The D23 Expo: Disney Reveals Details of a New Fan Convention

After the big reveal of the new official Disney fan club earlier this year, D23, news of an attached four day fan convention has recently emerged. The "D23 Expo", as Disney calls it, is set to take place this September from the 10^th to the 13^th. The convention sounds promising, especially for hard-core Disney fans, and will offer a variety of events and displays. The D23 Expo is taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, conveniently located close to Disneyland.

For starters, if you're not familiar with fan conventions, think of all the times you've heard the phrases, "Comic-Con" or, "Gen-Con" in the news. There are conventions for everything. Autograph signings, Star Wars, horror films, comic books, anime, Star Trek, and pretty much everything you can think of in the world of arts and entertainment.

A convention is a chance for fans to come together, buy and sell souvenirs, hear speakers relevant to their areas of interest, and more. They've become so influential that big companies have taken note, especially in the film industry. Often times, films release their first round of promotional materials at these conventions. Many times there are tables set up with the director, actors, producers, and more present to talk about the film and take questions.

In a way, it's almost become a form of viral marketing. How? Because fans show up with their cameras and report back to the internet their thoughts and first impressions on whatever they've just seen. Often segments from films are shown as well and are almost always posted on the internet. So is Disney finally trying to take advantage of this type of free press and reward their fans in the process? I'd say so. According to the Associated Press, "Fans can get an early look at "TRON," "Toy Story 3" and Tim Burton's take on "Alice in Wonderland" this fall at Disney's first fan expo."

One of the biggest events to take place at the convention will be the 2009 Disney Legends Ceremony, which will take place the Saturday of the convention on September 12^th. The D23 Website reveals the legends for this year, "Past Disney Legends include Julie Andrews, Steve Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Annette Funicello, Dean Jones, Angela Lansbury, Fess Parker, Kurt Russell, Tim Allen, Hayley Mills, Phil Collins, Art Linkletter, Tim Conway, Sir Tim Rice, Sir Elton John, Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and, of course, our very own Disney Chief Archivist Dave Smith!" More information is set to be released about the details of the ceremony in the coming weeks via the website.

The official website is located at http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/ where you can book your trip, buy your tickets, plan what activities you will attend, see schedules, maps, pictures, view the expo floor, and more. You can even follow the new fan club on Twitter and follow a link to the official D23 site. Will you be attending Disney's first fan expo?