Disneyland 50th Anniversary Press Event
Disneyland's
May '04
Press Event
Announcing the 50th Anniversary CelebrationDisneyland
Celebrates
50 Years of Magic!
PHOTOS
OF THE PRESS EVENT HERE!
Well,
the 10 a.m. press conference was quite the spectacle, with lots of celebrities
to help announce Disneyland's grand plans for its 50th birthday. Calling
the anniversary plans the "Happiest Celebration on Earth,"
Disney notables, including Michael Eisner, Jay Rasulo and Bob Iger, described
how each of Disney's 10 theme parks would mark the occasion. Here are
some highlights:
—Walt
Disney World in Orlando is going to import the "Cinderellabration"
musical show from Tokyo Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom. The remaining
Orlando theme parks will debut the previously announced new attractions
in the parks (Soarin' in Epcot, the Motor Stunt Show in Disney-MGM Studios,
and Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom). In addition, Animal Kingdom
will have a walk-around Audio-animatronic dinosaur, named Lucky,
who will interact with guests and sign autographs!
—Disneyland
Paris will get its own version of the "Wishes" fireworks
—Tokyo
Disneyland will debut a special summer salute.
—Tokyo
Disneysea will announce a new high-speed roller coaster.
—Disney's
California Adventure will debut the Block Party Bash, featuring Pixar
characters.
—Disneyland
itself will have its own "Happiest Homecoming on Earth,"
and will unveil the retooled Space Mountain, as well as a special exhibit
on its first 50 years, including a film with Walt Disney. The Sleeping
Beauty Castle will be made even more regal, decked out with crowns on
its turrets. There will also be a new Parade of Dreams, led by
Tinker Bell and featuring other Disney characters, and a new fireworks
show called Remember… Dreams Come True, which will spotlight
Disneyland's E-Ticket attractions.
In
addition to the theme parks, the Disney Cruise Line will participate
in the birthday celebration by sending the Disney Magic to the West Coast
for 12 weeks next summer. Bookings for these cruises began today.
Also
on hand for these big announcements were Art Linkletter, the now-93-year-old
former TV host who helped open Disneyland in 1955, and singer/actress
Julie Andrews, who starred as Mary Poppins in the Disney feature
of the same name.
After
much fanfare, it was finally announced that the official Disneyland celebration
would kick off one year from today, May 5, 2005.