While there are Disney Parks worldwide, there’s always something special about the first. And right now, Disneyland – the park that started it all way back in 1955 – is celebrating its 70th Anniversary, and you could say it’s throwing a party.
And it celebrates the past and looks towards the future. As the celebration is in swing, you’ll see the return of classic nighttime spectaculars and the introduction of entirely new ones, updates to some fan-favorite attractions, a trove of new bites to eat and drinks to, well, drink, and a heavy dose of technology to push the immersion.
I had the chance to visit Disneyland for the 70th Anniversary Celebration, and it was also my first time at the park. Suffice to say, it was a lot to take in and explore, and a heck of a lot of fun. Sadly, the BDX Droids weren’t there, as these tiny, personable droids are currently on a world tour, with their next stop being Disneyland Paris. However, the 70th anniversary activities kept me plenty busy.
So now, I’m sharing my five favorite things about Disneyland’s 70th Celebration and why now might be the best time to go, whether it’s your first time or you know the park like the back of your hand.
The MagicBand+ unlocks special experiences
The MagicBand+ is already a key part of experiences at Disney Parks globally, I’m used to wearing one at Disney World and have even used it to become a bounty hunter in Batuu at Galaxy’s Edge, but for the Disneyland 70th it unlocks a tech-powered, immersive experience at any time, day or night.
Commemorating several of Disneyland’s original day-one attractions are new booths themed to each of them and – you guessed it – a spot to scan your MagicBand+. Upon scanning your band, the machine will play sounds and lights themed to the rides, but your MagicBand+ will also vibrate and light up thanks to a built-in haptic motor and a string of LEDs.
At the Jungle Cruise near the skippers’ lockers, it even printed out a ticket for a VIP tour on ‘the world famous Jungle Cruise’ letting me know I’d be aboard the “Mekong Maiden.’ It’s not an actual ticket, but certainly a lovely keepsake.
You’ll have to go on a treasure hunt around the park to find them all. These booths are also at a Fantasyland Window by the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, in Frontierland near the Silver Spur Supplies, and on Main Street near the front of the park is Tilly’s Booth. There will soon be one at the Autopia attraction in Tomorrowland. The experience will vary, but you’ll need a MagicBand+ to unlock it and create a memory.
MagicBand+ can be purchased at the park or in advance from the Disney Store for $34.99. The wearable can be your park ticket, a form of payment, and a key to unlocking interactions around the park. You can monitor battery level, perform software updates, and link it to your MyDisney account to link tickets via the Disneyland app for Android or iOS – it’ll sync over Bluetooth.
Two all-new projection shows, and a fireworks show returns
Disney is known for its live entertainment productions – be it projecting onto water with World of Color at Disneyland or with full fireworks shows. Even so, Disneyland’s entertainment offerings for the 70th are stretching far and wide.
A highlight for me was two new projection-only shows, which transformed the outer frame of the It’s a Small World attraction at Disneyland and the Cathay Circle restaurant at Disney California Adventure into widely colorful, animated displays with speakers hidden throughout the area playing a bouncy soundtrack for viewers to enjoy.
@jakekrol
♬ original sound – Jake Krol
While Cathay Circle is a restaurant, its unique front and triangular finish present a distinctive canvas for Disney’s complex projection system. The resulting light show is impressive and speaks to Disney’s technology and projection mapping expertise. This show runs nightly for about three minutes and is named “Celebrate Happy: A Little Bit Of Magic.”
Similarly, It’s A Small World’s outer shell is a good bit larger, but not just a long flat surface – instead, it has varying heights and depths, with some parts being closer to pathways and other parts further back. The result is the “Tapestry of Happiness” show, which draws from Disney’s extensive catalog of characters and storylines, but more importantly, other parts of the park, including the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Scene projection design is done in the style of Mary Blair, the original art director for the ride.
@jakekrol
♬ original sound – Jake Krol
Both projection shows feature excellent sound, even though my eagle eyes couldn’t pinpoint exactly where Disney hid the speakers. Trust me, though, it gets plenty loud. The hiding of technology is used to showcase the stories and bring the facade to life with sound all around, which is essentially how Disney creates most of these experiences.
Similarly, Disneyland is also bringing back a fan-favorite fireworks evening spectacle, but it’s more than just rockets in the sky. The entirety of Sleeping Beauty Castle serves as a screen for projectors to display vivid animations – many of which are custom – but this also extends to other nearby buildings and down Main Street.
Additionally, through the power of what I believe is a drone of some sort, “Baymax” from Big Hero 6 flies across the sky, accompanied by fireworks and epic projections. “Wondrous Journeys” will be running most nights and lasts just over 15 minutes, so be aware that the weather needs to be right.
@jakekrol
♬ original sound – Jake Krol
70th touches for an iconic ride
Now, I’m a big fan of Toy Story – one of my favorite films hands-down – so it makes sense I enjoy a spin around Toy Story Midway Mania. It just so happens that it’s also a very tech-infused ride, with blasters mounted in a ride vehicle that will spin and stop in front of large 3D screens. Targets – think bullseyes and dartboards – appear on the screens, allowing you to score points by shooting the wheel.
A rollicking soundtrack also accompanies it, interactions with characters like Buzz, Woody, and the green army men, as well as bursts of air shooting, and again, pretty chaotic visuals.
It was always a race of points, with you wanting to hit the highest targets – ie, 500 or 1,000 or 2,000 – but Disneyland is letting you scroll even higher on the leaderboard, up to 70 or 7,000 if you will, as they’ve added special elements into the game.
The Walt Disney Imagineering team used little more than a software-based update to level up an already loved attraction, making it feel fresh and new for the 70th anniversary.
Another ride that received an update was It’s a Small World, featuring Miguel from Coco as a doll. This classic film is now streaming on Disney+, one of the best streaming services. You can also watch Toy Story 1 through 4 there and see my colleague Lance Ulanoff unpack Pixar Typestry – one of the first pieces of software the company made before Toy Story and countless other films.
Tasty new food, but there’s no need to wait in line
I mean, what’s a party without food? And Disneyland answered the call by rolling out 70 new food items – ranging from coffees to fuel you through the day to a 70th Stuff dessert that was super good. There is something for everyone, and all these light bites and drinks are available at shops throughout the park.
They are all highly sought after, leading to some long lines, but here’s the best tip I can offer you. Please use mobile ordering via the Disneyland app on iOS and Android. It not only lets you skip the line and take another ride around Dumbo or any other attraction, but it’s also a lot more seamless.
Once in the park, you open the Disneyland app, select the three lines in the bottom right corner, tap ‘Order Food,’ select the location, and make your selections. You’ll be given a window to return, and once you’re near, you’ll tap “I’m here, prepare my food” to let them start cooking. Then, you’ll receive a notification with the window number to head to, share your name and order name, and you’re ready for a delicious meal.
The best part, if you’re on an iPhone, is that it supports Live Activities – so you can tap “I’m here” right from the lock screen without needing to unlock and navigate through the app.
A parade with over one million LED lights, all synced
The jaw-dropping moment, and maybe even a hallelujah event for fans of Disneyland, is the return of the Paint the Night parade. Yes, it’s choreographed beautifully with excellent performers and exciting songs, but the real spectacle is the pure amount of color.
As the name suggests, the floats, characters, and costumes are all adorned with LEDs that sparkle, glow, and flash, all in a unified, synchronized beat to the music. It looks incredible at night. There are eight moments of the parade, spanning floats and performers across several Disney franchises – Tinker Bell, Monsters Inc., Cars, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Disney Princesses, Frozen, and Mickey and Friends.
It’s super impressive, just check out the video and photos, but it goes beyond just LED string lights. Take the Monsters Inc. float, which Sulley and Mike Wazowski ride on – it’s over 21 feet long with 17,000 points of light but also features five doors, as seen in the film, that spin and rotate with over 40 LED video panels.
Or with Cars, beyond Lightning McQueen, the classic Mack truck is reimagined with an open rear trailer that’s composed of glowing orbs that are strung and fill the whole space – in fact, it creates glowing depth from 27,000 orbs and 2,000 feet of LED neon that line the trailer.
All of these LEDs are controllable, and Disney Live Entertainment uses them all to create a show, pairing them with audio speech and classic songs. Disney shared that there are more than 200 universes of control to operate the parade.
Additionally, a few extra LEDs light up and ‘dance’ as the ones built into your MagicBand+ turn off when the various floats pass. That’s magic, well, RFID and knowing your location.
All in all, this is just scratching the surface of Disneyland’s 70th Celebration. There are also more iconic character art installations setup around the resort that your MagicBand+ will react to, a purchasable ‘Key to Disneyland’ that interacts with memorable keyholes around the parks, a Mickey Mouse popcorn bucket that responds to “Hey Mickey,” and a bubble wand with a USB-C port for custom sounds effects.
Then, of course, there are all the classic rides, numerous parades, and “World of Color: Happiness,” another evening show where you can vote on certain characters to appear.
The 70th Celebration will be going on for a year, so there’s plenty of time to get out there and enjoy it all. I certainly hope all these tech immersion- and entertainment-enhancing moments stick around and carry over to other parks as well.
