D23 Expo 2011: Mickey's of Glendale

Date: August 20, 2011

We almost did not go to the Mickey's of Glendale shop because I asked Mik if he wanted to go in as we exited the Carousel of Projects and he did not say anything.  Then as we were about to leave the Expo I asked if there was anything left he wanted to see/do and he said the Mickey's of Glendale shop, so we went back to it.  We were glad we did, but it was not a fun experience.

The Mickey's of Glendale shop is very crammed with displays and merchandise.  Even without the crowds of people it would barely be navigable with the wheelchair.  Add people and we got stuck being unable to go any direction for 5 minutes.  I ended up leaving Mik in one stop and looking at the stuff.  Luckily, I found a must have pin for Mik's collection that made the whole experience worth it in hindsight.  It was a Sorcerer Grumpy pin for Mik's Grumpy (Mik's favorite Disney character) pin collection.


It was not fun to be stuck once I came back to him with what we wanted and were trying to get out of the shop, but Mik has keeps bringing up how happy he is to have a new Grumpy pin for his collection, so it was worth the hassle with it being the highlight of the trip for him.  The funny thing is when I came back to him and handed him the Grumpy pin, he gave me a weird look like is the pin your getting what about one for me?  Sorcerer Mickey is my favorite character (I do not collect every pin, though, as too many feature him) and he thought the Sorcerer Grumpy was a Sorcerer Micky pin.  Once he figured out how awesome it was to finally have a new Grumpy pin (its been over a year since he has found one he did not already have), he was speechless until of course he could not stop bringing it up as we were walking to hotel/Disneyland and waiting in line for rides.

We both also ended up selecting a Carousel of Projects pin to buy at Mickey's of Glendale.  Mik also got a red Sorcerer Mickey tumbler cup and I got a magnet with Sorcerer Mickey and a Smashed Penny Mystery Pin (ended up being the New Year's one and not of interest to me, but maybe another thing I could trade).

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Carousel of Projects

Date: August 20, 2011

We got to the Carousel of Projects right before the Expo opened to the public.  It was a little wait to go into the little room that shows a quick movie.  The movie was not that interesting and we ended up stuck in the back because they held the wheelchairs off to the side and ended up in last with others cutting ahead.  Mik was annoyed that he could not see anything, but I could pretty much see everything and it really was not like he missed anything great, although it was kind of cool how the exit thing worked with Tinkerbell opening the curtain to the exhibit.


Inside the exhibit area it was quite kind of crowded, but it was not too bad to go around and see everything.  I liked seeing the concept vehicles for the new Carsland, especially watching the firetruck's eyes.  However, we actually are not interested in the new land, as it does not seem any of the new rides will be the type that can be accessible, although the flying saucer style one Mik would try if we brought along someone to transfer him.


Mik loved seeing the concept vehicle for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride for the new Fantasyland area at Disney World.  We knew about the ride and he is not actually interested in it, as he is not into roller coasters, but he loves Grumpy and liked seeing him as one of the dwarfs in the ride vehicle.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives

Date: August 20, 2011

After shopping at the Treasure Trove shop, we headed back around to go through the Treasures exhibit.  The exhibit was nice and empty considering it was still only about 10 minutes after the Expo opened for members and people were mostly downstairs for the Arena or maybe had just done it yesterday already.  This was our favorite part of the Expo mainly because there were no crowds to deal with, but also it was set up with more space to move around than most other exhibits/stores.



The exhibit featured a variety of props from Disney movies and shows.  Our favorite part was the props from the National Treasure movies.  We also liked the Tron area, but thought it would have been cooler with the motorcycle or maybe a lightcycle.   The props from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie were also interesting, but the they had a much larger exhibit of the 4th movie props in the main exhibit hall.  Other movies/shows represented included Hocus Pocus, Zorro, Rocketeer, Lost, and Roger Rabbit.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Treasure Trove

Date: August 20, 2011

Today they let the D23 line in way before 9am to line up inside for the areas you wanted to go right at 9am.  The first level was very crowded with people wanting to go to the Arena, so we decided to go up to the Treasure exhibit first.  We ended up getting in the Treasure Trove store line first, since yesterday the lines for the stores got bad quickly.

Inside the Treasure Trove store there was plenty of room to navigate and it was also pleasantly not very crowded because very few cam up to the Treasures area first thing.  Mik ended up getting the Snow White Book pin and I got a D23 Expo magnet.

The checkout queue was not bad because it was not very long, but it was set up barely wide enough to even turn Mik's wheelchair for the turns.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: First Day Issue Disney Stamps

Date: August 19, 2011


I was excited to learn that the newest Disney stamp sheets were being First Day Issued at the Expo.  We did not end up hanging around long enough to even think about lining up for the ceremony, but I did end up buying them, which was more what I wanted anyways.  The line was much shorter than the ones for the Disney shops, but it actually moved so slow it at least seemed as long as the one for the Disney Store.  It turned out it was pretty much a full service USPS booth, so they were actually packaging and shipping stuff and not just selling the stamps.

I bought a sheet of 20 to go with my collection that includes all the other Disney stamp sheets issued so far.  I also ended up getting the D23 Expo First Day Issue envelope featuring the Buzz Lightyear stamp.  I debated about getting the stamped envelopes, but liked the D23 Expo ones better and it did not seem worth paying for the whole set.  I kind of wanted the stamped postcards, but I only wanted to have one to mail for my postmarked postcard collection and it was not worth buying 19 extra just to do that.

The line itself was accessible, but when we got to the front I ended up leaving Mik off to the side, as he would have blocked the path for others to get to the other counters if they opened up.  Not to mention it would have been awkward to get him back out with the minimal space to go through the counter area and since he was not interested in the stamps it did not matter to him to not go to the counter.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Dream Store

Date: August 19, 2011

After getting through the Disney Store at the Expo, we headed over to the Dream Store.  The line for this store was much longer just to get in and then was quite ridiculous inside.  At first we were regretting not going there first, but it all worked out okay in the end because we still got the pins we wanted.

The Dream Store was technically laid out more roomier to navigate through than the Disney Store, but it was extremely crowded and the line weaved around through it making it way worse to navigate.  To browse the store we had to cut across the line.  Then to get into the line, we had to cut across twice to find the end.  I think they should have been better limited the crowd inside or have better thought out how the line should go around if people are also trying to wander around browsing in the area the line is winding through.

It took us about an hour to just get into the Dream Store.  We then soon realized we just needed to get in line because we only wanted pins.  Getting through that line took us about 90 minutes.  It did seem like forever, but it ended up being worth it because Mik got the pin he really wanted as did I.  Mik got the Star Tours Piece of History Pin.  I got the Sorcerer Mickey Annual Pass Exclusive D23 Expo pin.  We were also pleasantly surprised that we got to save 20% here with out Annual Pass just like when we shop in the parks.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

D23 Expo 2011: Disney Store

Date: August 19, 2011


After waiting in line for 9am early entry to the Expo and taking about 20 minutes to move up in line enough to be inside the D23 Expo, we began tackling the shopping.  We started with about a 20 minute line for the Disney Store.  The line into the store area was wheelchair accessible.  Inside the store it was mostly accessible, although it was hard to get to the edges.  However, the stuff on the edges was mostly extras of stuff you could get from the middle area.

Mik and I have both avoided buying Vinylmation in the past.  We have looked, but the only ones I ever sort of watned were the penguins, but they are both part of series that you do not know what you get until after you buy and open it.  Mik has really been wanting a Vinylmation for his miniature collection, but only saw one he actually liked yesterday at Disneyland.  However, we both refused to buy anything  until after the Expo.


There was not much of interest for us in the Disney Store, but Mik instantly wanted the Vinylmation.  It is a cool silver 25th Disney Store Anniversary one.  What he really liked was it also came with a pin.  I ended up also getting one because I wanted a pin and did not like the big one sold on its own.  It was about the same price as just the big pin, so I figure I might just sell the Vinylmation or maybe I could trade it for a penguin one.  Maybe, I will just keep it, though, as it is kind of cool.


Mik also fell in love with the Expo exclusive 25th Anniversary ornaments.  He thought for sure I would want the Sorcerer Mickey one, but I felt it was too pink looking.  Mik thought about getting it anyways, but ended up settling on the Jiminy Cricket one.  I kind of thought he would go for the Buzz Lightyear one, but it also had pink, which was even odder.

When we got to the checkout line, I was worried it would be annoying because it was set up with little room to go through the queue.  I thought we might have to keep moving the pedestals like we had to at the Twins Team Shop.  However, when we got to entering it the Cast Member had us cut the line to the front.  It was still kind of awkward because we had to go against traffic coming out to the register and then after paying had minimal room to turn around and get out, but everyone was friendly and it was better than having to try to squeeze through the queue.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA