RED ALERT — Disney’s BIGGEST event of the year has officially started. Not sure what we’re talking about? Well, grab your Minnie ears ’cause we’ve got TONS of details to share!

The D23 Expo has officially begun in Anaheim, California, and will take place over the next few days (through September 11th, 2022). During the Expo, Disney will debut new merchandise, reveal all kinds of updates about upcoming movies, and share some BIG updates about what’s coming to the Disney parks. Basically, if you want to know all the latest Disney news, you cannot miss this. We’re attending the Expo and sharing all the news with you LIVE, so what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!

D23 Expo Basics

D23 Expo will be taking place from September 9th through the 11th, 2022, at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. The event is essentially Disney’s biggest event of the year, where all kinds of news will be revealed about upcoming projects, fans will get a first look at new video games, and more.

Tickets for the D23 Expo have already sold out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch some of the panels.

Remember that a D23 Expo app is available and can make your entire Expo experience a lot easier.

Click here to learn more about the app

How to Watch From Home

D23 Expo [LIVE]  is your key to watching the Expo from home. Each day of the Expo, Disney will be streaming around 8 hours of content for Disney fans to watch from the comfort of their couches.

There will be some panels available for fans to livestream, as well as “exclusive curated content” between the panels each day. To tune into D23 Expo [LIVE] check out:

• D23Expo.com/live
• D23.com
• All D23 social platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch

Click here to see the full livestream schedule for D23 Expo!

The Panels

There are a TON of panels that will be offered throughout the D23 Expo days. The whole Expo kicks off with the start of the Disney100 celebration (celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company). There will be a special opening ceremony connected to the Disney Legends ceremony.

There will also be panels about the future projects of The Walt Disney Studios (including Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, and Disney Live Action).

If you’re a Marvel fan, there will be a few different presentations, including some where guests will learn how to draw Marvel heroes and villains or get the chance to discuss the history of Spider-Man.

And you won’t want to miss the Marvel and Lucasfilm joint presentation all about the future projects being worked on by both studios.

There will also be a presentation about Disney+, Disney Channel, and Disney Junior, a panel about the Disney parks, another panel about Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm games, and much more.

You can visit the D23 Expo website for a full schedule of events and click here to see details about some of the BIGGEST panels.

We’ll be making our way over to several of these panels to see everything they have to offer, so be sure to stick around for updates.

Big News

We got a media preview the night before the Expo officially started, and found out a TON of exciting news! Let’s get into it.

Splash Mountain Re-theme

As you probably already know, Splash Mountain at both Disney World and Disneyland are getting a re-theme to The Princess and the Frog and will be called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The re-themes should be completed by the end of 2024, and we’ve already seen some concept art, but we got a NEW look at what the ride will look like!

There’s a mini model of the ride at D23 Expo that shows what Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will look like when it’s finished.

As you can see, there are a bunch of new details, like this water tower.

There are also crops “growing” around the ride…

…and the queue.

What could this be for (hint: we’re about to tell you!)?

Click here to see more pictures of the ride!

Which brings us to our next bit of news — there’s a new RESTAURANT coming called Tiana’s Palace!

Yep, just like the one from The Princess and the Frog. This will be a reimagined restaurant in Disneyland.

Click here to learn more about the new restaurant!

But, that’s not all, there will also be a new STORE in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square called Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets! The backstory of this place is that it grew out of the big success of Tiana’s Palace and it will have a variety of accessories you can use to make and serve New Orleans-inspired cuisine.

The store will actually sell a BRAND NEW line of spices and sauces created by Tiana herself!

And, what’s really exciting is that this new store is opening up SO SOON — the official opening date is September 20th, 2022!

Click here to learn more about this new store!

Mickey’s Toontown

Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland is currently undergoing a makeover, and will be getting a bunch of new things like a ride and park areas. But, we just found out even more about what’s coming to the land! We got a first look at what Toontown will look like when it’s done!

You can take a closer look at this model right here.

Click here to see more of Toontown!

Two new food options will be in Toontown — Good Boy! Grocers and Cafe Daisy.

Good Boy! Grocers is themed after Pluto and will be a grab and go spot, while Cafe Daisy has combined the previous 3 quick service spots into one new quick service location.

Click here to learn more about these new dining options!

EPCOT Transformation

We’ve already got some news about what’s going on in EPCOT, too! We got a first look at the statue of Walt Disney that will be coming to World Celebration in the park.

The statue is called the “Walt the Dreamer” statue and will be installed at Dreamer’s Point in EPCOT.

Click here to see more of the statue!

We also got a look at a model of a beautiful Te Fiti that is inspiring the giant Te Fiti figure that will be a part of Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana!

This is just a model, but the actual Te Fiti will be about 16 feet tall in the park!

Click here to see more of this model!

All of these displays and models can be seen on the show floor at the Wonderful World of Dreams pavilion!

The Show Floor

It’s not just about the panels though! On the show floor, you can check out a bunch of awesome content.

For example, you can stop by Aniplex’s Disney Twisted-Wonderland booth to learn about this game, take advantage of special photo ops, get some cool giveaways, and even participate in an immersive experience with live 2D animation.

You can also stop by the Journey Into Storytelling pavilion to participate in interactive experiences inspired by different Disney shows.

Want a behind-the-scenes look at the Splash Mountain retheme and other Disney parks projects in the works? Don’t miss the Wonderful World of Dreams pavilion!

We’ll be updating you with more from the floor as the Expo goes on!

Exhibits

There are several exhibits throughout the Expo. First up, we stopped by to see Walt Disney’s original PLANE at the Mickey Mouse One: Walt’s Plane exhibit! It’s been restored and is on display for everyone to see.

Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I plane was also known as “The Mouse” and it traveled across the country to get to D23 Expo. D23, the Walt Disney Archives, and D23 Expo Platinum sponsor Amazon restored the exterior of this plane specifically for this exhibit.

A the exhibit, you can take a look at what the inside of the plane looked like…

…as well as things from the plane like a custom cocktail napkin!

The plane has a ton of history, and after D23 Expo, it will be moved to the Palm Springs Air Museum, where you can check it out there.

Click here to see MORE of Walt Disney’s restored plane!

There is also a special exhibit at D23 Expo called “Step In Time” from The Walt Disney Archives! It features iconic costumes and props from Disney movies and TV shows, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs…

…Mary Poppins…

…Star Wars…

…and shows and movies from the Disney Channel!

There are also some ORIGINAL props from the Haunted Mansion ride over here.

This is a must for any Disney fan who loves to see some parts of history!

Click here to see MORE pictures of this special exhibit!

The Merchandise

Of course, there’s shopping to do at the D23 Expo too! First up, you won’t want to miss out on some of the Expo-exclusive merchandise from Funko…

…and Loungefly!

At the Disney Music Emporium pop-up shop, you can check out new music releases from Marvel and Lucasfilm, vinyl albums, and more.

You can also stop by the D23 Expo Marketplace for an “immersive shopping experience,” with items from the parks, shopDisney, and Disney Store.

We mentioned before about the Mickey Mouse One: Walt’s Plane exhibit, where you can see Walt’s original plane. This exhibit actually has a bunch of merchandise on display as well!

Some of the merchandise is already available to buy on Amazon.

Click here to see more about these items on Amazon!

There will also be 3 Mickey’s of Glendale shopping areas — Mickey’s of Glendale Main Store, Mickey’s of Glendale Pin Store, and the D23 Expo Shop x Mickey’s of Glendale.

Lots of new merchandise is debuting at the Expo this year, including a World of Wakanda Collection, a Star Wars collection created by Ashley Eckstein, and much more.

Some items have also been released online with the Expo or will be released online soon. Check out 4 NEW collaborations that are debuting at the Expo and are already or will soon be available online!

Some spots are using mobile check out and virtual queues, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’ll be attending the Expo.

Click here for a full list of DISCOUNTS available during the Expo

There is a LOT to see at the Expo and we’ve only just scratched the surface. From a Disney on Broadway Virtual Reality Experience and REAL Disney princesses to rare pieces of Disney history and a costume contest, there’s something for practically everyone here!

We’ll be updating this post will all kinds of news, photos, videos, and links to other important stories, so be sure to check back for updates!

Click here to learn about a NEW membership Disney could be creating that is similar to Amazon Prime

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What news are you hoping will be revealed at D23 Expo? Tell us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney to attend the D23 Expo as media. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

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