Walt Disney (DIS) theme parks love to celebrate anniversaries.
In fact, two of its theme park complexes -- Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Paris -- are currently celebrating major anniversaries.
Disney World, which opened on Oct. 1, 1971, began observing its 50th anniversary in its four parks -- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom --on Oct. 1. The celebration will continue through March 2023.
Disneyland Paris, which opened April 12, 1992, just launched its 30th-anniversary celebration on Sunday, March 6 at its Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios parks. The theme parks' website, however, has not yet announced an end date for the celebration.
But those aren't the only anniversary celebrations planned for the Disney Parks universe.
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Disney Park Brings Back Nighttime Favorites
Disney will mark two more significant anniversary celebrations as the Mouse House brings back four nighttime spectaculars to Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif., starting with the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Main Street Electrical Parade beginning on April 22, according to a Disneyland statement.
Together with the parade, the theme park will launch its Disneyland Forever fireworks display, while California Adventure will present the World of Color water, color, and light spectacular in that park's Paradise Bay.
The trio of evening events are a precursor to Disneyland's 30th-anniversary celebration of its nighttime show Fantasmic, which makes its return to the park on May 28.
The Main Street Electrical Parade debuted at Disneyland on June 17, 1972, and continued until 1996. A version of the parade was introduced at Disney World on June 11, 1977, and continued through 1991. The parade has also made appearances at other Disney parks over the years, including California Adventure.
The Electrical Parade features floats decorated with thousands of sparkling lights accompanied by an electronic musical score based on "Baroque Hoedown" by Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley. The parade was the first to play unique musical arrangements synchronized to each float unit, according to the Disneyland statement.
A Celebration of New and Old Classics
This year's Main Street Electrical Parade will feature a grand finale that celebrates the theme of togetherness in an all-new float. The seven-segment float is 118 feet long and will include depictions of more than a dozen Disney and Pixar animated films.
The updated parade will feature stylized scenes from classic and contemporary stories, including "Encanto", "Jungle Book", "Raya and the Last Dragon", "Aladdin", "Coco", "Mulan", "Brave", "Princess and the Frog" and others. The grand finale float will feature the Blue Fairy character from "Pinocchio" and a 19-foot tall replica of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
The Disneyland Forever fireworks spectacular will feature the original song "Live the Magic" and closing song "Kiss Goodnight," written by Disney legend Richard B. Sherman.
The World of Color show features music, fire, fog, and laser effects with memorable animated sequences. Among the characters from Disney and Pixar stories are Wall-E, Eve, Pocahontas, and Jack Sparrow. The show has a massive stage of water, color and light, and powerful fountains sending water to heights from 30 feet to 200 feet.
The Fantasmic show that begins May 28 features an extravaganza of colorful Disney-animated film images, choreographed to a musical score and highlighted by the 45-foot-tall, fire-breathing Maleficent dragon. The show includes Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and it has images from other Disney films such as “The Jungle Book” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” along with enhanced special effects and pyrotechnics.
