Trip Report: Wakanda Forever: The Black Panther at DCA and the El Capitan Theatre
All photos and videos on this page are © Loren R. Javier. Do not duplicate, modify or distribute without prior consent.
This week, I went down to the Disneyland Resort to experience the last day of Lunar New Year and to see the arrival of Marvel's Black Panther at Disney California Adventure. Since I already did a trip report about Lunar New Year (which you can read here), I'm going to focus on Black Panther which was all kinds of amazing.
[Please note: All video and photos used in this blog entry were taken and owned by Loren R. Javier. Please do not repost without attribution]
The first day, we arrived at Black Panther's meet and greet a little over an hour early because we had heard of extremely long lines. And, it was true. By the time they opened the queue, there was quite a line that had formed.
Before Black Panther arrives at his meet and greet area located at Stage 17 in the Hollywood Studios Backlot, there is some fanfare as he makes his way down Hollywood Boulevard in an Avengers jeep flanked by two members of his royal guard the Dora Milaje.
Once they get to Stage 17, they park the jeep and make their way inside.
His meet and greet area is rather small given the giant building its in. I wish they had made it larger and more befitting the King of Wakanda.
The small queue within the building before you meet T'Challa is decorated like Shuri's lab and has a few artifacts on display.
I got a chance to meet Black Panther a few times over the course of the next few days. Sometimes, he'd meet in his area by himself.
Sometimes he'd meet with a member of the Dora Milaje.
And, sometimes he'd meet outside near the jeep.
If anything was sure, the Dora Milaje were a hit! They even got lines of their own to meet them when they weren't meeting with the Black Panther. They were absolutely amazing and looked like they stepped out of the movie, from the beautifully intricate outfits to the head and face tattoos.
I also got an opportunity to watch Black Panther at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. For those of you who do not know, this is Disney's flagship theater and I always love to watch their movies there because they always have some kind of special experience. For Black Panther, they had several of the gorgeous costumes from the movie.
On the main level, Black Panther's costume was on display!
On the bottom floor, they had wonderful assortment of costumes. f it doesn't get, at least, an Oscar nomination for best costume, there is no justice in the world. These are some amazing costumes. Sadly, the lighting was no optimal, so it was so hard to get pictures.
I was struck by this wall of Black Panther posters. I think how powerful it is to see the almost all black cast in a Marvel movie. Especially because there was such a richness to each of these characters that I want to know more about.
In the theater itself, before the movie started, they had the Black Panther mountain on stage. A very nice touch to add to the experience.
It was a great weekend of Black Panther experiences!
To see all my photos from meets with Black Panther, click on this Google Photos Album.
And to see all my photos from Black Panther at the El Capitan, click on this Google Photos Album.