D23, The Official Disney Expo 2011 - Daily Journal

[Donald Duck]

Introduction

Greetings, Programs! Welcome to the first Fantasmic Dreams D23 Expo Coverage! This coverage might also end up being the last of its kind for all I know, but, hey!

This thread will serve as my text-based journal of my experience in the D23 Expo. I will post entries in this thread every night during the trip, right before I go to bed. The expo won't actually start until Friday, August 18, but the first thing I will detail will be Thursday's Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament. That tournament will start Thursday, and eventually end Friday. I think.

Please don't post in this thread until my first entry (the Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament, Thursday night). After that, you're free to discuss the D23 news coverage here as I post them. Thanks for reading! I'll do my best to be a competent reporter of Disney news!

[Donald Duck]

The Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament - Thursday, August 18

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Today was the first half of the Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament. I woke up at 6:20 AM to prepare myself, and I waited in line outside of the Anaheim Convention Center. The line was single file, and I made two new friends: Juliana and Michelle. The three of us would be together that morning.

It wasn't until 7:30 AM when the line started moving. I waited for my turn, until I was ordered to approach the Convention Center's front doors. Once at the entrance, you are asked a random trivia question. If you answer correctly, you enter Round 2. If you're incorrect, you go back to the start of the line and try again, until the doors are closed.

I didn't need to go back, though! My entrance question was insultingly easy: "What animal is Thumper?" I forgot what Juliana's question was, but Michelle's was, "What Disney attraction has 999 happy haunts?"

This was my first time in the Anaheim Convention Center. Not a bad place! The three of us were led to a large room, where Round 2 would take place. Here are two pictures I took, before I had to turn my phone off.





Round 2 was hosted by a gentleman who had a really kickass accent. I think it was an Greek accent, though I could be wrong. Austrian, maybe? Wow, I suck at recognizing accents! Anyway, we were all given a Scantron and a pencil, and we took our seats.

Round 2 consisted of 50 multiple choice questions, and we only had 30 seconds per question. The questions, coupled with the introduction and instructions, ensured that Round 2 took about 30 minutes.

The questions in Round 2 were varied. 70% of the queries were simple. 20% of the questions were trickier. The remaining 10% was a violation of the Geneva convention.

The easiest question asked was No. 1: "Which of the following characters is not a member of the Fab Five?" Dopey.

The worst was the last question: "Which of the following names is not a character in 2006's Air Buddies?" Everyone in the audience groaned at the same time at that question. It was awesome!

So, I did my best! I'm going to check my results at around 2 PM. If I didn't pass, that's the end for me! If I passed, I'll have to return at 3 PM and enter the next round.

TO BE UPDATED!

---

Take a look at this page:
d23.disney.go.com/news/2011/08/moving-on-to-round-3/

My name is Joseph Label. I PASSED ROUND 2! Oh, my God, I'm so happy! Anyway, I'm gonna have to leave for Round 3 very soon. Adios!

TO BE UPDATED!

[Rapunzel]

I'm rooting for ya hon...know that I'm there in spirit...and that I love you, no matter if you win or lose.

[Captain Eo]

How awesome is that? Congrats on moving to Round 3!

LOL, they would slip a question about Air Buddies in there...

[Jafar]

Good luck Joe!

[Justice, The Cloaked Cavalier]

"I hope you win! I hope you win!"

Chanted like Jack Lemmon in The Great Race, in case anybody's ever seen that film.

[Donald Duck]

Thanks a million for the encouragement, guys! You're the best! Well, I have a lot to say about the Trivai Tournament, but I'm gonna have to wake up in less than six hours for the first day of the expo, and I need precious sleep. Let me just say, I only made it to the bridge between Round 3 and tomorrow's semi-finals. No, I didn't make it to the semi-finals (I'm eliminated), but I made it to the top 26 of the 1000 (give or take) that gave the tournament a shot. It was an absolute joy to have made it so far, and to have met so many wonderful, kind, sweet, intelligent people. In fact, I already made a new friend for life! Juliana, you're awesome!

So, I'm out of the tournament, but it's a blessing in disguise; if I made it to the semi-finals, I would have missed Dick Van Dyke in concert. I really didn't want to miss that, so, I won either way!

I'll talk more about the Trivia Tournament when I can, but for now, it's time for bed. Good night!

By the way, I saw Richard Sherman in a Disneyland Hotel bar (Trader Sam's, which is awesome). He was to my immediate right. Awesome times!

[Donald Duck]

D23 2011 Expo Day One - Friday, August 19

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My sister, our friend, and I got up bright and early (though not as bright and early as when I entered the Trivia Tournament!) and entered the Expo. We wandered aimlessly first, getting acquainted with the general layout of the main hall. Then we got in line for the Disney Legends ceremony, and would wait for about an hour. My sis insisted I take a few moments to look around, while she saved my spot in line. I couldn't pass up this offer, so I looked around.







I saw a lot of animation cels, sketches, and concept artwork (the cheapest I found was, like, $160), and I also got in trouble rather quickly!



I WANTED THIS SO BADLY.

But, all is not awkward! Guess who I saw? Actor Doug Jones had a booth. I got his autograph and had a friendly chat. In fact, a very friendly chat; Jones is actually really, really nice. He actually pronounced my last name correctly (most people erroneously refer to me as La Belle). I told him his performance as the Pale Man freaked out some of my friends, and he took it as a sincere compliment (I did intend it that way!). Doug signed a photo of Billy Butcherson from Hocus Pocus (whom he played), and wrote "To Joseph -- MMMMMMPH!!! Doug Jones." We then had a very brief talk about movie special effects, as he reminisced playing Billy with special make-up and effects. I told him I've always subscribed to the tangible make-up and effects over CGI camp, and he agreed enthusiastically. Then, when I had to go, I offered my hand for a shake. He did one better! He hugged me. He is a sweet, charming, wonderful man.



I also met voice actor Matthew Wolf, who voiced Thor in some animated features. I felt so bad not getting his autograph; I said "I'll be back!" but I never could, because I would be busy for the rest of the day.

Back to Disney Legends! Disney CEO Robert Iger introduced the ceremony via pre-recorded video (he's on vacation with his family, the brutally honest CEO!). So, this year, the Disney Legends was hosted by Tom Bergeron.









The Disney Legends Ceremony was, in a word, awesome. Jodi Benson, Lea Salonga, Paige O'Hara, Linda Larkin, Anika Noni Rose, Regis Philbin, and Ray Watson were present to receive their Disney Legends trophies. The posthumous recipients were Jim Henson, Guy Williams, Barton Boyd, and Jack and Bonita Wrather.


Paige O'Hara is a Broadway actress and singer best known for providing the voice of Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, its sequels, series and games. She also starred as Angela in the Disney film hit Enchanted. O'Hara has also been vocally featured in the Disney videogame Kingdom Hearts and as Belle on the 64th Annual Academy Awards® (Disney).




Jodi Benson is an acclaimed voice actress and soprano singer who provided both the singing and speaking voices for Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels. For more than 20 years, Benson has voiced Ariel in film, television, video games, toys and at Disney Parks. She also starred as Sam in Disney's Enchanted and voiced Barbie in the hit Disney·Pixar films Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, plus Weebo in the film comedy Flubber (Disney).




Anika Noni Rose is a renowned actress and singer who provided the voice of Princess Tiana in Disney's The Princess and the Frog. In addition, some of her Broadway, television and film credits include her Tony® Award-winning performance in Caroline, or Change, the blockbuster feature film Dreamgirls, and television series including The Starter Wife and The Good Wife (Disney).






Linda Larkin is a celebrated actress and popular voice performer best known for providing the voice of Princess Jasmine in the Disney animated feature Aladdin, its sequels, spin-offs and television specials. She has also been vocally featured in the Disney animated television series House of Mouse and the popular Kingdom Hearts video games (Disney).




Lea Salonga is a celebrated actress and singer who provided the singing voice for two Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin, and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II. In addition to her recording and television career, Salonga's vast Broadway credits are highlighted by her performance as Kim in Miss Saigon which garnered her numerous awards including a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics' Circle and Theater World Awards (Disney).



I am not ashamed to admit it: the ceremony got me teary-eyed at one point. Just to see those women sing live was such a thrill.

Paige O'Hara singing


Lea Salonga singing


Anika Noni Rose singing


Jodi Benson singing, followed by quartet



Ray Watson was President of The Irvine Company when he was asked to join the Board of Directors for Walt Disney Productions in 1973. Watson's early tenure on the Board saw the expansion of Walt Disney World, the 1976 opening of River Country — Disney's first water park, and the opening of EPCOT Center, in 1982, which at a cost of $1 billion was the largest private land development project ever at that time. In 1983, Watson was elected as Chairman of the Board and after stepping down as chairman 1984, remained on the Board until he retired in 2004 after serving the Company for 30 years and establishing a worldwide reputation as a real estate development visionary (Disney).




Barton "Bo" Boyd began his career at Disney 1968 as an Assistant Merchandise Supervisor at Disneyland. Continually advancing over the course of his 33-years with the company, Boyd was an integral part of the team creating merchandise specifically for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. In 1997, he was named Chairman of Disney Consumer Products where he oversaw such initiatives as Licensed Merchandise, Walt Disney Records, Hyperion Press, the entire line of Disney magazine products, Disney Catalog, Disney Interactive for computer games and educational software, ESPN — The Store, Walt Disney Classics Collection, Walt Disney Collectors Society and the establishment of the first Disney Store outside the grounds of the Disney Parks (Disney).



d23.disney.go.com/expo/articles/images/061611_BN_DisneyLegends_feat12.jpg
Guy Williams was an acclaimed actor who starred in the hit Disney television series Zorro and two feature films, The Sign of Zorro and Zorro the Avenger. Williams' charming portrayal of Zorro helped galvanized the character in the public's imagination and made the series a favorite among the Baby Boomer generation and beyond. His other popular television credits include the hit series Bonanza and Lost in Space.




Jack and Bonita Wrather struck a deal with their friend Walt Disney in 1954 to build a luxury family hotel on property adjacent to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Ground was broken on March 18, 1955, and the hotel opened six and a half months later — 104 rooms in five two-story buildings at a starting room rate of $15. The Disneyland Hotel, originally conceived as simply lodging, presaged future developments in how Americans entertained themselves, pioneering, as Jack's son Chris wrote, "new forms of dining as entertainment, shopping as entertainment and the use of a waterfront setting" in an urban environment. The Disneyland Hotel has since played host to kings, queens, presidents, entertainment and sports legends and families from around the world (Disney).






Regis Philbin is an Emmy Award-winning, cultural icon who has entertained millions of people through talk shows, game shows, books and albums for more than 50 years. For the past 23 years, Americans have woken up to Philbin, thanks to the nationally syndicated hit talk show LIVE! with Regis and Kelly, which originated in 1983 when Philbin created The Morning Show for WABC in New York. In addition to his daytime success, Philbin launched ABC's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire into a primetime powerhouse and hosted a variety of shows including NBC's America's Got Talent, CBS' Million Dollar Password, and the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (Disney).





And last, but definitely not least...


Jim Henson an Emmy® Award-winning television producer and Oscar®-nominated film director, was an American puppeteer and the creator of global phenomenon, The Muppets. The cross-cultural appeal of The Muppets propelled television shows like Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and Fraggle Rock to new heights. The success of these series led Henson to explore feature films including The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, as well as the technologically ground-breaking fantasy classics The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. The Muppet legacy continued with popular Disney films such as The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, as well as the upcoming The Muppets, premiering this November (Disney).





Jeez, watching Kermit and Rowlf live really melted my heart...

After the awesome Legends ceremony, I met John Musker! And guess what? He was pretty cold and aloof. I was brushed off--but politely brushed off--by one of my idols. Sweet!

I saw a lot of Disney Legends in attendance. Bill Farmer, Russi Taylor, Kathryn Beaumont (I LOVE YOU, KATHRYN!!), Tony Anselmo, Floyd Norman, etc.

I saw the aforementioned Princess voice actors right in front of me, but I couldn't meet any of them.



After the Awards Ceremony, we walked around for a bit.





Hours later, we attended the Disney Parks & Resorts panel. Here are the news.

• Carsland is coming to California Adventure
  
• California Adventure is getting a restaurant modeled after the Carthay Circle Theatre, where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered. From my understanding, the building will only house a restaurant. Not sure if there will be any movies playing there while patrons dine.
  
• A Dwarfs Mine roller coaster (with innovative, rocking carts) is coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The Little Mermaid Ride will also have a different (ahem, better) queue, modeled after Prince Eric's castle. Fantasyland's expansion was talked about.
  
• Disneyland Shanghai is coming. Its castle will be by far the largest Disney Park castle ever; not only will it be multi-storied and house a restaurant, but it will also have--for the first time in any Disney Park castle--a ride.
  
• Disneyland, in my opinion, got the short end of the stick: we're getting a Fantasy Faire, which is another Princess thing aimed at kids. And we get a pole. And we get to wrap ribbons around it. Yay? A Lumiere audioanimatronic is also being created for the Fantasy Faire, and it will supposedly be one of the most technologically advanced animatronics yet.
  
• Disneyland's Club 33 is getting 'expanded,' somehow
  
• Circle-Vision 360 is going to return to Disneyland, as is America the Beautiful. However, it is unknown where and how it will return, and if America the Beautiful will be a remake or remastered.
  
• Disney's Hawaiian resort, Aulani, is shaping up very nicely. A teenage boy and his mother won a free trip to its grand opening, which will happen later this month.
  
• New Disney cruise ships.

And the Dick Van Dyke concert was a jolly old time. The man may be 85, but he's still spry, witty, and charismatic. Put simply, he looks great!





Richard Sherman was also in the audience.



Dick Van Dyke did flub quite a few lyrics, but considering the man is 85-years-old and was up "well past his bed time" (in his own words), you can forgive him. Actually, the fact that he's Dick freakin' Van Dyke excuses any flubbed lyrics. The man is awesome, plain and simple!

And thus ends the first day of the expo.

[Donald Duck]

D23 2011 Expo Day Two - Saturday, August 20

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Again, I'll edit this post and explain things better later. Here's just a list of Disney news, from the (fabulous) Inside the Walt Disney Studios Panel.

• John Lasseter hosted a good portion of the panel. The primary host was the Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Rich Ross.
  
• The next movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios will be Wreck-It Ralph. It's about an 8-bit video game villain who's unsatisfied with his life. The first four minutes of the movie (mostly animatics and storyboards) were screened. If you're not really into video games, this movie might not do much for you. But to video game fans, we were all in stitches. We giggled consistently, and it looks really adorable. John C. Reilly voices Ralph, and other voices include Sarah Silverman and Jack McBrayer. The latter two actors were present with the movie's director, Rich Moore.
  
• Monsters University was discussed by director Dan Scanlon. Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance.
  
• DisneyToons Studios is creating the first-ever direct-to-video movie based in a Pixar 'universe,' Planes. Present was Jon Cryer, who voices the main character in that movie.
  
• Tim Burton's Frankenweenie looks like an awesome return to form after the disappointing Alice. Tim wasn't present, but he did send a behind the scenes video. A puppet of Sparky was brought out. The movie is filmed in black and white. It's worth noting that this is a stop motion feature-length remake of Burton's live-action short film from years ago. And here's a surprise: NO Johnny Depp. Though I believe Helena Bonham Carter is voicing a character...
  
• Brave was discussed extensively. We saw a lot of unfinished/work-in-progress footage. We were also told a big secret that I, unfortunately, swore not to tell... for now.
  
• Pixar announced two new movies: Untitled Pixar Project about Dinosaurs (concept art was shown), and Untitled Pixar Project about the Human Mind. The former is about dinosaurs if they never became extinct, and the latter is about... the human mind. Nothing was really talked about beyond that premise.
  
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green was announced. Jennifer Garner made an appearance to discuss it, and she stars in the movie. It's about an infertile couple who write what kind of kid they would like on scraps of paper, lock it in a wooden case, and bury said case. A kid 'grows' overnight, and has magical powers. It looks odd to be sure, but it's from the same guy responsible for What's Eating Gilbert Grape? It looks to be a tear-jerker.
  
• Disneynature's Chimpanzee was explained. Friggin' cute.
  
• Oz: The Great and Powerful was discussed. It's coming in 2013, and Sam Raimi, on video, documented some behind-the-scenes footage. The concept artwork is beautiful.
  
• Andrew Stanton is directing his first live-action movie, John Carter, based on the Mars book series. Stanton explained his love for said book series, and Willem Defoe, accompanied with two other actors from the film, entered and discussed the movie. The movie looks to be a mixture of comedy and sci-fi action/drama.
  
• Jason Segel, Kermit the Frog, and Miss Piggy appeared and discussed a bit about The Muppets. It got some big laughs, like Wreck-It Ralph. A woman screamed, "I LOVE YOU, KERMITT!" and Kermit, without dropping a beat, replied, "Thank you. I love you, too!" Good times.
  
• Finally, arguably the most anticipated movie project, The Avengers, was discussed. Marvel big guy Kevin Feige was present, as well as a lot of its cast showed up: Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye). Humorously, footage of The Avengers was screened twice; once without the cast, and again with the cast present on stage. Why? The cast hadn't even seen it... and the audience went nuts!
• No mentioning of the two mystery Marvel movies in development whatsoever. They're still publicly unknown!

As for self-indulgent events, I met and received autographs from Bruce Boxleitner (Alan Bradley/Tron), Cindy Morgan (Lora Baines/Yori), Bill Farmer (Goofy), and I met Tony Bancroft. All of them were very kind!

Whew. That's all I have time for. Again, I'll update all of these posts later. Adios for now!

---

Ooh, flashy. This picture was a mistake of mine, but it's kinda pretty, isn't it?


I couldn't snag the picture in time. Herc and Meg got some love.

I attended the world premier of The Lion King 3D, which was introduced by producer Don Hahn, and directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. And some other guy whose name I forgot. Sorry!





Sharing the audience with us was animator and director Tony Bancroft, whom most of you know as the directing animator of Pumbaa, and one of the co-directors of Mulan. I met him after the show, for an autograph. But I knew that Heffy loves Pumbaa, and I figured... what the hell, I'll ask Tony Bancroft to dedicate the autograph to Heffy, not me.



Aren't I a nice friend? I mailed the autograph (which was in a pretty cool journal) to Heffy afterward.

And that was Saturday!

[greatprince]

Sounds like not making it to the finals worked pretty nicely out for you (Dick Van Dyke is kinda awesome XD). Congrats on getting into the top 26!

Aside from the faux-nice woman who confronted you about recording the Mother Gothel doll, that expo sounds like its been quite awesome! Glad you've been having such a good time there.

Oh, I am dying to know what this secret about Brave is... I am also excited for Avengers and Frankenweenie.

Excise my ignorance, but what work has Regis Philbin done with/for Disney?

[Detective Elisa Maza]

Aug 21, 2011 8:47:29 GMT -8 @greatprince said:

Excise my ignorance, but what work has Regis Philbin done with/for Disney?

Digging around Wikipedia...the only thing I'm seeing, aside from brief cameos in one ep of the "Lilo and Stitch" series, and one ep of "Phineas and Ferb", the only two things it could possibly be are, "Live with Regis and Kathie-Lee/Kelly" and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", mainly, I think, since Disney accquired the ABC Network in 1997.

[Donald Duck]

Yeah, Amanda speaks the truth. But Regis also hosts some kind of major Walt Disney World winter event every year. Yeah. That was the most recurring question of the day: "What the hell has Regis done for Disney?" Anyway!

D23 2011 Expo Day Three - Sunday, August 21

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This was the final day of the expo. It was also the least interesting for me, but that's not to say I didn't have a fun time. The only major panel I attended was the Marvel Comics panel. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. It was really just the history of the company, lectured by Joe Quesada. A teaser for Disney XD's upcoming Spider-Man animated series was played, as was the more mature Thor/Loki: Blood Brothers. There was also a Q & A panel, but it was ridiculous and repetitive. The people basically asked the same question over and over again, and Quesada mostly replied, "No, I don't know why we don't have a booth here." It was definitely the weakest panel I've attended.

Afterward, I visited the Treasures from the Disney Archives gallery, and it didn't disappoint. I was allowed to take non-flash pictures of the props, costumes, and artwork. Unfortunately, the entire gallery was very dimly lit. Though most of the display cases were internally lit, most of the props that were outside of said display cases were shrouded in darkness, so some pictures are simply not too good. But I did my best. I was especially delighted to find props from Hocus Pocus, and Tron's costumes.

Also in the gallery was the 101 Dalmatians 50th Anniversary fan art contest. The winner was the wooden head of Cruella, though my personal favorites are the layered paper cut-outs, as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean/Dalmatians painting. You can find all of these pictures bundled in a zip folder, via the link below.

www.mediafire.com/?it2mrno9mk2i783

The last two things I did were meeting Bill Farmer again, and politely asking if he could record a message for Collin, as a present. I'm such a fanboy, and if he said no, I would have agreed with him immediately and drop it. Thankfully, he is a very sweet and kind man, and agreed!

I also got a present for Amanda, but I'm not telling.

Well, that's it! That's all I have to say about Sunday. That, my friends, was Fantasmic Dreams's first-ever media event coverage! It probably won't ever happen again, so don't be surprised if I retire as a journalist here and now. I will edit my previous posts later when I get the video clips together. Until then, thanks so much for reading!

[Zummi Gummi]

Ah, I see. I also remembered that Regis was a guest star on the Hercules animated series. Guess he received his trophy for doing all the things you and Amanda mentioned.

Can't wait to see those video clips!

[Lucky]

same here

the 101 Dalmatians stuff was awesome in those pics Joe, man I wish I could have seen those props from the live action movie up close.

[Donald Duck]

Friday is updated! Check out the videos!

[Dreamchild]

Friday and Saturday have been updated. I will update Sunday sometime this weekend.