See the high definition video above.

We attended the Disney D23 1st anniversary event for Walt Disney’s D23 club on Wednesday, March 10 and it was a huge success!

The event was slated to begin at @930pm, but fans started arriving much earlier at 7pm. Many fans arrived to the park during the day and stayed until the evenings festivities.

Check in for the party was smooth and quick, with friendly cast members giving each guest their wristbands and envelope with a *welcome letter and a special letter with some exciting announcements for this and next year for D23 members!

In attendance were many Disney luminaries as, Bob Gurr, Tony Baxter, Kevin Corcoran, Bill Farmer, Margaret Kelly, Dave Smith, actor Dan Roebuck, David Stollery, Denny Newell, Becky Kline,  Steven Clark, and more.

All of the gracious guests were readily available and easily accessible to all of the D23 members in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.  All of the guests answered questions, posed for pictures, and told stories of their experiences with Walt Disney and the Disney company.

D23 and Disney’s fans want access to behind the scenes information with up close and personal intertactions with the artists, actors, and creators of all things Disney, and this event delivered.

D23 members all had smiles on their faces from meeting the guests, riding their favorite attractions, and enjoying the delicious and mutliple deserts and special treats throughout the park.

There were also characters who happily posed with fans and signed their autographs, including Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, a few Bears 😉 , Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter, Maleficent, and many many more.

Members had photo access  to Walts  “Electric Runaround” vehicle which was used to  escort VIPs throughout Disneyland. Cinderella and her coach were there for everyone to say hello to and posed for photos too.

At the end of the evening guests were given a special treat. This D23 1st Anniversary pin:

The next D23 Expo will be held at the Anaheim convention center August 19-21 2011, along with a new inaugural convention called Destination D Disneyland 55, which takes place at the Disneyland Grand Ballroom on September 24-25.

Destination D will take D23 members on a journey through the design, creation, debut, and magical history of Disneyland.

The D23 team is in the midst of developing exclusive programming for DESTINATION D – but an early peek at plans reveals a host of special speakers, presentations and panels throughout the two-day event, including:

— “Disneyland: The Way We Were” – Disney’s Chief Archivist Dave Smith
will look back at highlights from Disneyland history;
— “Disney Undiscovered” – An exploration of never-built projects and
attractions developed for Disneyland;
— “23 on 55” – The Walt Disney Archives celebrates Disneyland’s 55th
anniversary;
— “Weird Disney” – A showcase for some of the quirky, little-known
facts, places, people and ideas that even the most avid fan might not
know.

If last years original D23 Disney Expo event was any indication, then this years Destination D Disneyland55, and next years second D23 Disney Expo will be even more amazing.

See you there!

Updates can be found at Walt Disney’s D23 website:  http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/031010_EE_D23Expo2011.html

JM for Movie Prop Collectors.com