One of Disney’s biggest events of the year is coming up, and we can’t wait!
The Walt Disney Company headquarters in California
D23 is Disney’s Official Fan Club, and bi-annually they a fan convention in Anaheim, California. This event consists of 3 days of numerous panels about Disney news, movies, TV shows, and everything in between. It’s a great way to learn about all the new things coming down the pipeline for the Walt Disney Company, and the next event is coming up on August 9th-11th. While we can’t wait for all the latest news to come out, we have noticed that Disney has done some suspicious things, and we can’t help but wonder what that’ll mean for the event this year.
We know that Disney is planning some pretty big announcements during this event, specifically on the evening of August 10th during the “Experiences” panel. But have you noticed that as we’ve gotten closer to the big event, there has been NO news about some of Disney’s largest projects?
©Disney
Most recently, Test Track went under construction to undergo a massive retheming (the current plan announced is to make it more similar to the original attraction, World of Motion), we know that Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland U.S.A. retheme is still in the planning stages, and that a new Little Mermaid stage show is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios later this year, but it’s been months since we’ve heard updates on any of these projects.
Test Track
Not to mention we’re still waiting for an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disneyland, and what Disney’s first step of the DisneylandForward Expansion that’s been approved will be. It all comes down to this: there are some MAJOR question marks on these new Disney projects that we’ve been eagerly awaiting hearing more about. And our theory? Disney has purposefully been holding on to these announcements specifically for D23.
©Disney
Which is pretty wild, considering some of these announcements are for projects that are set to open later this year, OR in the case of Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs and the Cake Bake Shop coming to Disney’s BoardWalk, they were supposed to be done months ago.
Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs
However, what’s even stranger is that Disney isn’t saving EVERY bit of news for the event — it’s just been announced that a popular quick service restaurant in Disneyland is being rethemed, so why share this news now and not wait for D23? In this case, it’s likely because there’s no panel or spot the announcement could fit into, and/or that the news is too “small” for the event (but apparently the opening date for a few new restaurants in Disney World isn’t too small — it’s a little confusing to us too).
©Disney
We can’t help but think about the other side to this equation though — we’ve seen Disney scrap projects before and quietly push them under the rug or postpone them only to never return to them again. The Spaceship Earth refurbishment, Mary Poppins dark ride, Reflections — A Lakeside Lodge, and the PLAY! Pavilion in EPCOT are just a few examples of this, so we’re trying not to think about the fact that if we don’t hear an announcement about some of these upcoming projects, there’s a possibility it could be because they’re on the road to getting scrapped (or at least postponed for quite some time).
Spaceship Earth
We’ll be at D23 ourselves to bring you all the latest news as it comes out, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB!
Check out the FULL schedule for D23 right here!
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Sorry but I think Disney just doesn’t deserve our devotion anymore. Which breaks my heart. Too many games they’re playing. Too expensive. Too many hoops to jump through. Too difficult to plan and maneuver. The magic is gone 🙁
Thank you for the honorable mention of Blue Ribbon Corn Dog and Cake Bake Shop. This is a joke now. Hope their service isn’t as slow as their opening (if they every open).
I agree with Norma . It has been a long time since I bought anything Disney. The excitement , anticipation and fun just isn’t there anymore. Nothing stands out or is special , another amusement park.
Disney has shot itself in the foot.