I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to the convention center on Friday, September 12, the second day of the expo. It was my one day to experience the convention without my family and I was excited to have time to myself to roam the convention. My husband has been to conventions like Comic Con and Blizz Con and has said that walking into one these conventions is an assault on the senses. The convention floors are alive and packed with fans dressed in crazy costumes, loud music, and tons of ambiance. This was not the case the the D23 Expo. The convention floor was interesting but lacked the energy rush of other fan conventions. The convention floor featured presentations from Disney’s online and interactive arms and Disney Consumer Products, among others. It was a big space and easy to get lost, but did not have that Disney “energy” I had hoped for. By far, the best exhibit on the floor (and I’m not the least bit biased) was that presented by the Disney Parks.

After being pulled over by the sheriff and doing a little tractor tippin’ with Mater, guests will find themselves back in town. Here’s where it gets very cool. The attraction has many, many different endings. At this point, it is time for you to get ready for a race and you will either get new tires from Luigi and Guido or a fancy new paint job from Ramon. In either case, you’ll get a pre-race pep talk from Doc as your pit crew gets ready for your big event. Guests will then race another car and with variety of preprogramed race events; guests will never know who will win as it will be different every time.

In the end, before disembarking, guests will enter Tail Light Caverns, inspired by the famous Carlsbad Caverns. Instead stalagmites, guests will see stalag-lights.

Sound like a lot? It certainly took Kevin from Walt Disney Imagineering much longer than the attraction’s 4.5 minute running time to explain the intricacies of the attraction to me! Coined as a “human scale slot car track” the attraction will have a high riders per hour capacity (RPC in Disney speak) similar to that of Pirates of the Caribbean, which will hopefully mean shorter lines. I was a bit disappointed to hear that the attraction may have a height requirement. This will be a major disappointment to 2- and 3-year old little boys.

Guests will have lots to see and do in Cars Land, including two additional attractions and a landmark lifted straight from the movie. One of the attractions is Mater’s Junk Yard, which has been said to be a C-Ticket, slow moving attraction. Another attraction is Luigi’s Flying Tires which was inspired by the flying saucers attraction housed in Tomorrowland in the 1960s. I was told that both attractions may have height requirements. I really hope this does not end up being the case. Cars Land is a dream for little boys and if they can’t go on any of the attractions, that would be a major disappointment and quite frankly, a major mistake on Disney’s part. Also in Cars Land, Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel will be a restaurant where everything is cone themed.

Also in the parks exhibit was a great look at the past and future of audioanamatronics–including an audioanamatroic performer that can read the human emotions of the crowd and respond to verbal cues. I was also very pleased to see two of the greatest robotic performers of all time–the original Mr. Lincoln (whose attraction is currently being overhauled) and everyone’s favorite trash compactor, Wall-E.

Above are concepts and models used by imagineers to create the audioanamatronic performers found throughout Disney parks. The metal hand above has sixteen moving parts and is so finely tuned it can even do sign language.

Above is the original body of Mr. Lincoln that premiered at the World’s Fair in New York in 1964. Look at that technology for 1964! Amazing! A new Mr. Lincoln show should premiere at Disneyland some time this year.

Even better than the Parks exhibit were the fabulous lectures and seminars about the past, present, and future of Disney. This is where the expo excelled and far surpassed other fan conventions. I regretfully did not attend as many as I would have liked due to being a bit overwhelmed the first day and having had my second day derailed when my two year old threw up all over our hotel room when we were taking a break in the afternoon. (That kind of ended the whole day for me!)

I did, however, attend a WONDERFUL panel discussion of Snow White which was fabulous and informative in every way. As a Snow White fan it was a dream come true to see some really fabulous footage, see the real model and dancer that the animators used to create Snow White (she was only a young teenager when she earned $10 a day to model for the landmark film), and hear animator information on the film. I was in seventh heaven.

I also attended a great seminar on the World of Color, the Disneyland Resorts newest entertainment offering which will come to life spring 2010. This actorless show will come to life using water screens, lasers, fire, a beautiful new soundtrack sung by Amy Grant, flame throwers, and beautiful animation images. Hosted by Tinkerbelle, the show is a dedication to Walt Disney’s famous quote that “every child is blessed with a vivid imagination.” At approximately 25 minutes long, the show will take guests on an incredible and imaginative adventure with Pocohontas, Alice and the gang from Alice in Wonderland, Ariel and her friends, the whales and Spring Sprite from Fantasia 2000, Buzz and Woody in Andy’s room, and a host of villains (including Scar from the Lion King). The show will conclue with a beautiful “transformation” ending with Belle and the Beast and other lovely, classic Disney images that have been set to tear jerking music. We were told that there is certainly not going to be a dry eye by the end. The show will bring back some forgotten music favorites, including one of my faves, “April Showers.”

Tonight, I will post what I learned at the HUGE Disney parks presentation. It is going to knock your socks off!!! I will also be posting a guest blog by Janet Tanasugarn, former Disneyland Ambassador in the next few days.