Visiting the Step In Time Pavilion at Disney’s D23 Expo

Join me as I take you through the Walt Disney Archives’ brand new exhibit as part of the kickoff to Disney 100 at the D23 Expo.

Walt Disney Archives “Step In Time” Exhibit

The D23 Expo is known for its different show floors, and one not to miss is the “Step In Time” exhibit from the Walt Disney Archives. It offers an immersive and themed exhibit that showcases the Archives historical assets from animated shorts, films, and film premieres, as well as TV productions and Disney park favorites and attractions which include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, Tron, Dick Tracy, Star Wars and Walt Disney World Resort’s Haunted Mansion.

Guests first enter the exhibit while walking through a giant 100, representing the 100 years that the Walt Disney Company was first founded.

“What we did is, we took a look at what memorable moments happened through those 100 years—and what we decided to do in this space was create a timeline, and then let you ‘step in time’; step into the most memorable moments from each decade… It’s a lot different than anything we’ve done before, for the Expo particularly; these are immersive vignettes.

There’s a kind of a mixture of photo ops and an immersive experience, but there are also museum artifacts in here. There are original props and costumes and special pieces on display. So it’s a little bit of everything.”

The exhibit begins in chronological order beginning with Steamboat Willie and ending with the ever so popular nod to the Star Wars franchise.

Walking Around the Exhibit

The immersive exhibit features many photo ops and some never-before-seen publicly displayed items. The timeline begins with a full-size Steamboat Willie Riverboat photo opportunity including vintage and rare Mickey Mouse merchandise. As guests continue to walk through the exhibit, they will enjoy seeing costumes and props from various Walt Disney productions.

My personal favorite was the standees that were made for the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiere of the film in Europe in 1923. The arcade games and props from the film Tron were also on full display. In terms of immersion, the display for the movie Dick Tracy truly gave the impression and ambience that one had just set foot onto the set itself full with props and costumes featuring Warren Beatty’s costume.

Other highlights from the exhibit include Julie Andrews’ iconic Mary Poppins costume, two of the carrousel horse props from the film, being the star of your own throwback Disney Channel ID (remember actors using the Disney wand to trace out the Disney Channel logo?) and last but not least, Walt Disney World’s original Haunted Mansion’s ghostly bride.

A different version of the exhibit will open at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in February. The exhibit will be different from the one at the D23 Expo and will run in two units, for five years, one traveling around North America and one going international.

What a majestic way to celebrating the 100 years of the Walt Disney Company! Will you be attending the exhibit beginning in February? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and in our Facebook group.