The D23 Expo is less than three weeks away now, and all of a sudden I'm being
inundated with information about what will be offered at the Expo. Will it be
like Comic-Con, loaded with lots of special exhibits, exclusive merchandise,
stars to meet, and lines … long, long lines?
I have a feeling, yeah. About the lines, that is (well, and you know there is
going to lots of stuff to buy, don't you?). If there is anything special I want
to see, I'm preparing to get there early and then wait forever. Now … I could be
wrong about this, of course, since this is the first ever D23 Expo and we've yet
to experience it, but I don't think I'm wrong. So just to be safe, I repeat …
I'm planning on being prepared, getting there early (ugh!), and arriving armed
with lots of patience.
And parking for the Expo? I don't even want to think about that. I mean,
do I park in the Disneyland structure and trek all the way over to the Anaheim
Convention center (because you know, if I'm that close to Disneyland, I'm going
to go to Disneyland), or do I just park at the convention center and forget
Disneyland? Also, what about those folks who have to work those first two
weekdays, with the 9 to 5 event schedule they have put together for it?
Ahhh, too much to think about that needs thinking about! But maybe before
immersing ourselves with so much Disney that week we can immerse ourselves in
another unique entertainment experience in the days leading up to the Expo; The
Cinerama Film Festival at the ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome, presented in
the original three-strip Cinerama projection process. From the ArcLight website:
THIS IS CINERAMA - Tue, 9/8 12 pm : Wed, 9/9 7:30
pm : Thur, 9/10 12 pm
Highlights include riding the Rockaway Playland Roller Coaster, and visiting
Cypress Gardens, Florida, for trick water skiing and boating scenes. The
last half of Act II- "America the Beautiful"- is viewed from the nose of a
low flying B-25 airplane.
DOUBLE FEATURE: THE GOLDEN HEAD / HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
- Tue, 9/8 8 pm
These are the only known prints of these films and are significantly faded
with the primary remaining color being magenta.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON - Tue, 9/8 3:30 pm : Wed, 9/9
1:30 pm : Thur, 9/10 3:30 pm, 8 pm
The fifty years of American westward expansion between the 1830s and 1880s
are viewed through the experiences of the Prescott and Rawlings families, as
they migrate by the Erie Canal, continue over the prairies from St. Louis
during the California gold rush, suffer through the Civil War, and finally
help build the railroads on the plains and bring law and justice to the
frontier. Along the way they meet mountain men, journey by wagon train, deal
with Native Americans, and face outlaws in the southwest. An all-star cast
featuring Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Stanley
Livingston, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston,
Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Russ Tamblyn, Eli Wallach, John Wayne and
Richard Widmark (with Spencer Tracy narrating) was directed by John Ford,
Henry Hathaway, and George Marshall. Fully restored sound and picture.
This still from the "smileboxed" How the
West was Won Blu-Ray gives you an idea of what to expect
There are only three theaters in the world left now (as I understand it)
where you can see these films as they were meant to be presented, and the Dome
is one of them. Of the four features screening that week How the West was Won
is overall the most entertaining and dazzling, whereas the others are probably
more of historical interest for film buffs. Past presentations have quickly sold
out,
so order tickets early via the ArcLight site. Learn more about the
Cinerama process
at this unique website.
Back to the Expo... Of all the D23 info coming my way, I think I'm most interested in the Live
Auction scheduled to be held on September 12th at 6:30 PM. I doubt I will be
spending any money (although one never knows, does one?) but … if the auction is
anything like the auction held at 2001's Disneyana Convention, it promises to be
very entertaining.
That 2001 auction offered a lot of interesting choices; pre-production
paintings (the pre-production painting for the Disneyland LP Chilling, Thrilling
Sounds of the Haunted Mansion originally released in May 1964 sold for
$3000.00), Disney Store window displays (an elaborate Sorcerer's Apprentice
window display from the South Coast Plaza Disney Store sold for $8,000.00), a
24-inch 24kt gold statuette of Mickey Mouse (never made its reserve of
$700,000.00 and thus, did not sell), 4 used Autopia tires (sold to a Goodyear
dealership for $1,200.00), one of the Jolly Trolleys from Mickey's Toontown
(sold for $11,000.00), a 5-foot tall Steiff Mickey Mouse (sold for $11,000.00),
a personal tour with Dave Smith of Walt's office that used to sit in the lobby
of The Walt Disney Story Featuring Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln (sold for
$1,800.00), a check signed by Walt Disney framed with a photo of Walt (sold for
$5,500.00), among many other things.
But most notable that night was the auction for what was billed as The
Matterhorn Experience. Two people engaged in a heated contest bidding against
one another until one caved and one emerged victorious and $13,000 poorer.
For that $13,000 the woman who won the experience got to tour the inside of
the Matterhorn, got to see Harold, the Abominable Snowman up close and personal,
and was presented with a photo album of the whole experience, photographed by
Disneyland's chief photographer. Was that worth $13,000? Only the winning
bidder can answer, but dang, it was real exciting to watch that auction and I'm
hoping something like that takes place again. Although in this tough economy,
one never knows, does one?
The D23 auction is offering some real interesting items and loads of
"experiences" that you just never get the chance to, well … experience, so there
is some promise of an exciting auction. Among the lots up for auction are:
another Walt Disney-signed and framed check, an early-hours horticultural tour
of Disneyland, a tour of the backstage Circle D Ranch, the chance to see the
Christmas tree lighting and enjoy a dinner at the Walt Disney Studios, spending
some time with retired Imagineer (and Disney Legend) Alice Davis and a tour of
the Resort Costuming Department, a tour of the Walt Disney Studios and Archives
with Chief Archivist Dave Smith … and on, and on. It's all way too much to list
here.
Read all the details of D23 Live Auction items at this link.
Oh, and one last word on the auction, should you find your purse-strings
loosening and your pulse quickening over the items, you must purchase the
Auctioneers Package (cost $40.00) in order to place a bid. The $40.00
tickets go on sale August 5th at 2PM Eastern time. Details available at the
above link.
Before we move on from The D23 Expo, one more word, there's going to be a ton
of stuff … Lots of ABC stars are scheduled to appear … although Kelsey Grammer
and Patricia Heaton don't make my heart pound faster, the name Joseph Fiennes
is, I admit, rather enticing. And of course, Disney Consumer Products will be
there in full force with a ton of goodies tempting you to open your wallet … so,
do yourself a favor, take a minute and check out the schedule at the D23
website, and start planning your D23 Expo experience.
Oh, and yeah … did I say get there early and bring your patience? Yes, make
sure you include that in your D23 plans.
Ok … let's move on up north to this week's Walt Disney Family Museum preview.
Today we're going to talk about Gallery Six, covering the period from the
late 1930s to the mid-1940s, a time of war, strikes, and upheaval.
This was a trying time for Walt Disney and the Disney Studio. Walt's parents
both died and there was a studio strike that threatened the company's capability
of continued success. But the company managed to continue on, releasing Dumbo in
1941, making training films for the military, making Public Service shorts, and
allowing the US military to use part of the Disney Studio as a base.
The thing that interests me most from this period? Walt, who was a mere
39-years old at the time, took his wife Lilly, and a group of 16 artists and
filmmakers on a ten-week trip to South America at the request of the American
government as a part of the "Good Neighbor Policy."
When I was looking at the photos of the artwork from this gallery, there was
a sweet little Mary Blair piece. "What the heck has that got to do with this
time period," I muttered, "Ahhh, the trip to South America." A young Mary Blair
was part of El Grupo, as the group came to be known. Mary was sketching
her way through South America with Walt and the gang.
If you're planning a trip up to San Francisco to see the museum, The
Walt Disney Family Museum's website is up so you can take a look
for all the pertinent information including ticketing info, prices, how to get
there, etc.
and -- you can now order your tickets for a visit:
http://www.waltdisney.org You can also follow the Walt Disney Family Museum on
Facebook and
Twitter for the latest
scoop, and of course discuss it all to your heart's content at
MiceChat's forum
for it.
Which brings me to one last point and then I will leave you to your Expo
assault planning …
Debuting the same week is a new documentary film
from Ted Thomas (son of famed Disney animator Frank Thomas) entitled Walt &
El Grupo. The film tells the tale of that South American trip and
after
viewing the trailer I can't wait to see it. It looks fascinating.
The film will be showing at a Downtown Disney AMC theatre so if you're coming
to the D23 Expo, take a break and go see Walt & El Grupo. For full list
of opening dates, theatres, and everything El Grupo, visit:
www.waltandelgrupo.com
And that should do it for this week's... |