D23 Expo: The Last Day!

Sunday, it was the last day of the D23 Expo, with a few panels and a final sweep of the show floor!  So the first thing I tried was the Disney Parks, Experiences & Products panel.  I got there at 7 a.m. and waited in the Hall C stand by.  The best thing about queue is chatting with line pals about the panels they attended (especially the Marvel Star Wars one I missed), and updates on what is going on.  Note: I passed up the Legends panel day 1, I really wanted to check the show floor, but this is the year I missed Legends when it was easy to get in through stand by.  When it finished, I attempted to go to Lorcana, but it had sold out, I was told they underestimated the number needed.  I suggested that they offer them later in the year, the game is to be released next year.  I had completed the DisneyMe quest and a cast member explained how to equip my icon and take a picture of him.  I went back to Disney Archives: Step in Time exhibit just to be there with a walk in.  Plus, pick up shots.  

Baymax! Photo op on the D23 Expo show floor, photo by the author.

I went to the Hulk photo op from Ms. Marvel that gave a NJ Avengercon badge and lanyard.  I rested at a table and chatted with two fans.  They gave me a Iron Studios bag, Day 1, the booth handed out a large card and pin with the studio logo.  Thanks!  This time there was a print of all of the Spider-Men, Venom, and Black Cat.  I was at the Topps booth which now had reasonable lines, you get a card to get stamped, to win three items on a table or all of the items if you complete all of the challenges from Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars.  I of course went with Star Wars.  A trivia question was what did Leia say when she met Luke?  I found out that “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” was wrong(?).  Instead the correct answer was “Aren’t you a little short for a Jedi”!  I tried to point out that the answer was incorrect.  I didn’t understand the matching game, that you keep tapping on cards to turn them over, and the Topps Digital card of yourself was very cool.  I also didn’t understand how it worked.  

Still, it was time for my panel, got confused with my D23 Expo app only showing my pictures instead of my schedule.  I got to the Hall D23 queue and signed in for my reservation.  This was at Hall E.  The panel was Disney Princesses - The Concert.  After the wait, the stand bys went to get seated, still waiting.  The show had started when we finally got our seat in the far corner of the hall, the worst seats in the house.  The stand bys had better seats than the ones with reservations and seating earlier?  What is the point in having a reservation?  So I found out that going stand by is better than having a reservation.  This also applied to earlier Disney Parks panel.  Very poor organization. The concert itself was hosted by music director and piano player, Benjamin Rauhala.  It starred Broadway actresses for the Disney musicals; Syndee Winters, Nala from the Lion King (1997), Isabelle McCalla who played Jasmine in Aladdin (2011), Annaliese van Der Pol, who was the last Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1993), and Susan Egan, the original Belle and voiced Meg in Hercules (1997).   There also was actor Adam J. Levy from Moulin Rouge! (2019).  Great singing of fan favorites.  

Disney100 - Mickey Mouse statue, author’s photo. 

There was a still about an hour left of the expo, so quick shopping, I was able to get to Disney Movie Insiders which had the line cut all Saturday.  Now there was about fifteen people that slowly filled the queue behind me.  There was a sticker of Ralph and Vanellope from Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018), a tiny Mickey pin, and a pin of Hercules for the 25th anniversary and an offer for the matching Megara pin.  I returned to Topps and got the Marvel and Disney challenges to win all of the prizes.  Also, you can make your own Topps card and send it to your e-mail.  The worst was the Amazon booth that cut the line with an hour left so I never entered the booth.  There was just a little more time, I picked up Marvel Limited Edition pins; The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law from the El Capitan booth.  I went to the VoluntEARS booth, filled out some questions, and got a button.  I took photos of costumes at the Marvel booth and recognized Namora's costume.  Lastly, I went to the Disney100 - Mickey Mouse statue outside by the fountain.  It was kinda spectacular when a double rainbow appeared.  The D23 Expo last day featured excellent performances, shopping, and a photo op to celebrate the 100th Celebration!