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On the Scene at Disney's D23: Community, Camaraderie and Wild Shrieking
The event drew superfans and mega brands
Calling it Disney-Con would be a disservice. It’s more like Disney’s Super Bowl.
D23: The Ultimate Fan Event is the entertainment giant’s biennial dog-and-pony show for those loyalists—and the media. Over three days, Disney offers sneak peeks at its most anticipated projects from multiple studios, theme parks, streamers, gaming, live theater, music divisions and more.
Keep reading for highlights of Disney’s announcements, followed by trends from the convention floor.
Community, camaraderie and wild shrieking
Disney packed the Anaheim Convention Center with its beloved IP—classic and current, blockbusters and deep cuts—immersive experiences and merchandise sales. So. Much. Shopping. During its evening Honda Center extravaganzas, the company’s high-wattage stars like Anne Hathaway and Chris Evans basked in the glow of 12,000 super-fans screaming like it was a 1965 Beatles concert. Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad hyping Frozen 3 earned wild shrieking. Robert Downey Jr. popping by as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Doom elicited even more shrieking. You get the picture.
In his first D23 as CEO, former parks chief Josh D’Amaro preached directly to the choir, pointing out that there are 4 billion Disney fans worldwide for its myriad forms of storytelling.
“When you add it all up, Disney has something no other brand on Earth can claim,” he said. “Not just a customer base, not just an audience, but an actual connection.”
D23 veterans want to connect with the characters and properties they love, but also with each other, according to Los Angeles-based content creator Tiffany Sutton. “There’s a lot of community and camaraderie,” she said. “It’s the one time I can be around my people, the ones who truly understand. It’s like a mini-reunion of sorts, and the vibes are so good.”
Disney programming also included a slate of announcements:
- Marvel released an Avengers: Doomsday trailer (familiar to San Diego Comic-Con attendees) and revealed the full X-Men cast (Adam Driver as Mister Sinister! Obsession’s Inde Navarrette as Rogue!).
- Romy & Michele have gained “Disney princess” status, per Lisa Kudrow, and their long-awaited sequel is headed to Hulu next August.
- Jon Favreau has revived one of Walt Disney’s earliest creations, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, for a 3-part Disney+ series dropping in early 2027. He got an adoring crowd reaction by saying the property will be hand-drawn 2D animation (nothing AI here).
- The sequels, spinoffs and live-action remakes keep a-comin’: Ice Age: Boiling Point, Star Wars: Starfighter (can Ryan Gosling revive this iconic franchise?), Camp Rock 3, Zootopia 3, Coco 2, live-action versions of Tangled (Kathryn Hahn as a baddie!) and Lilo & Stitch 2.
- Execs teased only a few animated originals, including Gatto and Ghost Market from Pixar and Disney’s Hexed. The latter features Jodie Foster in her first voice role for the studio where she began her career as a child actor.
- Theme park happenings include the upcoming Villains Land, with a Maleficent roller coaster, a Cars-inspired attraction at Magic Kingdom, a Tomorrowland refresh at Disneyland and an Indiana Jones & The Myth of the Jade Serpent ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Passion points
A fan club member could technically attend D23 on the cheap, with a $49 half-day ticket. But many go all in, especially if they’re traveling (Disney says 50 states and 38 countries were represented). Packages range from several hundred dollars for the weekend to more than $2,500 for a VIP pass.
But devotees rarely brought up money in discussing their pilgrimage, with only a few mentioning how they budget for the event or give up lesser priorities. It’s a testament to fandom in general, but the Mouse House in particular, to hear participants wax on about what it means to be there IRL. “It helps us escape from reality, especially with what’s going on nowadays,” said Athena Dickinson, a Southern California resident who was cosplaying as the title character from The Corpse Bride. (She was a dead ringer, for anyone wondering.) “It’s nice to be able to nurture that inner child and connect back to that time when you were a kid, before you had to deal with all of life’s responsibilities.” Super fandom like that made a grown man sprint across a cavernous ballroom for the Q&A at The Simpsons panel. Maybe he knew that creator Matt Groening would be giving away his real-time doodles to those who asked questions? Anyway, he got a cool rendering of Bart. Lucky guy.
The wonderful world of marketing
Heinz, fresh off its recently announced multiyear strategic alliance with Disney, had its first showing at D23 with one of the busier brand activations, proving that the masses crave a high-touch experience right now. Also: They love free food of any kind. “It’s a Flavorful World” was a clever sampling opportunity, heavy on play and personalization, designed as an homage to the classic ride “it’s a small world.” Visitors made their own condiment mashups via an automated mixologist and tasted new sauces like blackberry bourbon barbecue. “It’s really fun, and the whole Small World aesthetic is really eye-catching,” said Jonathan Louie, a San Francisco resident who stopped by the pop-up on Friday. “It’s unique compared to a lot of other booths here.” Louie’s friend Darrel Vega said they “took advantage of all the photo ops” while figuring the new corporate partnership will mean Heinz “will have an even further reach, after already being a household name.” Our one criticism: Zero chips for dipping.
Mostly, though, Heinz understood the assignment, as did fellow Disney sponsors Chevrolet (with a Cars-themed presence) and M&M’s (where fans could “audition” to be a candy-coated Marvel hero). Both booths were consistently mobbed. Honda’s footprint with an Encanto theme was less so, but that could’ve been its out-of-the-way location.
Merch is king
And exclusive is everything. Some of the longest lines on the convention floor were made up of people waiting to shop. There’s no official word on how much of the swag purchased there goes on eBay or other secondary platforms, but estimates are that at least a portion of it does. And maybe the consumers who put in all that legwork deserve to turn a profit? They had no shortage of options, with retail sales eating up serious square footage, offering apparel and accessories, action figures, toy sets and limited-edition products that can’t be found at the mall. Some are no doubt adding to their personal collections, and maybe others are adding to the college fund.
Blasts from the past
The lure of nostalgia continues in general, and one obvious sign at D23 was the rabid interest in OG trading cards and card games. The Topps booth was jammed all weekend, beginning early Friday morning, and Magic: The Gathering’s pop-up was wall-to-wall humanity. The latter, a 30-plus-year-old game, has surged in popularity, generating more than $500 million in quarterly revenue for the first time in its history, according to a recent Hasbro earnings announcement. Picking up on that wave, Disney now has its own fast-growing Magic-style game called Lorcana. It’s a category that touches on multiple trends at once: collectibility, worldbuilding, interactivity and connection, with the buzz just getting stronger.
Related: FIFA, MLB, Mitchell & Ness and More Showed Up Big at Fanatics Fest 2026
Lifelong journalist and newshound • Brand watcher and trend spotter • Content creator • Fitsplainer
