The big event on Friday was the preview of upcoming movies and shows and the stars were on hand to tout “Frozen 3”, “Coco 2”, “Hexed”, “Star Wars: Starfighter”, “Zootopia 3”, “Avengers: Doomsday”, “The Incredibles III”, “Gato” “Lilo & Stitch 2”, and so many more. Television fans also got a look at the upcoming seasons for Star Wars: Ahsoka and the new Marvel series VisionQuest.
My day on the main from of the convention center was an absolute joy as my wife and I were joined by our Granddaughter who last attended in 2022 and was very happy to visit the various booths that Hulu offered and take pictures with the decoration and props as she collected stamps to be redeemed for an exclusive pin.
I opened with a visit to the Hulu presentation and was treated to a 4D experience with vibrations, water, wind, and amazing 3D.
To say that the main floor is sensory overload would be an understatement, as so many aspects of the company as well as various vendors are on hand. We saw a collection of props from the Uncrated area that had everything from an egg from “Alien Covenant” to The Ark of the Covenant, and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. from “The Black Hole”.
Booths celebrating Pixar, Disney on Broadway, Star Wars, “The Blue Movie” “The New Simpsons Movie”, Disney Vacation Club, and more were on hand. I loved seeing myself frozen in Carbonite as I snapped pictures of the props and costumes. There was a great exhibit for the Lorcana game as well as Magic the Gathering and a create your own sauce display from Heinz to add to the fun.
The Marvel booth also wowed as it was a continuation of the Time Variance Authority from 2024 and featured The X-Men, and “Avengers: Doomsday”.
The Avatar display combined props and designs from the film series along with a 4D section where we were treated to amazing 3D, water and wind effects and scents where we could smell the vegetation of Pandora along with the ash from the volcanic region.
This is just a small sampling of the floor and we were constantly finding new things to enjoy. The look at the upcoming attractions was a delight as seeing the models and animatronics remains an incredible experience.
I covered a Legends panel with Alan Tudyk, Kim Irvine, Susan Egan, and Eric Goldberg where they discussed their careers and gave great insights. They would later join the other new members on Sunday for the full induction.
I also got to cover a panel on Walt Disney which featured all kinds of rare footage of Walt appearing in trade spots, promos, and segments which gave a new look into his legacy.
Saturday night saw Genevieve and Charli going to the Honda Center for the big showcase of what was coming to the parks and Disney Cruise line and Neil Patrick Harris join an array of stars for a celebration of sight and sound from this lively event where details of future park and cruise offerings were revealed.
There was so much to see and do that it is impossible to properly capture all the great things that were at the show. I told my representatives that the expectations for the show are always very high and for me they were exceeded as the main floor alone was spectacular and the panels were amazing even though we only covered a small amount of them.
There is a D23 Asia event in Singapore in 2027 and we are already looking forward to the 2029 show and to see what comes next.
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