D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name D23 refers to D for Disney and 23 for 1923—the year Walt Disney founded the company. Membership comes in two levels, free and gold. Membership includes Disney twenty-three, yearly gifts, events, exclusive merchandise offers, and discount and early access to the D23 Expo fan convention.
History
introduced D23 on March 10, 2009, during the company's annual meeting. D23 had a booth at San Diego Comic-Con in 2009 and held by the first D23 Expo on September 10–13, 2009. In March 2010, D23 announced that the expo would be biennial instead of annual, and Destination D events would be held in the off year. In February 2013, the Walt Disney Company Japan announced the first D23 Expo Japan would be held on October 12–14, 2013. In April 2013, D23 and TCM Festival teamed up for the 75th anniversary showing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Kirk Douglas hosted the showing of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea newly restored from original camera negatives. Steven Clark stepped down as head of D23 in late September 2013. In January 2014, Adam Sanderson took over as Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications with oversight of the Disney Archives. At the November 21, 2014 weekend event, Destination D, Sanderson indicated that the silver level of membership was being discontinued. In October 2018, Disney Cruise Line began showing Disney at Sea with D23, a 30 minute entertainment news show that covers the many Disney subsidiaries with input from D23, starting with the ship.
Events
Events include:
D23 Expo biennial
Destination D a smaller biennial event alternating with the Expo.
*Attraction Rewind Disney's Contemporary Resort; Mickey's of Glendale pop-up shop and Treasures of Walt Disney Archives, containing Disney Parks collectibles and memorabilia and New York World's Fair Disney collectibles; Tomorrowland sneak peek
Advance screening
Disney studio lot screening of past animated films with panel discussion
Lunch with a Legend
D23 Day: Walt Disney Studios and Archives members tours held three times a year
Member VIP studio tours available to Gold members and are during the work week and include a Disney Legend lunch and a unique VIP gift
Light Up the Season original an annual event for employees to mark the start of the holiday season, D23 members have their own version on the studio lot which consists of carols, cocoa, and a tree lighting.
Member Night at Newsies—On Tour
Behind-The-Scenes Experiences
Member mixers at Disney stores, 2nd time in 2016, member only mornings of shopping, discounts, games and goodies
The D23 Expo returned for its second time at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on August 19–21, 2011. Closely resembling the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, the Expo's show floor added pavilions for Disney Channel, Radio Disney, the Collector's Forum, Walt Disney Studios, Disney Living, Disney Corporate Citizenship, and Disney Interactive Media Group. The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives has expanded by since the Inaugural D23 Expo. The show floor also featured a new pavilion, similar to the Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion from the D23 Expo 2009, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts's Carousel of Projects which shows the highlights of the developing projects coming soon in Disney Parks around the world. Shopping opportunities included the D23 Expo Dream Store returning from the inaugural Expo. Other D23 Expo-exclusive stores included Mickey's of Glendale from Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, California and the Walt Disney Archives Treasure Trove from the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California. Other stores include A Small World Village and a Disney Store in the Disney Living Pavilion. Another popular area was the Collectors Forum, where guests could buy Disney Collectibles and connect with the Disneyana Fan Club, Mouse Planet, Mice Chat, Hidden Mickey author Nancy Temple Rodrigue, and artist Brian Rood with his one-of-a-kind The Rocketeer. Events took place at the D23 Arena, Stage 23, Stage 28, the "red carpet" at the Talent Round-Up area, Storytellers Stage at the Disney Living pavilion, and at the Disney Channel/Radio Disney stage. The Disney Channel stage held performances from Coco Jones, China Anne McClain, a first look for Radio Disney's N.B.T., and a karate exhibition from Leo Howard. Guests also had the chance to meet and greet the cast of Good Luck Charlie, Jake and the Never Land Pirates and The Never Land Band, Lemonade Mouth, So Random!, Phineas and Ferb, Kickin' It, Fish Hooks, A.N.T. Farm, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Pair of Kings, and Shake it Up. at the 2011 Expo promoting The Avengers. Stage 23 hosted many events involving sneak peeks to projects from The Walt Disney Studios and ABC Studios including The Avengers, The Muppets, Brave, Monsters University, Once Upon a Time, and , and the celebration for the 25th Anniversary of Pixar. Stage 28 hosted Walt Disney Imagineering panels for the Disney Cruise Line, Cars Land, Buena Vista Street,,, "The Voices of the Parks", and vintage photos and videos of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The first rounds of the UDTT were held on August 18, 2011 which narrowed from thousands to one hundred and from one hundred to 20. It was hosted by Dan Roebuck who narrowed down the final round from 20 people to 3. After two full days of trivia questions, John Kurowski was declared the winner of the inaugural Ultimate Disney Fan Trivia Tournament. His name was engraved on a Ludwig Von Drake trophy which was preserved in the Walt Disney Archives. Kurowski also won a preview cruise on the Disney Cruise Line's Disney Fantasy ship which set sail to the public in 2012. The D23 Arena hosted many milestone events only at the D23 Expo. This was the second time that the Disney Legends ceremony had taken place in front of guests at the D23 Expo; it had originally been held at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. At the expo, the company honored 12 people who contributed to The Walt Disney Company. This included Jodi Benson, Barton Boyd, Jim Henson, Linda Larkin, Paige O'Hara, Regis Philbin, Anika Noni Rose, Lea Salonga, Ray Watson, Guy Williams, and Jack and Bonita Wrather.
2013
The D23 Expo returned for a third time on August 9–11, 2013 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Disney officials later estimated attendance to be around 65,000. The Walt Disney Studios presented exclusive looks at live-action films including Saving Mr. Banks, Maleficent, Muppets Most Wanted, Tomorrowland, and , as well as animated productions such as The Good Dinosaur, Frozen, Party Central, and Get A Horse!. Lucasfilm had its first appearance at the expo with the panel "Crash Course in the Force: Star Wars Saga 101" hosted by Pablo Hidalgo. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts showcased pavilions relating to Avatar Land, future Star Wars attractions, Marvel’s Avengers Academy on the Disney Magic, Disney Springs, and Shanghai Disneyland.
D23 Expo Japan 2013
The first D23 Expo Japan was held October 12–14, 2013 in the Maihama area at the Tokyo Disney Resort. This expo celebrated multiple anniversaries, 90th anniversary of the company, Tokyo Disney Resort’s 30th, Disney Channel’s 10th, Disney Mobile’s fifth, the Disney–JCB Card’s fifth and Dlife’s first.
2015
The fourth D23 Expo was held on August 14–16, 2015 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios presented first looks of The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Zootopia, Moana, Toy Story 4, and Coco. Marvel Studios presented footage from ' and concept art from Doctor Strange, while Lucasfilm presented a look at '. Walt Disney Pictures showcased Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, , Pete's Dragon, The Finest Hours, and Queen of Katwe. In addition, the logos for The Incredibles 2 and Cars 3 were revealed. Disney Interactive held presentations on several video games, namely Star Wars: Battlefront, Disney Infinity 3.0, and Kingdom Hearts III. The presentations featured new in-game footage, trailers, and reveals. The presentations also included surprise announcements and special guests. At the conclusion of the Walt Disney Studios presentation, Bob Iger made a surprise announcement that Disney was developing a new for both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Additional presentations included "Disney on Broadway: The Originals" celebrating the stage adaptations of Disney films by Disney Theatrical Productions, "FROZEN FANdemonium - A Musical Celebration!" which celebrated the music of Frozen, and a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of Toy Story.
D23 Expo Japan 2015
The second D23 Expo Japan was held on November 6–8, 2015 at the Tokyo Disney Resort.
2017
The fifth D23 Expo was held on July 14–16, 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios presented first looks at Ralph Breaks the Internet, Incredibles 2, and Coco. Lucasfilm presented a behind-the-scenes look at ', Marvel Studios presented a first look at ', and Walt Disney Pictures presented first looks at A Wrinkle in Time, Mary Poppins Returns, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and the live-action remake of The Lion King The cast for the live-action remake of Aladdin was also announced. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts revealed that both new Star Wars-themed lands in Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios would be called and presented a scale model of the land in its pavilion on the expo floor. There were additional presentations for and Olaf's Frozen Adventure, as well as a presentation celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Hercules. The New York Times estimated attendance for the 2017 expo at around 100,000 people.
D23 Expo Japan 2018
The third D23 Expo Japan was held on February 10–12, 2018 at the Tokyo Disney Resort.
2019
The sixth D23 Expo was held on August 23–25, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios presented extended looks at Frozen II, Onward, Soul, and announced Raya and the Last Dragon. Marvel Studios presented first looks at Black Widow, The Eternals, and announced Black Panther II. Lucasfilm presented a behind-the-scenes preview at '. Finally, Walt Disney Pictures presented first looks at the live-action remake of Mulan, an extended clip of ', Jungle Cruise, and the live-action prequel Cruella. This expo also marked the first time that Disney showcased projects from 20th Century Fox, with clips of upcoming films from Ford v Ferrari, Spies in Disguise, and The King's Man. Alan Horn stated that they were not going to announce anything about Fox at the expo, but also noted that more news about Fox would be forthcoming in the future.
