This year’s D23 Expo will celebrate the 100-year history of The Walt Disney Company. And to kick off Disney100, the fan experience will feature an all-new exhibit from the Walt Disney Archives.
Step in Time will be a special chronological exhibition showcasing key Disney moments from the last century. The exhibit will include immersive, themed environments from some of your favorite Disney properties from over the years, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, Tron, and Haunted Mansion.
Guests will have the chance to literally “Step in Time” with immersive areas around the perimeter of the space, which will showcase rare historical objects in recreations of the settings from which they originated. Expect to see historic Disney props like a carousel horse from Mary Poppins; early memorabilia like a carved wooden Mickey Mouse; and costumes like the Breathless Mahoney dress from Dick Tracy.
In all, the 12,000-foot gallery space will include nine areas to explore. Visit Flynn’s Arcade from Tron, captain the Steamboat Willie boat, walk the blue carpet at the Snow White premiere and more. The Step in Time experience will be full of both Disney history and fun, immersive photo opportunities.
To complement the Archives exhibit, the D23 Expo will once again return to the stage, hosting over a dozen panels throughout the event weekend. Set to offer fans a peek “behind the magic” are Disney legend Bill Farmer, Walt Disney Archives director Becky Cline, author and historian Graham Allan, Walt Disney Imagineering global ambassador Bob Weis, and historian and artist Stacia Martin. Imagineers from the Illusioneering Lab will also offer insights into their process. A few panel highlights to look forward to: the 50-year legacy of the Main Street Electrical Parade; a look back at the 1980s and 1990s edition of the Mickey Mouse Club; and the first half-century of the Walt Disney World Resort.
The D23 Expo runs September 9 – 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Saturday tickets and three-day passes are already sold out. But you can grab one of the few remaining tickets for Sunday at D23Expo.com.
