3 HUGE Announcements Disney Just Dropped

Have you heard the news?

As a Disney fan, there’s a lot to celebrate this year! Disneyland is officially celebrating its 70th anniversary on July 17th, 2025, but the festivities begin on May 16th. Running through summer 2026, the celebration brings new experiences and brings back fan-favorite parades, shows, and more…but Disney just dropped some huge news that you’re going to want to know about!

Delayed Opening Date for New Attraction

Walt Disney — A Magical Life is a brand new attraction that was announced for Disneyland last year. It’s an all-new show that will feature the first-ever animatronic of Walt Disney himself!

This was originally scheduled to open in May, but now it will debut in the park on July 17th, Disneyland’s actual birthday.

Fans of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, don’t worry! The shows will play in rotation inside the Main Street Opera House. It has been closed since April 2024 while Disney works on the new Walt show.

Changes Coming to “it’s a small world”

“it’s a small world” is one of the most iconic rides Disney has ever made…and for good reason! Whether you love it or hate it, the song is famous and soon it will be seeing some changes.

It was written by the Sherman Brothers (who also wrote the music for Mary Poppins and many other Disney projects). After Richard Sherman passed away in 2024, Disney created a short film honoring the duo and this song called “The Last Verse”. Warning: have tissues nearby if you watch!

It was the first time people heard this verse of the song and in July 2025, it will be added to the attraction. The lyrics are as follows:

“Mother earth unites us in heart and mind
And the love we give makes us humankind
Through our vast wondrous land
When we stand hand in hand
It’s a small world after all.”

The short film will also be played inside the Main Street Cinema as a tribute to the songwriting brothers.

Next Exhibit Coming to Main Street

Finally, Disney also revealed that a new gallery experience is coming to the Main Street Opera House! It will show the evolution of Walt Disney’s dream of Disneyland through images, artifacts, and artwork — some of which have never been seen before!

The exhibit was created with Walt Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Archives. Disneyland also collaborated with The Walt Disney Family Museum to collect over 30 artifacts.

Another exhibit will take you through the history of Audio-Animatronics, starting from Walt’s time developing animatronics for Disneyland to the animatronics used in attractions today. We have a feeling it’s going to be pretty special to see when it opens on July 17th, 2025.

So if you weren’t planning to go to Disneyland for the 70th anniversary, now you have three new reasons to book a trip!

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney updates! Want them delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter right here. In the meantime, check out everything you need to know about the Disneyland 70th anniversary celebrations at the link below!

Popular Parades and Fireworks Returning to Disneyland for Its 70th Anniversary!

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