It was easy to forget about the expo going on around you when you were sitting in the presentations and shows. All of the Disney stalls were magical as expected and done above and beyond. Interactive meet and greets, the Talent Round-up, and of course FREE SAMPLES are all some of the awesome parts of the Expo floor. There were a few things that I was a bit disappointed about. The Collectors Forum felt like a flea market, the lines for the stores were hours long except for the once I went in the Dream Store late in the afternoon, and there was so much empty space that could have been used to have more stalls and vendors.
The exhibits that were part of the Expo floor were a great insight to the history of Disney and what we can expect in the near future. Journey into Imagineering had a wonderful floor space showing off everything from vintage material to brand new concepts. You could see the artists working and talk to them about what they do for Disney. It was so amazing to be able to actually speak with designers and imaginneers who work in the parks and in the studios to create the world we all love.
The Treasures of the Disney Vault was a beautiful display of costumes and props from Once Upon a Time, Designer Disney Princess Dresses (Harrods), Wizard of Oz (Both old and new), and a huge area for Mary Poppins. Also at the ending part of this area was the fan art competition entrants for Mary Poppins. I loved the detail put into the winner's piece but most of the others were also just real amazing with how beautiful they are.
Disney Voluntears was a fantastic way to bring in a large amount of workforce to quickly create packages to send out to different communities. When I went through I made a care package for a young school child with books and coloring pages. All you had to do was put things into a bag. It helped to show to some people who would not normally reach out how easy it could be. And bonus! Free Disney reusable totebag.
There were too many stands to really go into detail of all of them. I just hope that the next expo will have more going on with the floor area because it was sometimes difficult to get into the presentations. When so many people are just walking around it just makes sense.
At the talent round up there were a lot of designers, Disney legends, and authors. Every time I walked past there were people lining up to meet their favorite. I only waited for one person, Ridley Pearson, author of the Kingdom Keepers series. It was so awesome to meet the author and talk to him if only for just a minute. I am just so jealous that his able to go anywhere at any Disney park that he wants to. I wish I was able to have the possibility.
