Hey everyone!
In honor of our two year anniversary, we wanted to make a video where we talk about every
anniversary that Disneyland has celebrated since it’s opening in 1955!
Let’s start with Disneyland’s tenth anniversary, the “Tencennial”.
Disneyland welcomed its first decade with a year-long celebration.
It included park-wide decorations, special events throughout the year and a grand parade
called Fantasy on Parade which was thought of as a “show on parade” in which the
various floats would occasionally stop along the parade route to perform dances and routines
for guests.
Also to represent the park during the year, the role of the Disneyland Ambassador was
created by Jack Linquist and tour guide, Julie Reihm was selected as the first.
She spent the year traveling throughout the world as the official emissary of Disneyland
park.
There was also a special episode of “The Wonderful World of Disney” which featured
Walt Disney and Julie Reihm showing viewers plans for upcoming attractions like “It’s
a Small World”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and the “Haunted Mansion”.
Then we could see many Disney characters celebrating with a show in front of Sleeping Beauty’s
Castle including Disney’s newest member Mary Poppins and a giant birthday cake with
dancing candles singing the “anniversary song”.
Next, Walt Disney described a brief history of the construction of the park, followed
by a tour of some of the attractions at the time, including Matterhorn Bobsleds, Jungle
Cruise, the Flying Saucers, the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland and the Walt Disney's
Enchanted Tiki Room.
Next comes Disneyland’s 20th anniversary which began a 15-month salute to the United
States Bicentennial with the most elaborate parade in the park’s history.
This parade was called “America on Parade” and it featured 50 floats and 150 giant performers
that were at least 8 feet tall.
Also, an all-new red, white and blue fireworks spectacular called “Fantasy in the Sky”
debuted.
Disneyland welcomed back Christine Vess Watkins and her cousin, Michael Schwartner, who, at
ages five and seven, had been the first guests to enter the gates on July 17, 1955.
Disneyland’s 25th anniversary was kicked off with a pre-parade show at the Tournament
of Roses on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.
There were many special parades and shows that followed for the rest of the year, but
the main event was the television special “Kraft Salutes Disneyland’s 25th Anniversary”.
This was filmed throughout Disneyland and it followed the story of a young boy on his
first ever trip to the happiest place on Earth.
While there, he encounters many interesting characters (All played by Danny Kaye) who
tell him various tidbits on the park's history.
Musical numbers by Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson, and Danny Kaye as well as group sing-alongs
that include many actual Disneyland cast members and guests!
And in April, the Family Reunion Night Celebration brought out several famous celebrities, including
Michael Jackson, Fred MacMurray, Ernest Borgnine as well as the Carpenters, Ray Bradbury and
Elliot Gould.
On July 17th, the actual 25th anniversary of the park’s opening, Disneyland was open
for a 25-hour party that lasted from midnight going into July 17 until 1 a.m.
July 18.
Disneyland’s 30th anniversary is probably one of the most talked about anniversary celebrations.
The Gift-Giver Extraordinaire Machine Promotion was one of the special things about this anniversary.
During that year, every 30th guest coming into the park received a prize when they entered
the front gate, for the more elaborate prizes, up to and including a new car, selected winners
would get to spin the Gift-Giver Machine located in the Hub.
Again, Disneyland stayed open for a full 24-hour special party.
The admission price for this special event was $30.
During the event, guests received a limited edition lithograph poster of Mickey and Minnie
in front of the castle by legendary artist Charles Boyer.
The entertainment was amazing featuring bands like , Sister Sledge and a special 4 a.m.
Main Street Electrical Parade down Main Street!
Also starting this year, Disneyland began operating 365 days a year, before this the
park was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the off-season.
Then Disneyland celebrated its 35th anniversary with a new parade called “Party Gras”
which featured New Orleans-style floats, 40-foot-tall balloons of Disney characters and many special
performers!
Dancers threw beads to the audience along with commemorative 35th-anniversary coins
and then brought guests into the street for a conga line before showering them with confetti.
Also, it brought us, the Dream Machine, which gave some lucky guest the opportunity to win
one of many prizes like Walt Disney Home videos, plush toys, posters, coins, collector pins
or even a new car!
Videopolis in Fantasyland changed from a teen dance venue to an outdoor musical theater
for stage shows which featured One Man’s Dream, a musical about the achievements of
Walt Disney and Dick Tracy Starring in Diamond Double-Cross
Disneyland’s 40 years of Adventure came, and with it, Indiana Jones Adventure was opened.
Designed through the collaborate effort of George Lucas and Walt Disney Imagineering,
Indiana Jones Adventure takes guests on a subterranean archaeological tour through the
Temple of the Forbidden Eye with Indiana Jones.
On July 17, a time capsule was buried in the Sleeping Beauty Castle forecourt containing
lots items like cast member name tags, Indiana Jones Adventure Opening Day Memorabilia, lots
of Disney pins, 1995 Disney Dollars, a 1995 Disneyland map, lots of 40th anniversary items,
a list of cast members who submitted Ideas for the "Time Castle" , a Picture of Mickey
Mouse and Minnie Mouse Taking Last Ride on Skyway and even a ring, made by Leonard Russo,
that has the 40th anniversary logo and includes 8 diamonds, that represent the 80th anniversary
of Disneyland, which is when the Time Castle is supposed to be opened and much more!
Also, The dance club Videopolis was transformed into Fantasyland Theatre, featuring the all-new
stage show “The Spirit of Pocahontas” which by the way was included inside the time
castle in the form of a laserdisc.
That’s right, laserdisc.
You might wonder how in the world is anybody going to watch that?
Well, they included a laser disc player inside the capsule too!
And the Disneyland Resort expanded to include the Disneyland Hotel’s next-door neighbor,
the Pan Pacific Hotel, which was transformed into the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, later Disney’s
Paradise Pier Hotel.
5 years later the year 2000 was here, and Disneyland had to celebrate its 45th anniversary
with a dazzling new fireworks spectacular called “Believe…
There’s Magic in the Stars” and the “45 Years of Magic Parade” Which featured lots
of Disney Characters like, the three little pigs, Tarzan, Roger Rabbit, Max and much more.
This parade also had some characters and floats from Fantasia 2000.
Actually, Michael Eisner wanted the parade’s soundtrack to be “Pomp and Circumstance”
by Sir Edward Elgar, just like in the Noah’s Ark chapter of Fantasia 2000, because it reminded
him of his son Eric’s college graduation and he loved it.
But Disney Entertainment thought that it might not go over well with guests and so “Pomp
and Circumstance” was out and it was replaced by a medley of Disney songs.
Also at each performance, 70 lucky park guests were chosen to join the parade.
Donning tutus and animal hats, these “guest stars” provide a bit of comic relief down
the entire parade route.
On this year, The only original Tomorrowland attraction left from park opening, Autopia,
was also reimagined.
Combining the old Fantasyland and Tomorrowland attractions, young drivers now cruised along
a modern highway through scenic forests and past lakes and ponds.
And then the 50th anniversary came and it was amazing!
The Happiest Homecoming on Earth kicked off with an amazing event where footage of Walt’s
original dedication speech was broadcast on large monitors around the resort, and another,
located in Town Square near where Walt originally stood 50 years earlier to make his historic
proclamation, the speech was shown in its entirety followed by a video montage of historic
Disneyland footage.
The ceremony also included fireworks and speeches from Julie Andrews, who was the official ambassador
for the 50th-anniversary celebrations, and Art Linkletter, who celebrated his 93rd birthday
that day and had spent his 43rd birthday hosting the originally televised opening day festivities.
Guests were presented with golden Mickey Mouse ears at the park’s entrance and lots of
characters came to celebrate!
Hidden Mickeys got a makeover, as a special anniversary edition scavenger hunt challenged
guests to find 50 golden ears.
The original attractions that opened with Disneyland had one of their ride vehicles
painted gold for the celebration.
Sleeping Beauty Castle was beautifully transformed with a 50th-anniversary logo and even some
crowns!
Of course, the celebration also had an all-new fireworks show called, “Remember…
Dreams come true” and the amazing “Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams," featuring one
of the largest casts of Disney characters ever assembled.
Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years Attraction that opened in the Opera House There are displays
of design artwork and models, ticket books and name tags, a large, new scale model of
Disneyland as it appeared on opening day, and a 17-minute humorous film look at the
50 years with Steve Martin (who as a young man worked at Disneyland in the Magic Shop)
and Donald Duck.
Also, this was the first time that other parks joined Disneyland in its celebration!
Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney, and Disneyland Paris joined the celebration by announcing
new rides and makeovers, and in the case of Hong Kong Disneyland a completely new resort!
And as a plus Disneyland was honored with its very own star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame!!
The most recent and spectacular anniversary celebration was the 60th Diamond Celebration
where both Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Carthay Circle Theatre at Disney California
Adventure were turned into the most sparkling and gleaming places you ever saw!
The whole park was turned into diamonds.
Peter Pan’s Flight and the Matterhorn Bobsleds were reimagined with new scenes and effects,
and we even got a new Harold!
More importantly, the Hat Box Ghost returned to the Haunted Mansion after a loooong vacation!
World of Color-Celebrate!
was debuted, and it celebrated Walt Disney and his determination to make his dream of
Disneyland the fantastical reality that it is.
The show included both animated and live-action footage, fountains, lasers, special effects,
and, of course, music.
With Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as it’s hosts, this World of Color edition
was amazing!
Disneyland Forever fireworks was another incredible show that was created for this anniversary.
During the show, video and images were projected on Sleeping Beauty Castle, the buildings along
Main Street USA, the Matterhorn, the facade of It's a Small World, and along the Rivers
of America on the water screens from Fantasmic.
And we saved the best for last, “paint the night” parade!
A breathtaking state-of-the-art nighttime parade that combines innovative floats, awe-inspiring
costumes, and special effects, and more than 1.5 million LED lights illuminating Main Street,
U.S.A. like you never saw before!
The parade featured Mickey Mouse, front, and center, “painting the night” with a little
help from the power of Tinker Bell’s pixie dust.
Favorite characters from Monsters, Inc., Cars, Toy Story, Frozen, and more beloved Disney
films were part of the magic.
Luckily this parade will be back very soon in Disneyland!
How many of this anniversaries were you able to experience?
Tell us in the comments!
If you would like to watch all the T.V.
anniversary specials that we talked about in this video and check out all the items
that were put into the Time Castle, go check out our facebook group!
We’ll leave a link in the description!
Also, please don’t forget to subscribe and share our video!