ON July 17, 1955, Disneyland theme park opened up its doors for the first time in Anaheim, California. The 160-acre park, formerly a field of orange groves, was so crowded that refreshment stands ran out of food and drinks.
Sixty years later, Disneyland is celebrating its diamond anniversary with a bustle of new attractions, decorations, and delectable eats. The celebration kicked off on Friday, May 22 with both Disneyland and neighboring Disney’s California Adventure open for 24 hours.
Experts predict that visitors will pack the park to near capacity, based on the 8.5 percent increase in attendance for the 50th anniversary. To date, Disneyland hosts more than 14 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion on tickets, food, and merchandise.
Visitors and families can expect a fully immersive experience, and a reflection of Disneyland’s rich history as one of the most lucrative areas of Orange County. The park will feature both new and revamped attractions, a pulsating nighttime parade, and an upgraded fireworks show lighting up the sky.
“It’s really going to be amazing,” said Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Officials estimate that the park draws an average of about 44,000 people in a single day. For the Diamond Anniversary, heading into a warm California summer, experts are predicting even more.
Park managers have been testing several crowd management tactics in preparation for the much-anticipated celebration.
“We’ve been doing things over the past couple of years to prepare,” said Mary Niven, vice president of Disneyland Park.
Hoping to avoid bottlenecking and reduce gridlock around the park, Disneyland crews will direct foot traffic in a one-way direction and open bypasses to help people move in and out. The park also plans to employ entertainment staff for guests waiting in line.
Guests can expect upbeat, immersive, and spectacular new attractions to keep them entertained, sun up to sun down.
“Paint the Night,” a new nighttime parade inspired by Hong Kong Disneyland and the original Main Street Electrical Parade, will feature more than 1.5 million LED lights and 80 dancers with synched light-up costumes. The parade will feature popular characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Tinkerbell, Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. and Frozen’s Elsa and Anna.
The “Disneyland Forever” nighttime fireworks show will be upgraded to include a new soundtrack and light “projection mapping” technology that extends beyond Main Street to splash characters and scenes from popular Disney/Pixar films on attractions like the Matterhorn, It’s a Small World, and the Rivers of America, said executive of parade and spectaculars Steve Davison. Davison is instrumental in making the parades and shows more engaging for families.
At Disney’s California Adventure, the “World of Color” light and water show will also be remade to include a history of Walt Disney and his vision for Disneyland Park, officials said. The new segment, entitled “Celebrate,” will be narrated by actor Neil Patrick Harris.
As for the atmosphere, both parks will be adorned in diamond decorations to reflect Disneyland’s 60th anniversary. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the Carthay Circle Theatre will be decorated with diamond exteriors, giving it a sparkly new look. Diamond-themed merchandise—Minnie ears, t-shirts and sweaters—will also be sold in both parks’ numerous lucrative stores.
The official Disney Parks blog also released an “ultimate foodie guide” to the special culinary offerings during the event, including a Diamond Celebration Cupcake and ice cream sandwich, fried chicken and Mickey waffles, shrimp po’boy, barbequed pulled pork and slaw cone, and a Bananas Foster French Toast.
The diamond jubilee is expected to bring die-hard Disney fans from around the world to the park, all wanting to be a part of the magic.
“The new stuff is so awesome. It makes me proud to be a cast member,” said Angelo Andrada, who works as a food and beverage cashier in Adventureland.
“I was at Disneyland for the 50th golden anniversary, and I enjoyed the shows and what they did to celebrate,” said Ian Vergara, 25, a regular park-goer. “Now I am looking forward to experiencing the diamond celebration this summer with my girlfriend. It will be exciting to see what changes they made to the castle, fireworks show, and all the tiny little details throughout the park—every single part of the wonderful magic of Disney.” (With reports from OC Register, LA Times, KTLA5)
(LA Weekend May 23-26, 2015 Sec. A pg.6)
