Disneyland's 70th Anniversary: A Look At The New Entertainment, Celebration Outfits

Disneyland offering special anniversary ticket offer

Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, leading to a handful of discounts and deals to celebrate the occasion.

• Disneyland Resort is celebrating its 70th anniversary with year-long festivities starting Friday.
• New entertainment includes the "Celebrate Happy Cavalcade," "Tapestry of Happiness" projection show, and "World of Color Happiness!" nighttime spectacular.
• Returning favorites include the "Paint the Night" parade and "Wondrous Journeys" fireworks show.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – When Walt Disney first welcomed guests to his happy place in 1955, he told them, “Disneyland is your land.” 

Over the past 70 years, many longtime guests have made it so, returning to the Southern California resort for personal milestones including birthdays and engagements, as well as everyday occasions like the latest food or festival entertainment.  

Now, it’s Disneyland’s turn to celebrate.  

The resort’s 70^th anniversary festivities kick off Friday with new experiences and returning favorites that feel like a love letter to existing fans. It’s also an invitation for first timers to discover why Disneyland is called the Happiest Place on Earth and to make it their own. 

Here’s what’s in store for the yearlong celebration. 

The theme of the 70^th anniversary is Celebrate Happy and everything about it – from its infectiously bubbly and seemingly ubiquitous theme song performed by the Jonas Brothers to its bright blue, pink and purple decor – is designed to delight. 

“We wanted this to be the best birthday party ever and we want all of you to celebrate with us,” David Caranci, manager, Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, said during a preview USA TODAY attended earlier this week.   

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends have vibrant new party outfits just for the occasion, which guests can see in person during meet and greets and in the new Celebrate Happy Cavalcade at Disneyland Park. That mini parade is also where guests can spot Duffy the Disney Bear and his friend Shellie May, who typically only appear in Disney’s parks in Asia. Duffy is marking his 20^th anniversary at Disney parks and it’s ShellieMay’s first major appearance at Disneyland. 

At night, guests can see a new projection show called Tapestry of Happiness on the facade of “it’s a small world" at Disneyland. It’s inspired in the artistic style of Disney Legend Mary Blair. 

On the park’s actual anniversary date, July 17, a new show called Walt Disney – A Magical Life will debut at Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House. It will feature Disney’s first audio-animatronic of Walt Disney.

Other Main Street U.S.A. experiences and a new "it’s a small world verse" will also premiere July 17. 

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“We’ve got the big spectaculars, we’ve got the parades, but we’ve also got those moments that you can experience and have just a little bit of magic every night,” said Jennifer McGill, executive producer for Disney Live Entertainment. 

The latter is the name of a short projection show at Disney California Adventure (DCA). Multiple times each night, Tinker Bell will appear to transform Carthay Circle into Sleeping Beauty Castle during Celebrate Happy: A Little Bit of Magic Every Night. 

DCA’s big new nighttime spectacular is called World of Color Happiness! It’s the seventh full-length iteration of World of Color and anchored by characters from the “Inside Out” franchise.  

"If you don't leave that show humming, dancing, moving feeling all the wonderful emotions, I'll be very surprised,” McGill said. 

Guests will want to arrive early for a good viewing spot because the show is preceded by a new pre-show starring the Muppets, who are also celebrating their 70^th anniversary.  

Don’t leave without trying Toy Story Mania, which has a special anniversary overlay. Guests can earn extra points by shooting at “70” targets throughout the attraction. 

Throughout the resort, including at Downtown Disney District, guests will also find more than 70 new food and beverage offerings, four different collections of anniversary merchandise and various photo backdrops to mark their visit. 

Some of those anniversary food and beverage offerings are inspired by past park menu items. 

“We're really excited to have some of these nostalgic classics back in the parks,” said Disneyland Chef Steven Medina, pointing to opening day dishes like banana splits and Apple Pancake Rolls on a display table. “And can't talk about Disney history with food without talking about chili. You know Walt was very notoriously famous for loving the chili here in the parks, so we brought those in two different ways.”  

One is a W.E.D. Chil Cheese Baked Potato, named after Walter Elias Disney. The other is a Chili Cheese Corn Dog coated in corn chips.  

Other nostalgic items include a Dancing Shimmering Lights drink, which is a nod to Disneyland’s Videopolis area in the 1980s, and a Hook’s Galley Tuna Melt, which throws back to the park’s early era Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant. 

Though not quite as old, Disney California Adventure is welcoming back Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!, a daytime parade, which debuted last year. It features characters from various Pixar films including “Turning Red,” “Toy Story” and “Monsters, Inc.”  

Disneyland is bringing back one its most popular nighttime parades, Paint the Night, which debuted during the park’s 60^th anniversary celebration. The park is also reviving its beloved nighttime spectacular Wondrous Journeys, which highlights 60 Disney Animation films. 

“One of the things that I think is really special about the 70th is that we have a lot of new exciting offerings, but we also have listened to the fans, and we are bringing back those classics that not only our guests but our cast members truly, truly love," McGill said.  

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There’s lots more happening across the resort that isn’t tied to the the 70^th celebration. 

On Friday, Disney California Adventure debuted a new show called Disney Junior: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! It’s primarily geared toward families with young children, but grownups may enjoy it as much as kids. 

“I really wanted to make sure that this show was for the entire family,” said show director David Underwood. “Our show really feels like mini musical.” 

The premise is Mickey and Minnie are throwing a party, but their friends don’t show up, so they go out to find them. “And this kind of is where the fun begins,” Underwood said. 

There’s singing, dancing, bubbles and of course the Hot Dog Dance so synonymous with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

Pixar Pals Playtime Party and Stitch’s Interplanetary Beach Party Blast will return to Disneyland Park on May 23. Pride Nite returns in June. Disney Jr. Let’s Play! Party will arrive at DCA and Downtown Disney this summer.  Halloween Time, Plaza de la Familia and Holidays at the Disneyland Resort return later this year.  

Through it all, the resort continues to offer the staples that have endeared it with 70 years of guests: an escape from the worries of the world outside, a place to feel like a kid again, and a little bit of magic courtesy of cast members, as Disney fans have shared with USA TODAY. 

The reporter on this story received access from Disney. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content. 

(This story has been updated to add a photo.)