Disneyland Celebrates Its 70th Birthday With Grand Year-Long Festivities

Disneyland (read: the "happiest place on Earth") is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. With a massive year-long-plus celebration planned ahead, this year will indeed be magical for all those visiting the theme park in California. The festivities kicked off on May 16 under the fitting theme “Celebrate Happy!” On Thursday, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, hosted colourful parades and shows amidst the mesmerising decorations of the theme park to mark the beginning of the grand celebration.

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Stage show director for Disney Live Entertainment, Scott Damien Arroyo, also revealed that the gala events will not thrive in the past; instead, they will boast a series of inputs from the future as well. 

"We don't live in the past, but we honour the past. We really are always looking backwards as we move forward,” he told People.

FYI: Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, and since then, it has become one of the must-visit destinations on the bucket list of many.

The celebrations opened with “Celebrate Happy Cavalcade” parades on the Main Street Magic Shop. It featured all-time favourite Disney characters like Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse and others. With a massive crowd witnessing the procession, which also included various moving stages and dance performances by Snow White, Jasmine, and Disney Princesses, including Pocahontas, it made everyone groove to the brand new songs.

Posting a lovely video from the same event on the official Instagram page of Disneyland, the caption read, “What's a celebration without a cavalcade?” 

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Jennifer Magill with Disney Live Entertainment also mentioned Easter eggs finding a spot in the colourful celebration of Disneyland's birthday. “You can look closely and you can see in Mickey's jacket, there are some nods to Sorcerer Mickey in there, as well as the pixie dust motif throughout those designs. And they're just so fun and contemporary and I think our guests are really going to enjoy seeing them,” she added.

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Following this, the events will also feature a “Tapestry of Happiness” projection show for five minutes at the It's A Small World ride in Disneyland. “I call this a little show with a big heart. It's beautiful. It's a five-minute projection show on the facade of It's A Small World that's going to play three times a night,” said Susanna Tubert, the creative director of Disney Live Entertainment.

Then comes the “Paint the Night” Parade, offering dazzling electric floats featuring characters from Tinkerbell to Ariel and even Monsters, Inc. and Cars. This is followed by the “Wondrous Journeys” Nighttime Spectacular, just a short walk from the Sleeping Beauty Castle in the evening.

There are also other shows like "Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!" Parade in Disney California Adventure Park, fireworks over the Disneyland Castle, and many other events lined up.