So how crowded was it at this year’s Comic-Con? So crowded that – as you walked past the Fox booth in the exhibit hall – you were halfway tempted to “borrow” Wolverine’s adamantium claws (FYI: this wax X-Men is just one of the figures that will be on display at Madame Tussands Hollywood. Which opens this coming Saturday right next door to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre). Just so you could then clear a path by hacking your way through all those other people who are blocking the aisles.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Mind you, there were places where it was actually nice to see a crowd. And one of those spots was directly in front of the D23 booth.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Now I know that the folks behind the Official Community for Disney Fans were kind of sweating Comic-Con. Wondering what sort of overlap (if any) there’d be between the worlds of Disneyana enthusiasts and that of comic book collectors & sci-fi fans.
So to insure that their booth would actually appeal to the Comic-Con crowd, D23 managers dug down deep in the Walt Disney Archives and unearthed the miniature versions of V.I.N.C.E.N.T., Old B.O.B. and Maximilian that were used in production of “The Black Hole
.”
(L to R) V.I.N.C.E.N.T., Maximilian and Old B.O.B. models on display at the
D23 booth at this year’s Comic-Con. Photo by Nancy Stadler
They also had one of the Studio’s staff artists create this limited edition litho. Which features 10 of Disney & Pixar’s more memorable mechanical men grouped together for a one-time-only portrait.
Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
But as it turns out, over the course of this 4+ day show, thousands of people did come by D23’s Comic-Con booth. Not to gawk at the Rocketeer
costume that was display …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… complete with the X-3 jet pack that was used in the production of this 1991 Joe Johnston film.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
And it wasn’t the costume that Michael Crawford wore when shooting “Condorman” for Walt Disney Productions back in 1981 …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… or the somewhat more flattering suit that Kurt Russell wore when he was playing the Commander in Walt Disney Pictures’ Summer 2003 release, “Sky High” ...
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… that kept the crowds coming back to Booth 3917. Oh, sure. Lots of folks came by to scope out that TRON
costume …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… including the director of the first “TRON,” Steven Lisberger. Who initially expressed his doubts that the throwing disc that was on display inside of this glass case was actually one of the ones used in production of this 1982 film.
“It’s too clean & new-looking,” Lisberger supposedly said. But the D23 staffers who were working in Booth 3917 assured Steven that this throwing disc was authentic. The only reason that this prop looked so pristine was that this particular disc had been a costume piece (i.e. attached to the back of that character from “TRON”) rather than a really-for-real throwing disc.
No, the real reason that Comic-Con attendees kept coming back to this booth was because they wanted to pick up a complete set of those D23 Expo buttons that Disney staffers were giving away.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Not to mention picking up an advance copy of the Fall issue of Disney twenty-three magazine. Which features a terrific cover story on Disneyland’s The Haunted Mansion as well as a heartfelt tribute to that late, great Disney Legend, Wayne Allwine.
Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
It’s those sorts of things that kept people coming back to Booth 3917 throughout this year’s Comic-Con. With many of these attendees then expressing an interest in attending the very first D23 Expo.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
So – all in all – it was a very busy 4+ days in San Diego. With the D23 folks getting all sorts of practical experience when it comes to dealing with extremely large numbers of people. Which – given how fast those 4-day passes to the D23 Expo have supposedly been selling – is probably going to come in handy at the Anaheim Convention Center September 10th – 13th.
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