Today was the first ever D23 Day in Disneyland to kick off the D23 Ultimate Fan Event that starts tomorrow! There were so many fun things going on and great photo ops! We were so excited to go to all 3 locations with D23 Day offerings and I can’t wait to share it all with you. Remember that I’ll be posting a short recap of each D23 day the rest of this week so stay tuned!
Disneyland
We had early entry into Disneyland this morning so we started there. They gave each person a pair of D23 Day ears when they entered the park and they are so cute! Once we got in there was a huge D23 Day photo op set up right on Main Street and it was so cute. Unfortunately the lines for it were soooo long all day so I chose to just snap a pic of it from a far and not wait forever.
There were 3 different entertainment options for D23 Day as well in Disneyland. They did a special Cavalcade with 23 characters and some of the Disney Legends getting inducted this weekend. There was a Dance-A-Long party with Stitch and Friends in Tomorrowland and a band playing in Tomorrowland Terrace in the evening.
There were characters everywhere as there seems to always be in Disneyland but today you could meet Max ad Goofy together and Merlin! I am so sad I didn’t see Merlin but I am so happy he was out and about for others today. We did have the most adorable interaction with Genie this morning. He took Thatcher by the hand and walked him around a little bit before “granting” his three birthday wishes. It was so cute!
California Adventure
We didn’t hop over to California Adventure until later in the afternoon but we had a blast! For D23 Day this park had a Disney Jr Parade, a Disney Jr Let’s Play Party and a group playing on the Backlot Stage. You could find Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear, Disney Jr Friends and some Heroes throughout the park. They also had an Illusion Art installation and a Descendants photo location. We honestly just went to see what the regular park had to offer and not the D23 Day stuff, I can’t wait to do a full recap of this park!
Downtown Disney
First of all I have to say that I really love Downtown Disney! It may be smaller than Disney Springs but it is a definite vibe! Here they had a DJ on the Downtown Disney LIVE stage, a really cute D23 Day photo op that I DID get to do because there was no line at all, a Sorcerer Mickey illusion art installation that I got to see being painted, and a cute Wizards Beyond Waverly Place photo location.
Special Merchandise
Each one of the parks had some special merchandise offerings, I will say I was a little disappointed that there was not a D23 Day collection offered. But it was good for my bank account! Hahaha! In Disneyland there was a trunk show for Citizen Watches and Crislu Jewelry…..the lines for these were CRAZY, we did not wait in them! But I did go see the Citizen watches at the Downtown Disney location where there was no line and got a really cute Donald Duck poster. There was also a special release of D23 Day collectable medallions. I didn’t think we would end up getting these because again….the line in Disneyland was outrageous for this and seemed to only get longer. BUT then I realized I could get it in Downtown Disney and literally walked right up to the machine and got all 4. They also released the 25th anniversary Tarzan merchandise today and I plan to go see that in Downtown Disney on another day, I love Tarzan!
PhotoPass
PhotoPass was free today for D23 Day so I tried to take full advantage of that as much as I could get my family to do it! Haha! I love PhotoPass so much so I was happy we had it today here to bring home those memories.
Conclusion
We have had the BEST day! This was such a cool day to be in the parks and see so many fun things for us crazy D23 people. I wish we had so many more days to go into the parks, we do get to go back on Monday and will be filling in any gaps we didn’t hit today but I could fill at least a few more days. I can’t wait to share my full review of the California parks with you all in a week or so, it so different and yet so much the same and has filled my heart right up! Now I am heading to a balcony in the hotel a Cast Member told me about this afternoon to watch World of Color and have a drink. Remember to stay tuned for a recap of each D23 day this weekend, it’s gonna be wild I’m sure! Thank you all so much for being here and reading even though this week was posted a little later than normal. Have the most magical day!