D23 Ultimate Fan Event To Be Streamed On Disney+
Later this summer, Disney is hosting its biannual D23 Expo event, which has been renamed to D23 The Ultimate Fan Event, which will be taking place at multiple venues across Anaheim from August 9th through to the 11th 2024, and will showcase the company’s major brands, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and much, much more.
During Disney Advertising’s Global Tech & Data Showcase, which was taking place at CES in Las Vegas, Asad Ayaz, Chief Brand Officer for The Walt Disney Company, took to the stage to confirm some details on the upcoming event.
It’s been announced that tickets for the event will be going on sale on March 26th 2024, with more details on pre-sale and prices coming nearer the time.
This year’s event is going to see some changes; while the main show will still take place at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is on the other side of the street from the Disneyland Resort, this year, the main showcase presentations will take place in the evenings at the Honda Center.
In 2022, over 80,000 fans headed to the D23 Expo, but getting into the main showcase panels was always difficult due to only about 4000 people fitting in the main hall, but now the major presentations will now be taking within an arena, which can hold over 18,000 people, it will mean more people will be able to see the showcase panels.
In the past, Disney has live-streamed some of the panels from the main hall onto YouTube and social media, but this year, Disney has confirmed they are planning on streaming portions of the event on Disney+.
It has also done similar live streams from its Star Wars Celebration events, with a specific stage built to live stream to the world, but they’ve never done it directly to Disney+ yet. At the last D23 Expo, some small highlight videos were made available for a limited time, but this year, it looks like Disney wants to build the event up even more. Disney chief brand officer Asad Ayaz even called the upcoming event as their “Superbowl”.
“It’s akin to our very own Super Bowl or Comic Con weekend, presenting an unparalleled opportunity for your brands to connect with fans of all ages and families from across the globe.”
The main panels in the past have included studio showcases, where new movies and shows are announced, plus they have legends presentations and theme park announcements. These panels usually set up everything that Disney is planning on bringing to our screens and their theme parks over the next few years, so having more fans be able to see these, either in person or streaming on Disney+, will be better for both the company and fans.
One of the showcases will be the Disney Legends presentation, which pays tribute to key people who have made major contributions to Disney over the years. At the last D23 Expo, the stars of “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Black-ish”, and “Frozen” were entertained into Disney’s own version of the Hall of Fame.
However, it’s important to note that only “portions” of the D23 Ultimate Fan Event will be streamed on Disney+; expect some panels to be kept for those in attendance since they’ll want to ensure people still go to the event since the event makes millions of dollars. Disney has also, in the past, not shown every new trailer and clip to those streaming at home.
At this year’s D23 event, there will also be Disney+ integrations involved. It’s unclear what this could be, but for the past two D23 Expos, Disney+ has been a major focus for the company and will likely once again be.
It was also announced that there will be a new interactive app as well as musical performances, an amazing shopping experience, and special presentations.
There will also be a special celebration day taking place the day before the Ultimate Fan Event at Disneyland Resort on August 8th 2024.
Are you excited about this year’s D23 Ultimate Fan Event? Let us know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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