2015 Phoenix ComiCon

by Al Kessel

WAY back in the dark ages of 1970, comic store owner Richard Alf and publisher Ken Krueger organized a three day celebration of comic books they called San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con. What started in a basement with a mere 300 people attending has turned in to a world wide phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of attendees dressing up to look like their favorite comic book/sci-fi/fantasy character.

Ok, enough of the history lesson. Over the weekend of May 28-31, 2015, Phoenix, Arizona played host to the 14th annual Phoenix Comicon, and Joyce and I were lucky enough to get our hot little hands on a couple of media credentials for this wild, crazy and geeky extravaganza!  Let me tell ya'....it was a different kind of experience for us.

Now, before I go any further, I need to tell you that although I am a self-proclaimed Sci-Fi geek, I've never, ever been to a ComiCon in my life. Ever. I'd always been curious, but never went to one. So, on a whim, we decided to apply for media credentials earlier this year and to our amazement...we were accepted. 

Being our first year and all, we decided to go slowly. With that said, we only covered two days (May 28-29), because of various reasons. So, we decided to take the first day and check in, get our credentials and then just kind of scope things out. Being the first day, things were kind of slow, not a great deal going on, not too many attendees (which was kind of nice really), but still enough to see to give us a taste of what was to come. 

So, after checking in and kind of looking around a bit, the first panel we attended was 'The Dark Side of Doctor Who', which I thought was to be about, you know, the dark side of our favorite Time Lord. And it sort of was...sort of. The panel consisted of five 'Whovian's' (Dwayne Plain, Jesse Canfield, Mack Duncan, Matt Duncan [no relation] and Sean Mushro), all of who are 'experts' in one form or another on Doctor Who. The topic was actually the top 10 darkest episodes of the series according to the panel. Which was still pretty interesting. They covered Doctors from the original run and the newer version. The presenters were actually pretty fun and humorous, and all in all, it was a good way to start our ComiCon experience. 

Doctor Who Panel of Experts...

The next panel we saw (and the last actually on Thursday) was Star Trek: The Ongoing Comic and Book Adventures, hosted by David Williams and Ted House. This was a bit more 'out of my league' as I've never really read any of the Star Trek comics, but have read a few of the older novels, and poor Joyce was completely in the dark. She likes Star Trek, but isn't one for comic books, or sci-fi novels. This panel covered the interconnecting story lines between the comics-movies-series-books, and was really interesting. I even won a comic book! Yep, an IDW Star Trek The Q Gambit issue 6, for answering a trivia question correctly. (Let's see if you can too: In the movie Star Trek: Into Darkness, Kirk, Spock, and Uhura take a shuttle craft down to Qo'nos to look for John Harrison (a.k.a. KHAN). From who did Kirk mention he got the shuttlecraft? I'll put the answer on our Facebook page.) There were some pretty interesting things discussed in this panel, like WHY Khan looked so 'white' in Into Darkness, when he's supposed to be Asian; some backstory on Spock, etc. All in all this was another fun panel. 

Winner of the 12 and Under Brain Eating Contest

After the Star Trek panel, we rushed over to the OTHER side of the world...err, of the Convention Center to sit in on some Zombie action. The Brain Eating Contest to be more accurate. To be honest, we weren't sure WHAT this was about, but we figured it would be a lot of fun. And it was. It was a brain eating contest. Well, maybe not REAL brains, but it did look kind of creepy. There were two rounds to the event: Round One consisted of the qualifier. Contestants had to eat dirt as fast as they could - with their hands behind their backs - and the winner would go on to Round Two. The graveyard dirt was actually mashed up Oreo Cookies with some gummy worms mixed in. Round Two was the actual 'meat' of the competition: BRAINS (or Jello with some red food coloring

Winner of the OVER 12 Brain Eating Contest

mixed in and on). First up were 12 years old and younger, and there were three qualifier rounds for this. Once the three winners were chosen, they went head to head (yeah, pun intended) with the Jello. There were pretty cool prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, all Walking Dead related. Then came the adults, 13 years old and older. This is where the fun started! Same as before, there were three qualifier rounds with the graveyard dirt. But, when it came to the brain eating...they decided to give the contestants a grown-up portion, which looked to be about 2-3 POUNDS of Jello! As with the young'uns, prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, again, Walking Dead related. 

After watching all that brain eating, we decided to grab a quick lunch, so we headed outside. Yeah, Phoenix. Remember? HOT!! It was about 103º. Anyway, out in front of the Convention Center there were a few Food Trucks set up, and boy howdy were they busy! And nothing like I remembered Food Trucks to be. I'm used to the veritable greasy spoon, where they served hot dogs, hamburgers and chips. THESE bad boys are all gourmet now. We decided on a truck called Rock-A-Belly, which served soft tacos...excuse me, GOURMET soft tacos. And honestly, they were awesome. Joyce and I both got the 'CASH' plate, which was shredded chicken (white meat...they only serve white meat), with some really tasty sauce and veggies, with a side of homemade tortilla chips. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being that greasy spoon I mentioned, and 5 being CORN DOG'S!), Joyce and I both gave Rock-A-Belly a 5. Awesome soft tacos for sure. However, the price was a little shocking. $10 each. Which, I suppose isn't all that bad, but when you think you're paying for a taco, you're expecting a little....well, less cost. But well worth it. 

Ariel and Eric from Little Mermaid

After lunch, we strolled around the 'Con' a bit more then called it a day. We wanted to make sure we were fresh for Friday....when the REAL ComiCon started! 

Friday. 9:00 am
So...this was the day I'd REALLY been looking forward to. Four panels, back to back, that I was really amped up for. Now, let me pause a moment here. Joyce and I'd been to the Disney D23 Expo (not with Media Credentials, but as fans), and every panel we attended encouraged the use of video and photography. But (and I was told this was the first year for Phoenix to do this), not at the 'Con'. All the 'premium' panels (movie/TV stars) were held on the third floor, in a HUGE room. But they did NOT allow filming of ANY kind. In fact, if you were caught filming, they'd kick you out of the 'Con'. What's more, as far as the Media Credentials were concerned, they gave us absolutely ZERO privileges. None. There were no roped off sections for us, no reserved seating, no special dispensations on filming for our media outlets. Nothing. In fact, IF we happened to be in a spot that the 'official' ComiCon photographers wanted to be in, we had to move. So, this was the one thing that really irked me. (Soap Box Time) If you're going to give out Media Credentials and ask your event be covered in order to help with marketing, publicity, etc, perhaps you should consider allowing them to, you know, COVER the event?! I mean, how can one cover an event adequately from the back of a room? In the future, I'd like to see those awarded Media Credentials just a LITTLE professional courtesy. 

Jim Beaver

Anyway, I asked nicely and was permitted to take my photos from the stage area, which was awesome. It also allowed me to make a new friend. A professional photographer by the name of Robert Cunningham. This guy had all the coolest photography toys! He had one lens that was about 3 feet long! And he asked me if I wanted to use it on my Nikon! Uh...YEAH! Some of the photos of Jason Isaac that I took were with this lens. So Robert, if you're reading this, thanks man!! Super nice guy.

So, back to the story. The first presentation was from Jim Beaver. You may not recognize the name, but you've most likely seen him. He's been in everything from Deadwood to Breaking Bad to Supernatural. Great guy and a lot of fun. He chatted about his roles, (mostly Supernatural), his philosophy on acting, his relationships with his co-stars and took a lot of questions from the audience. While I enjoyed hearing Jim speak, it was really just the 'warm up' for me.

Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell

Nell Campbell 

Patricia Quinn

Barry Bostwick

Next up was the 'Celebrating 40 Years of Rocky Horror Picture Show', with three of the stars: Barry Bostwick (Brad), Nell Campbell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta). What a presentation THIS was! All three were very funny and chatted with the audience as if we were old friends. They reminisced about Rocky Horror (both the movie and stage production), about favorite roles from their careers and chatted with members of the audience about the 'Shadow Casts' where fans dress up and put on a performance of the movie while the movie is playing behind them. It was very apparent that all three appreciated the 'love' the audience was giving. 

Jason Isaacs

Although I like Jason Isaacs, I wasn't entirely jazzed about staying to see his talk. Don't get me wrong, I do think he's a VERY talented actor, but by this point, Joyce and I'd been in the room for about three hours and needed a bit of a break. Only problem was that they weren't clearing the room out between presentations, so odds were, if you left, you'd lose  your seat. But we decided to take a chance. After the Rocky Horror presentation, we decided to take a bio break and see what else was going on, then return and (hopefully) get good seats for the next presentation. But, after about 20 minutes we decided to head back in, and just head to the front of the auditorium to see if maybe we could get some primo seats. And we did. I had chatted with one of the event organizers and she let us sit in the front row, off to the right of the stage. That way, I was able to spend a LOT of time at the stage taking photos. And this is when Mr. Cunningham lent me his monster camera lens. We're both (Joyce and I), glad we decided to return, because Isaacs was actually a very interesting person. He chatted a LOT about his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, how he truly enjoyed

Jason Isaacs with the MONSTER lens!

working with the 'kids', and even borrowed a Lucius Malfoy cane from someone in the audience, to use as a prop to tell his story about the filming of the end scene with Dobbie (the house elf) in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Seems that for this ending scene, he felt Lucius should have a memorable parting line, and the director agreed and allowed him to ad-lib as he departed. So, as he delivers his line and turns to walk away, he starts

Isaacs and Malfoy's cane

throwing his arm around, kicking at the air and swinging his cane. When asked what he was doing, he said that he kicked Dobbie, smacked him then thumped him with the cane. The director liked it so much, they kept it in the film! So, that ending scene was actually ad-libbed by Jason Isaacs! 

Then came the reason I was even interested in covering the Phoenix ComiCon! Edward James Olmos. I've been a fan of his for a long time, and was thrilled to get the chance to not only hear him speak, but to actually cover it! Once again, we stayed in the room so as to hold on to our great seats. Now, if you don't know who Edward is, you've probably heard of some of the stuff he's been in. He was (most notably)

Edward James Olmos

Commander William Adama in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, his roles in Blade Runner, Miami Vice (the original series) and perhaps his most acclaimed role as Jaime Escalante in the biopic Stand and Deliver. Mr. Olmos took the stage for about 15 minutes solo, and instead of monologuing then opening up the floor for questions, he decided to start taking questions right away, then tell stories as he went along. His passion for acting and for Latino rights was very evident and not in a combative way. He's more about everyone being equal then about raising the level of one over another. He was also very supportive to the few fans who expressed the desire to get into acting and asked for advice. His best advice: 'Don't Quit. Ever' He was also asked about what he did before acting, and he replied with baseball! He wanted to be a baseball player, but soon gave that up in favor of 'rock and roll'. He was even in a fairly successful band, back in the day. He regaled the audience with stories of Jim Morrison (from the Doors), before he was the icon he became, and how he taught Morrison some of his more infamous dance moves. 

Mary McDonnell

After about 15 minutes, he was joined by his Battlestar co-star Mary McDonnell (who played President Roslyn and Adama's love interest) from many, many film and TV appearances, like Dances With Wolves, Independence Day, Donnie Darko, TNT networks Major Crimes and The Closer. Ms. McDonnell was just as entertaining as Mr. Olmos, and it was very easy to see that the two are very close friends. She also took questions from the audience about her roles, her acting career and her

McDonnell posing for me

political beliefs. She's a very opinionated (her word) woman and has the facts and confidence to back up her words. She, as well as Olmos, chatted about the incredible impact that working on Battlestar Galactica had on not only them, but everyone who worked on the show and watched the show. Both actors were very likable and extremely supportive and encouraging of the fans. In fact, several Latino fans told Edward how influential he was to them as a role model, and he was visibly moved by their words. 

After the Olmos/McDonnell presentation, we decided to 'free style' for the rest of the day and just explore the Phoenix ComiCon. We ventured down to the 'lower level' of the Convention Center where the Exhibitor Hall was. THIS is where all the fun happens! All the vendors you could imagine were set up down here, and this is where most of the cosplay action took place. They also had a pretty cool Star Wars area set up, with sets where you could take some fun photos, a Zombie Containment area and lots and lots of Sci-Fi geekery for sale. We met Thor, Groot, Star Lord, quite a few Doctors and T.A.R.D.I.S.'s, Jedi's, Carl (from UP), Spidermen and many more. 

Doctor Who, T.A.R.D.I.S and Doctor Who

All in all, for our first ComiCon ever, it wasn't a bad experience at all. For all the chaos that was happening all around, the folks at the Phoenix ComiCon seemed to have a pretty good handle on everything. Things seemed to run pretty smoothly, and at least we didn't witness any rudeness or rowdy guests. In fact, I honestly have to say that for the most part, everyone there (event hosts and attendees alike) were all very pleasant and cordial. All the cosplay folks were great at posing for pictures and did so in an awesome way. The only thing that we weren't crazy about was the way those of us granted Media Credentials were treated. Like I said earlier, all we were basically, were folks who got in to the event for free. Although in the many emails sent to us prior, we were informed there would be an opportunity to request interviews, nothing ever developed from that. I'm sure that next year, we'll request credentials once again, only next time, we'll request one extra so we can cover as much as possible. So, before I wrap this up, I want to say thanks to the folks who run the Phoenix ComiCon for granting us Media Credentials, and for putting on a pretty great event. With well over 75,000 guests attending the 4 day event, they pulled it off pretty flawlessly. For our first venture into this unique and fun filled world, it wasn't too shabby! 
 Live Long and Prosper

Carl from Up

Check out the Flickr slideshow below, or visit our Flickr Page 

2013 D23 Expo Coverage...

Hey gang, episode 76 of Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast featured our good friend Faye Crane who graciously covered the 2013 Disney D23 Expo for Tales. As you may remember, we were granted ONE Press Credential for the Expo, but with our current situation were not able to make the trip. So, in our stead, Faye did a terrific job of covering this awesome Disney Fan Event! And as an added bonus, Faye wrote a detailed blog for you! Enjoy...

Disney D23 Expo 2013

by Faye Crane

Well, this year is the first time I was able to use/have a Press Pass. And that was a little exciting at first. I was wondering what I might be able to see and do with it more than the usual public. I mean, the Expo is always fun, but I was very curious how much more I was going to be able to do this year, because of the pass. 

Faye Crane

On Friday morning, the first thing that I was able to do, because of the Press Pass, was to be able to have a sneak peek at the Phineas and Ferb Waffle-inator Challenge and to catch a glimpse of the upcoming double-length episode that is a cross-over between Phineas & Ferb and the Marvel Universe.  It is called Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel and its premise is that the Marvel Super Heroes have lost their powers and they need the help of Phineas and Ferb to get them back. There we were able to talk with, get pictures with, and meet the voices of several of the stars—such as Vincent Martella, Alyson Stoner, Dan Povenmire, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, Adrian Pasdar (I personally liked him as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes), Drake Bell, Fred Tatasciore, Roger Graig Smith, Bumper Robinson and Laura Bailey. That was fun, and yummy. Yes they served us breakfast. Well, waffles of course!

From there I got in line, I thought, to get what was called a StagePass. It is very much like the FastPass in the parks. The only catch was that you could get one during a segment of time (which was from 11am to 3pm or from 3pm to 6pm). These passes were good for Stage 23 and Stage 28. Those StagePasses were not good for any other sessions. So I went all the way up to Stage 23, and then had to be redirected down to the show floor and that was the only time Friday that I was there. There I got my StagePass for “Undiscovered Disneyland.” I went back upstairs to Stage 23 and was able to get in for my session of the morning, “Behind the Scenes of Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins”. That was so much fun. It was presented by Dave Smith, founder and Chief Archivist Emeritus of the Walt Disney Archives. He is so much fun! There I learned about how Walt found the stories of Mary Poppins (it was a bed time story for his daughters), and that it was Roy O. Disney who managed to convince the infamous P.L. Travers to come on board, not Walt (who tried for 20 years).  One of the things that convinced P.L. Travers to seal the deal was that Walt gave her final say-so with the script…though they didn’t always stick to what she said.

Mickey Mouse and Friend

For example, she was very against the American term, “The cat got your tongue”. She demanded that it was to be taken out, and at the time the writers (song and script) did so. But if you pay attention to some parts of the movie, it didn’t stay out. 

I also learned that Julie Andrews was not Walt’s original choice for Mary Poppins. It was Mary Margaret. But Walt soon was convinced that Julie would be a good fit after seeing her on Broadway in Camelot.  She accepted the role of Mary Poppins only if she didn’t get the role she really wanted, the role that ended up going to Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. At the Academy Awards that year, Julie won Best Actress and not Audrey Hepburn. Julie was not given the role in My Fair Lady because the studio thought that they should have someone with more stage performance experience. Boy, I bet they were hitting themselves over that one.

I thought that “Undiscovered Disneyland” was fun, and the ones that were presenting it were Tony Baxter and Josh Shipley. They showed a lot of old-time film footage of how Disneyland used to be. In fact, they found so much that they renamed it “Rediscovered Disneyland”. That was fun, but I had to leave before it was done, because my Press Pass allowed me in on two of the sessions that afternoon that I don’t think I would have been able to get in otherwise. One of them was starting before this one ended (though “Rediscovered Disneyland” was running a bit late anyway.) 

That one was “Dave Bossert Remembers Roy E. Disney with Roy P. Disney”. This session was interesting.

Roy Disney

We got to “meet” Roy E. Disney both professionally and personally. He apparently didn’t start off working for the family business. He was originally with another studio as a page boy. After that job dissolved, he then went on and applied as the assistant film editor within the Disney Company. He was the one who pursued the Cal Arts dream after Walt passed away, though he was not an artist by trade, but more of a story teller. Throughout the years he moved though different positions, some with ease and some not so much. I learned here that he loved to fly and he started doing so at the age of 16. He also loved the Animal Kingdom and that Fantasia was his favorite movie. I also learn that thanks to his passion for the family business that he himself is the one that pulled it out of the red a couple of times to keep it going.

Disney Imagineering Legend Marty Sklar was the next and last session I went to that day. He has been at the opening of all 11 properties for the Disney Company and has been the only Imaginer to do so. As much as I wanted to hear about his experiences being Walt Disney’s literary right hand man, his monotone voice lost me so quick. I had a hard time tracking with what he was saying. Though I do know that he has written a book, and he was very proud of it. It is titled Dream It! Do It!

Bright (well, rather it was overcast, but you get the idea) and early Saturday we showed up and I had to get in line right away for the D23 Arena. That line was so long, and I really didn’t think I was that far back. There was a worker right in front of me who was telling the people in front of me that he had so far counted off 2,000, and I was thinking sweet, I get to go into the Arena, not the overflow (the overflow was new this year, and increased the number of people who got to see the Arena presentations by quite a bit). Which is good, because I was told the night before that the Press Pass would not get me any special privileges or special entry into it. Boy, could that worker not be any more off. I did end up going into the overflow. I was in line to see the “Let the Adventures Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios.” It was so worth it.

Cos-Players

I got to see clips from the upcoming Marvel, Disney, and Muppets movies. And all promise to be really good (with the exception of maybe one)! I would have to say that I am looking forward to all of the Marvel movies! They didn’t have a whole lot to show for Iron Man 3, but Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor 2, and Averages 2 all look really cool and exciting!! And that is saying something from a girl who doesn’t read a whole lot of comics. The one movie that really stood out to me that I want to really see is Maleficent! That is due to come out July 2014, my birthday month! The clips from that movie gave me goose bumps! It comes from the Maleficent’s point of view and how she got where she is when we see her in Sleeping Beauty. That looks really good! Angela Jolie then came out and talked a little bit about her role (Maleficent), the movie, and the making of the movie. The Muppets movie looks to really good, that is if you like the Muppets anyway! The villain looks like he is Kermit’s evil twin and he has an accent, so it was kind of funny to watch. I hate to say it, but the two movies that I’m not very impressed with are Tomorrowland and Saving Mr. Banks. Which makes me sad, because I love mysteries so I would have to be more intrigued with Tomorrowland (especially if they maybe presented it differently). If anything I was turned off from it.  And as for Saving Mr. Banks, I was turned off from it, because as much as I love Tom Hanks, he doesn’t do Walt Disney very well. His phony accent seemed just that that and doesn’t settle well with me. 

YIKES! She's NOT Under The Sea!!

So, as soon as I was done with that session I came out of the overflow, and went and found my husband, had lunch, and then we got back in line for the Legends Ceremony. The Legends this year were Tony Baxter, Collin Campbell, Dick Clark, Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Jobs, Glen Keane, and Ed Wynn. I was proud to say that I knew six of the names and roughly what they were known for, so that made it exciting and in some ways, it kind of felt personal. Both Bob Iger and Tom Bergeron were giving the inductions and the back stories of those who being presented with the awards. I won’t say that I got emotional over really much of it, but I felt touched by some in a deep way.

A Concert For The Ages

The line for the event of the weekend, Richard Sherman and Alan Menken: The Disney Songbook, was starting to fill up long before we got out of the Legends Ceremony. So we got right back in line again. That concert was so very cool. I was more raised during Alan Menken’s time, but nonetheless I was felt like I was back in time, during a simpler time, and just able to relax. It was fun! And yes Alan has a much better singing voice than Richard, but Richard had his music memorized and so, I think, he was able to relax a lot more of his segment of the concert. It was easy to tell that both of these men have a passion for music and they love what they did for Disney.

On Sunday, I was only able to get into three as well. The first one was “Secrets of the Lost Chords.” Here Randy Thornton, who is a Disney music historian, was able to give some insight about how and why some music that has been created over the years and then never used, along with some extra story lines or plots that were brought about with those songs. Such as a song that was supposedly between the butler and the maid in 101 Dalmatians was uncovered that would turned the plot of the movie completely around. It was titled “How Much You Mean to Me/Court Me Slowly”; let’s just say that it was a courting relationship where both parties weren’t being entirely truthful about the reason why they were in the relationship to begin with (greed is such mean and deceiving thing). And there was going to be a song with the story line from Cinderella about a dress that her mother wore. So as you can see, just with these two examples it would have turned the movies all around. Randy would first play the original recording of the song with the very basic instrumentation and then he has gone back though, found the sheet music, hired some singers, given the music to a full orchestra, and let them perform the music the way that it was originally supposed to be. It was awesome! To hear the music, the back stories, and everything else, wow!

Early Autopia - Walt Had A Special Car!

The next workshop had to do with talking with different women in different roles all around Pixar. There was a director, a producer, and three animators. They talked about what they do, what they did before Pixar, how they got into Pixar, the roles that women can play in Pixar, and where they see them going. Very good, and very worth it! I just wish I was able to sit up closer to the front. I was able to learn a lot. (Such as if you really want some thing, go after it, even if it takes 46 times to get there. One of the women had 46 interviews, before she was able to get hired on by Pixar.) 

“Leave ‘em Laughing” was the last session I went to and that was where the Imagineers Dave Fisher, Joe Lanzisero, Kevin Rafferty, Jason Surrell, and George Scibner were all were discussing humor and  how it has been used in movies and throughout the parks. Such as the fact, that an Imaginer, at Walt’s insistence, went to the park shortly after it opened and check it out. Marc Davis went down to the park and rode the Jungle Cruise (not the Pirates of the Caribbean, like I first thought and said on the podcast). At that time the Jungle Cruise was just an educational boat ride, and was not funny at all. Marc went back to Walt and told him that it needed something. It needed to be funny, or else it wouldn’t fly. Walt took his advice and soon started putting humor in that ride (in different ways, i.e. the men going up the pole with the rhino right below them, or the line of the gorillas finally getting the jeep to turn over) as well as many others throughout the park and movies to come. These Imaginers especially had fun in creating Toontown, and it was fun to hear them crack each other and themselves up with the different humor slides that they had planted.

The Infamous Hatbox Ghost

I also got to see countless people dress up in various costumes, throughout the three days, countless imaginers taking time to explain a concept to a guest, a child or adult alike look in awe at the dream or story of what the Disney company is glad to show us in whatever concept they have (i.e. painting, a statue, a drawing). It is kind of breathtaking to try to take in impact that one man can have long after he is gone.

Overall, I had a really good time and I’m very glad that I got to go. The imagination, the creativity, the stories, and most importantly the people behind the Disney company is shown much appreciation many times in the people that the come to these Expos who show up in their own costumes, their own stores, and loyalty to attending the different sessions, workshops, ceremonies, show floor, and concerts. Thanks to Al and Joyce I was able to.

You're VERY welcome Faye, we're glad that we were able to assign the Press Credential to you! And thank YOU for doing such a wonderful job of covering this event!  - Al & Joyce

Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast...Episode 75

Welcome to Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast, Episode 75 (really...not like last time), our Video tribute to the Disney D23 Expo! 

2011 Disney D23 Expo!

On this video episode, we share some highlights from the 2011 Disney D23 Fan Expo in Anaheim, California! We figured since the 2013 Expo was in full swing, AND since we couldn’t attend, we’d share some of the fun times we had at the last Expo to happen in California. We had a lot of fun, and yep, we were TIRED at the end of every day. But...FUN. 

History Of The Disneyland Hotel

One of the panels we went to, and include a small bit of it in this episode, was the Amazing Vault Discovery! A History of the Disneyland Hotel. This was an AWESOME presentation to say the least. We were shown some never before seen video of the grand opening of the Disneyland Hotel, which was broadcast on television! We saw cool things like the shopping mall inside, the comfy beds AND...the GIANT 13 inch televisions in EVERY ROOM! Now, we do have the complete presentation (which was about an hour long!) on video. Just check out Minnie MouseCast 11 for that. 

John Lassiter announcing the Pixar Stamps

Although we couldn't get into every panel we wanted to during the 2011 D23 Expo, we did see quite a few. It was awesome getting a sneak peak at Disney's Prep and Landing Christmas special, and seeing John Lassiter presented with the official Pixar U.S. Postage Stamp series. We were even given one of the pre-release stamps! LOVE SWAG!! 

Great friends and authors, Nancy Rodrigue and David Smith

Joyce, Al and Lisa Robertson

We were granted one press credential for the 2013 Disney D23 Expo, but unfortunately we were not in a position to make the trip (if you follow us at all you all know about our "life" upheaval back in March of this year). BUT...we WERE able to transfer our credentials to the wife of our awesome sponsor Randy Crane, Faye, who is covering the Expo for Tales From The Mouse House! She's been feeding us daily summaries, and will be writing up a complete Expo Rundown for us soon. AND, lucky YOU, she'll be joining us on an upcoming episode to discuss all the wonderfully magical experiences she had! So..be sure to stay tuned for that! 

Fun Cosplayers

AWESOME! Autographed Pirates Of The Caribbean Art!

Pirates Of The Caribbean Attraction - with a twist!

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com. NOW is the time to book your 2015 Disney D23 Expo adventure! 

Joyce and Jeffrey Epstein the D23 Geek!

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 75, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

TRON!! Enough said!

Thanks for making us part of your Disney experience and remember…

"Make It A Mickey Day!" ~~ Al & Joyce