From July 14–16, 2017, D23 Expo brings together all the wonderful worlds of Disney under one roof at the Anaheim. The show kicks off on Friday with the Disney Legends Award Ceremony at 10AM. Scheduled to appear are Mark Hamill, Wayne Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Julie Taymor, and the great Stan Lee. It ends on Sunday at 6pm with the Legends of Walt Disney Imagineering panel. Host John Stamos will lead a conversation between Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter and Wayne Jackson. In between, the Anaheim Convention Center will be filled with with screenings, celebrities, exhibits, presentations, and much more!
Here are 11 fun facts about D23 Expo 2017:
- This event marks the fifth D23 Expo. Previous events took place in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
- Guests are arriving from all 50 states and 33 countries.
- D23 Expo 2017 takes up 961,228 square feet of the Anaheim Convention Center including show floor pavilions, presentations, and exhibition spaces.
- 408,402 square feet of carpeting will be used to cover the floors of the Anaheim Convention Center during the event.
- More than 161 presentations, panels, concerts, demonstrations, meet-and-greets, and sneak peeks will take place during the Expo.
- More than 800 products will make their debut at the D23 Expo in the Disney Dream Store, Disney Store, and Mickey’s of Glendale.
- Nearly 100 stars from ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior will be making appearances at D23 Expo 2017, including stars from Once Upon a Time, The Fosters, Shadowhunters, black-ish, Descendants 2, General Hospital, DuckTales, Fresh Off the Boat, American Housewife, Elena of Avalor, and Tangled: The Series.
- Hundreds of iconic and never-before-seen items will be on display in Walt Disney Archives Presents––A Pirate’s Life for Me: Disney’s Rascals, Scoundrels and Really Bad Eggs. The 12,000-square-foot exhibit includes unproduced artwork, attraction vehicles, Audio-Animatronics figures, as well as props and set pieces from the film franchise.
- Thousands of fans are expected to cosplay as their favorite Disney characters or Disney Bound with a fashionable dapper twist.
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will showcase the creative process of bringing new Disney park experiences to life in A Galaxy of Stories, an exclusive look at the new Star Wars-themed lands currently under development for Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Showcasing models, artwork, media, and a fully detailed model of the overall vision, the pavilion will bring the galaxy far, far away to the Anaheim Convention Center.
- There are 61 vendors in the D23 Expo Emporium from fine art dealers and toy makers to travel agencies and Disney fan sites. Be sure to visit the LaughingPlace.com booth where my book full of Disneyland stories is for sale.
If you plan to be at the D23 Expo we’d love to have you send us any photos from the floor to share with the rest of our readers here on The Disney Blog. Drop us an email or reach out via a message to our Facebook page.