Disney D23 Convention Postponed for Two Years!

The Disney D23 Expo is the largest official convention hosted by the Walt Disney Company. Although fans had anticipated that the D23 Expo would return in 2021, the continued risk of COVID-19 has meant that the convention won’t return until 2022 at the earliest. With time on their hands, attendees can turn to alternative activities such as consuming Disney media or trying their luck at online casino sites.

Alternate Entertainment at Online Casinos

In these times, it’s unfortunate that attendees can’t bet on seeing the upcoming movie releases and theme park expansions from Disney. However, there are other ways to have fun with online gambling being a viable alternative. Many online casinos are offering free bonuses and spins where you can learn and play without real money. By signing up and depositing, new players can claim a substantial sum of casino bonus funds.

With casino bonus funds in rich supply, there are many types of games to play. For starters, the casino tables include Vegas Strip Blackjack Gold, Hybrid Blackjack, Zoom Roulette, and Roulette Pro. As for slots, there are top releases from Real Time Gaming, including titles such as Cash Bandits 3 and Fantasy Mission Force, with compatibility delivered instantly to mobile and desktop devices.

What to Expect from the D23 Expo

D23 is the shortened title of ‘The Official Disney Fan Club’, with the number 23 selected to honor the 1923 founding year of the company. Members of the club can obtain a discount and early access to the normally biennial expo, which can include a whole host of events and attracts numerous celebrities. In 2019, for example, the D23 Expo secured the attendance of Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, and other stars from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is broadcast on ABC.

For attendees, D23 can present opportunities to watch panels and presentations from Disney and all of its leading franchises, including those curated by Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar. Producers, writers, and directors are often invited to provide contrasting insights to those of the actors and voice talents. Quite often, fans participate in cosplay and attend the panels while dressed as their favorite characters.

One of the centerpiece events within the expo is Disney Legends, which is a de facto hall of fame for those who have played a pivotal role in a Disney franchise. Several famous faces were inducted into the 2019 class of Disney Legends, including James Earl Jones, Bette Midler, Robert Downey Jr., Christina Aguilera, Jon Favreau, and Hans Zimmer, among other key contributors.

The Highlights of the 2019 D23 Expo

The 2019 expo was hosted during a three-day weekend to include Friday 23^rd, Saturday 24th, and Sunday 25th August. And there were five areas that consisted of Hall D23, D23 Expo Arena, Stage 28, Walt Disney Archives Stage, and Center Stage. The busiest of those was the Center Stage, where a range of musical artists performed and a series of fun games and parties also took place.

On the first day, there were events to accommodate fans of Star Wars and Marvel. Then, on the second day, one of the key events was the celebration of Marvel Comics’ 80th anniversary. On Sunday, the expo placed a strong emphasis on exploring the creative side of Disney, with events focused on storytelling, animation, and how to inspire women.

From the highlights, there were numerous videos captured of D23 Expo 2019. For instance, the newest Disney Legends gave some incredible speeches, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rolled in on a boat to promote forthcoming blockbuster Jungle Cruise, Mary Poppins star Dick Van Dyke returned to the stage, the EPCOT transformation was revealed, and several announcements were made in the Star Wars Universe.

Incredible moments like those will happen again, thankfully, when the expo is hosted once more in 2022. As it stands, Disney intends to host the rescheduled D23 Expo from 9-11 September 2022 during what will be a somber and reflective weekend for the nation. Ultimately, the organizers are seeing the rescheduled event as an opportunity to celebrate the Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary. All being well, the convention shall be hosted in California at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Disney Hit by COVID Delays

While major movie studios have been ravaged by COVID delays, indie and smaller-scale producers have continued to release movies in 2020. One of the best examples came with the October release of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which was developed by star Sacha Baron Cohen in collaboration with Amazon.

A movie like the Borat sequel can shoot with a skeleton crew and be able to continue working while the Coronavirus threat increased during the spring, which is a time when blockbuster productions were being shut down due to their need for enormous casts and crews and to film in multiple countries across the world. Moving forward, Disney faces its greatest challenge in many years, with major franchises like Star Wars and Marvel now impacted.

In the spring, Disney had been working on a live-action movie The Little Mermaid, which was forced to postpone filming for a spell. According to Variety, Disney also TV Studios ended up placing 16 series and pilots on a temporary hiatus. Included among those impacted were the highly anticipated Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and WandaVision – all set to debut on TV after spinning out from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As of March 2020, it was rumored that a new Star Wars creation was shooting at England’s iconic Pinewood Studios, which is where the 1977 original, A New Hope, was filmed. The speculation would suggest that it was preproduction for an Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff starring Ewan McGregor. Although Kenobi could still emerge one day, the same might not be true of Rian Johnson’s planned trilogy, which is said to be canceled with Disney wary of spending hundreds of millions on a series that might have no cinemas to appear in.