Best Panels at D23 2024 We Are Looking Forward to Most

D23 is the largest Disney fan convention and takes place in Anaheim right next to the Disneyland Resort. Major news is shared about the Disney Parks, Disney entertainment, plus panels focusing on all aspects of the Disney fandom.

D23 takes place on August 9, 10, and 11, 2024 and includes new experiences like a D23 Day at Angel Stadium and the Disneyland Resort with the convention also extending its major offerings to the Honda Center to create more space for guests. See our full guide to D23 for our best tips and what to expect if you are planning on attending the event this year.

The full schedule for D23 has been released and includes more panels, exhibits, and experiences than ever before. More than 55 experiences are included in this announcement and we’ve already compiled our top favorites of the things we are looking forward to the most! Keep reading for our top rankings of the offerings for 2024 D23 plus details on the NEW reservation system for panels.

Reservations REQUIRED for Select Experiences

New this year, D23 will use a Reservation Random Selection Process (“Reservation RSP”) for select experiences at the Anaheim Convention Center event stages, Talent Central, and most show floor experiences. We do not know yet which panels and experiences will offer reservations.

Reservations will open to ticket holders on Monday, July 15 at 12 p.m. PT, and run through Friday, July 19 at 12 p.m. PT. Reservations can be made on ultimatefanevent.reservations.d23.com.

If guests are not assigned reservations for their preferences, there will be standby queues available for most Anaheim Convention Center panels and experiences. Once reservation holders are let inside, they will then start letting standby in.

This is a new process this year and it appears to be an effort to cut down on waiting in long lines for panels. This way you know you will have at least have a spot to view your favorite panels, but likely not all of your preferences, to cut down on wait times. But I am glad to see that a regular standby queue is also available since it’s unlikely you would receive all your preferences for the panels you pick.

D23 Experiences We Are MOST Excited For

All of us here at Mickey Visit are large Disney fans and are just as excited about the offerings at D23 as our readers are! We spent time looking at the offerings for D23 as a group and have listed our top favorites below. These are all the experiences we think are MUST DOs for the top Disney fans.

✨Click HERE for the full D23 schedule featuring the most selection of panels we’ve ever seen!

D23 Disney Parks Panels You Can’t Miss!

Let’s start with all the Disney Park themed panels we’re most excited for which include:

• Charles Phoenix’s Big Retro Disneyland Slide Show- A pop culture time travel tour to the early days of Disneyland, from the backstories and glories of the classic and long-gone attractions of Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, the original Tomorrowland, and the all-new Tomorrowland in 1967.
• Bringing the Worlds of Disney Animation to Life in Disney Parks – Team members from Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney Animation Studios discuss bringing the worlds of Disney Animation to life in Disney Parks around the world, including such projects as World of Frozen (Hong Kong Disneyland), Zootopia (Shanghai Disneyland), Fantasy Springs (Tokyo DisneySea), and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Magic Kingdom and Disneyland).
• Disneyland Foods―Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow- Thanks to Walt Disney himself, dining has always been an essential part of the Disneyland experience! Join the Disneyland Resort chefs and Pam Brandon―co-author of the Official Disney Parks Cookbook series―to learn about the early days of the Disneyland food scene, today’s methods for concept creation and menu development of fan favorites, and a look toward the resort’s culinary future. 
• Dream Chasing: Four Decades with Walt Disney Imagineering- Join Leslie Iwerks, Bob Weis, and Wendy Lefkon for an intimate conversation spanning four decades of creating Imagineering projects from Anaheim to Paris, and Tokyo to Shanghai. Audiences will be inspired to believe any dream worth doing is worth chasing.

These four panels all touch on the Disney Parks whether it’s focusing on the food and history of Disneyland, an inside look at Imagineering, and current Disney Animation projects in the Disney Parks. These panels should all be top picks for the Disney Parks fan! I also anticipate these will all be popular panels since they are theme park focused.

D23 Disney Entertainment Panels Feature Fan Favorites

But it’s not just Disney Parks that are featured in the D23 panel list, there are also plenty of panels devoted to the Disney Entertainment side of the spectrum whether it’s focusing on the television shows or films. Our top favorites in this category include:

• Stay Tuned: You’re Watching Disney Channel- Join beloved Disney Channel stars on the Walt Disney Archives Stage for a look at some of the iconic series and movies that have created generations of fans. Stay tuned for laughs, fun, and moments you won’t want to miss!
• Exploring New Parts of the Mind: Behind the Design of Inside Out 2 + a Dreamy Surprise!- Join Inside Out 2 production designer Jason Deamer as he gives an in-depth look at designing the new emotions joining Headquarters as Riley enters teenagehood. And stick around for a special dreamy sneak peek of an upcoming Pixar series!
• Disney Character Voices: Inside the Studio- Take a trip behind the scenes with Disney Character Voices and join us in the studio for live recording sessions with your favorite Disney characters! (Who knows, you may even get the chance to voice a character yourself!)
• Making A Goofy Movie: The Road to Lake Destiny- The creatives behind the A Goofy Movie phenomenon reunite, reminisce, and share clips from a new documentary about the incredible origin story of this beloved cult classic.
• The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective- Join Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline and The Muppets Producer Dani Iglesias for a fabulous look back on the past 70 years of the Muppets, but mostly Miss Piggy! We will dive into the vaults to uncover nostalgic artifacts along with how we preserve this collection today!
• 30 Years of Toy Story– Celebrate 30 Years of Toy Story with filmmakers and Pixar Legends as they reflect on the making of the groundbreaking classic nearly 30 years ago and share never-before-heard anecdotes about how the historic film came to be.

These panels all feature some of the most iconic Disney fandoms from the Disney Channel series and movies to one of the most beloved Disney fan films, A Goofy Movie. Our preferences here reflect our own favorite films but also what I think will be the most popular! All of these panels touch on Disney cult favorite films and properties so they are sure to be high in demand panels.

Disney Music is Celebrated at D23 with These Panels

I was also so excited to see so many aspects of Disney music being celebrated at D23 this year with panels like:

• Jolly Holiday: A D23 Musical Celebration of Richard M. Sherman- From Mary Poppins to Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, a heartwarming and joyous musical tribute to our beloved Disney songwriting legend Richard M. Sherman—with unbelievable performances and delightful surprise appearances by some of the people who knew and admired him best.
• Music of Marvel Studios- Get a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel Studios’ iconic scores and needle drops with composers Michael Giacchino, Christophe Beck, and Laura Karpman, songwriters Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, and music executives Dave Jordan and Justine von Winterfeldt.
• Disney Princess – The Concert- Be our guest for a magical evening celebrating the music of Disney Princesses, heroes, and (yes!) villains, performed by Disney on Broadway and animation stars, as Disney Princess – The Concert returns to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.

The top panel here is easily the one featuring the music of Disney legend Richard M. Sherman. Of note in that description too is “surprise appearances by some of the people who knew and admired him best” which means that panel will likely include great guest experiences. Marvel fans will enjoy the panel focusing primarily on the music from Marvel Studios featuring some of the most iconic scores. And of course, Broadway fans like myself will love the Disney Princess – The Concert panel. This one takes place at the same time as that day’s Honda Center panel which make it a bit easier to attend if you do not have tickets for the Honda Center!

D23 Experiences We Can’t Wait to See

Another D23 panel that is worth an honorable mention is the D23 Mousequerade: The Ultimate Disney Costume Contest which is an amazing sight to see featuring some of the most amazing Disney cosplays you’ve ever seen. Even if you don’t cosplay, it’s worth watching just to see the creativity of Disney cosplayers.

But there’s so much more than just panels! D23 features an expansive show floor full of interactive experiences and activities. This year’s floor is said to be the BIGGEST in the convention’s history!

The top two show floor exhibits on our radar include Imagineering: Behind the Dreams, Disney Experiences and Walt Disney Archives Presents: “A Great Big Beautiful Car Show.”

Imagineering: Behind the Dreams is a pavilion packed full of behind the scenes looks at design models, interactive demos, live prototypes, and presentations. That one is a must for any Disney Parks fan!

“A Great Big Beautiful Car Show” will include up-close looks at over 20 vehicles from the Walt Disney Archives collection which is a fun experience for Disney and car enthusiasts alike.

Another highlight on the experiences at D23 is the opportunity to meet Bluey and Bingo in the Disney+ pavilion! The D23 schedule shows tons of availability for this meet and greet which signals that Disney is acknowledging guests want these interactive Bluey experiences. Something that we have been saying here for quite awhile!

What also caught our eye are the three exhibits that pay homage to some of Disney’s most popular franchises like Avatar, Star Wars, and Marvel.

• Lightstorm- The Avatar Pavilion will be an immersive exhibit and walk-through experience inspired by the alien beauty and unique storytelling of Avatar. Guests will discover the captivating culture of the Na’vi, explore the Bioluminescent Forest, and soar through the mountains like a banshee.
• Lucasfilm Ltd.- Lucasfilm presents the magic of ILM StageCraft™, the technology used to bring to life the worlds of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and more. Hear from luminaries such as Doug Chiang, the creature team from Legacy Effects, and more for a look behind the scenes.
• Marvel Studios’ TVA Walkthrough Experience- Fans will get to enter the Time Variance Authority through an immersive walkthrough experience and see pivotal moments recreated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as what lies ahead. Just don’t step out of line… or timelines.

These three experiences are all likely to be extremely popular! I especially am looking forward to learning behind the scenes details of ILM StageCraft which was used in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

And just like previous years, this year’s D23 will feature the interactive Disney Channel Wand ID experience where guests can create their own Disney Channel Wand ID moment!

What would you add to our list? What are you most excited for at D23 this year?

👉Don’t forget to read our BEST TIPS for attending D23 based on years of our personal experience!

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