Astonishingly, the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World is only 5 years away. If Walt Disney World celebrates the 50th anniversary with the same effort that Disneyland did for its 60th anniversary, then guests are in for a treat.
5) Limited time snacks
Disneyland offered a large selection of limited time snacks for the 60th Anniversary over in California. Guests should expect Walt Disney World to offer their own special snacks for the anniversary. This should be more than just a limited time cupcake, which I am sadly worried Walt Disney World will settle for. Disneyland had new food and snack items throughout the property, and I hope Walt Disney World will do something similar. Additionally, 50th Anniversary Popcorn buckets would be a really fun addition to the celebration!
4) Retro Merchandise
Who isn’t a sucker for retro merchandise? There is so much potential for fun retro 1971-themed merchandise. Disney has released some retro merchandise in the past that has been incredibly popular, so here is to hoping that they will have more of the same for the 50th Anniversary. The 60th Anniversary had some retro merchandise, but it mostly was centered around diamond themed items.
3) Beautiful decorations
The Diamond Celebration in Disneyland this past year was beautiful, elegant, and really tasteful. Guests should hope that Walt Disney World follows suit. For the 25th Anniversary, Walt Disney World notably decorated the castle as a giant pink birthday cake. Hopefully for the 50th Anniversary, the decor is slightly more subtle.
Alos, it would be nice if all four Disney theme parks in Orlando will be decorated for the 50th Anniversary, not just the Magic Kingdom. That is something that made the 60th Anniversary out at the Disneyland Resort so special; in addition to Disneyland Park being decorated, Disney California Adventure and all the resorts were decorated for the anniversary as well. This engulfed guests into the celebration, and made the anniversary feel special.
2) New nighttime entertainment
Now that the Magic Kingdom lost the Main Street Electrical Parade, guests should be crossing their fingers that Disney is planning something special for the 50th Anniversary. Whether it is a Paint the Night Parade or something completely new and original, it would be really nice if the 50th Anniversary brought a nighttime parade back to the Magic Kingdom. Also, as much as everyone loves the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks display, it would be fun for the anniversary to have a completely new show similar to the Disneyland Forever fireworks. But this goes beyond the Magic Kingdom. Nighttime spectaculars at all four theme parks could be involved in the 50th Anniversary celebration.
1) Updated attractions
For Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary, the park saw updates to attractions like the Matterhorn Bobsleds and the Haunted Mansion. Hopefully Walt Disney World will have similar updates to attractions across all four theme parks. The addition of the Hatbox Ghost to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion would be a welcome addition to the 999 happy haunts over in the Magic Kingdom. But outside of the Hatbox Ghost, there are plenty of attractions at theme and water parks that the Imagineers could improve!
Photos: Non-DIS Photos are from the Disney Parks Blog or labeled for reuse
Stephen "Steve" Porter started going to the parks with his family in 1996. Since then he hasn't looked back! Steve was a cast member participating in the Disney College Program in 2013. Most recently he graduated from Penn State University!
