D23 Weekend Wrap Up at Baseline Tap House - Highlights, Lowlights, & A First Timer's Perspective
At the Parks with Ryno
In this episode of 'At the Parks with Ryno,' host Ryno and first-time D23 attendee Trey reflect on their experiences at the recent D23 Weeke
Key takeaways
- First-time attendees like Trey found D23 overwhelming due to its intense concentration of Disney content, similar to visiting Disney World without prior experience.
Main topics
- First-time D23 experience
- Event logistics and attendee overwhelm
Notable quotes
"It's now just this... It's a concentrated version of what it's like to go to Disney World now."
Conclusion
While D23 offers an electrifying and immersive experience for Disney fans, it also presents
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:09) Hello, everybody. I am here at Disney's Hollywood Studios today at my favorite attraction, Baseline Taphouse. It is a chilly 95 degree day in Florida right now, literally soaking wet through my clothes. So I needed a break. I needed to grab a drink. And one of my good friends is in town and visiting. And if you've been watching this channel for a hot second, you know him. You love him, I think. You've said some positive things. I mean, maybe I'm just trying to blow his ego up right now. But we have Trey. It feels like you love me, so let's just go with that. You love me. I want your acceptance speech by the end of this. No, so Trey went to his very first D23 this past weekend. If you've been watching the channel, you might have known he did the recap of the Entertainment Showcase and the Experiences Showcase with me. And it was really cool to be able to do that with a first-timer. And then my friend Diane was in the second one, and that was her second version of that. I love having this, like, this, like... experiences like seeing everybody do it for the first time or repeating it because this one was like my sixth time and there's i know i talk about this all the time but there's something there is a little bit like not to be cheesy there's a little bit of magic about d23 i feel like i always end up making like a friend or there's a special experience to be had but that's not to say that there aren't good or there are bad things that happen here or things that you're like oh i would love if they worked on this for next time or you know whatever so i thought it would be fun since you're in town again trey i promise i didn't shove him in a suitcase and take him here i'm Speaker 1 (1:35) just following him and stalking him from coast to coast help help someone send help uh Speaker 2 (1:39) no um i since you were here i was like oh it's it's wednesday as of recording this d23 ended on the uh on sunday i did i thought it would be fun to have a little bit of a breakdown about uh what it was like for your first experience at D23, but also like the things that you're still excited about now on Wednesday. Because I have seen a little bit of sort of, I don't know, pushback or like online where people are basically being like, oh, you got a repaired Yeti, this thing, this thing, this thing, and one ounce. And like, I don't know. Yeah. So I'm just curious to see like. First of all, thank you for being in that live stream with me. I really, really enjoyed doing it. I thought it was great with you and Diane. I was ended and I was literally like, that's exactly the vibe I want. I love, I love just sitting with somebody and just talking about this thing that we're all like big nerds about and that we're just like, Oh yeah, I want to know. I mean you especially, you were like, get me into these panels. I want to know about Speaker 1 (2:35) designing spaces. I Speaker 2 (2:36) said, Speaker 1 (2:36) I want to know about all the things. that are happening so that I can be better than Goyle. Speaker 2 (2:41) What did you say to Speaker 1 (2:41) me? Speaker 2 (2:41) You were like, I pre-ordered Joe Rohde's book. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like, you're a Speaker 1 (2:45) big Disney fan. Oh, no, I'm... You're bigger Speaker 2 (2:47) than... You're a deeper diver into Speaker 1 (2:50) the details than me. You said it, not me. I'm Speaker 2 (2:53) just saying. I Speaker 1 (2:54) never pretend to be an expert. I am a big Disney fan, and I love the whole reason I love Disney, and then I became an architect and designer in my adult life, is that I love the idea of storytelling and using spaces to do that and really crafting experiences for people. I can't help but kind of dive into the details a little bit more. Speaker 2 (3:15) Well, I think that's Speaker 1 (3:15) a, Speaker 2 (3:15) I mean, I went to film school and I feel like that's also another medium of storytelling. And so it's interesting that it all comes back to storytelling. Speaker 1 (3:22) It's cool. But Speaker 2 (3:23) I'm just curious to think, like, we got really lucky and... We both separately originally had like 400 seats and then I had somebody who reached out and was like, hey, I have these seats we're not going to use. They're in the 200 level. And so I told you where I was like, hey, I know you're coming. Do you want to come down here and sit with me? And we ended up with like these amazing seats like right off the floor to have this experience. So I need to know. And also like this is only the second time you've been at a showcases or entertainment. Sorry, the showcases like the entertainment, the legends and the experience of things. I've Speaker 1 (3:57) been Speaker 2 (3:57) in the Honda Center where you were able to order a drink, a Speaker 1 (3:59) food item, a snack, popcorn, Speaker 2 (4:01) whatever. Right. You know, so you're a little spoiled. We used to have to just go hungry. Oh, no. No, no, no. Just letting you know. We had Speaker 1 (4:08) tequila. We had popcorn. My emotional support popcorn. Emotional support popcorn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was great. I'm just Speaker 2 (4:15) curious, Speaker 1 (4:15) like, you know, now it's Wednesday. Speaker 2 (4:17) What sticks with you? Is there a moment? It doesn't have to be from those showcases specifically. Sure. But just overall, the weekend. Yeah. Like, I want to know some pros. I want to know some cons. Like, what's sticking with you where you're like, this is the thing I keep thinking about back from D23? Or Speaker 1 (4:30) is there anything that you keep thinking about? I will say that, so I'll answer that question by re-asking. I want a five-part answer. I'm going to give you a five-part answer because I can't help Speaker 2 (4:39) it. Intro, one, one, two, three, conclusion. 2A. Thank Speaker 1 (4:42) you, yeah. 2A, Roman numeral three. Yes, yes, please, yeah. No, like, Diane asked me, I think it was towards the last day when we were having... dinner at Lamplight. Lobster nachos for the win. You couldn't have them because you're allergic. Speaker 2 (4:58) What Speaker 1 (4:58) did you eat though? I had the dan dan noodles. Speaker 2 (5:00) Okay, yeah, sorry, I was so obsessed with those lobster nachos Speaker 1 (5:02) I couldn't look up. We had very specific thoughts about the noodles where you get them if you're hungry because they are just okay. Oh, these good? Speaker 2 (5:09) And you're like, I'm hungry. I'm hungry. And Speaker 1 (5:11) I'm like, Speaker 2 (5:11) oh, that tells me what I need to know. They were perfectly average. Speaker 1 (5:15) No, but when she asked me, she was like, would you ever come back again? And I said, Yes, but strong caveat to that. Like, I think I would love to come back, but I think I have a better idea about what I'm getting myself into. Like, not that I... It can be overwhelming. It was very overwhelming. And I think I made this point to you that I said that it's now just this... It's a concentrated version of what it's like to go to Disney World now. In a way that, like, I haven't experienced in a while because I go all the time. And so, you know, when I go, I can... you know pick and choose well Speaker 2 (5:49) you're you're you're like uh um you're well traveled yeah and like Speaker 1 (5:54) trained on the dudes the do's and don'ts of coming to disney world that's exactly what going to d23 is like where it is if you don't you kind of have to have you have to have a plan yeah you have to have it planned you have to know what you're what you're going for like And that was a little overwhelming. I will say that was very present this year. Speaker 2 (6:13) This year, I think, is the first year that they didn't have the individual seller's marketplace where you'd find, I don't know, the Etsy sellers, Speaker 1 (6:22) let's say. The Speaker 2 (6:23) artists, the things like that. And I feel like I noticed that a lot. And so that, to me, was a little bit of a ding. But I was telling you, and I told Diane, basically anybody that would listen, I was saying that... You know, I've had this experience before because I used to go to the official Power Rangers convention. It was called Power Morphicon, but it started before it was officially sponsored. Speaker 1 (6:44) But as Speaker 2 (6:44) soon as it was officially sponsored, I remember going to the first one and then the next one I think got officially sponsored or something. But a lot of those sellers where you would find like, oh, this person had made a replica of their communicator. Somebody had done some fan art. Those sellers aren't there at an officially sponsored event because they could trigger a... a like a cease and desist like a you know a dispute with any something like that so it is a that to me is a little bit of bummer because for me like when i go to like megacon here in orlando or something i spend most of my time in artist alley like i am going up and down i'm looking for the really creative souvenir yeah i'm looking for the things that like people are creating that are unique that i can kind of only get here and i've been lucky to find a lot of that I do feel like that was missing a little bit from this for sure. And I definitely felt exactly what you're talking about. I mean, like you were reading my mind when you were saying it was very much like that Walt Disney World vacation where like even to just go to some of these booths, you really had to have had. a reservation. So like, I never went into the studio store. Like, I Speaker 1 (7:45) never got to go into it. Had you not told me about the reservation thing for the merch lines? Yeah. I would not have, like... Well, I got you into the marketplace because I had an extra one because Diane also Speaker 2 (7:53) had one. Yeah. But one day, it was just me and Diane for like the NSID, the period NYSD stuff. And then, she and I were also the only ones that got to go into Imagineering because only one of us got it. I was the only one in the room who got it. So, it's Speaker 1 (8:07) tough. It's tough. Yeah. That did kind of... I was also saying to you that like I think that it really brought out the whole capitalism flaw of this whole Disney life. But it was Speaker 2 (8:21) all it also felt like all that capitalism was one. Capitalism was one source. Yes. Speaker 1 (8:27) It wasn't like, oh, I'm supporting. No, no, no, no. It was like we're all going up that one tree trunk. Right. Because like the couple of things that I got from booths that weren't necessarily Disney. like an official Disney