Are you going to be at the D23 Expo? (September 2009) - UPDATE on Post #1

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Hi,
I just listened to this week's podcasts and no mention of D23 expo. Is there any plan for one of Dis Unplugged DL correspondents to go and/or provide a blog on the expo? This is a first in Disney history so am surprised to not being hearing anything about a trip report.

Did I miss a mention somewhere? Thanks.

From what I've heard, none of the Orlando team will be out here, but the Disneyland Correspondents (Nancy, Wendy & Tony) will be providing some coverage.

 

[PrincessMonkey]

I will be twittering from the Expo, as I'm sure many other fans will.

Disney may take away our cameras, so I plan to text updates on the show unless they say otherwise.

Reminder note on the DIS meet:
Please plan to on time on 9/10, as we will try to stand in the "Arena queue" very soon after the 9:30am meet time. We can mingle in the Arena queue if we must.

 

[bradk]

I of course will be reporting with full press credentials, but not for DIS obviously. If you need to know more, you can PM me with any questions.

the arena ban on cameras applies to all electronics. they won't even allow me to take my netbook in, so I'll be going in with a pencil and a pad to jot stuff down to tweet/report shortly after.

on the flip side, Disney will be taking photos during the restricted events and providing media with them for use.

 

[PrincessMonkey]

Good to know!
I will deposit my phone & my camera in the Disney-provided camera check area to enter the Arena.

 

[pycees312]

so happy they will debut the pricess and the frog on Thursday now as I wont be abel to attend SAT. very pleased about that!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

. . .the arena ban on cameras applies to all electronics. they won't even allow me to take my netbook in, so I'll be going in with a pencil and a pad to jot stuff down to tweet/report shortly after.

on the flip side, Disney will be taking photos during the restricted events and providing media with them for use.

Does this mean I cannot bring in a phone even if it doesn't have a camera? And does this just apply to the Iger talk/Legends ceremony or to all events in the Arena?

I was planning to downgrade my iphone to a plain vanilla phone without a camera by switching the sim card, but other than protecting my confidential information, this won't help much if no phones or oter electronics (gameboys, ipods?) are allowed. -- Suzanne

 

[pycees312]

I of course will be reporting with full press credentials, but not for DIS obviously. If you need to know more, you can PM me with any questions.

the arena ban on cameras applies to all electronics. they won't even allow me to take my netbook in, so I'll be going in with a pencil and a pad to jot stuff down to tweet/report shortly after.

on the flip side, Disney will be taking photos during the restricted events and providing media with them for use.

so are there lockers????? what will I do as i plan to bring my camera in to take photos all day.

 

[bradk]

i would think in the interest of time, they'll take all phones, but not positive. i don't know if they're going to do metal detectors/wands or what. i would operate under the assumption that yes, even if it can't take photos, it will have to be checked. but bottom line, if you can manage to get something in and it never sees the light of day, i'll assume you'll be fine.

i'm working on getting a really clear answer on the policy though since so many are asking about it. I'll post the response in my next D23 Expo update along with a bunch of other stuff I've been waiting to mention.

 

[05MM08MM]

i would think in the interest of time, they'll take all phones, but not positive. i don't know if they're going to do metal detectors/wands or what. i would operate under the assumption that yes, even if it can't take photos, it will have to be checked. but bottom line, if you can manage to get something in and it never sees the light of day, i'll assume you'll be fine.

i'm working on getting a really clear answer on the policy though since so many are asking about it. I'll post the response in my next D23 Expo update along with a bunch of other stuff I've been waiting to mention.

Thanks

Originally the site did mention a camera check with the Expo Guide recently released just says:

Photography: Where designated, the use of any of the following equipment of any kind is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of D23 Expo management: camera equipment; camera flashes or strobes; video cameras, including cellphone video technology; and audio recording equipment. Any person using or attempting to use any such equipment may, at the sole discretion of D23 Expo management, be subject to removal from the venue and may be refused entry to other events sponsored by or affiliated with D23 Expo management or The Walt Disney Company. D23 Expo management reserves the right to confiscate any photographs, audio recordings and/or video taken in violation of this policy.

Hey bradk, aren't you a photo expert as well?

I have a question about taking pictures (where permitted) at the event. Since they ask for no flash photography in certain situations, what type of settings should I put into the camera to work best and not get blur or color issues? I have an advanced point-in-shoot camera: Panasonic Lumix TZ5

TIA

 

[bradk]

No, there are no lockers at the convention center. You are responsible for your own personal items. For the Arena events, they will be checked at the door of the Arena, which means they'll probably each go into a plastic little bag and you'll have a claim ticket # and will have to wait to get your item back afterwards.

I checked with my D23 Expo rep and he unfortunately did not have a clear answer as to just what will be taken at the Arena door. my unofficial advice is just to wait until you're there and decide what's best for you. you might be able to get away with keeping phones on you in your pocket/purse/fannypack/whatever. If you have no intention of taking photos/video during the presentation, you shouldn't have much to worry about.

as for taking photos without the flash, as far as I know, the only place this applies is in the Treasures of the Archives exhibit (which initially forbid all photography). There are occasions where photos aren't allowed at all, but when they are, the flash should be allowed except for the archive exhibit.

As to how to take decent photos without the flash, it kind of depends on a lot of things. the key response is that there really is no magic way. reason being that in order to take a photo, the camera opens the shutter to let light through and create the exposure which is basically your photo. the primary idea behind a flash is to create a strong enough light source on the subject so that the shutter doesn't have to be open long at all which means you should get a really sharp image. when you don't have enough light, the shutter needs to remain open long to properly capture the image and in that case, it's subject to blur if either the camera or subject moves since it's a composite image of everything the camera sees while the shutter is open.

so now you have a lot of factors to contend with, starting with the room lighting. if a room is lit well enough, you won't need a flash. even in automatic mode, it's possible the camera can register a good photo without the flash. what you want to do is make sure you're holding the camera steady as possible, there are a few techniques that are advised for doing this, but i'm never sure what they are, something about either inhaling before and holding your breath while taking the shot, or exhaling first. I really dunno. but you can simulate different lighting situations at home and practice. plus if you're digital, i advise taking multiple shots every time anyway. you might end up with 3 blurry photos and 1 good one and all it takes it a few extra seconds of your time.

if you have manual control over your camera, you can also adjust the shutter speed and other things yourself and just experiment. in my personal experience, I can probably get decent clear shots as slow as 1/20 of a second at 1600 ISO. the problems in my experience have all been with automatic mode in which the camera over-compensates the time needed to take the photo without a flash.

the ISO is the other primary factor. the lower the number, the higher quality the image, but the more light/time is needed for the photo to be properly registered. it's comparable to film speed on film cameras, so 400 or so is generally ideal. the higher you go, the more grainy your images can get, especially in low light situations. but again, the lower the ISO, the longer your shutter must be. and that all depends on your lighting. you can go outside on a bright day and use ISO 100 and a shutter speed of 1/8000 and get a great photo, but if you tried that indoors, you'd probably get an all black image from not letting enough light in.

if any of that makes any sense. basically it's trial & error and taking as many photos as possible hoping a few will turn out right. that's my most honest advice.

also remember they are selling a limited edition collectible 'catalog' of the items on display at the exhibit. so that's bound to make a great keepsake with photos better than anyone could possibly take on site.

 

[nunzia]

i would think in the interest of time, they'll take all phones, but not positive. i don't know if they're going to do metal detectors/wands or what. i would operate under the assumption that yes, even if it can't take photos, it will have to be checked. but bottom line, if you can manage to get something in and it never sees the light of day, i'll assume you'll be fine.

i'm working on getting a really clear answer on the policy though since so many are asking about it. I'll post the response in my next D23 Expo update along with a bunch of other stuff I've been waiting to mention.

I emailed them about this..their response..FUZZY:

"Thank you for contacting the 2009 Disney D23 Expo Customer Service Department.



The only information I have on cameras being used is what I was told below:



We're anticipating most attendees will bring cameras and video recorders - it will be generally accepted throughout the expo. That said, there will be some business unit exhibitions that prohibit photography etc. and it will be their responsibility to post those rules.



As for camera checks I do not know if/how that will be handled.
"


At this point I guess I'm leaving phone and camera behind and seeing how it goes..

 

[bradk]

I can only base it on smaller, personal experiences.

I go to movie screenings a fair amount and very often, they have security that makes people check phones and they will wand you to find anything metal on you. before wanding, I empty my pockets of anything that might trigger it which includes my wallet, my work phone and my iphone. I have literally held both in my hands in plain sight while they scanned me, simply said no when they asked if i had any form of camera on me and then just put my stuff back in my pockets and walked in. often they have security scanning the theater with night-vision goggles looking for suspicious activities or LCD screens

but you never know how they'll handle this

 

[Princess Yvey]

hey everyone,

I took a look at the guidebook and the website, and it looks doubtful that they will ban cameras all together. It would only enforce no photography in certain areas.

from the guide:
Guest Photography/Filming/Recording Policy
No flash photography, and no filming or other recording of any kind is permitted in the “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibit No photography, filming or other recording is permitted in the D23 Expo Studio Theater or Arena or in any other location where prohibited.
By attending the D23 Expo, you agree not to take pictures or video or make sound recordings wherever posted or announced as prohibited.


The events where photography is prohibited are marked on the site (i.e the Lion King panel, the boys screening and panel, etc).

Hope this helps

 

[WDW Daily News]

Unfortunately I can only be there for Saturday and Sunday, but it should be fun nonetheless!!

 

[bradk]

the question about cameras isn't banning them, I don't believe anyone thought this would be the case. it's referring specifically to the 3 Arena events where cameras ARE banned.

even in the other panels you mention, the cameras are allowed in, but photos can't be taken. again, in the Arena events, you need to check your cameras and cellphones at the door. that's what most are having issues/concerns with.

to be blunt, it's only because I know that things will be easier for me than it will be for most everyone else that i'm even considering going to the event

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

the question about cameras isn't banning them, I don't believe anyone thought this would be the case. it's referring specifically to the 3 Arena events where cameras ARE banned.

even in the other panels you mention, the cameras are allowed in, but photos can't be taken. again, in the Arena events, you need to check your cameras and cellphones at the door. that's what most are having issues/concerns with.

to be blunt, it's only because I know that things will be easier for me than it will be for most everyone else that i'm even considering going to the event

Bradk, I go to screenings also and I have been to some where they do take all cellphones away. Now these screenings are much smaller than what we're going to see at D23. I worry the wait time if they do this will be long, making it hard to get to the next talk/performance.

Thanks for any info.

 

[bradk]

it's going to be impossible regardless. you have reason to worry about it. but we're all in the same boat (except for those that don't bring anything).

keep in mind that people will be queuing up for other panels while the panel you're in is going on.

there's going to be a lot of give and take with this event.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

the question about cameras isn't banning them, I don't believe anyone thought this would be the case. it's referring specifically to the 3 Arena events where cameras ARE banned.

Can you be more specific about which 3 Arena events? I saw that they need to be checked for the Iger talk/Legends ceremony. What other Arena events will prohibit cameras/electronics?

Any idea if a Ipod Touch or other Ipods will be allowed? Until 9/8 at least, none of them have a camera (allow the Touch does have the ability to make phoen calls with a Wi-Fi connection and a skype download). Just trying to plan what to bring and what to leave at the hotel. -- Suzanne

 

[pycees312]

after reading all of the info posted online and from the guide my own personal thoughts are due to the size of this event you will be allowed to take these items in but will not in any circumstances be able to use them in the designated no camera zones and if you do you willbe escorted out with no refund or acceess to the remainder of the expo. So if you have a camera bad bring it and store it there. Remeber this is only my OWN take on it not anything confirmed!!

 

[bradk]

it's really actually quite clear.

for Bob Iger and the Disney Legends Ceremony on Thursday and Dick Cook on Friday (those are the 3), absolutely NO cameras/electronic devices are allowed INSIDE the Arena. Even if you have no intention of using them, they are simply not allowed inside the Arena at all. inside the convention center, yes. inside the arena, not for those 3 presentations.

there are other panels and screenings where any type of recording is prohibited. in those cases, you can have your camera with you, but you may not use it during the presentation.

i can't provide any clearer information on what will be allowed inside the Arena and won't be. I asked my rep and was told he wasn't clear on it himself. it's whatever they happen to decide to do on thurs & fri