UPDATE 8/20/18:
Disney is 90-days away from kicking off Mickey Mouse’s 90th Birthday celebration and some additional celebrations have been announced that are taking place at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and other places around the world. Take a look:
- ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition’ – As part of Mickey Mouse’s 90th Anniversary celebration, Disney is planning to open an interactive art exhibit in New York. ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition’, will be an experience like no other featuring immersive, pop-up art exhibits inspired by Mickey’s status as a “true original” and his global impact on popular culture and art.The event will take place from November 8, 2018 – February 10, 2019, Mickey: The True Original Exhibition will be open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 60 10th Avenue, New York. Tickets are available for $38 per person at Disney.com/MickeyTrueOriginal.
- Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will celebrate Mickey’s birthday from November 16-18 with special merchandise, food, and beverage items. Guests will also be given the chance to celebrate at Magic Kingdom Park during the “Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It!” Street Party, sing “Happy Birthday” along with the Dapper Dans on Main Street, U.S.A., and join in a special birthday dance party at Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland. Walt Disney World will continue celebrating in 2019 when the World’s Biggest Mouse Party comes to the resort.
- Disneyland Resort in California will have a celebration cavalcade for Mickey Mouse on November 18, featuring some of his friends as well as the Disneyland Band. The cavalcade will begin at “it’s a small world” and pause for a special moment at Sleeping Beauty Castle before continuing down Main Street, U.S.A., to Town Square. The party continues when the World’s Biggest Mouse Party begins at Disneyland Resort in 2019.
- Disney Cruise Line will join the celebration when the World’s Biggest Mouse Party takes to the seas in 2019.
- Shanghai Disney Resort will be the first to kick off World’s Biggest Mouse Party with a brand-new Mickey-themed float at the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Tourism Festival on September 15 to commemorate the Shanghai launch of World’s Biggest Mouse Party. At Shanghai Disneyland, a giant birthday card will be installed next to “Storytellers” statue, featuring birthday wishes from Mickey’s pals. From November 16-18, guests will enjoy themed food and merchandise offerings as well as the opportunity to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mickey just before the nighttime spectacular show each evening, all culminating with a special nighttime birthday spectacular at Enchanted Storybook Castle on November 18.
- Hong Kong Disneyland will begin its World’s Biggest Mouse Party activations on Mickey’s birthday, November 18, with commemorative park tickets, special food & beverage and merchandise, a hotel room overlay and “We Love Mickey” projection show through February 2019. And Hong Kong Disneyland guests will receive special birthday stickers, available only on November 18.
- Tokyo Disney Resort will join the celebration this fall with special decorations and merchandise.
- Disneyland Paris will celebrate the World’s Biggest Mouse Party this fall and into winter with new holiday season entertainment and special surprises.
If you didn’t have the chance to see Mickey’s official 90th Anniversary Portrait, take a look at this story that also includes a time-lapse video of the artist creating the piece.
Walt Disney famously said that it was all started by a Mouse and today, Disney has announced a global celebration like no other to honor 90 years of Mickey Mouse. Mickey captivated the world in his big-screen debut in Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928, and continues to bring happiness and merriment to Disney fans around the world. There’s no better way to honor the famous Mouse that started it all than with the biggest birthday party you’ve ever seen that will extend into 2018 and beyond!
“The party kicks off on March 7 with ‘The Happiest Show on Earth’—a runway fashion event featuring a Mickey-inspired collection designed by couture brand Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The show will also serve as Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2018 runway show, and the special ‘mouse-terpieces’ will close out fashion week celebrations around the world. You can join in on this festive fashion extravaganza, as select items from the Mickey collaboration will be immediately available for sale following the runway show at shopDisney.com, OpeningCeremony.com, and Opening Ceremony stores, while remaining ready-to-wear looks will hit stores in November. Of course, no fashion show is complete without Minnie Mouse! The icon—who shares this milestone anniversary with Mickey and who recently received her official star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—will also be celebrated at the fashion show.
Disney’s collaboration with Opening Ceremony will serve as the launch of ‘Mickey the True Original’—a global celebration of Mickey’s heritage, personality, and status as a pop-culture icon. Mickey Mouse is going to be very much in style, thanks to fashion collaborations with other true original brands, as well as special content and events that embrace Mickey’s impact on the past, present, and future.”
The celebration will continue across The Walt Disney Company; here’s the rundown:
- D23 and the Walt Disney Archives, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios, have commissioned legendary Disney animator Mark Henn to paint Mickey’s official 90th birthday portrait. Henn follows in the footsteps of artists such as Disney Legend John Hench, who crafted five of Mickey’s official portraits. Henn animated Mickey for Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and is currently at work on Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018). The new portrait will debut on the cover of the fall issue of Disney twenty-three, a publication of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.
- This November, D23 will present Destination D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse, a two-day event at Walt Disney World Resort featuring panels, presentations, and fun-filled entertainment.
- This year’s annual D23 Gold Member gift is an exclusive box set of 23 special Mickey Mouse mementos—authentic reproductions of such treasured keepsakes as pages from the script of Steamboat Willie and a miniature animation cel from Parade of the Award Nominees (1932).
- This fall, ABC will air a star-studded celebration of Mickey in honor of his birthday, with special guests, musical performances and more.
- Disney Channel will debut season five of the Mickey Mouse animated shorts, including a special seven-minute extended-length birthday episode that will air later this year.
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world will celebrate Mickey’s 90th on November 18, marking the day with commemorative merchandise, photo locations, and more.
- Beginning in late 2018 and into 2019 the World’s Biggest Mouse Party, saluting Mickey and Minnie, will take place at Disney parks worldwide.
- Disney On Ice will salute Mickey as the “True Original” host of Disney On Ice since its inception in 1981 by creating Mickey’s 90th pre-shows for productions touring the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
- Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Special Celebration, a new production showcasing Mickey Mouse’s memories throughout the years, will launch in Japan in July 2018 and continue touring throughout the Asia-Pacific region until August 2019.
- In France, 38 design and art schools will take part in “Mickey Is Art,” a unique contest in which students will craft works of Mickey, inspired by their favorite artistic movement. The winning designs will be displayed this summer in 12 major train stations in France and for sale this September at Galerie Glénat in Paris.
- Disney store will continue to celebrate milestone moments for Mickey Mouse with the Mickey Mouse Memories Collection (launched Jan 2018), a monthly, limited-release series of 12 collectible plush, mugs, and cloisonné pins inspired by Mickey’s most memorable movie roles.
- Disney Publishing Worldwide will introduce more than 30 titles globally as part of Mickey’s 90th, including books, arts & crafts, and comics.
Join in on the conversations on social media by using the hashtag #Mickey90.
News and Image Source: The Walt Disney Company
Senior Editor for the DIS and DCL Fan | Disney Vacation Club Member | Thrilled to have been a '13/'14 Disney Parks Moms Panelist (now planDisney) | Lover of all things Disney; the Magic of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line | ºoº
