a mess the first day or two but they kept re-adapting and figuring out how to do it even while dealing with what they already had on their plates for the day-to-day operations.

I too am exhausted. I hit the Mansion event the whole day before the Expo started so by the time I flew home to Seattle I was ready to sleep the whole next day

p.s. As previous posts from others also stated, I was surprised how few benefits there were for actual D23 members. Was the one-hour early admission the only one? Seems strange for an Expo named D23 not to have much actual recognition of the D23 members.

p.p.s. Here's hoping they allow D23 members to purchase DVDs of the sessions they missed.

[Werner Weiss]

p.s. As previous posts from others also stated, I was surprised how few benefits there were for actual D23 members. Was the one-hour early admission the only one? Seems strange for an Expo named D23 not to have much actual recognition of the D23 members.

The biggest advantage for D23 members was that the name "D23 Expo" made it sound as if the event was only for D23 members. That probably kept a lot of non-members away, making the crowd size reasonable.

Once Disney realizes this, they'll probably change the name—or at least make it very, very clear that it's for all Disney fans, not just for fans who spent $74.99 plus tax for the one-year membership/subscription.

[dcaffey]

Hi Werner -

I sat near you in a couple of those Imagineering sessions on Thursday and really enjoyed them as well.

I've alway thought Disney under estimates the level of 'fanboy' interest in the parks and resorts and I think that's why so many of the Parks related presentations where in the smallest venune - Storytellers.

While I think all parts of Disney have large fan followings, the Parks and Resorts fans are much more loyal, intense and hungry for knowledge.

[d23tigger]

Under the past timeline, it wouldn't have been possible to do more events in the arena. When guests weren't in the arena, 100% of the time was being used to rehearse the 9 events that happened over the course of the weekend.

It's a complicated ballet you know, as easy as it looks.

[danyoung]

That's a very valid point, d23tigger. As one who has made a living doing those big shows, I can tell you that for every hour of show you usually have 3 or 4 hours of rehearsal, speaker walk throughs, tech discussions, etc. If they had events more or less non-stop for the entire 4 day event, they would have had to have at least 2 weeks worth of rehearsal with all players in attendance - not really practical or cost effective.

[wec]

Hi Werner, thanks for the article! I missed the expo. However I did see "Naked Lincoln" at the Oaklnad Museum several year ago. I got a kick out of that since I'm an ammature Lincoln/Civil War historian. It was interesting reading Bob Gurr's article mentioning the Cessna landing gears being used to facilitate Lincoln sitting and standing and then seeing the actual gears close up later on. Did anybody here see those?

I do have a suggestion for a future D-23 convention. I am one of the honored few who have been in the apartment above the Disneyland firehouse. However, I have a sense of guilt about it because most people will never see it. It wouldn't be hard to recreate it temporarily for an expo event. Especially if the event is held in Anaheim. (The only reason why I got to see it is because a piece of furniture in there was sold to Walt & Lillian by my family)

I would have liked to meet with one of the Imagineers about repairing the band organ behind the Dumbo attraction at Disneyland. It's just sitting there not being used. With midi parts now available for carousel organs, they can't use the "we don't want to deal with paper rolls" excuse any more.

[mmeleota]

Great post Werner! Thanks! I wanted to meet you, unfortunately we missed you each time we were in the area of the booth (not to mention it was packed).

Hopefully there's next year....

[petdulsha]

Good post. I appriciate it