ANAHEIM, Calif. — At this year's D23 Expo, visitors can ask Rocket Raccoon about his relationship with the Star-Lord, Peter Quill.
Fans can ask how Rocket has saved the planet and about his relationship with Groot or anyone else.
These visitors aren't speaking with an audio-animatronic that Disney is well known for, but innovative technology that allows them to interact with and talk briefly to an actor playing the "Guardians of the Galaxy" member.
"It's a cool new technology where we have a mocap (motion capture) actor, but he's not in a mocap suit," said Sarah Beers, the VP of franchise creative and marketing at Marvel, during a media preview on Thursday. "[There are] special cameras that are able to capture his movements, and he is able to control the character of Rocket and see the guests and talk to them in real time without delay."
The innovative interaction is among several high-tech features D23 Expo guests can experience during the three-day fan fest at the Anaheim Convention Center and the Honda Center. Tickets are sold out.
In many ways, the biennial event is the Walt Disney Co.'s Super Bowl.
Disney has transformed the Anaheim Convention Center into a one-million-square-foot all-out Disney fan experience this weekend.
The event began in 2009 and has grown so much that this year that it added the Honda Center as a venue to host its biggest panels: Disney movies, films and TV entertainment, park experiences and Disney Legends.
From Friday to Sunday, several of the entertainment giant's C-suite executives, division heads, Hollywood talent and others will descend on the convention center to overwhelm the tens of thousands of Disney die-hards with breaking entertainment news, theme park announcements, immersive experiences and merchandise exclusives.
"This year, we have reimagined D23," said Asad Ayaz, the chief brand officer at Disney, to a horde of media during the preview at the Anaheim Convention Center. "It's more expansive, more immersive than ever before and this is for our biggest fans from around the world. We're celebrating what they love about Disney."
On the show floor, more than 230 presentations allow fans to interact with storytellers, actors and other talents, Ayaz said.
Over 500 performers are expected to entertain the crowd, he said.
In the Disney Imagineering booth, Disney fans and aspiring theme park designers can speak and pick the brains of over 200 Imagineers.
The company is pulling back the curtain and showcasing their work, which is often behind the scenes.
Remote-controlled miniature droids walk among the crowd in the booth.
One section showcases the audio-animatronic head of Elsa from the "Frozen" franchise singing "Let it Go."
There are concept designs of Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
For the first time, in person, Disney is also unveiling the Holo Tile, an omnidirectional floor that allows a person or persons to walk in any direction without going anywhere. Imagine playing a virtual reality game and walking in the game's environment without physically moving across the room.
There are other experiential booths, plenty of photo ops, and meet and greets throughout the convention center.
Marvel fans will be transported to the Time Variance Authority through an immersive walkthrough experience, where they'll encounter Rocket Raccoon.
In another part of the showroom, Lucasfilm will showcase the behind-the-scenes technology used in hit series like "The Mandalorian."
Celebrating its fifth year, the Disney+ booth is filled with photo ops and subscribers will receive a special gift. At certain times, fans can put their arms around Bluey and Bingo during a meet-and-greet.
Nearby visitors can sit on Homer Simpson's couch, journey into the fictional world of Pandora from "Avatar," and even check out Disney Archives' largest-ever exhibit, "A Great Big Beautiful Car Show," filled with iconic vehicles from Disney's film and TV past from Cruella de Vil's custom black-and-white 1974 Panther De Ville coupe to "The Love Bug's" 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe to the 2054 Lexus Roadster from "Minority Report."
The company will kick off the expo with its first major panel Friday night by showcasing its pipeline of new movies and upcoming Pixar animations.
Disney studio officials usually tease the crowd and show trailers of forthcoming Marvel movies, Star Wars movies, new Pixar animation, originals and television shows. The actors and directors usually show up, get the crowd hyped and discuss the story or trailers to wet fans' appetites.
On Saturday, the company will unveil plans for its massive theme park, hotel and cruise portfolio.
A lot of news is expected to surround Disneyland Resort, especially after the Anaheim City Council passed the company's so-called DisneylandForward project, which allows the company more flexibility on building within its properties in Anaheim. The company has plans to spend at least $1.9 billion on attractions at Disneyland Resort.
The merchandise team is also here to unveil exclusive products, such as Wolverine-inspired boxing gloves and Marvel lifestyle and kitchenware.
The company will roll out the red carpet on Sunday and bestow its highest honor — Disney Legends. Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis and James Cameron are among those receiving the awards.
This year's D23 Expo is truly going to be the company's largest and best Disney fan event, Ayaz said.
"No one else has the combination of our incredible brand and franchises, powerful creative studios and groundbreaking technology and our 100 year legacy of unmatched creativity and storytelling," he said.