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D23’s been mostly quiet this year. I like to periodically make updates of the various events offered by the official Disney fan club, but there hasn’t been a lot on which to report. However, now the fan club is hopping all of a sudden, between this year’s Destination D and launching a brand new event, one so popular that it’s already sold out in a couple of the cities at which it will appear.
If you’re a huge Disney fan (which, if you’re reading this blog or are a D23 member, then you certainly are), then a night filled with popular clips from the movies, behind-the-scenes videos, glimpses of concept art, and stories from a Disney archivist sounds like an ideal time. Well, now Disney’s delivering with the D23’s Disney Fanniversary Celebration.
Disney overuses the word “celebration,” even if the company, especially at its parks, does legitimately host many of them. But I can’t think of a better word to describe what, exactly, a fanniversary is: it’s a celebration of Disney films.
The event description on the official D23 page is as follows:
“From beloved movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Aladdin, and Newsies; and classic characters like Goofy and Daisy Duck; to favorite attractions and entertainment spectaculars at Disney parks, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, and Fantasmic!…plus entire Disney parks like Epcot and Disneyland Paris–D23 will lead guests on a journey through dozens of unforgettable Disney moments that have delighted generations of Disney fans.”
All right, so maybe I underestimated Fanniversary. I thought that the night would be a look at all of Disney’s films, but the parks are included as well. Maybe it’s because I love the movies more, but this feels a bit like an over exaggerated back-patting session to me: Look at Disney! It’s so great! Just stay there while we make you sit through a slideshow of our awesome! And the best part is that we got you to pay for it!
Plus there’s the name: Fanniversary. If you’re going to make up words by smashing two existing ones together, Disney, the two words together have to make sense. A Fanniversary should be an anniversary for fans, correct? But there is no particular anniversary for either Disney or fans being noted this year. It should be a Fannebration, like fan-celebration, or something.
I know I’m being a bit harsh, and I should back down. If I found myself in the audience for a Fanniversary I know I’d totally be along for the ride, and I would love it. It all seems a bit strange from the outside, but anyone who’s ever been touched by Disney will love the event.
The Fanniversary is stopping in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York City, Orlando, and Chicago. The San Fran, New York, and Chicago shows are already sold out. First priority tickets go to D23 members, but if there are any left over after that they open to general admission. D23 tickets are $18 and general admission $25, making this one of the more affordable of the D23 events. For full information, visit the event page on the official D23 website.
Related Articles:
Obscure Disney History in “Epic Mickey”
The Best of YouTube: Disney Edition
Breaking into the Disney Vault
*(This image by Myrna Litt is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
