Creative cosplay and first-ever Disney costume contest bring out fan favorite characters at 2013 D23 Expo

Disney is known for its characters. After all, it all started with a mouse. But unlike at their theme parks, the cast of colorful characters seen at the 2013 D23 Expo wasn’t made up of their own official creations, but instead the many Disney fans roaming the convention with their own creative costumes.

Cosplay was minimal at the first D23 Expo in 2009, picked up a bit in 2011, and came out in full force at this year’s event, fueled by the first-ever official Disney costume contest. Not everyone had a chance to participate in the contest, with D23 requiring applications to be submitted weeks before the event, only allowing a select few through to be judged. But no matter if entered in the costume contest or not, Disney fans displayed extreme talent in the careful crafting of elaborate outfits to become their favorite characters.

Below are a few of my favorites spotted throughout the duration of the D23 Expo, including the announcement of the five costume contest winners.

2013 D23 Expo Costume Contest

The costume contest featured entries from across years of Disney history, even stretching into recent acquisitions Marvel and Star Wars. Both live action and animation were represented in impressively accurate costumes. Though the costume contest itself had a few bumps as technical difficulties prevented contestants from sharing their prepared 1-minute audio tracks to accompany them, the winners were no less enthusiastic upon accepting their awards.

Video: 2013 D23 Expo costume contest winners announced

The winners:

2013 D23 Expo Disney costumes and cosplay — 2013 D23 Expo costume contest winners

Cosplay at the 2013 D23 Expo

Throughout all three days of the 2013 D23 Expo, fans showed off their love for Disney franchises by dressing up as a wide variety of costumes with many creative results. There were a lot of Annas and Elsas from the upcoming film “Frozen” and plenty of theme park outfits too.

Below is just a small sampling of some of the best seen at the convention, starting with my wife Michelle’s own costume that I helped assemble, a PNK sorority girl from “Monsters University.”