Before real life takes back over and I forget to do this, I'll post my quick thoughts on
D23. It was my first one and something I'd always wanted to do. I never wanted to camp out for sessions or go through the hoops to get in, but when a club I belong to set up a group opportunity, I jumped at it. DH had no interest in going so I went solo. We had 3-day expo hall passes and all three nights at the Honda Center, but individual sessions and VQ for shopping were the same process as everyone else there.
Overall, it was fun to be there. I love a live event and the energy of the Honda Center each night was a blast! The show floor was pretty overwhelming, tbh. I've been to fan conventions, CES, E3, but this was somehow bigger than all of them. The activations were really cool, but 90% of things on the floor had massive lines every day from open to close. It just wasn't worth it to me to spend my time that way, so I did a lot of poking around the corners and popping into things when I noticed a lull. I did some of the pin pursuit, which was fun, but I don't need a bunch of giveaway crap that I'll stuff in a drawer and toss in a few years.
I loved interacting with the staff at the different booths, watching the cosplayers and photo opps, and the one session I got into (Muppets) was great. I didn't do standby for any of the others, but I was able to catch some fun things on the open Spotlight stage, including the costume contest winners and a fun "match game" style thing they did with all the parks ambassadors from around the world.
I dressed in Disney Dress Shop or Her Universe themed outfits, which got more comments than my costume. I did join the cosplay princess photo, but even among that group I was still explaining that I was a Steampunk version of Merida. (The bow and quiver I usually carry go a long way, but the rules said no weapons or things that look like weapons.) A few folks got it without prompting, but as I've said before, I need to make things more obvious. I'm considering making a ballgown skirt and getting a better quality wig -- the one I have has been through multiple rD races and a few
MNSSHP parties, so it's pretty haggard (even for Merida).
There was very little time to pop over to the parks, which was sad as I don't get to DL that often. I was really hoping for a spin on HM with the overlay, but it was VQ only and by the time I got over there the two days I went, I got called super late and evening events. I did get some time on arrival day and cut short Day 3 at the expo to get a few more hours in (but it was HOT).
tl;dr: I'm glad I went and had a great time. It was exhausting and I feel like I probably didn't see everything. I would definitely do the Honda Center events again, but not sure I need to go back for the show floor unless I decided to really get into the cosplay aspect. The Disney Legends ceremony is on Disney+ now and I highly recommend watching it.
Photo dump from Day 2:
I feel like Garmin should give you credit for having (almost) every one be faster than the last, though!
