LOS ANGELES — By now, most everyone is aware that there are two distinct Walt Disney Co.'s.
One is a business empire with a formidable, risk-averse marketing department. The other lives in our collective imagination, that part of us that deeply wants to believe in the fantasy and magic imbued in the foundation of Disney's creative content. It's more than a belief in fairy tales; it's the promise of what humanity could be, and a reflection of how we hope to see ourselves.
Those dual aspects of Disney rarely converge on a public stage, but there's one place that readily embodies the company's carefully calculated balancing act between its two sides: Disney's sold-out fan convention, the D23 Expo. Now it's back at the Anaheim Convention Center where, after a year off because of the pandemic, the faithful have once again paid around $100 per day to wait in long lines to witness what's next for Marvel, Lucasfilm and its theme parks.
