This year Walt Disney World Resort is celebrating its 40th anniversary and D23 is hosting a two-day event that will take place May 14 and May 15 called Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th. This event is not to be missed and is only available to D23 members: Disney’s Official Fan Club. The event starts from parcels of land in Central Florida when they were first purchased in the 1960’s through the opening of EPCOT Center in 1982. It takes you on a journey of how this wonderful World became what it is today.
Destination D: WDW 40th Event Details
Date: May 14 & May 15, 2011
Location: Fantasia Ballroom, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Registration: Open Friday, May 13 from noon – 9 p.m. Open Saturday, May 14 at 8 a.m. Registration will be located at the East Registration Counter in the Fantasia Lobby of Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Tickets: Available Thursday, February 24, at 10 am PST (1 pm EST). Visit to order tickets.
Cost: $175 per person; $215 for ticket plus registration of one Great Disney Scavenger Hunt team (between two and four people)
D23 members can purchase tickets to the spectacular two-day event here. Last year’s Destination D event was sold-out so fans should book early.
Highlights of Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th include
- Appearances by notable Disney Legends & Imagineers Marty Sklar, Bob Gurr, Jack Lindquist, Eric Jacobson, Tony Baxter, Charlie Ridgway and Ron Logan, in addition to Debra Browne, the 1971 Walt Disney World Ambassador.
- A special exhibit from the Walt Disney Archives featuring rare items and artifacts showing the creation and evolution of Walt Disney World Resort.
- A multitude of fantastic presentations covering topics such as bizarre and wacky moments in Walt Disney World’s past, Walt’s vision for EPCOT, and even a peek at the Walt Disney World that never was!
- Rare autograph session with Disney Legends and authors.
- An enchanting concert, Magic Journeys: A Flight of Fancy through 40 Years of Walt Disney World Musical Memories featuring Disney Legend and Academy Award®-winner Richard M. Sherman.
All guests will also receive a complimentary, limited-edition reproduction of the 1970 “Preview Edition” of the Walt Disney World souvenir guidebook. Published exclusively for the Walt Disney Archives Collection, the 22-page soft cover booklet — featuring colorful photography and exquisite illustrations — highlights the excitement that was soon to debut in Orlando.
Guests may also register February 24 for D23’s Great Disney Scavenger Hunt: Walt Disney World, which takes place May 12 & 13, and will send hundreds of teams across the Resort’s four theme parks in what will be the largest scavenger hunt to ever hit Walt Disney World! Registration for the Hunt is open to both D23 Member and the general public. (Registration for the Hunt is separate from Destination D.)
cheryl tarrant says
i’ll be so proud to be an official disney fan club member. thank you
cheryl