The grande dame of parks turns 70
Disneyland’s birthday bash includes new and returning experiences
When folks discover my somewhat peculiar job, they invariably ask me to share my favorite theme park with them. I try to deflect and say that I love all parks. And it’s true. I adore places as diverse as Coney Island, Islands of Adventure, Cedar Point, and the incredibly delightful, but way under-the-radar Santa’s Village in New Hampshire. It’s a fool’s errand to compare them, let alone pick one that stands above the rest.
And yet, if I’m really pushed, I will reveal that one park does, in fact, hold a special place for me: Disneyland. There are many reasons. As a young boy, I sat rapt in front of our family’s television on Sunday evenings to watch Walt Disney extol the virtues of his beloved park. I longed to visit the magical, faraway place and finally got the chance as a pre-teen to walk down Main Street U.S.A. That experience is etched in my memory and helped stoke my love for parks. It also was a seminal event that eventually led me to pursue this peculiar job.
Others may try to take credit, but Disneyland truly established the template for the modern-day theme park. (Fun fact: When it opened in 1955, the term “theme park” was not part of the lexicon; that came later as a way to distinguish Walt’s bold, new take on the amusement industry.) While much has changed through the years at Disneyland, there is still a palpable connection to the past with many original touches to be found. Because it is the only park that Walt had the chance to personally experience, his spirit seems especially present there. Compared to Disney’s other castle parks, its smaller scale makes it more intimate, charming, and approachable.
So it was a great joy to be there when the grande dame kicked off her 70th anniversary celebration last week. I’m pleased to report that Disneyland is as wonderful as ever and that its certain je ne sais quoi remains intact. It looks sharp with special anniversary decor sprinkled throughout the resort. While Disneyland Park is blowing out 70 birthday candles, younger sibling Disney California Adventure is joining the party as well with both parks offering new and returning shows, parades, and other experiences. For this article, let’s focus on the festivities at DCA. In a future missive, I’ll share the 70 soiree happenings I checked out at the birthday gal’s park.
One of the highlights of the celebration is “World of Color Happiness!,” an all-new iteration of the nighttime fountain and water screen projection extravaganza at DCA. The show reflects the “Celebrate Happy” theme of the 70th celebration, which acknowledges the famous line intoned by Walt Disney as part of his speech on Disneyland’s opening day: “To all who come to this happy place, welcome.” Before the official show begins, there is an uproarious safety spiel delivered by The Muppets. The nearly five-minute introduction is filled with the troupe’s trademark anarchy and silliness, including stern rejoinders from Sam Eagle and no-nonsense Joe the Legal Weasel that, of course, are duly ignored. Hey Disney! How about a full-length World of Color show featuring The Muppets? (By the way, Kermit and company are also celebrating 70 years of fun in 2025.)
The main show is anchored by Joy from the “Inside Out” movies. Of course, along with happiness, a little rain must fall, so Sadness, Anger, Anxiety, and the films’ other emotions are also part of the proceedings, lending some pathos and other feelings to the otherwise jubilant presentation. “Tangled,” “Encanto,” “The Goofy Movie,” and other Pixar and Disney flicks get shoutouts as well. Bookending the show is an engaging rendition of “Rainbow Connection” sung by Boyz II Men, which is a great callback to The Muppets.
“We realized very quickly that our friends at Pixar had created the perfect team with the cast from ‘Inside Out’ to help tell the story and explain what happiness is,” says Jennifer Magill, senior producer at Disney Live Entertainment, explaining the brainstorm session she and her team conducted to develop the new show. “You can’t have happiness without all of the emotions, and the fun just started from there.”
As with all World of Color presentations (this is the seventh version of the show), it is quite grand, and really puts the “spectacular” in nighttime spectacular. It deftly capitalizes on soaring, richly hued fountains, resonant animated scenes, curated music, and other tricks in the show designers’ toolbox to weave an alluring story. It may have been the location in which I parked myself for the presentation, but my sightline was a bit compromised, with some of the action taking place beneath my vantage point. It didn’t help that in today’s phone-obsessed world, I had to peer above a sea of devices poised aloft to capture the show. For crying out loud folks, put down the phones and just be in the moment.
It doesn’t last long, but the Celebrate Happy: A Little Bit of Magic Every Night projection show that animates the Carthay Circle restaurant is nonetheless sweet. I don’t believe Disney is advertising showtimes for this; rather, guests will be delightfully surprised as they stroll past the building and see it spring to life. Tinker Bell is the star here, casting her pixie dust across the Hollywood icon proxy. The soundtrack is “Celebrate Happy,” an original song performed by the Jonas Brothers that can be heard throughout the resort during the celebration.
Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!, a returning daytime parade, is rolling down the promenade at DCA for the 70th. Among the studio’s movies, it includes contingents representing “Up,” “The Incredibles,” and my favorite Pixar film, “Soul.” As the floats pass by, many have surprise characters on the back of them holding up the rear, such as Dug, the talking dog from “Up.” It’s a nice touch.
Joining the anniversary frenzy, Andy has slapped (digital) “70” and “Celebrate Happy” stickers throughout the carnival games on the interactive ride, Toy Story Midway Mania! (Note that the exclamation mark is part of the attraction’s official name, not an unnecessary grammatical flourish on my part.) The random targets enhanced with a “70” are worth more points; instead of 100, guests can nab 700 points, while a few coveted 1,000 targets yield 7,000 points. Tip: don’t bother aiming for the “Celebrate Happy” stickers. They may grab your attention, but they are worthless. As you might imagine, the point inflation leads to higher scores. I usually end up with a mediocre 100,000 or so total points on Midway Mania, but my score on the anniversary version topped 169,000. By the way, when the attraction opened in 2008, an Imagineer told me the screen-based, fully digital attraction could be easily transformed with holiday overlays and other changes. Until this 70th makeover, however, Disney had not offered any special editions.
It’s not a part of the 70th celebration per se, but a new show, Disney Junior: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! (yup, yet another exclamation mark), debuted at DCA’s Disney Theater when the anniversary event kicked off last week. The perky live show, aimed at young children, features Mickey and Minnie and their quest to gather Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy for a party. It beats me why Donald doesn’t get an invite. Grandparents and otherwise exhausted adults, take heed: Except for a few metal benches along the walls, there is no seating in the theater. The whole idea is to get kids up and dancing to the original tunes along with the performers.
Is the venerable Disneyland among your favorite parks? Did you know that the term, “theme park,” was not coined until after Walt’s park had been in operation a few years?
I have visited Disneyland twice - once at age 24 (I think the Indiana Jones ride had just opened) and a second time at age 48. I enjoyed both visits very much. My biggest takeaway from both visits were how compact and close everything felt. I remember the Monorail going by and thinking that it is so close that I can probably touch it. I am more of a Magic Kingdom fan as I have probably visited that park maybe 10 times. But like you, I love most parks for different reasons, and it is hard to pick one.