the daily disney: August 2011

Do I look overly excited?

Well, I was…After all I have been watching and loving the careers of Joey Lawrence and Melissa Joan Hart for a LONG time. And when I had the opportunity to sit in on a very intimate press conference with the two of them, I was thrilled.

So what are they like? Exactly like you would expect- nice, funny and approachable. And well very Disney. Just seem like nice people.

And I would personally like to thank Joey for wearing the lowest cut v-neck he could find. I don’t know where that string necklace ends, but I offered to go find out. Ahem.

Here is a very unedited video from part of the conference. It opens with Joey talking about what happened the first time he rode Space Mountain…it involves pee. Pretty funny story.

And if you love these two as much as me, be sure to check out their show (they are the executive producers and will be directing as well) Melissa & Joey on ABC Family.

Thank you to the organizers of D23 Expo for giving experiences to the press like this one. It was wonderful.

(lot’s more D23 coverage on its way!)

Finally I got an Oscar. And I would like to thank the Academy, my mom and the members of D23 for this honor. No seriously….er, comedically…

Recently, I was given a wonderful opportunity to tour Disney Studios and learn more about the official fan club for Disney folks. Not just for Disney movie fans, or Disney parks fans, or just Disney game fans…but it is the official club for DISNEY fans. Basically if you love Disney- any part of it, from any era this is the club for you.

D23 members are offered insanely awesome opportunities all through out the year, like private parties with Disney legends, exclusive shows and conferences and yes, amazing Disney experiences like touring the exclusive Disney studios in Burbank, CA. The benefits of being a member got beyond all that as well; discounts, special collector merchandise and meeting like minded fans in your community.

On this day I had lunch with Bill Farmer, the Disney Legend and voice of Goofy for over 25 years. I adore voice over artists, and marveled at his joyful, well ‘goofy’ kind of happy demeanor.

We talked a lot about the upcoming D23 conference at the Anaheim Convention Center Aug 19-21st. I have attended previously, and let’s say it is a bit mind blowing. One minute I was watching John Lasseter (Pixar) talk about new projects and the next I was chatting with an Imaginieer about the build for Cars Land. There were umpteenth celebrity appearances, astonishing Disney vendors and just plain fun stuff. Oh and the archives! Tons of amazing, never seen the light of day kinda stuff there for you to see. Costumes, props and more. All of it brought to the conference fresh from the real archives (last photo is the research library room outside the archive warehouse) to D23 floor. I heard it straight from Steven Clark’s mouth (head of D23 and VP of Communication, Disney Archives etc…) that this year there are going to be set recreations included. And all kinds of wish-i-could-mention-it-here-but-can’t stuff!

And no, you do not HAVE to be a member of D23 to attend the conference. But I highly suggest you consider it. It is a stellar organization, and offers its members once of a life time opportunities. Making dreams come true…like letting a slightly insane blogger caress an Oscar.

Which by the way is way heavier than my Emmy*