Disneyland Announces New Parade, Fireworks, World of Color for its 60th Anniversary

January 28, 2015, 9:30 PM · We're at the Disneyland Resort tonight, among 200 other invited Disney fans for the resort's announcement of the celebrations for its 60th anniversary this summer. The castle's already under wraps in preparation for its transformation....

And Disney Parks Chairman Tom Staggs has announced that the celebration will begin on May 22, 2015.

Sleeping Beauty Castle will be getting a blinged-out new look for the resort's "Diamond Celebration."

The Carthay Circle at Disney California Adventure will be getting a makeover as well, as the entire resort takes part in the celebration.

The big event over at California Adventure will be a new edition of World of Color, called "World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney." Walt Disney Imagineering Vice President Steve Davison introduced the show along with Staggs.

Back over at Disneyland, the park will be celebrating its birthday with a new parade — the "Paint the Night" parade that recently debuted over at Hong Kong Disneyland. Here's a look at the Hong Kong version.

Finally, Disneyland will wrap up each evening during the celebration with a new fireworks show, "Disneyland Forever." This show will include not just the traditional fireworks in the sky, but also feature projections on the castle, the Matterhorn and the Main Street USA buildings. "Disneyland Forever" will include two original songs: "Live the Magic" and the closing song "Kiss Goodnight," written by Disney Legend Richard Sherman. Davison and Staggs showed us a preview:

After the announcements, it was time for a dessert reception for the invited guests and blog contest winners.

Can't forget the cupcake!

And everyone took home a parting gift, a pen and notebook set, wrapped in a "diamond" bow, of course.

No word tonight on how long the Diamond Celebration will last. Disneyland's 60th birthday will be July 17, 2015.

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Replies (10)

Kelly Muggleton

January 29, 2015 at 6:53 AM · *plots any way possible to get back there this year*

Anon Mouse

January 29, 2015 at 8:49 AM · Most definitely a princess castle. Nice announcement. There's enough gap to plan vacations, but might be too late for overseas travelers. No new ride announcements. Nice cupcake. They should sell it. I'm sure they will sell many. They were silent about the Grizzly Peak Airfield and the possible extension of Frozen Fun.

Court E

January 29, 2015 at 9:18 AM · Nothing really note worthy... Just some lights, cupcakes and some new paint... Moving on.

205.242.229.70

January 29, 2015 at 10:19 AM · Very disappointing they did not touch on the additional restorations that will happen between now and then. It would be nice to hear more about the Fantasyland dark ride upgrades, return of the Hatbox Ghost, etc... A parade, fireworks and some sparkly stuff is just not big enough news for such a large event to have been dedicated to it.

Randy Keith

February 2, 2015 at 9:27 PM ·

Robert Niles

January 29, 2015 at 11:08 AM · I actually thought it was nice that they didn't pass off what should be a normal slate of refurbs and upgrades as being part of the 60th. Yes, I would like some more official news of these things, but they should be considered separate from the 60th celebration, IMO.

Randy Keith

January 29, 2015 at 11:19 AM · Looks great, but its really anything to get really excited about. Shanghai Disneyland is where Disney's focus is right now and it shows. Once that's open the focus needs to be shifted to the US. Disney needs to continue to keep changing and preserving the existing parks. That's not to say Disney hasn't done some great things in recent years, but there are still lots of attractions that either need an upgrade or need to be be replaced. I don't expect things like It's a Small World or Jungle Cruise(at Disneyland, anyway) to go away, but all rides need to be enhanced to meet 21st century standards when it comes to animatronics and special effects. Walt never kept up with technology, he was always ahead of it! I expected at least an announcement of some all new attraction. I guess right now Shanghai comes first.

TH Creative

January 29, 2015 at 12:40 PM · What an exceptional, noteworthy program! So much more than lights, cupcakes and some new paint. The entertainment will certainly help maintain or boost local traffic.

The Disneyland park is an American institution. The renewed focus on its traditions (Such as the new World of Color's 'Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney' and the "Diamond Celebration" highlights at Sleeping Beauty's Castle) will no doubt keep the attraction queues full throughout the summer season.

Well played, Disney!

Robert Niles

January 29, 2015 at 3:41 PM · Here's Disney's official recap video from the announcement:

Sylvain Comeau

January 30, 2015 at 1:06 AM · The plussing of the Fantasyland rides is also part of the 60th anniversary celebration.

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Disneyland Announces New Parade, Fireworks, World of Color for its 60th Anniversary

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