How I Spent My Spring Break: D23, WDW, SWW, DL, and Various Other Acronyms (Part 1.)

While I attended a multitude of events and places last month, most of them have already been covered in depth erstwhile. Here then, for your perusal, is a more superficial accounting of what you might have seen had you been in my slightly-tired shoes recently.

Last month saw the publication of Dick Van Dyke’s new autobiography “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business,” with the man himself participating in book signings in various cities around the country. I attended the one in West Hollywood, where he appears as hearty and spry as ever.

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A few days later I hopped a plane and, after some alarmingly inconvenient flight cancellations, made it over to WDW to attend this year’s D23 Destination D. Jack Spence has done a great job reporting on the events of those days in his blogs, but here are some personal highlights:

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The comic stylings of the always-knowledgeable Becky Cline and Paul F. Anderson as they gave us even more Weird Disney–WDW style.

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More fascinating details about Walt’s proposed City of the Future as presented by Steven Vagnini and Paul F. Anderson.

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Rob Klein and Tim O’Day showing us some of what surely must be the trippiest footage of WDW ever committed to film, including a Grad Nite film that cannot or should not exist on the resume of anyone connected with it.

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The hilarious, high-energy presentation of Jason Surrell, Alex Wright, and Jason Grandt on some of the many different manifestations their obsessions with Disney and detailing have taken. This presentation got a warm reception from all the audience, as they recognized kindred spirits in geekery.

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Marty Sklar’s panel of stars, including Debra Browne, Orlando Ferrante, Bob Foster, Bob Gurr, and Ron Logan. Anything with Sklar is aces, and Gurr is a party all by himself.

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The absolute pinnacle of the weekend however, was the Magic Journeys concert that closed out the event. It began with a concert and reminiscence with Richard Sherman and really only built from there.

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As he began to enter in on “One Little Spark,” the original Dreamfinder and Figment came out and joined him for a few choruses. The room exploded in a swell of WDW nostalgia.

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After a performance of Golden Dreams by some long-standing Entertainment CMs, the WDW Cast Choir Encore! came out and did a medley of all those old EPCOT songs that everyone still wishes they were using today.

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It was a phenomenal show, and a great way to cap off the weekend.

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Jeanine resides in Southern California, pursuing the sort of lifestyle that makes her the envy of every 11-year-old she meets. She has been to every Disney theme park in the world and while she finds Tokyo DisneySea the Fairest Of Them All, Disneyland is her Home Park... and there is no place like home.

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