From August 9-11, 2024, Disney held their biennial D23: The Ultimate Fan Event in Anaheim, CA. My husband, sister, and I attended for the first time as guests, and overall, we had a BLAST. As hardcore Disney fans, we learned about so many cool things from Disney filmmakers and Imagineers, we got a ton of free swag, and we attended some awesome shows and panels. However, it was definitely not all sunshine and roses. So let's talk about my experience at D23 as an Event & Travel Planner.
About D23
Per D23's official website, "D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa is a one-of-a-kind, multi-day fan experience showcasing the very best in creative storytelling and innovation from across the worlds of Disney. D23 in 2024 has been reimagined to be more expansive and more immersive than ever before, with three packed days of showcases with stars and storytellers, sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes moments, thrilling performances, shopping, surprises, and more." Essentially, the D23 Fan Event is a expo/fan con tailored to Disney lovers specifically.
D23: The Ultimate Fan Event is a 3-day event taking place every two years primarily at the Anaheim Convention Center, just minutes away from the Disneyland Resort. However, this year, for the first time since its 2009 debut, they separated out their main showcases to a separate venue and ticket. The main showcases include the Disney Entertainment Showcase (featuring trailers, news, and performances from upcoming Disney Animation, Marvel, Star Wars/Lucasfilm, Disney Theatrical, etc. shows and films), the Disney Experiences Showcase (featuring concept art, news, and performances based around upcoming Disney Parks attractions/experiences, Disney Cruise Line ships, and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media like video games), and the Disney Legends Ceremony (where they award those who have made significant impacts on the Disney brand and legacy).
Apart from these showcases, however, there was TONS going on over at the Anaheim Convention Center, including the main show floor featuring both various Disney brand booths and Disney partner booths, various talent signings, exclusive panels & discussions, and various unique experiences such as AVA Fest (based on Abbott Elementary) and the TVA Orientation experience (based on Loki).
This year, D23 introduced a few new features to improve guest experience, including the use of Virtual Queue for popular shopping venues, an advance reservation system for most panels, discussions, and talent signings, and expanding the "campus" of D23 to include food trucks without having to leave and reenter (and go through security) at the ACC.
Our Experience - Day 1
We attended all three days of the main event at the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC) as well as all three of the Honda Center showcases. Although I live in LA, we did stay at a nearby hotel in Anaheim for the evenings of the event. Each morning at 4am, D23 held their Virtual Queue (VQ) for several shopping locations via the Disneyland app. We all entered the VQ and got early spots for two shopping locations. So we started our Friday morning then, and as soon as we were ready to go, we headed to Anaheim.
We got to the ACC around 6am on Friday and parked at the Convention Center. We immediately scanned our tickets, went through security, and headed in and were placed into taped boxes on the ground acting as the entry queue. Then, we waited till the event started at 9am.
They officially opened the gates and let people in starting at about 9:20am. We headed to the stage right by the entrance first to take some pictures with the special D23 photo opps and see Ashley Eckstein introduce the day's activities, and then headed to the back of the ACC to get in line for our VQ, which was already called.
I will get into this below, but getting to the back of the Convention Center the first morning was a nightmare. But eventually, we got back to the store we needed to get to, bought some merch, and headed to our first panel reservation, The Music of Marvel. The panel featured composers, songwriters, and music supervisors on several Marvel movies & TV shows from Ant-Man to WandaVision. The panel was EXCELLENT! It was super insightful and we even got a sneak peek / listen to the new theme for the new Fantastic Four film.
We then got some food and headed to another shopping location at FigPin to get the new Sora glow-in-the-dark pin! We spent the rest of the afternoon just getting a lay of the land, exploring the show floor, and getting some of our freebies for being D23 Gold Members, Disney+ subscribers, and Disney Visa cardholders. Before we headed to the Honda Center, we did a Standby line to meet Ron Clements, an animator and director on some of Disney Animation's most prolific films, including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Moana, Princess and the Frog, and even Treasure Planet.
We were on the road to the Honda Center by car around 5:30pm. It was an easy drive over to the Honda Center, but we were a little shocked by the parking situation over there. While the parking at ACC was in a garage connected directly to the ACC, the Honda Center parking was a good 15 minute walk in the sun from the Honda Center, which would have been all right if we hadn't been standing and walking all day in hot cosplay/bounding outfits. Nevertheless, we headed to the Honda Center and got to our seats, way up in the nosebleeds of the 400s section. However, we actually had a FANTASTIC view. We were pretty much dead center and could see everything. Although the seats were tight, they weren't majorly uncomfortable.
The first showcase was the Disney Entertainment Showcase at 7pm, where we saw trailers, posters, and performances from movies like Moana 2, Zootopia 2, Toy Story 5, Captain America, Mandalorian & Grogu, Mufasa, and more. We loved getting new glimpses into what's coming down the pipeline for Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and more! It was a ton of fun. While the showcase was scheduled for 2 hrs, it ended up being about 3-3.5 hrs. We returned to our car and the hotel, and got to bed around 11pm-11:30pm.
Our Experience - Day 2
At 4am, we started our next day with another round of Virtual Queues, getting prime spots for some of the main marketplaces. However, after the exhaustion of Day 1, we decided to go back to sleep and "sleep in" until 5:30am since our hotel's free breakfast was at 6am. We got ready, ate breakfast, and got to the ACC at about 6:30am-6:45am. They put us in the taped box queues again, and similarly to Day 1, started letting people in at about 9:20am. However, this time, there was a bit of a cluster getting in, as they started letting people in who were closest to the front gate/entrance rather than by who got there first, so there was a bit of a kerfuffle.
We headed in and went straight for some of the "Great Pin Pursuit" activities that they were doing, as they had had long lines on Day 1. We started with AVA Fest, then explored the Disney+ pavilion, and the Disney Animation pavilion. Then it was time for shopping - this is when we spent some good money, getting some art prints, pins, sweatshirts, and other collectibles we liked.
By this point, we were pretty wiped - our feet hurt from all the standing and walking, and we were tired from our short nights. We decided to take a break, get some lunch/dinner, and do more "chill" and lowkey exploring without waiting in lines.
We once again drove to the ACC and Honda Center that day, as we heard that the shuttles were a bit of a nightmare. That night's showcase at the Honda Center was the Disney Experiences Showcase at 7pm. We didn't quite know what to expect, since they wouldn't be showing as much trailers and videos, but this one was AWESOME. It was packed with news, amazing performances and celebrity appearances, and was just super entertaining. If we had to only choose one showcase to go to next time, it would definitely be this one.
Once again, this showcase went WAY over time. It was scheduled for 1.5 hrs, and ended up being over double that, ending at about 10:15pm. Once again, we got back to the hotel and in bed by around 11pm.
Our Experience - Day 3
We did the same thing all over again on our last day - woke up at 4am for the VQ (but didn't get anything this time), went back to sleep until 5:30am, got breakfast at 6am, and packed up the car and got to the ACC by car around 6:45am-7am. This time, they finally figured out how to get the taped queues properly configured so those who got there first went in first at 9am. This morning was definitely the smoothest!
That morning we went straight to the TVA Experience, as it had massive lines all weekend. We went in pretty quickly, and this experience was AMAZING. Super immersive, and had some really cool costumes and Imagineering in it. From there, our focus for the day was to hit all of the last things we hadn't done yet. My husband did the Avatar/Pandora experience, I went and visited other shopping and Disney booths, and we took the day pretty chill. We had our last panel reservation for Inside the Studio, which was a panel about voice acting where prolific voice actors did some scenework for us. It was so cool to see and hear the voices of characters like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald!
This day was shorter for us, as the Disney Legends Ceremony started at 5pm instead of 7pm, so we had to leave the ACC as soon as the panel was done. But it was no problem, and we got there just in time for the ceremony. The Ceremony was extremely well done, and did an amazing job at honoring the new Disney Legends. It had tons of great performances and celebrities as well, so it was a really fun time. But of course, as with the other two showcases, it was scheduled for only 2 hrs while it turned out to be 3 hrs!
Now that we gave an overview of our time at D23, let's discuss the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the event!
The Good
Overall, the event was FUN. We had a blast and there was never a dull moment. Let's go over some of the things that made D23 awesome:
Guest Experience at ACC & the Honda Center: The overall experience was entertaining, full of energy, and had lots of unique and awesome content. The other people attending were kind, there was lots of amazing cosplay and Bounds, and we met some amazing content creators. And of course, the Showcases at the Honda Center surprised me with their news, performances, and cameos, especially the Parks/Experiences Showcase. The Experiences Showcase blew us out of the water!
Free/Included Experiences & Swag: There was a good variety of things to do and free swag to grab. I LOVED the unique experiences this year, including AVA Fest, TVA Orientation, and the Pandora/Avatar walkthrough. There were a TON of photo opps, shopping booths, and games and prizes all around. We have a large shopping bag full of free stuff from hats, to pins, to tote bags, to Mickey ears, to posters, and beyond. Overall, there was tons of interactive elements, which I find key to a positive guest experience.
New Security Location & Queuing Area: I heard the queue to get in to the ACC in the morning used to be a nightmare, due to security being at the ACC Building's doors instead of at the "campus" entries. I thought that it was very easy to get in and get set up inside at the queue (and out of the sun) from 6am-9am. So I think that was an awesome change that made guest experience much better! In addition, because security is now at the campus entries, the food trucks were on the campus this year and it was SUPER easy to get food at one of the trucks and head back in, as you didn't need to scan your ticket or go through security again. These are awesome changes from previous years!
Showcases at the Honda Center: I think the shift to doing the Showcases at the Honda Center was overall an amazing choice. Based on the size and spaces of the ACC, it was clear to me that if you wanted to attend these Showcases in prior years, you would definitely need to wait in queue for several hours, eating up precious time to explore the expo, and even then, you might not be guaranteed to get a seat. Plus, the seats at the panels in the ACC were pretty tight and uncomfortable. Moving these extremely popular showcases to the Honda Center seems like the right move, as they could fit 12,000 people and you got tickets as opposed to having to wait for hours. Even if it cost more because of the separate ticket, I think the value was well worth it to me as a guest.
The Idea of Utilizing VQ & Reservations: I think the idea of the reservation system and the VQs had the right idea, and did help in some ways, but also had some missteps which I will discuss below. I did appreciate being able to plan more of my day with set reservations for some panels and of course, the Honda Center Showcases.
Jam-Packed Schedule: The schedule was packed with engaging panels and content, so you really had to pick and choose what you wanted to do. But we loved all of the panels, signings, and shows we went to at the ACC - they were extremely well done, always started on time, and were packed full with fun stuff.
Disney Celebs Everywhere!: There were Disney celebs around every corner all weekend long! I define a Disney celeb as a prominent voice actor, animator, Imagineer or Disney All-Star, often who the general public may not know or recognize, but the average Disney fan would. We met or saw Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, Jon Favreau, Ron Clements, Bob Gurr, Jodi Benson, Paige O'Hara, Bill Farmer, and so many more at the ACC or D23 Day at Disneyland Park. Plus, we saw both Disney celebs and full-blown celebs all weekend at the Honda Center!
D23-Adjacent Experiences: I loved the addition of D23 Day at the Disneyland Resort. It was extremely well done and got everyone there pumped for an awesome weekend. I didn't attend any of the other events, but I loved that there were D23 experiences in Anaheim all week leading up to the expo.
The Bad
Like I said though, the experience was NOT all sunshine and roses, so let's talk about what didn't work as well:
Panel Reservation System: The panel reservation system was EXTREMELY frustrating and misleading. Essentially, a week or two before D23 they allowed you to enter your top choices for all of the Panels/Discussions, Talent Central signings/meet & greets, and some of the experiences like the Lucasfilm pavilion and the Pixar Ball Giveaway. Not a lot of information was given on how your reservations would be picked or how many you would get. Was it a lottery? Would you get top choices for each day? How many entries should you put in the system for the best luck? Because of the lack of clear information and a lottery-based program, most people got 0-2 reservations for the weekend and were extremely frustrated by this. For these experiences, you COULD standby, but you pretty much had to get there 1-2 hrs beforehand for any chance to get in. This was made even worse in the Talent Central area, where typically only 10 or so people got let in from Standby and not until the last few minutes of their signing/m&g, so you could wait for 2 hrs and still not get to do the signing or meet & greet. We saw a lot of disappointed and upset people, and a lot of those feelings had to do with the Reservation system. I'm not sure what to change, as having guaranteed panels are nice. Maybe they need to have a designated number of standby seats/spots for each experience, or have more experiences be standby only.
Virtual Queues: Waking up at 4am each day was BRUTAL. What's worse is waking up at 4am and STILL not getting a spot in the Virtual Queue. We were pretty lucky with getting our spots on Friday and Saturday, but friends of ours said they woke up early each day and never got any Virtual Queues. It was pretty cutthroat and you had to be refreshing every second up to 4am to have a chance at it. There was another VQ at 1pm each day but we had no luck with that one all weekend, nor did our friends. The Virtual Queue was the ONLY way to access most of the main shopping experiences, so if you didn't get one, especially on Friday or Saturday (as most of the popular stuff sold out by Saturday afternoon), you were SOL. This led to a frustrating and negative guest experience for a lot of people. I wish there had been both a Virtual Queue AND A Standby line for the shopping experiences or something, so at least everyone had a chance.
Shuttles to Honda Center & Back: We did not personally experience this, so I can't speak on this fully, but we heard about and saw the chaos that was the Honda Center shuttles after the Showcases each night. From what I heard, you really needed to add in about 1-1.5 hrs of travel time to and from the Honda Center each night in your schedule. At the end of the night, everyone left the Honda Center and it was just a MOB scene at the shuttle pick-up area. I couldn't tell you who was in line and who wasn't, or where you were supposed to go or wait, etc. Plus, the Honda Center did not allow bags, so there was also mass chaos at the bag checks at both the Honda Center and the ACC. Again, I didn't experience this firsthand as we stored our bags in our cars or the hotel, but it seems like the baggage and the shuttle situation was just a nightmare. This was obviously the first year of this new system, so hopefully next time they can make improvements in signage, add more shuttles, and add more bag drop areas.
Pricing: D23 has gotten more expensive, both from general price increases and from the addition of the separate ticket for the Honda Center Showcases. We did the cheapest available seats at the Honda Center events, and our tickets were about $324 per person for the weekend, plus all of the other ancillary fees (parking, food, hotel, etc.). The most expensive tickets went for $2,599 per person, guaranteeing you a floor-level seat at the Honda Center and access to the ACC all weekend. This has priced out a lot of people, especially when the Showcases used to be included in the D23 base ticket price.
The Ugly
Now, I want to speak on the disasters of the weekend - the things that everyone had something to say about when I spoke to them about my experience at D23. Here's the "ugly" truths about this year's event:
Lines, Lines Everywhere: Everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING had a massive line. Want to go start the Great Pin Pursuit? Line. Want to experience the TVA or Pandora Experience? Huge line. Want to see a panel/discussion that you HAVE a reservation for? Line. Want to go to your Virtual Queue shopping experience when called? Line. Pretty much everything we learned to build in an hour wait for. All of the Virtual Queue shopping areas except D23 Marketplace took us at least an hour to get through, as did all of the various show floor experiences (both the big ones like the TVA and Pandora ones AND the smaller ones like the FX booth, AVA Fest, and The Descendants Booth). Even some of the photo opportunities had lines! For the panels and experiences you had reservations for, you had to arrive 30-45 minutes early, and if you were waiting standby, you could expect to wait 1-2 hrs. I had a great time and we got a lot done, but we would NOT have if we didn't make a plan each day, or if we only went 1 or 2 days instead of all weekend. It's frustrating for guests to spend so much money and wait in massive lines all day. To be fair to Disney, this is a problem with ANY massive con/expo. I'm not sure if they just need to decrease the amount of tickets they sell, or if there's some other alternative I'm not thinking about, but the lines / massive amount of standing was a major deterrent from me returning to D23 in the future.
Lorcana Fiasco: Okay, this is something that people who didn't attend the expo probably didn't hear about, but EVERYONE heard something about if they attended Friday's event. Essentially, Ravensburger owns a Disney-themed Trading Card Game (TCG) called Lorcana, and this game has MASSIVE appeal. Since its inception in 2023, it has grown massively popular and card packs frequently sell out at game stores. Of course, Ravensburger / Lorcana had a booth at D23 right off of the "Main Street," the main walkway going down all Halls of the ACC. They even had a special D23-exclusive promo set of cards! So what happened? Well, there was no system in place for the Lorcana booth, despite its massive popularity, so when the expo opened at 9am on Friday, a mob of people rushed to Lorcana to get their hands on the new stuff. When I say a mob, I mean a MOB. This massive rush of people turned into not just a mob, but an angry mob, as Disney cast members, ACC workers, and Ravensburger workers tried to ease the situation. Essentially all of the Main Street was filled to the brim with Lorcana fans, and they were packed in to the point that people started pushing, shoving, yelling, etc. It got so bad that D23 shut down Main Street, and Disney sent in high level execs to diffuse the situation for those within the mob. Due to the closure of Main Street, it was highly difficult and confusing for all other guests to get to the back Hall, especially first thing on the first day of D23 when no one knew where anything was yet. They had to stop letting people into the ACC as a whole, so if you didn't arrive before 9am, you may not have gotten into the ACC until 10am-11am. Eventually they cleared the situation, and from there, they developed a wristband/callback time system for Saturday and Sunday that appears to have eased the situation. However, given the huge popularity of this game, I'm in awe of how poorly managed this situation was handled. They should have had the wristband/callback time system from the start. Always know your audience!
No Clear Instruction or Management for Staff: If you know me, you know I love my Disney Cast Members. Which is why it broke my heart to see such severe mismanagement of staff members involved at the ACC. I heard misinformation and conflicting information from staff members at the ACC (unsure who was ACC staff, Disney Cast Members, or other hired staff) on a regular basis. When in line for the Moana 2 photo opp, I saw a CM almost cry because she was trying to cut off the line, while one manager came over and told her to let people in line, and another came over and told her she needs to keep the walkway clear and cut off the line. While looking for the standby line for the Ron Clements signing, we asked multiple times from multiple staff members where we were supposed to go or when to line up, and got different answers every time. Talent Central was a nightmare due to this. The "closing lines" like at the Moana 2 photo opp continued to be a problem all weekend. Lines would close due to reaching capacity every 5-10 minutes, and staff members were directed to close the line. People would ask the Staff Member when the line would open again, and they said "5 minutes," which led to people essentially just joining the queue from a few feet back. It was clear to me that the communication to staff members was unclear and no one seemed to know what to do. All staff should have been made aware of the floor policies (no lines extending into walkways) and what to do to manage situations around those policies (like when lines close, or just where people should line up). There should have been clear systems in place for how every line was supposed to operate. However, it seems like many of the staff were unclear and unsure of what to do, and their managers didn't know either.
Conclusion
So there you have it - D23: The Ultimate Fan Event was a ton of fun, and overall, an extremely entertaining time for any hardcore Disney fan. However, there are lots of improvements to be made, including line management, solving the shuttle situation, and managing pricing. Would I go again? Absolutely. But I really hope they listen to guest feedback and make changes to improve guest experience, because at the end of the day, that's the most important thing about D23.
If you attended D23, what did you think? Would you go again? If you didn't attend, would you attend in the future? Let me know in the comments below!
-Jill
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