Day 958: Big News

So far in relation to the D23 Expo I've talked about the amazing people and the huge show floor, but what's really the reason we all head to the Expo? The news of course! The giant announcements for every part of the Disney company, including Disney Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney Animation, and the popular panel of the weekend, the Live Action panel!

I personally was only able to attend one of these big panels, and of course it had to be the Parks and Resorts panel! Amazingly, at the last minute, they announced that we were allowed to bring in cameras, meaning I not only got to live tweet the entire panel, but I also have several pictures of the amazing additions yet to come to the Disney parks!

The big announcement of the day, however, didn't come during the Parks and Resorts presentation though. Instead, at the finale of the Live Action presentation, the newest addition to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World was announced. That new addition? Star Wars Land!

To kick off the Parks and Resorts Presentation they showcased a short promo video for Star Wars Land, and then announced that Star Wars will be introduced to the park in more "force" over the next few months as we approach the premiere of Episode 7: The Force Awakens. The new land, however, will feature a planet we've never seen before while also featuring both new and familiar Star Wars characters. In the next few months, we can also expect to see a brand new planet on Star Tours straight out of The Force Awakens and new additions to the Jedi Training Academy. Finally, following the success of Star Wars Weekends, a new seasonal event will be coming to the Disney Parks on both coasts: Season of the Force. This event will include new custom fireworks and an update to Space Mountain at Disneyland called Hyperspace Mountain.

When it comes to Walt Disney World, the biggest news in the presentation was definitely the extra addition of our very own Toy Story Land, which will premiere at Disney's Hollywood Studios and will feature new attractions and a completely new themed land based around Andy's backyard. Growing on the popularity of Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios, this new addition will also feature a new Slinky Dog Family Coaster and Green Alien Flying Saucers beyond the secondary TSMM!

In a bit of an awkward spell, there was discussion of the new Frozen Ever After addition coming to Epcot. I definitely know I'll miss Maelstrom, and it seemed that the remainder of the audience was with me, but I'm going to put my trust in Walt Disney Imagineering and I hope you do too. Cars Land and the expansions at Disneyland brought a lot of faith for me in the amazing experiences they can produce, so I'm excited to see where this new attraction will take us as well.

And, as expected, there was lots of talk of Avatar Land, which is now officially called "Pandora: The World of Avatar." Joe Rohde gave an absolutely breathtaking presentation on the new area of Animal Kingdom along with the other advancements throughout the park. First, we learned that it will be the fireflies that host the new nighttime elements throughout the park, and that Kilimanjaro Safaris will be extended into evening hours and include two new species. The Rivers of Light, taking place on the river that flows through the park, is sure to be nothing short of spectacular, as it will incorporate light, water, and fire along with live performers for a full live-celebrating show.

Then the updates on Pandora continued, featuring a preview video and a surprise appearance from James Cameron himself! "The Flight of Passage" was officially announced as the title for the Banshee attraction, and we learned that Pandora won't be about charging in as we usually see in some of the other parks, but rather a full immerseive, detail-oriented experience that forces you to stop and admire the beauty of nature.

From there on, announcements continued for other Disney parks across the world, including a HUGE surprise from Stan Lee! Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've been in the same room as STAN. LEE.

However, the presentation didn't end there, as we continued to Soar across the world, leading right up to the announcement that both Disneyland and Walt Disney World will soon feature a brand new Soarin' experience, Soarin' over the World. I've been saying for years that Epcot's Soarin' should be updated, and from the looks of it, this new film will be sure to take us on a grand adventure!

And to finish things off in a typical Disney style, a beautiful and touching tribute to Nighttime Disney Shows from around the world concluded the presentation. Part of which you can see in my first vlog from the D23 Expo:

To be completely honest, I wasn't expecting any part of IllumiNations to be in the tribute, so when they began to sing "We Go On" I just completely lost it. I don't think I've ever cried so fast in my life! 

The future of the Disney Parks is certainly exciting, and I can't wait to soar across the world to experience as much of it as I possibly can! What part are you most excited about? I think it's definitely Star Wars Land for me, that or the Rivers of Light presentation at Animal Kingdom!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 7 due to the Disney Trip and College Move-In).

Day 957: On the Show Floor

If the D23 Expo is one thing, it's HUGE. This one convention houses every form of Disney you can think of, from Star Wars to Princesses to Marvel to Once Upon A Time and everything in between, and so much of it exists on the ever wonderful show floor, open to everyone for exploration when you're not standing in line for one of the many events.

Luckily, I had plenty of time to investigate every corner of the show floor, and I had many, many awesome finds, starting off with the absolute couldn't miss John Lasseter shirt collection! With his custom shirts for every movie from Toy Story all the way up to Inside Out, I definitely had a few favorites, which you can find in my vlog from the Expo, specifically Part 2!

Our next big find was definitely the old Disneyland PeopleMover cars on display. Jonny pretty much freaked out, and I definitely was even elated to have a chance to sit in one of the historic cars! The same can be said for a Skyway Car photo op that I finally got around to on the last day of the Expo! 

One of the most amusing things I happened to find on the show floor was definitely a familiar one! You might remember the entire fiasco surrounding the Epcot Starbucks You Are Here Mug, in which I snagged one of the original series before they were pulled from the shelves in honor of the purple monorail. So within two days I became the owner of a $200-$300 mug and was pretty impressed with myself. This one was on display at the Theme Park Connection Booth and I believe the selling price was indeed $200. I got mine for $30.

The Floor was also filled with AWESOME Photo Ops, including a few of our favorite Disney characters. I may or may not have almost taken the cardboard Flynn Rider home...

If you walked only a little ways onto the Show Floor it wasn't hard to find the real, life-size Pizza Planet truck as well. Sadly I never got around to taking a picture with it myself, but the mere idea that it was there is pretty awesome. I mean come on, it's the Pizza Planet Truck! Who doesn't want to drive that? 

Disney, of course, has many huge show floor displays, including one from Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Studios. One of the biggest films Disney is hyping at the moment is the newest release from the main studio, Zootopia, which I'm absolutely excited about. Part of their promotion was a series of logos and posters for various businesses and films of Zootopia. Here's just a couple of them...

Also one of the main displays, Avatar gave us a first look at some of the spectacular sights and experiences we'll enjoy in Pandora when it finally makes it's appearance at Disney's Animal Kingdom in a couple of years. To be completely honest, before heading into D23, I wasn't particularly thrilled about Avatar, but after these new mock-ups and presentations, I'm eagerly awaiting these new adventures that will take Animal Kingdom to the next level! More on that another day though!

Star Wars, as you can imagine, was also a huge part of the Expo, and on Sunday I had to take the time to go and meet my very favorite droid for the first time ever. Gosh, R2 was just adorable, and how kind of him to take time out of his busy schedule to visit the attendees of D23 for three whole days!

Like I said earlier, Once Upon A Time was definitely a part of the fandoms in attendance too! You can't even imagine how awesome it was to walk around the show floor and see other Oncers and just be like "These are my people." It's a theme that definitely was prevelant throughout the entire trip!

While checking out the last of the show floor with friends, I also stopped by the Target booth, where I got to make my own little animation! It was actually a super exciting experience, enough for me to make mouse ears that took just a few seconds! Plus now I have this awesome GIF! I've never been GIFed before!

And finally, a lot of my time was spent right here, at the Maker Booth! Over the course of the weekend I got to meet many of my favorite Disney YouTubers and had a real chance to visit with some new ones! YouTube has become a huge part of my life over the past summer, so I definitely felt right at home there!

If you head to D23 in the future, be sure to make time for everything the show floor has to offer because let me tell you, this isn't even the half of it! Over the course of three days I got to see so much, including stores, upcoming films, items from the Disney Archives, fellow Disney fans, tons of amazing cosplays and DisneyBounds, and lots and lots of magic! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 7 due to the Disney trip and College Move-In).

Day 956: In the Same Building

The D23 EXPO is a spectacular place, and I almost forgot just how much I missed it in the four years between the two I've attended. My first EXPO was spent mostly with my parents, getting the lay of the land and understanding this new foreign world of conventions. But this time I was ready, and I definitely met many, MANY wonderful people!

With D23 you have to keep your eyes open 24/7 for people you just might know! In fact, as I was walking to the convention on Saturday I happened to recognize Nick Pitera as he headed the same direction! I caught up to him at the stoplight and we snapped a quick picture on the other side. I think it's safe to say my hands were shaking like they were about to fall off...

I was also lucky enough to finally meet Keith Lapinig and Peter Armado! Their High School Musical Cosplay was ON POINT and they even recognized my Emma Swan outfit for the day! They're just such delightful people and I can't express to you enough how much you need to go find them on social media! 

On Saturday I happened upon some of the Thingamavlogs crew as well, and then I headed back to their meetup on Saturday because it was obviously necessary! These guys make my day. In fact, all Disney YouTubers make my day! Thank you guys for your absolutely kind comments and praise! It's because of Disney YouTubers like you that I started doing Disney videos! 

But of course, I do have one Disney YouTuber that inspired me more than any other, and that's MrCheezyPop, AKA Maxwell Glick! Getting to see Max was one of the total highlights of the convention for me, as it seems there's just never enough time to talk about all things Disney! Hopefully I'll see you again soon, whether it be back at Disneyland or at my home of Walt Disney World! 

I'm sure it's not hard to guess the other highlight of the convention for me though. If you don't know already, I'm a HUGE OUAT Fan, so attending the panel at the D23 EXPO was basically a dream come true. And you know what, as if it wasn't good enough being in the same room as Ginny, Lana, Adam, and Eddy, they just had to go and throw in Josh Dallas too. I was in the same room as Josh Dallas. I'm still not over it. 

However, the D23 EXPO was FILLED with surprise guests all over the place. While I wasn't able to attend the live action panel (WHY DIDN'T I?!?), I CAN say that I was in the same building as Harrison Ford, which is the closest I've ever gotten ever. Additionally, I was in the same building as George Lucas, Johnny Depp, Ellen, Chris Evans, and Dick Van Dyke, and also in the same room as Disney Legends Richard Sherman and Marty Sklar, as well as the one and only Stan Lee! Add in the OUAT Cast and all the other awesome people and it makes for a really awesome weekend! 

If you went to the D23 EXPO, who did you get to see, and if you weren't there, who would you WANT to see? Let me know in the comments below! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 2 due to the Disney Trip and College Move-In).

Day 925: A Month Till D23

It's been four years since my last adventure to California, and two years since the last D23 Expo, so to say I'm excited to return for the 2015 D23 Expo this August would be an understatement. I attended my first expo back in 2011, a happy coincidence based on when we were scheduling our first ever trip to Disneyland. Since then I've had an increased appreciation for Disney, and I honestly think that D23 and Disneyland played a large part in really bringing me into the extremely large Disney Fandom. After all, I think many of us have that awkward stage somewhere in Middle or High School where Disney doesn't seem as important anymore...mostly because our friends are all falling out of the Disney love and it no longer seems like the cool thing, so we play it down. But D23 brought it all back out for me, and that's why I'm THRILLED to be returning this year!

If you've never attended a D23 Expo, just know that it's HUGE. Think of pretty much everything Disney related all in one place. I'm talking Lucasfilm, The Disney Parks, Marvel, ABC, Disney Movies, Pixar and on and on. Everything. All together. For one weekend. It's Comic Con but for Disney, and this year I know what to expect going into it, and definitely have a few stops planned out already!

For those of you who might not know, I'm a HUGE fan of OUAT, although if you've read my blog for any amount of time that shouldn't be hard to figure out. That's why I've been waiting for MONTHS, actually more like over a year, for ABC to announce anything Once Upon A Time related, and let me tell you, they didn't let me down! I'm absolutely excited to announce that, for the first time ever, I'll be there for the Once Upon A Time panel at a convention, and I fully plan on waiting to get autographs from Lana Parrilla and Ginnifer Goodwin! I'm also hoping to attend the Muppets Panel on Friday morning, so be sure to keep an eye out for me at both events if you're attending the EXPO as well! For more information on these panels, you can find it HERE on the official D23 Website!

As for the rest of the EXPO, I'm saddened that due to conflicts with the OUAT Panel and Autographs I won't be able to attend the Disney Parks Presentation, which is the one big presentation I'm usually excited to attend. It seems that the chance to meet Lana, Ginny, Adam & Eddy won out this time. That's alright though, as my parents will still be at the presentation, so I'll get caught up on everything via them! I will, however, be hopefully attending the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios Upcoming Films presentation on Friday in Hall D23, and I'll definitely be around the show floor and grounds the entirty of the three days! Keep an eye on my Twitter and Instagram for more information as we get closer to the event!

I do believe I get more excited for the D23 EXPO every single day, with chances to meet some of my favorite actors and actresses as well as get the inside scoop on everything Disney and meet many of my fellow Disney YouTubers and Bloggers!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on July 20 due to technical difficulties).

Day 907: #WDIS4U

A few months ago (has it really been that long already?) I shared the story behind when my love of Disney started, but in typical Disney fashion, I had to make a video to go along with it, and there's a bit extra to the story this time too!

Of course, you can hear the whole story about how my love of Disney really took off with the Millennium Celebration at Epcot in the video below, but I want to know how it started for all of you? I've been a Disney fan as long as I can remember. I've grown up with the company and the parks and I couldn't be more thankful for that. But that's the point of this entire campagin. The reality that each of us have our own individual stories to tell, but with Disney we can come together as one.

See what I did there? Illuminations references for the win.

So watch my story and then let me know how it all started for you in the comments below!

If you're not already following my YouTube channel, be sure to do so and check in every Tuesday for new Trip Vlogs and every Friday for a new Friday Funday video! 

Have a magical day!

Day 268: My Disney Collection V5

Hello all! It's time for another edition of My Disney Collection. Again, as I said last time, you should have this down, but if you're just joining us, here's the basics: I write a blog called Everyday Disney, and I try to write everyday. If I can't write I go back and make it up, but in reality I have one blog post for every day of the year. Either way, I have several series of posts going on, one about my favorite Youtube Videos, one on my favorite Disney things and then this one. The My Disney Collection Series, which now has FIVE parts, and if you haven't seen the others or want a refresher, here's the previous ones!  (V1 V2 V3 V4). Just click one of links right there.

This volume of the My Disney Collection series focuses around something that all of us Disney Parks fans seem to have: a pin collection. Like everyone else I have a whole bunch of pins, and I won't be able to talk about every single one, but I will show you them all and mention a few of my favorites.

We'll start with a transition set from the last Disney Collection Volume, Epcot pins. Now back when I went to the D23 Expo in 2011 I was able to get my hands on some awesome pins, including these two beauties right here. The one on the left if a Walt Disney Imagineering pin. I have no clue if there's any importance otherwise to it, but it's beautiful and I like to think it's special. The other is a 1980's pin that I picked up. Equally beautiful, and certainly one of my more treasured pieces.

Speaking of the D23 Expo, that's where I got these next couple of pins. You can see my Disney Geek pin right there, which I actually used as a part of my FBLA speech my senior year. And below you can see my D23 Expo pin as well as my treasured 1st visit to Disneyland pin. I've always wanted one of those, and now I have one!

Back to Epcot pins, since I have a lot of those. Of course, as you could tell from the last post, I got just about all I could from the 30th anniversary merchandise, and that certainly includes pins. They had a mystery set of 30th anniversary pins with Figment, so I have the Living Seas pin and the Horizons pin from that. Below is a special one I picked up back in July 2013 when there was still a bit of stuff left from the celebration. It's one of my favorite pins because it opens and on the inside you have the characters standing looking at the globe from Illuminations and the saying "To all who come to this place of joy, hope and friendship, Welcome" from the dedication of Epcot. 

Next is another set of pins I got at D23, which was put out by Walt Disney Imagineering. My brother has the entire set of Epcot Symbol pins but I just got this one, which I really do adore. I mean, I do love Spaceship Earth, after all.

Finally getting out of some of the Epcot stuff, I have a collection of Holiday pins. My family often times would go to Disney for Thanksgiving, and that means that Holiday pins are out, and sometimes they have pins specifically for thanksgiving as well. I almost always get the pin from Old Key West, because doing anything else would just seem wrong. 

Then we move on to the next shadow box, which is also pretty much completely filled with pins. Below you can see a few of my favorites as well, including my Mickey Aviator Pin, the Elle Badge from Up (Honestly my favorite pin of all time) and my I Mickey New York pin that I got from the Disney Store in New York when I went in 2012. 

And then we come to our last specific set I'll talk about, although there are tons of other pins that I have. Back in November 2012 I was searching for one set of pins (actually I had been searching in January as well), and I just wasn't finding them. After searching all of January I just figured they weren't made anymore and gave up. But then my parents went on Tower of Terror. Now my brother and I generally just sit that one out and instead go around taking pictures or go on Star Tours or something. Well it just so happened that we headed into the store at the end of ToT that time and we were over by the pins when he goes "Hey Lizzie, it's Han Solo!" and I was like "WHAT" and he was like "Look" and he pointed right at that pin down below this. He had found the sole Han Solo pin (lol...no pun intended). Of course I bought the entire set right away and have loved them ever since. Can't get much better than Han and Leia and Chewie on Pirates! 

And that concludes the pins. Down below you can see my entire three shadowboxes. The third one is new, since I officially ran out of room in the first two after my trip in July, so now I have a third. It's kind of interesting trying to get them all to fit, both in the boxes and then on my shelves, but I make it work. Pins are never a bad thing, after all.

If there's a pin you'd like to see more closely, just let me know and I'd be happy to share a picture with you! 

In the next volume of my Disney Collection I'll share the Disney in my closet, which honestly has gone from zero to tons in the last year or so. It's actually kind of ridiculous. And then after that I honestly don't know what I'll do, but it will be December, so most likely it will be a holiday edition! You don't know me at all if you don't think I don't have Disney Christmas Decorations! 

The month isn't over, so here's today's Frumpstagram post with the title "Regal." Honestly nothing is more grand than Club 33!

Here's today's Disney History: 2009: The final performance at the Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island, Florida takes place as part of Congaloosh 2009 (a weekend long convention to celebrate the popular Adventurers Club). 

Have a magical day!