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Question #3: Who has July 14, 2016 marked on their calendars for D23 Expo tickets? This will be our first D23 Expo. I hope Sandy and Alex can give us some tips since they are the D23 Expo veterans. :worship:

The best advice I can give if you want to see the presentations in the big arena (from the Studios, Animation, Legends, etc.) is to wake up really, really early to wait in line. I think my daughter and I would get in line by 5:15 a.m. or so. They let people sleep in the arena overnight for last year's expo, so by the time we arrived the lines were already long. These folks brought inflatable beds, blankets, the whole nine yards. It was absolute madness! But once the presentations started, we forgot all about the hassle. The key is to be patient and figure out what you want to see ahead of time. (And pack plenty of snacks and water.) If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I know I probably made it sound awful, but I'm going to be right with you on July 14 buying our tickets!
 
So thinking about D23...does anyone have any recommendations for hotels for during D23? We have stayed at the Hilton Anaheim in the past, but I'm not sure I want to pay their actual rate to stay there this time. In the past we've stayed for free on Hilton Honors points. :flower1:

I'd like to find something more affordable within a reasonable walking distance since we aren't planning any additional Disneyland days beyond what is included in our ABD.
 
So thinking about D23...does anyone have any recommendations for hotels for during D23? We have stayed at the Hilton Anaheim in the past, but I'm not sure I want to pay their actual rate to stay there this time. In the past we've stayed for free on Hilton Honors points. :flower1:

I'd like to find something more affordable within a reasonable walking distance since we aren't planning any additional Disneyland days beyond what is included in our ABD.

We've stayed at the Portofino Inn, which is a short walk to the convention center and pretty reasonably priced. Tom Bell from the Disneyland podcast recently reviewed the hotel, and he wasn't thrilled with it, but we thought it was OK. The only issue I had was the basic room didn't have a refrigerator. (We'd stayed in a premium room, I guess, during our previous visit.) We stayed at the Springhill Suites next door for the 2015 expo, and it was very nice, but I think it's more expensive than the Portofino. The Portfofino was overbooked, so they moved us over there at the same rate.

I haven't stayed at any of the other hotels near the convention center, but there are plenty to choose from.

I bet staying at the Hilton was nice! Right next door!
 


We are going to try and use our DVC points to stay on for an extra week and either get a cab there from Disneyland or higher a car, some people have said D23 put on a coach but I cannot find any information on this.

I drove around LA a few years back and it was the worst traffic I have ever experienced in my life and the most scary driving ever.

Cannot wait for this trip already looking at flights etc and bought a new camera :)
 
We are going to try and use our DVC points to stay on for an extra week and either get a cab there from Disneyland or higher a car, some people have said D23 put on a coach but I cannot find any information on this.

If you're staying at the Grand Californian, you could walk to the convention center, although I'm sure it will feel like quite a hike at the end of the day. Disney ran a shuttle during the 2009 expo that picked up and dropped off at the transit center area (where the hotel and ART buses are) but I don't know if they continued that service for the subsequent expos.

We're staying at the new Hyatt House during next year's expo. And on points!! Yay!!
 
Not knowing our way around I assumed it was in LA centre but if we can walk there then we would do that :)

Thanks for that bit of info, really need to look into it more and at the moment we cannot book any hotels as its not within 11 months. We do not mind which of the hotels we stay at but would prefer to be on property.
 


Not knowing our way around I assumed it was in LA centre but if we can walk there then we would do that :)

Thanks for that bit of info, really need to look into it more and at the moment we cannot book any hotels as its not within 11 months. We do not mind which of the hotels we stay at but would prefer to be on property.

Yes, the expo is at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is on Katella. Did you buy your expo tickets yet? If so, there should be a link on your confirmation email for discounted hotel rooms. I think the Disney properties are included on that list. If you wanted to continue your stay at the Grand Californian, you'd likely get a better rate than the one that ABD would offer. You might have to change rooms, but it could be worth it.
 
We have not booked them yet as we really need to get a room first before we can book D23 tickets and flights.

We are going to use our DVC points anyway for any of the Disney hotels, I just hope they hurry up and release the dates so we can book. At the moment they are only taking booking until December. I spoke to DVC yesterday so they are fully aware of what dates we need.

I have looked up the map now and could see just how close the expo is, 1.2 miles which is great new.

Fully paid for this now :) wanted to get it all done before we exit the EU and crash the pound, just cannot wait for this trip.

Thanks for all your advise so far, we have only been to California once so its still new to us.
 
We have not booked them yet as we really need to get a room first before we can book D23 tickets and flights.

We are going to use our DVC points anyway for any of the Disney hotels, I just hope they hurry up and release the dates so we can book. At the moment they are only taking booking until December. I spoke to DVC yesterday so they are fully aware of what dates we need.

I have looked up the map now and could see just how close the expo is, 1.2 miles which is great new.

Fully paid for this now :) wanted to get it all done before we exit the EU and crash the pound, just cannot wait for this trip.

Thanks for all your advise so far, we have only been to California once so its still new to us.

I'm happy to help. I grew up in Southern California and go home a lot to see family and friends, so please feel free to ask any questions.

And it's funny you should mention Brexit. I work for a large investment manager and have colleagues in London, and the vote has been a major topic of conversation.

Also, sorry to go on and on about the hotel discounts. I forgot that you were using points. Much better than paying cash!
 
The best advice I can give if you want to see the presentations in the big arena (from the Studios, Animation, Legends, etc.) is to wake up really, really early to wait in line. I think my daughter and I would get in line by 5:15 a.m. or so. They let people sleep in the arena overnight for last year's expo, so by the time we arrived the lines were already long. These folks brought inflatable beds, blankets, the whole nine yards. It was absolute madness! But once the presentations started, we forgot all about the hassle. The key is to be patient and figure out what you want to see ahead of time. (And pack plenty of snacks and water.) If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I know I probably made it sound awful, but I'm going to be right with you on July 14 buying our tickets!


Sounds like great advice to me. Thanks much. I can't imagine camping out overnight but I don't mind getting up early. We got our 3 D23 Expo tickets and we are very excited. I also booked a room at the Hilton Anaheim. I hate the idea of changing hotels at the same time we need to wake so early and stand in line but the prices at DGH are too high for the budget.
 
I've gone back now and listened to the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcasts again about ABD [4/11/16 and 02/08/16]. There's some great information in the shows. I researched the travel insurance as they suggested and I'm going to contact Kevin about a pre-night.

I've also started looking at airfares trying to get an idea what to expect. They talked a bit about that in the last show.

And I saw the news that Rivers of America should be back by next summer. So happy about that. I LOVE Fantasmic.
 
I've gone back now and listened to the Dreams Unlimited Travel podcasts again about ABD [4/11/16 and 02/08/16]. There's some great information in the shows. I researched the travel insurance as they suggested and I'm going to contact Kevin about a pre-night.

I've also started looking at airfares trying to get an idea what to expect. They talked a bit about that in the last show.

And I saw the news that Rivers of America should be back by next summer. So happy about that. I LOVE Fantasmic.

I saw that announcement about the Rivers of America too. It will be nice having the waterway back to normal!
 
Sounds like when we are there the new version of Tower of Terror will open and Fantasmic will be back on :). But sounds like we wont be getting any fireworks as they are installing a new system further out the park due to Star Wars Land. Shame about Paint the Night stopping this year was looking forward to that, also World of Colour will be back to normal.

I am actually looking forward to going on Small World as last time it was shut :(

Been looking at air fares as well, but they seem to recon the best time to book is 6 to 7 months out so not book anything at the moment. For us though I can not see them changing much.

Is anyone else going to stay the night before?
 
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We are planning a pre-night and we'll be staying until Monday after D23. Anyone else book their hotel for the convention? We booked at the Doubletree and finally got confirmed for all of our nights.
 
We are planning a pre-night and we'll be staying until Monday after D23. Anyone else book their hotel for the convention? We booked at the Doubletree and finally got confirmed for all of our nights.

We're staying at the Hyatt House until that Monday as well.
 
Are you using the ABD offer for the pre night? We are now probably flying out on the Saturday so we can relax a bit and get used to the time zone before Sunday.
 
I'm a little late to the game, but I wanted to say hi and introduce myself to everyone. My name is Adrienne, and I'm a 38 year old teacher from Philadelphia. I am so ridiculously excited to be part of this trip!!! I'll be traveling with my best friend Vince, who is responsible for my Disney obsession. I'd been to WDW several times with my family when I was younger, but he insisted that I visit again as an adult... and the rest is history. Now I collect the pins, own the merchandise, listen to the podcasts, mix Lapu Lapus and Backscratchers in my kitchen, download Disney park music, livestream the fireworks, and dream of staying at the Polynesian.

I've been to WDW a total of 7 times, but I've never had the opportunity to travel to Disneyland. As soon as we heard about this trip on the podcast, we knew we had to go. We're also planning to attend D23, but haven't made any definite plans around that yet. I'm happy to see that other people in this group have some experience with D23. I'm sure I'll be hitting you all up with questions in the near future, because I have no idea what to expect from it! I'm looking forward to chatting with everyone here over the next year as we countdown to our adventure!

:earsboy:
 
We are now staying the night before so we have time to relax after the 12 hour flight :)

Now just waiting for DVC to confirm out after trip stay.
 
I'm a little late to the game, but I wanted to say hi and introduce myself to everyone. My name is Adrienne, and I'm a 38 year old teacher from Philadelphia. I am so ridiculously excited to be part of this trip!!! I'll be traveling with my best friend Vince, who is responsible for my Disney obsession. I'd been to WDW several times with my family when I was younger, but he insisted that I visit again as an adult... and the rest is history. Now I collect the pins, own the merchandise, listen to the podcasts, mix Lapu Lapus and Backscratchers in my kitchen, download Disney park music, livestream the fireworks, and dream of staying at the Polynesian.

I've been to WDW a total of 7 times, but I've never had the opportunity to travel to Disneyland. As soon as we heard about this trip on the podcast, we knew we had to go. We're also planning to attend D23, but haven't made any definite plans around that yet. I'm happy to see that other people in this group have some experience with D23. I'm sure I'll be hitting you all up with questions in the near future, because I have no idea what to expect from it! I'm looking forward to chatting with everyone here over the next year as we countdown to our adventure!

:earsboy:


Hi Adrienne and hello to your friend Vince too! Looking forward to meeting you both.

We decided to fly in early too. I'm a glass half-full kinda person and always worrying about what might go wrong. So I want to give some extra time in case an airline computer system goes down or something and we're stranded in an airport for hours. :worried::upsidedow

Kate
 

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