This week we finally got the details for Destination D23 coming to Walt Disney World August 29-31! We got all the Destination D23 announcements from Disney! Everything from ticket prices to extra offerings and everything in between. This is slated to be the largest Destination D23 ever. I am so excited to share all the details as well as some comparison from the 2023 event. Let’s get started!
What Is Destination D23
First of all, if you are not familiar with what Destination D23 is, let’s fix that! Destination D23 is the fan event that happens every other year here in Walt Disney World. Opposite of the D23 Expo that happens in California, this is like the little sister of fan events. Destination D23 does not usually have the mind blowing announcements that D23 Expo does. But it is no less exciting and fun! This years event is slated to be the largest Destination D23 ever! This year the event is being held at the Coronado Springs Resort. In 2023 it was held at the Contemporary but because they are saying it is so much larger they have moved it to the larger Coronado Springs convention center.
Destination D23: A Journey Around the Worlds of Disney
This years event is called Destination D23: A journey Around the Worlds of Disney. Disney says those in attendance will celebrate beloved moments and memories with behind the scenes stories. Special Guests and Performances will be throughout the weekend. Disney also says we should buckle up for a sneak peek at the company’s future. I don’t know about you but I am hoping that means a look at the attractions coming to Villains Land!! Guests will get to experience first access to exclusive shopping and lot’s of surprises. This years event is presented by Lug again and if they show out anything like they did in 2023 then we are in for a treat!
Destination D23 Panels
Unlike the D23 Expo, every ticket will have a guaranteed seat in every panel. At the Expo we had to get in a queue super early for the ones we wanted to get into. There were multiple panels so you had to pick and choose which ones you were going to go see. That’s the beauty of Destination D23 in my opinion, that you can truly do it all! Disney has announced panels on attractions, upcoming projects, a celebration of the Three Caballeros 80th anniversary, Disney Archives and Disney you didn’t know. Presentations from Imagineers, Archivists, Cast Members, Disney Legends and historians. Plus more!
Destination D23 Kuzcotopia Night at Typhoon Lagoon
On Saturday night, August 30th, Typhoon Lagoon has a D23 takeover! This is included with your ticket and in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Emperor’s New Groove. There will be complimentary snacks and beverages, tributes to Disney water parks, photo opportunities, special activities and exclusive entertainment. Plus you can enjoy the whole water park too! This sounds like so much fun and I hope we get to see some rare characters! In comparison, in 2023 guests had an after hours night in EPCOT with select attractions open for them to ride including Guardians of the Galaxy! So I hope they pull out all the stops here because I am not 100% sure Typhoon Lagoon is as exciting to everyone as a night in EPCOT practically by yourself! But I very rarely go to the water parks so I am excited for the excuse and to go at night!
Disney 80’s-90’s Celebration in Concert
This is the finale event of the weekend and man am I excited for this! This will be hosted by Disney on Broadway and Disney Animation stars. Disney said this will be a flashback through this eras TV shows and films. With show stopping performances, rock concert lighting and larger than life projections. Featured shows and films include Hercules, A Goofy Movie, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, the Lion King, The Disney Afternoon and more! I have no doubt this will be so much fun and have the best music all night! In 2023 they did a Halloween party. There was a screening of a new Disney+ Mickey Halloween short before its release and Lug gave us the coolest trick or treat bag!
Walt Disney Archives Presents: Charting the Course, Disney’s Global Stories and Inspirations
Guests will get to enjoy an all new exhibit from the Walt Disney Archives. This exhibit is celebrating the influence the world around us has on creativity and how it has shaped the Walt Disney Company. There will be a selection of photography, artwork and artifacts that follow the journey of how Disney Imagineers come up with all our favorite things. This exhibit is open to be experienced throughout the weekend. You can go in and out multiple times if you like. In 2023 the Archives exhibit was all about animatronics and costuming, this sounds equally as exciting!! Admission into the exhibit is included with your Destination D23 ticket.
Destination D23 Shopping Spree
The shopping at D23 events is always so full of exciting things. I wish I had a credit card with no limit that someone else was paying off! Hahahaha! Most of it is exclusive to the event and will not be available afterwards. There are 4 different “stores” at Destination D23. The Walt Disney Company Store is where you will find the Destination D23 branded merchandise as well as D23 Member merchandise. There are all kinds of other unique items like limited edition trading pins and Walt Disney Company store merchandise. Some of the limited edition pin releases are done by random selection queue only but others you will be able to shop for.
Mickey’s of Glendale is the Walt Disney Imagineering Campus store. While it was smaller in 2023 it still had a ton of cool stuff! Plus it’s nice for us east Coasters to get to experience some of what the Cali fans do. Disney Studio Store Hollywood will feature new apparel, accessories and pins! Ink and Paint Marketplace is like a Disney vendor fair. Most of you favorite Disney brands, all with their own little space.
In 2023 we had to reserve a time to shop unless you were attending the whole event. Attendees got a preview day, so they may do that again this year. But also since it is a bigger event this year, maybe they won’t have the set times, who knows! They also had an option to just purchase a shopping ticket, they have not said if they are doing that again. Regardless, there will be plenty of cool stuff I will want to buy, no matter when I go! The Shopping Spree is included with your ticket to Destination D23.
D23 On The Road: A Goofy Movie Throwback Premiere
On Thursday the 28th, the night before Destination D23 begins, there is going to be a special “premiere” event for the 30th anniversary of the Goofy movie. This is going to be held at the AMC Theaters in Disney Springs. This is no coincidence, this is the exact theater A Goofy Movie premiered at in 1995!! I have no doubt this will be super fun! This is a separately ticketed event and is NOT included in your Destination D23 ticket. Tickets for this go on sale Thursday, April 17th 10am PT/1pm ET and are $35 for D23 Gold Members. I am sure this will sell out quickly since it is the night before!!
D23 Nights in Disney Springs
This is happening at Disney Springs the week prior to Destination D23. There will be special activities and special offers at Disney Springs. More info is coming through for this and I cannot wait to see what all the is in store for us in Disney Springs this week! nDisney has also, cryptically added that we should keep our eyes open for details on a spooktacular event on August 29th so we shall see what that turns out to be! I sure we will continue to get more Destination D23 announcements as we get close to the event and the details on this will hopefully be next. I am wondering if it will have special offerings like D23 Day in Disneyland that went on before the D23 Expo? You can read all about that here.
Destination D23 Tickets
Within all these Destination D23 announcements we got ticket information too. Tickets for Destination D23 are going on sale Monday, April 14th at 10amPT/1pmET. Tickets are exclusively for Gold Members, general members will not be able to purchase tickets. If you are planning to get tickets, I suggest having multiple devices logged in and ready to go! When we got D23 Expo tickets I had three devices running and only one got through.
General tickets are $299 each, a limited number of Preferred tickets for $549 and an even more limited number of Premier tickets for $799. As far as I can tell the only difference between the three tiers of tickets is the seating in the panels. All attendees are guaranteed a seat in every panel but the preferred and premier have dedicated areas front and center and a separate queue to get into the panels. I know it would be nice to sit up front but I am not sure a better seat is worth this jump in ticket pricing. But that’s just me, for some it may be well worth the extra money have a great seat for each panel!
Conclusion
I am so excited for this event! All these Destination D23 announcements have me so excited for what’s to come. As much as I loved going to the D23 Expo in California last August, Destination D23 is my favorite. This event is more low key and smaller but just as fun. There is no rushing around or chilling on a concrete floor at 4am for 4 hours to make sure you get a seat in the panel you want to go to that morning. Although that was a rush and exciting, I will enjoy knowing I have a seat in each panel and don’t have to do that for this one.
The 2023 event was the first big D23 event we attended and we loved it! You can read all about it here. Destination D23 had some of the best performances, including Jodi Benson singing Part of your World!! Childhood dream achieved! I highly recommend Destination D23! While the Expo is amazing, it is not for everyone and can be a little stressful. Of course, you never know if you will actually get tickets. I shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch. Hopefully I will be doing a happy dance on Monday after I get my tickets! You can get your tickets here! I hope you enjoyed this little recap of the Destination D23 announcements and have the most magical day!