The Magic Returns. [Regularly Updated with 2013 D23 Expo Announcements]

Every year is certainly a Disney year (especially for us Disney fans, right?)!  But 2013 will be a year where the Disney magic would return in an event that brings all that magic together – the D23 Expo!

Yes everyone, the D23 Expo will return to the Anaheim Convention Center from August 9-11 this year will have more magic, more fun, and more special surprises that are sure to get the magic flowing through our veins once again!

This year’s Expo layout will much be the same as the one from two years ago with pretty much every Disney business (Walt Disney Studios, Disney Parks, Disney Consumer Products, etc.) showing off their newest and most magical offerings.

Disney has started to confirm those offerings for this year’s Expo which include:

• Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives – the famous exhibit where some of the Company’s most prized posesions over the years will be publicly displayed. This year’s exhibit includes items from the production of “Mary Poppins” (which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year) and Walt Disney’s personal collection of “Oz” memorabilla.

• The Disney Songbook In Concert – a once-in-a-lifetime concert with Alan Menken (“Aladdin”, “The Little Mermaid”) and Richard M. Sherman (“Mary Poppins”, “its a small world”), composers who have written many of your favorite Disney songs including film scores and Disney Park music.

• Fan favorites like the Disney lifetime achievement award ceremony naming new Disney Legends, the D23 Expo Dream Store with limited edition items, and a Disney “swap meet” of sorts called the Collectors Forum.

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• UPDATE 6/12 – Broadway and Beyond is also a new event this year that will feature a medley of performances from Disney’s various musical stage show productions!

• UPDATE 6/12 – If you have those “Disney Dollars,” the D23 Silent Auction will return this year. Want to bid on a pair of Matterhorn Bobsleds? Click HERE for more info.

• UPDATE 6/14 – Disney Channel stars will return for meet, greets, and signings! Expect to see the likes of Alyson Stoner (Phineas and Ferb), Jake Short (A.N.T. Farm), Zendaya (Shake It Up), Bridgit Mendler (Good Luck Charlie), Wayne Brady (Sofia the First), and even Sofia, Doc McStuffins, and Jake the Never Land Pirates!

• UPDATE 6/25 – An inaugural costume contest will take place called “À La Mode.” Dress up in anything Disney and win any one of 5 trophies for best in Original Design (or Inspired By), Re-creation, Craftsmanship, Young Fan, and Best in Show! You must have tickets to the Expo AND fill out a registration form to participate.

• UPDATE 6/27 – ESPN fans will get an exclusive advance screening of “The ’99ers,” a moving sports film that tells the ever-changing environment of women athletics.

• UPDATE 6/29 – The creative and innovative people that are a part of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) will seem to be center stage for the entire Expo. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the group that creates magical guest experiences around the world in Disney’s Parks and Resorts, WDI will host more than a few panels and showcase a lot of their current projects in the Disney Parks Pavilion. Get ready to see how the magic is made like never before.

• UPDATE 6/29 – Since it has always been a challenge to get into some of the Expo’s seminars due to limited seating, D23 will be implementing “StagePass” that guarentees you seating in the panels of your choice, but choose wisely! Just like the FastPass system at Disney Parks, you can only get one at a time.

• UPDATE 7/1 – Soar into new animated heights as D23 will present an opening day screening of Disney’s “Planes” that includes some very special guests/planes…

• UPDATE 7/9 – Disney Consumer Products will also make an appearance at the Expo with new products available for purchase that feature your favorite Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters. Full information can be found here.

• UPDATE 7/12 – Disney Interactive, the Company’s gaming division, will have previews and giveaways of their upcoming games like Disney Infinity, as well as some special announcements as part of their D23 arena presentation.

• UPDATE 7/16 – Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger will open the D23 Expo followed by the first of two presentations from The Walt Disney Studios. The first will highlight the upcoming films from Walt Disney Animation Studios (including those films from Pixar) hosted by John Lasseter. The second presentation on the following day will feature the upcoming live action films from Disney (including those films from Marvel) hosted by Studios chief Alan Horn. Expect to see celebrities and behind-the-scenes footage at both presentations at the D23 Arena!

• UPDATE 7/16 – runDisney gets into the D23 Expo mix with a “D2.3 (mile) Fun Run” to kickoff the Expo itself! The course will include a run from the Anaheim Convention Center through Disney California Adventure before it opens to the public and back with some extra special runDisney magic along the way. Only 50 D23 members (both free and Gold and Silver members) will be able to register for a chance to be selected for the run. We’ll share that registration information with you when it comes out next week (July 22) on our Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ social feeds.

• UPDATE 7/19 – Disney Citizenship, the Company’s corporate citizenship division, will partner with Disney’s VoluntEARS in celebration of the organization’s 30th anniversary with projects that will benefit communities all over the world. Guests attending the Expo will be able to create healthy snack packs for local food banks and take part in other community service activities as “honorary” VoluntEARS.

• UPDATE 7/22 – Two new announcements: 1) A few Disney princess-inspired gowns created by world-famous designers like Versace and Valentino will be on display inside the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit. 2) 3 new panels have been announced including one by Walt Disney Archives Chief Archivist Emeritus Dave Smith will tell the behind-the-scenes story of the making of “Mary Poppins” and another panel called “Secrets of the Lost Chords” where Disney music historian Randy Thornton will reveal some never-before-heard songs that were originally created for some classic Disney films!

• UPDATE 7/24 – ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” will have their “time” at the Expo with behind-the-scenes panels with the creators as well as an exclusive sneak peek at their new series “Once Upon A Time In Wonderland.” There will also be props and costumes available for your viewing pleasure.

• UPDATE 7/24 – The official D23 Expo app is now available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app features everything you could possibly need while at the Expo including schedules, push notifications for special events, and maps. Download it today!

• UPDATE 7/29 – The D23 Expo is next weekend and D23 has announced some of the celebrity appearances that’ll occur. Expect Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel (“Frozen”), Dane Cook (“Planes”), Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak (“Saving Mr. Banks”), Ty Burrell (“Muppets Most Wanted”), and other top Marvel and Pixar talent! They also announced additional exciting Walt Disney Studios panels and showcases which are now viewable in the D23 Expo App mentioned above and the official schedule online.

• UPDATE 8/2 – Take a look at the official D23 Expo Guidebook and 1st floor and 2nd/3rd floorExpo maps!

• UPDATE 8/6 – See our Tweets from the conference call we had this morning with Richard Sherman and Alan Menken as they discussed their one-night-only concert at the Expo!

• UPDATE 8/6 – ABC Television has announced that the hour-long pilot to the new Fall series “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” will be screened at exclusively for D23 Expo attendees (well over a month before the actual series premiere in September)! The pilot to the series will take place immediately after where “The Avengers” film left off.

• UPDATE 8/6 – Our official D23 Expo coverage page has gone live! Be sure to bookmark it as we’ll be reporting LIVE from the Expo floor throughout the Expo!

The Expo is Disney’s way of really making Disney fans like us experience the Disney magic in a whole new, more immersive way. They are even launching a new website with more immerse fan exclusive content with a FREE membership tier to attract more Disney fans on June 17!  The new website has launched with new FREE membership tiers! Visit the new D23.com!

We’re very happy to see Disney (as a company) go above and beyond with making experiences for people who know a lot about the Disney magic, but you won’t know much until you go to the Expo folks!

Buy your tickets now by clicking HERE.

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Are you a D23 member? If so, do you like all the fan experiences that Disney creates for D23? What do you appreciate most about The Walt Disney Company in general? Comment below!