With D23 Expo, Disney’s bi-annual fan convention, coming up at the Anaheim Convention Center on August 23-25, 2019, there may be some San Diego Comic-Con (“SDCC”) veterans planning to attend who are new to D23. While you may be well-versed in how to tackle Hall H, the biggest room at SDCC, D23 Expo’s biggest room, Hall D23, has its own quirks. Below we take a look at the differences between Hall H and Hall D23.
Seating Capacity
Hall H: Seats 6,500
Hall D23: Seats 6,800.
So Hall D23 actually has a slightly higher seating capacity.
Lining Up
Hall H: The procedures change slightly from year to year, but this is how it worked at SDCC 2019. Every evening, there was a designated time at which wristbands would begin to be distributed that would guarantee entry into the first panel in Hall H the next day. The line for these wristbands was called the Next Day Line, and it was not allowed to begin until around 5:30am-6:00am that morning. Security disbanded any attempts to form an “unofficial” line before that time. Once you obtained a wristband, you could either remain in line overnight, or return to the line the next morning before 7:30am. The overnight line is located outside, under tents if you are nearer to the front, or on the sidewalk, or along the marina, or even in the park, if the line extends that far.
Hall D23: The procedures here also change from year to year. This year, D23 Expo will implement a completely new element: an online reservation system. This reservation system can be used to make StagePass reservations for you and one other person for guaranteed entry to select panels, as well as StorePass reservations for reserved entry times to the various stores on the Expo floor, and TalentPass reservations to obtain autographs and photo ops from the various talent who are appearing. These reservations will all become available on Friday, August 16 at 12pm PT.
An element that was introduced at D23 Expo 2017 that will again be used at D23 Expo 2019 is D23 Gold Member Priority Queuing. If you’re a D23 Gold Member, then you and a guest (or you and 3 guests, if you’re a Gold Family Member) will be allowed first access to general admission seating at Hall D23. However, note that the priority queue is limited and will reach capacity early. Indeed, at D23 Expo 2017, I was never able to take advantage of the Gold Member priority queue at any session I attended because it was always at capacity by the time I got in line. So don’t count on being able to use the Gold Member priority queue to your benefit unless you are planning to get in line early.
So how does that work with the StagePass reservations? Well, the Gold Member priority queue will be admitted entrance before the StagePass reservations. So why would you want to get a StagePass if you’re a Gold Member? As mentioned above, the Gold Member priority queue fills up quite early. Therefore, it is likely that you’ll need to stay overnight in order to take advantage of that benefit. (That is, if it’s a morning session. If you’re only interested in an afternoon session, you may be able to take advantage if you line up during the morning session.) But with the StagePass, you’ll only need to show up one hour before the session and don’t have to worry about camping overnight if you only care about getting in and not how close your seats are. However, as we will discuss below, be aware that there is a security checkpoint, so you should allow enough time to get through that.
But what if you’re not a Gold Member and you are not able to get a StagePass? You can line up in the standby line. However, it is unknown what percentage of seating is allotted for Gold Member seating and for StagePass reservations, and what percentage, if any, is allotted for standby seating.
Oh, and there is one other aspect, which is the Sorcerer Package. If you have that package, which is super expensive and sells out immediately, then you get reserved seating for all the presentations, and don’t have to worry about lining up.
In the past, the overnight line has been located inside of Hall E. However, instructions say that the main entry for overnight lines is directly off Katella Avenue at the Arena Plaza on the north end of the convention center – which is the opposite end of the convention center from Hall E, so it’s possible that the overnight queue location could change this year, though that is yet to be seen. For sessions on Friday, August 23, the overnight queue will begin at 2 pm on Thursday, while for sessions on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25, the queue will begin at 7 pm on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The question is whether security will enforce these start times.
A word of warning: The overnight queue in Hall E is infamous for being cold, bright (due to leaving the lights on all night), and loud (from Disney movies playing on the monitors at full volume), so plan accordingly.
Seating Selection
Hall H: When you enter Hall H, unless it’s at near capacity, you are free to wander the room to find an empty seat.
Hall D23: It works quite a bit differently for Hall D23. When you queue up in Hall E (assuming that’s where the queue will be located again this year), you will have three sections to choose from: A (stage right), B (middle), and C (stage left). The Section B queue always fills up first, though you may prefer to go into Section A or C to get a closer seat, even though you’ll be off to the side. Then when you enter Hall D23, you’ll be in single file order, and a D23 Expo staff member will direct you exactly where to sit, row by row, making sure that there are no empty seats before filling up the next row. Once they seat you, that’s your seat. There is no moving up to try to find a closer seat.
Clearing the Room
Hall H: SDCC does not clear the room between panels in Hall H, so if you’re in the room for the first panel of the day, you can stay in the room all day if you want. As mentioned above, you are free to wander the room to find an empty seat, so it’s possible you may start the day at the back of the room and then find your way to the front of the room by the end of the day.
Hall D23: D23 Expo, on the other hand, does clear the room between panels in Hall D23, so you would not be able to remain in the room if there are multiple sessions on the same day that you’d like to see. You must exit the room and line up again for Hall D23. Currently, there are only two sessions scheduled in Hall D23 each day, with several hours in between.
Security
Both Hall H and Hall D23 have security measures in place, requiring attendees to go through a bag check and metal detectors. But there is a slight difference when it comes to where those checkpoints are located.
Hall H: At SDCC, the only security checkpoint is a dedicated security checkpoint exclusively for Hall H. Any attendees in line for Hall H would first have to go through security to get into the section of the Hall H queue that was located under the tents. Then if attendees wished to temporarily exit Hall H and re-enter without going through the entire Hall H line again, they would have to go through a security checkpoint located within the convention center just outside of Hall H.
Hall D23: At D23 Expo, the security checkpoint is for entrance into the expo as a whole. Therefore, once you’re inside the convention center, you are in, and are free to go to your desired destination, whether it be Hall D23 or the show floor. As such, when you leave the room after a Hall D23 session (since, as mentioned above, they will clear the room), if you want to get in line for the next Hall D23 session, you may do so without having to go through security again. However, if you leave the convention center, you’ll have to get back in line to re-enter the expo. This means you’ll have to go through security again, which could cause your wait to be 1-2 hours, based on the last D23 Expo in 2017.
Cameras and Phones
Hall H: For Hall H, you’re free to bring in your cameras and phones without any issue, except that you’re not allowed to livestream. Also, whenever any footage is shown, you’re not allowed to take pictures or video of anything on the screens. There are security guards walking around, sometimes with infrared goggles, depending on the panel, to enforce this.
Hall D23: For Hall D23, it depends on the panel. If it’s a presentation that will include exclusive footage, such as the Go Behind the Scenes with the Walt Disney Studios presentation, Disney is very strict. Before attendees are let into Hall D23, they are each given a plastic envelope in which to seal their cameras and phones. These devices must be left inside the envelope for the duration of the panel. Security walks around to make sure no one takes their devices out of their envelope. For other panels, such as the Legends Ceremony or the Disney Parks presentation, such measures are not taken, and you’re free to take pictures during the panel.
For more information about San Diego Comic-Con, check out their official website, or their Toucan Blog. For more information about D23 Expo, check out their Things to Know page.
