D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is less than a month away.
Our tickets are purchased. Our hotel is booked. Our flights are scheduled. We even have Disneyland Resort tickets for the entire trip. On paper, everything is ready.
Then the panel Reservation Random Selection Process—better known as the RSP—opened this week, and I started freaking out.
Not a cute, “I’m so excited I can’t decide” kind of freak-out. This was more of an “I have spent a small fortune on this trip and somehow have no idea what we’re doing” situation.
The full D23 schedule included panels, presentations, show-floor experiences, shopping opportunities, meet-and-greets and three major Honda Center events. At the same time, I was trying to fit in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. I haven’t visited Disneyland in more than 20 years, and bestie has barely experienced it at all.
Every choice seemed to conflict with something else.
If we attended a late-afternoon panel, would we have enough time to reach the Honda Center? If we spent the morning at Disneyland, would we miss an important D23 reservation? When would we shop? Which attractions should we prioritize? Were we trying to do too much?
The answer to that last question was clearly yes.
Asking ChatGPT to Help Me Untangle It
I gave ChatGPT the full D23 schedule and essentially said, “I’m overwhelmed. Please help.”
Instead of immediately producing an enormous generic itinerary, it started asking questions.
How many people were going? What were our biggest interests? Which activities were nonnegotiable? Were we willing to split up? Did we have Disneyland tickets? Where were we staying?
Those questions helped turn an intimidating event schedule into a trip that was actually about us.
I explained that there are two of us, both adults, and that bestie is happy to follow my lead. My biggest D23 interests are Disney Parks and Imagineering, Marvel, and shopping. The Honda Center presentations are absolute must-dos—we purchased Ultimate Preferred tickets and want to experience every minute of those events.
I also explained that we have Park Hopper tickets for Disneyland Resort and are staying at the Hilton directly by the Anaheim Convention Center.
Then another important detail emerged: we visit Walt Disney World extensively.
That changed the park recommendations. We don’t need to spend our limited Disneyland time repeating attractions we can ride in Florida. Instead, ChatGPT began prioritizing California-exclusive experiences such as Indiana Jones Adventure, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Cars Land, Radiator Springs Racers, WEB SLINGERS and the Incredicoaster.
I did make one exception: Disneyland’s version of “it’s a small world.” I want to see the Disney characters incorporated throughout that attraction.
Apparently even an AI travel planner has to learn that every Disney fan has their exceptions.
Building an RSP Strategy Around My Actual Priorities
Once ChatGPT understood what mattered to me, we worked through the panel schedule.
We removed Talent Central appearances and meet-and-greets because that isn’t how I want to spend my limited convention time. We protected large blocks for shopping and show-floor experiences, particularly the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion and Marvel Studios’ TVA Experience.
Most importantly, we worked backward from the Honda Center presentations.
D23 recommends allowing at least 90 minutes for transportation and entry. The Honda Center also has a strict bag policy, so our plan includes returning to the Hilton to drop off purchases, eat something and switch to a tiny Honda-approved bag before leaving.
That immediately eliminated several tempting late-afternoon panels.
For Friday, I requested:
Marvel Fanfare
Behind the Curtain: Pin Trading
For Saturday, I mixed things up with:
Floating Mountains: A Conversation with Joe Rohde
D23 Mousequerade Disney Costume Contest
The Impact & Legacy of Disney Toys
I initially included Great Moments with Walt Disney. ChatGPT caught that it runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.—a direct conflict with the Disney Experiences Showcase beginning at the Honda Center at 7 p.m.
I edited my submission and removed it.
That single catch may have saved me from receiving a reservation I couldn’t possibly use—or, worse, from trying to convince myself that I could somehow do both.
We intentionally submitted no Sunday panel requests. The Disney Legends Award Ceremony begins at the Honda Center at 1:30 p.m., so Sunday morning will be reserved for final D23 shopping and any show-floor experiences we missed.
Planning Without Scheduling Every Minute
The resulting itinerary isn’t a rigid spreadsheet that tells us when to breathe.
It’s more like a set of guardrails.
We know which panels are priorities. We know when we need to leave for the Honda Center. We know which Disneyland attractions are unique enough to matter to us. We also have protected time for shopping, food, hotel stops and simply exploring the D23 show floor.
There are still plenty of unknowns.
The RSP is randomized, so requesting a panel does not guarantee a reservation. Results are expected to begin arriving in August. Shopping virtual queues and final park entertainment schedules may also change our plans.
But I no longer feel like I’m staring at an impossible wall of overlapping choices.
Using ChatGPT didn’t mean handing over my vacation and letting a computer decide what I should enjoy. It worked because the conversation became increasingly specific. Every time I corrected something—yes, we have Park Hopper tickets; no, I don’t want meet-and-greets; yes, I still want to ride Disneyland’s “it’s a small world”—the recommendations became more personal and useful.
It helped me identify conflicts, understand tradeoffs and turn my priorities into an actual strategy.
Now the RSP requests are submitted. The major schedule conflicts are gone. We have a working plan for D23 and Disneyland Resort.
And instead of panicking, I’m finally back to being excited.
Now we wait to see which panels we get.
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