D23 Celebrates Disney Fans with a dazzling slate of coast-to-coast events in 2023 to honor the company’s 100-year anniversary. This announcement includes dates for the next Destination D23, which will again take place at Walt Disney World Resort. The official news just dropped from D23:
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is celebrating Disney fans across the country as Disney100 kicks off. Members of D23 will be able to enjoy exclusive experiences as Disney honors its remarkable past and looks to its bright future.
DESTINATION D23: D23 returns to The Most Magical Place on Earth for the biggest Disney fan event of 2023 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, September 8–10, to celebrate 100 years of The Walt Disney Company. Fans will be among the first to hear exciting announcements and see sneak peeks from the many worlds of Disney—and relive favorite memories with behind-the-scenes stories, special guests, and so much more at this epic event.
THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS OFFICIAL TOUR – PRESENTED BY D23: D23 welcomes guests to The Walt Disney Studios Lot, giving members the opportunity to visit the world-famous studio in Burbank, California. These tours offer fans a unique perspective on historic moments from Disney films, television series, and theme parks—along with the chance to look inside the Walt Disney Archives and draw inspiration from Walt Disney’s office suite.
FAN-FAVORITE MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES: D23 will celebrate several milestone anniversaries with in-person events in 2023 for fan-favorite films, including Finding Nemo (20th), Mulan (25th), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (35th). D23 is excited to celebrate these iconic films with extra-special experiences and even more magic for D23 Members. And Halloween will return in phantom fashion, celebrating the anniversaries of monstrously major movies including Hocus Pocus (30th), Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (30th), and Halloweentown (25th).
WALT’S MARCELINE: Walt Disney frequently cited this charming Missouri town where he spent his early childhood as one of his greatest influences. Its lovely main thoroughfare was an inspiration for Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A. D23 Members will have a chance to return in June 2023 for a very special hometown event.
D23 NIGHTS WITH DISNEY THEATRICAL: D23 and the North American tours of Disney’s The Lion King and Disney’s Frozen are excited to offer D23 Members exclusive theatrical experiences, including special ticket packages and post-show Q&As with cast members. D23 will kick off these dazzling theatrical events in Los Angeles with The Lion King and in Costa Mesa, California, with Frozen, and offer an exclusive experience with the cast during the highly anticipated opening of Disney’s Hercules at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.
SIGNATURE EVENTS: Fans can look forward to D23 Gold Member previews of Walt Disney Archives traveling exhibitions across the country. D23 Gold Members will enjoy advance and opening night screenings of new Disney films at locations across the country. Walt Disney Imagineering’s exclusive merchandise store, Mickey’s of Glendale, will open its doors to members with both online and in-person opportunities. Look out for the return of the holiday favorite Light Up the Season in December 2023 as part of a very merry D23 Holiday Celebration!
Dates, ticketing information, and more D23 events will be announced throughout the year. Full details on D23’s lineup of 2023 special events can be found on the fan club’s website at D23.com/Events. Additional dates will be posted soon. All events and dates are subject to change.
If you are not aware, the name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s nearly 100-year history. It gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic year-round through its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; the latest news and stories on D23.com; member-exclusive offers and discounts; the popular D23 Inside Disney podcast; and special experiences for D23 Members throughout the year.
Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($99.99/year), Gold Duo Membership ($129.99/year), and General Membership (complimentary) levels at D23.com. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
We were unable to obtain tickets to last year’s Destination D23, so I really hope we can attend this coming year, as it’s one of our favorite D23 events with its focus on Disney history and archives.
Many of you may have heard about the Last Tour to Endor party associated with the Star Wars Celebration V that took place at the Orange County Convention Center last month. I know I was disappointed that we couldn’t get it to work out logistically, so when I saw the D23 event for the Last Flight to Endor (which was an essentially free event save for the $5 per ticket processing fee), I was all over it! What’s more, this free event was going to take place on the actual last night of Star Tours operation before it closed for refurbishment and would be limited to the number of guests that could fill the speeders in the attraction for the actual last flight. It was too cool to pass up. I am so glad I didn’t.
{I apologize in advance for the photo quality. I was using my cell all night – convenient, but not so great at night and when you are pretty much constantly moving. Hopefully the spirit of the evening comes across in the pictures, despite the blurriness! }
I make no claims to know all there is about Star Wars, but I know enough to make obscure references or movie lines when needed and get suitably excited when our escorts for the evening turned out to be some of the 501st Legion‘s finest Stormtroopers (even though my first response upon seeing one of them was “Aren’t you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?”). It was great to see so many excited fans and fellow bloggers/Disney media people there as well as meeting some twitter friends. We all checked in and were given a commemorative boarding pass and FastPass for the evening, and the first 100 guests received a limited edition Star Wars coin set as well. Soon the Stormtroopers arrived and we were on the march to our destination: Star Tours.
The FastPass says: Another FASTPASS ticket will be available in 2011I wish I could say this was the first time armed guards escorted me somewhere...