Disneys “D23” Fan Expo sprinkled fairy dust all over Anaheim this weekend!
The D23 (Disney 1923) Fan Expo took place over this past weekend on August 9, 10, & 11, 2024 in Anaheim, CA at various locations. All of the worlds of Disney, including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more, came together and provided an ultimate fan weekend full of presentations, panels, experiences, performances, shopping, and more!
The central Expo fan location was the Anaheim Convention Center. Fans were treated to a magical mix of goodies throughout the convention floor. Immerse activations, never before seen imagery and creations from imagineers where available to experience, there were creatives and celebrity hosted panels, multiple shopping areas with limited and exclusive Disney merch, giveaways, photo Ops, and more spread throughout the area. Here’s a look at some of the convention center floor sites throughout the expo from the Official D23 event guide website.
On top of the main site offerings, on Friday August 8, 2024, thousands of fans descended upon The Honda Center for The Disney Entertainment Showcase. This event gave fans a full look at what’s to come from The Walt Disney Company from franchise news, creative avenues, expansion, longevity, and innovative advances.
Creatives, Disney leadership, and celebrities were all in attendance to announce, reveal, and discuss multiple news from Disney. From actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the magical news was overflowing as fans watched never before be trailers for upcoming movies like Moana 2 and Mufasa, cheered as new movie announcements like Incredibles 3 is in the works, as well as gleefully and shockingly “OMG’ed” when news of a “Villains World” being added to Magic Kingdom was announced.
Among the boatload of dazzling announcements, Day 2 was the Disney Experiences Showcase. Chairman Josh D’Amaro laid out bold plans for new cruise ships, lands, attractions, shows, and storytelling platforms during Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, featuring performances from Meghan Trainor, Shaboozey, Rita Ora, and more. Plans for four new cruise ships and details about six new themed lands and areas that will bring guests deeper into the stories they love, including Monsters, Inc., Cars, Indiana Jones, Encanto, Avatar, The Lion King, and the classic Disney Villains. D’Amaro announced plans for 14 all-new attractions featuring those stories and more, such as the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the first-ever ride-through attraction themed to Cococoming to Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort, inviting guests to join Miguel on a trip through the Land of the Dead. Among the five new shows and nighttime spectaculars coming to Disney Parks around the world is Disney Starlight, an all-new nighttime parade set for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.
“Everything we share here tonight is in active development. This isn’t Blue Sky….we’re doing all of it,” said Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro on the Honda center stage as Thu serous applause rang out.
Other noteworthy news and announcements over the 3 day fan expo came at the Disney Legends Panel and from the Marvel portion of the showcases.
Marvel CEO Kevin Feige was on hand to give the crowd looks at the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again, Agatha All Along, and Iron Heart, as well as an extended trailer for the next Captain America installment Captain America: Brave New World. The Iron Heart cast hit the stage to preview and watch the teaser with fans and the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps appeared virtually with a short message before the teaser for film was shown.
More anticipated films and series such as Walt Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2, Pixar’s Toy Story 5, Disney’s Snow White, and Frozen 3 saw first looks at the expo.
Lastly, the Disney Legends showcase hosted by Ryan Seacrest was held on the final night of the expo.
The Walt Disney Company honored 14 new Disney Legends who have left an indelible mark on the company’s historic legacy. The 2024 honorees included Colleen Atwood, Angela Bassett, Martha Blanding, James L. Brooks, James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Miley Cyrus, Steve Ditko, Harrison Ford, Mark Henn, Frank Oz, Kelly Ripa, Joe Rohde, and John Williams.
“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor our company bestows, it’s presented as a celebration of talent, a recognition of achievement, and, above all, a sincere expression of our deep gratitude. Disney Legends are bound by the special place they have earned in our history for their tremendous contributions in service of entertaining and delighting fans around the globe.” -Bob Iger Disney CEO
This year’s ceremony was the largest in the 37 years since the first Disney Legend was honored, with a Hollywood-level production with video tributes, guest appearances, musical performances, and more that brought the magic of this monumental event to even greater heights. Also for the first time, the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony will be available to stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning Monday, August 12 at 2pm PT/5pm ET.
Find out more about this magical and star studded fan event held every 2 years in Anaheim as well as how to become a D23 member here: https://d23.com