The first day of D23 Destination D dawned early… maybe even a little too early.  🙂  But, the Disney fan spirit can be squelched, so we were up and out – ready to brave the line that was sure to ensue – albeit a bit later than we had planned.  We were definitely right about the line… it stretched around the building housing the Disneyland Hotel convention area.  But, coffee in hand, we waited with the masses, filed somewhat orderly into the ballroom, and grabbed fairly decent seats considering we probably joined the line hours after those who snagged the front and center seats.

The highlights of the first morning and afternoon of the convention were definitely the Mousketeers 55th Anniversary and the Imagineering panel.  My mom was especially excited for the Mousketeers and I was so thrilled that she had this opportunity to see them, meet them, and even get their autographs.  It was a very special thing for me to witness, and I feel blessed to have had the experience.

Having missed the Imagineering panel at last year’s D23 Expo, I was especially excited that they were, essentially, repeating it for Destination D.  And, I wasn’t disappointed.  The panel was led by the incomparable Marty Sklar, who was joined by some true Disney Legends like Alice Davis, X Atencio, Don Iwerks, Tony Baxter, Bob Gurr, and more.  It was great to hear everyone talk about their crowning achievements at Disneyland… Pirates of the Caribbean, Nemo Subs, Carsland, the Monorail – all the greats! 🙂  The only part that was really sad and disheartening was to see that my legend, X Atencio, is suffering the symptoms of old age… he seemed unclear of what was going on and even had trouble answering Marty’s question about his favorite memories of Walt. 🙁

When the afternoon’s sessions were over, we had about two hours for dinner and had a lovely meal at La Brea Bakery.  Then, it was off to the races again, as we got back in the now familiar, winding line to snag a seat for that evening’s Disney Legends Celebration E-Ticket Concert.  The concert was nothing less than amazing.  From John Tartaglia to Ana Ortiz to D23’s own Jeffrey Epstein, there were lots of fun celebrities singing their favorite theme park songs, plus – the best part – Richard Sherman was on hand to play his hit songs, share his memories of early Disneyland and Walt, and even sing along with the D23 Mellow-Ds choir.  The evening was absolutely incredible.

Next  week, Trip Report Tuesday returns to its regularly scheduled Tuesday with Destination D Day 2…

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