D23 Expo 2015: Walt Disney Archives Presents Disneyland The Exhibit

Date of Visit: August 13, 2015

At first the Walt Disney Archives exhibit experience was annoying because the press was doing their preview at the same time as the Sorcerers and one guy kept getting in the way blocking the displays with their tripod for at least five minutes. However, once we got past the first little area it opened up and was easy to enjoy. It also helped that around then it was announced John Lasseter was there and a bunch of people rushed out of the exhibit to see him.

The Walt Disney Archives exhibit is always a favorite of ours at the D23 Expo and this year it was, too. We love Disneyland and it was fun to see the stuff, especially from past attractions, but I also kind of missed that this year there wasn't movie prop stuff with the focus being entirely on Disneyland.

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

D23 Expo 2015: Disney Legends Awards

Date of Visit: August 14, 2015

As usual D23 Expo ended up confusing trying to figure out where to go, but we did manage to figure out how to get into the hall and to the reserved seats for Sorcerers with plenty of time to spare considering they started about 10-15 minutes late. We're still glad we've never wasted time doing any presentations before as even with Sorcerer we could barely see anything. However, Sorcerer was definitely worth it to be able to just show up a 15-20 minutes before and have a seat to experience at least the Disney Legends Awards (and Mik's excited for the video game one on Sunday, too).

The whole reason Mik was interested in at least giving a presentation a chance was we knew George Lucas was going to be there to be inducted in as a Disney Legend. Turned out to be even more amazing with other past Disney Legends in attendance. Mik also really loved the little performances between presenting the new Disney Legends.

My favorite was Richard Sherman came out and did a new song called "A Kiss Goodnight."

Mik's absolute favorite part ended up being the surprise at the end with Johnny Depp ending up also being one of the Disney Legends this year. Mik liked it because he was funny.

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

D23 Expo 2015: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts "60 Years of Innovation" Pavilion

Date of Visit: August 13, 2015

The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavilion is always one of our favorites. This time it was slightly disappointing in that the "60 Years of Innovation" theme made it seem like it would have some relation to Disneyland's Diamond Celebration. However, it was disappointing in a good way because instead it was all about Shanghai Disneyland and that park sure has some awesome stuff in the works.

Also, a plus is the pavilion was a good open design, so easy to maneuver around. Of course, everyone was mostly focused on shopping today and there were very few fellow Sorcerers going through it while we were so hard to really tell how well it is. Based on past experience, though, this is one area that has never seemed crowded at least in comparison to how the stores get, which really wasn't any better as a Sorcerer other than we got that out of the way today and can really enjoy the other stuff the Expo offers the rest of the weekend.

Disneyland Shanghai - Gardens of Imagination

 

  

Disneyland Shanghai - Tomorrowland

 

Disneyland Shanghai -  Fantasyland

Disneyland Shanghai - Treasure Cove

 

Disneyland Shanghai -  Adventureland

 Disneyland Shanghai - Mickey Avenue

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

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley: Glen Burnie House & Gardens

Date of Visit: May 14, 2015

The Glen Burnie House and Gardens are part of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. The gardens are mostly accessible, especially in front of the house. The first floor of the house is also accessible.

The gardens are partly under restoration, but there's still several areas to explore. One of the most interesting areas we went through was the Pink Pavilion. At first it seemed inaccessible because there are steps, but we found we were able to get there from a path off to the side of the Pink Pavilion and there's just a small step to get inside, which was worth doing because it was fun to see the decor, especially since Mik's sweatshirt hood matched the floor.

The Glen Burnie House is wheelchair accessible from the front. Inside Mik particularly enjoyed the miniature of the house.

There is a lift to get down to the drawing room. This room currently has a special exhibit called "Beauty and Botany" with botanical art. There is then an exit to a patio with a ramp exit back into the gardens.

  
Destination Info:
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
901 Amherst Street
Winchester, VA, 22601

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Date of Visit: May 14, 2015

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley was something we ended up adding to our Skyline Drive trip because I noticed it had a miniature exhibit. Mik enjoyed that exhibit, but the temporary exhibit ended up being an even more interesting to him.

The temporary exhibit was called "Mort Künstler: The Art of Adventure." The artwork and video was interesting to see. Mik particularly enjoyed it because he was already somewhat familiar with the artist's work.

Of course, the R. Lee Taylor Miniatures Collection was another highlight in Mik's opinion, although it was the smallest exhibit and thus not as impressive as the larger collection displayed in the temporary exhibit that happened to also match his interests.

The museum also features exhibits about the history of the Shenandoah Valley and 18th and 19th century items collected by the last owner of the Glen Burnie House, which the museum is associated with.

Destination Info:
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
901 Amherst Street
Winchester, VA, 22601