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D23 Expo recap

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Wed, 09/16/2009 - 03:20
shelleyg74
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D23 Expo recap

I will post something a bit more formal but I wanted to get a few thoughts down before it got too far away:

[ul][li]All in all it was one of the most incredible Disney experiences I will probably ever have in my life[/li][li]Disney seemed to learn as the days went by on how to make things run smoother[/li][li]Disney did not have a good sense of what their audience for this event would be. They held panels in rooms that were way too small while the 4k seat arena sat empty the majority of the time. Anything that had to do with Imagineering or "old school" Disney was high in demand. I think it surprised them what we actually wanted to see
[/li][li]To ensure you got into things you had to wait a minimum of 2 hours or so to make sure you made the cut[/li][li]Some panels/keynotes I was able to attend: Bob Iger/Legends, Dick Cook (2nd row) Jay Rasulo, John Lassetter, Toy Story 1 & 2 Screening, Remaking It's a Small World w/Tony Baxer, The Boys screening with Richard Sherman and the ABC TV preview. The only thing I really wanted to to and couldn't get in was the Afternoon with Imagineering Legends.[/li][li]I was somewhat disappointed in the Archieves stuff (way too much HSM/HM/Disney channel stuff) I guess I wanted to see more older Disney history
[/li][li]Time management was not very good on Disney's part. They were not prepared to handle the amount of people for Iger's keynote and ended up starting 30 minutes late. Due to that I missed the Beauty and the Beast panel.[/li][li]After Dick Cook's presentation on Friday all other presentations paled in comparision. [/li][li]I got to meet Lucky and WALL-E (2nd most favorite part of trip)
[/li][li]It was a very long 4 days. By the middle of day 4 I was beat.[/li][/ul]I will have a more detailed thoughts in a few days but wanted to get out some quick thoughts to you guys
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Wed, 09/16/2009 - 14:01
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Shelley, thanks for the info. That's really good analysis for being so close to it. I think it's particularly interesting that Disney didn't realize the history stuff would be so popular. 10 minutes on dismarks and they would have realized that. I have a theory that it shows that they know their "broad" audience better than they know their hardcore audience. Did that seem to be the case? Were the expectations tailored more for what a casual visitor would be interested in?

Wed, 09/16/2009 - 16:59
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Shelley -- thank you! These are some great thoughts. I agree with cdub that Disney might not know their "hardcore" audience -- or maybe they do, but they felt compelled to "broadcast" things like HSM/DisneyChannel, even when they knew it wouldn't be as interesting to this group.

I feel like the "free gifts" Disney gave to D23 members (like the old-school fan) when they first signed up means that they DO understand the desire for Disney history. No idea why they wouldn't give those seminars bigger rooms!

I was shocked to hear the amount the Disney archives tour went for!

Thu, 09/17/2009 - 02:59
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Great recap, Shelley. VERY interesting that Disney didn't really have things completely straightened out in the beginning. I imagine next year's Expo will go without a hitch.

2 hours waiting to secure your spot in certain seminars?!? ARGH!

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Thu, 09/17/2009 - 03:33
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Shelley,

Was the Beauty and the Beast panel where they discussed the changes to Fantasyland?

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 01:30
shelleyg74
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no, the Beauty and the Beast panel had the director and other animators who were involved with the movie as well as Paige O'Hara.

The Fantasyland stuff was during Rasulo's presentation. IMO that was the worst presentation of all (started 30 minutes late, scheduled for an hour and still ended ahead of time, nothing was announced that hadn't already been talked about online for weeks)

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Fri, 09/18/2009 - 01:36
shelleyg74
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cdub wrote:
Shelley, thanks for the info. That's really good analysis for being so close to it. I think it's particularly interesting that Disney didn't realize the history stuff would be so popular. 10 minutes on dismarks and they would have realized that. I have a theory that it shows that they know their "broad" audience better than they know their hardcore audience. Did that seem to be the case? Were the expectations tailored more for what a casual visitor would be interested in?

I would have to agree with that. I really think that Disney tried to make it have broad appeal, they just underestimated the numbers of hard core Disney fans who would be there. Maybe they were expected more of a day visitor type attendance. Thurs and Friday there were more 4 day people, but you could see alot more colored wristbands on Sat and Sunday. (4day people had a silver wrist band)
One of the things that appealed to me about the expo was getting to see/hear/meet people who actually had interaction with Walt. There are fewer and fewer of them left and my opportunity window to meet them is getting smaller and smaller. I others may have felt the same way which is why those panels were high in demand.

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Fri, 09/18/2009 - 03:13
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shelleyg74 wrote:

One of the things that appealed to me about the expo was getting to see/hear/meet people who actually had interaction with Walt. There are fewer and fewer of them left and my opportunity window to meet them is getting smaller and smaller. I others may have felt the same way which is why those panels were high in demand.

That must have been incredible. That's one of the reasons I believe Disney is still so dominant. People are still there who knew Walt and what his decision-making processes were. I wonder what will happen in upcoming generations.

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Fri, 09/18/2009 - 15:00
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Really appreciate the info, for those of us who couldn't go. Were there any other "lowlight" presentations?

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 16:44
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Excellent details. I bet Disney learns a lot from this shakedown cruise and people will see improvements next year. There will be one next year, right?

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Fri, 09/18/2009 - 22:10
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The 2 hour wait sounds tiring. If only they could create some kind of club you had to join to get into those things! silly

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 22:40
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When the schedule was first released, I was heartbroken that I couldn't be there for a lot of it. Some of those discussions and seminars seemed too good to be true. And while you reported on the fact that it didn't go as smoothly as one would've liked, I still wish I were there. Like a previous poster said, hopefully next year's will be better organized.

I agree about the Rasulo presentation. We hardcore fans knew about that stuff before he 'broke' it at D23. I guess one thing it accomplished was that it verified it, but I think most of us knew it wasn't a rumor. It all made too much sense to not be true.

I would've loved to have seen Tony Baxter and to have seen the Disney Legends presentation.

I'm surprised Disney didn't plan better for the Disney history seminars, since it's just that type of fan that D23 is marketed towards.

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Sat, 09/19/2009 - 03:49
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Imagineer wrote:
When the schedule was first released, I was heartbroken that I couldn't be there for a lot of it. Some of those discussions and seminars seemed too good to be true. And while you reported on the fact that it didn't go as smoothly as one would've liked, I still wish I were there. Like a previous poster said, hopefully next year's will be better organized.

I agree with that. Looking forward to finding out about next year's expo. You don't have to be a D23 member to go, do you?

Tue, 09/22/2009 - 03:42
shelleyg74
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No you don't have to be member to go.

I have heard a rumor that they will NOT be holding one next year

Also me and the 3 other members of my NFFC club who went to the expo recorded an interview/roundtable with the Disney Dudes podcast last night. We talked for over 3 hours. I think they are going to have to cut into 2 shows. While were were talking all 4 of us had several complaints but we also all agreed that it was an incredible experience and we are so very glad we were there.

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Tue, 09/22/2009 - 17:36
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shelleyg74 wrote:
No you don't have to be member to go.

I have heard a rumor that they will NOT be holding one next year

Also me and the 3 other members of my NFFC club who went to the expo recorded an interview/roundtable with the Disney Dudes podcast last night. We talked for over 3 hours. I think they are going to have to cut into 2 shows. While were were talking all 4 of us had several complaints but we also all agreed that it was an incredible experience and we are so very glad we were there.

Do you have links to the shows?

Wed, 09/23/2009 - 01:27
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shelleyg74 wrote:
No you don't have to be member to go.

I have heard a rumor that they will NOT be holding one next year

Shelley -- where did you hear this? That'd be unfortunate. sad

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Sun, 09/27/2009 - 00:15
shelleyg74
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dsoup wrote:
shelleyg74 wrote:
No you don't have to be member to go.

I have heard a rumor that they will NOT be holding one next year

Also me and the 3 other members of my NFFC club who went to the expo recorded an interview/roundtable with the Disney Dudes podcast last night. We talked for over 3 hours. I think they are going to have to cut into 2 shows. While were were talking all 4 of us had several complaints but we also all agreed that it was an incredible experience and we are so very glad we were there.

Do you have links to the shows?

Part 1 of the show is up! Warning NSFW or kids

www.disneydudues.com or on itunes

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Sun, 09/27/2009 - 14:06
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Thanks Shelley.

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