Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955 in Anaheim, California. On that day, Walt Disney welcomed the world to a place that still delights and surprises guests seven decades later. Disneyland Resort is beginning its 70th Anniversary celebration today, May 16, 2025 and carrying on the party through the summer of 2026. This is your guide to visiting during the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration, so you too can “celebrate happy.”
“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past—and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America—with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” – Walt Disney at Disneyland on July 17, 1955
As Disneyland’s 70th anniversary unfolds, we will get a better idea of the extent of the party and its popularity. For now, this guide to the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration will feature basic categories for the anniversary offerings and finish with some FAQs.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Entertainment
This is the category that excites us most, so let us start here. Disneyland Resort is adding (or bringing back) some special entertainment for the 70th anniversary celebration.
As you read through this guide, keep in mind that Disneyland has indicated that some 70th offereings will likely be paused or modified for Halloween Time and Holiday Time seasons. For any visit—especially during the 70th—we suggest checking the Disneyland entertainment guide for your particular dates. The Disneyland 70th celebration is schedule to run through next summer, 2026. However, there is no guarantee that any of these particular shows and parades will be happening during your visit.
Disneyland Park 70th Entertainment
Disneyland Park is bringing back the super popular “Paint the Night” parade and “Wondrous Journeys” nighttime spectacular and fireworks show. Evenings at Disneyland Park should be exciting and gorgeous during the 70th celebration.
The nighttime parade will “Paint the Night” with more than a million LED lights arrayed around familiar characters from both Disney and Pixar movies. Many fans are eagerly awaiting the elaborate floats, costumes and special effects from this beloved parade. This parade has been the headliner for the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration. If you can stay late enough to see it, we suggest you do! Many first time or infrequent Disneyland guests skip the entertainment offering in favor of attractions. This is an understandable approach, but we do suggest you make time for this show-stopper of a parade.
“Wondrous Journeys” is a large scale show projected onto the buildings of Main Street, U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle, “it’s a small world” and the Rivers of America. It weaves characters and moments from beloved Disney movies into a larger uplifting narrative. On certain nights, Disneyland combines this show with fireworks. Check the entertainment guide for fireworks nights, but keep in mind that Disneyland will cancel the fireworks if weather conditions are unfavorable.
The facade of “it’s a small world” will host an additional nighttime music and projection show called “Tapestry of Happiness.” It celebrates the shared memories of Disneyland and evokes the artistry of Mary Blair, a Disney artist whose style defines “it’s a small world.”
Finally, Disneyland Park does have a new piece of daytime entertainment in “The Celebrate Happy Cavalcade.” This cavalcade is notable for showcasing some uncommon and fan-favorite characters like Duffy and ShellieMay plus Goofy’s son Max.
Disney California Adventure Park 70th Entertainment
The headline entertainment at Disney California Adventure Park is the brand new “World of Color Happiness” nighttime spectacular on the waters of Paradise Bay. The emotions from the Inside Out franchise will be hosting “World of Color Happiness” show, and guests will be able to vote on whether Envy, Sadness, Anger or Disgust will “get a special spotlight” each night. You can use the Disneyland app to vote once per day. In a fun bonus, the “World of Color” pre-show will feature the Muppets!
The evening entertainment will be rounded out by nightly “special moments” with projections and music on Carthay Circle Restaurant and Buena Vista Street.
“Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!” is the center of daytime entertainment at Disney California Adventure Park. This returning parade boasts floats, music and over two dozen characters from Pixar films all celebrating friendship.
Anniversary Decor and Attire
At Disneyland Park, Sleeping Beauty Castle will be decked-out in her anniversary finest. That park icon will also be echoed on the Esplanade with a 50-foot tribute sculpture.
The Disneyland 70th anniversary decor—we are talking flowers, banners, sculptures and bunting—will be all over the resort. That includes both parks as well as Downtown Disney District and the Disneyland Resort Hotels. So you should be able to enjoy some of the fun even without a ticket.
Many of the characters around Disneyland are also getting new 70th anniversary looks. Disney is specifically touting 70th attire for Mickey, Minnie and their toon pals.
Enhanced Attractions for Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary
The classic Disney attraction “it’s a small world” has two new residents. Imagineers added Miguel and Dante from the film Coco, and they look like they are there to stay. Plus, on July 17, 2025, Disneyland is adding a new verse to the iconic “it’s a small world” soundtrack. This final verse was the last thing the legendary composer Richard Sherman penned for Disney.
Over in Disney California Adventure Park, Toy Story Midway Mania is getting some 70th anniversary enhancements. It will be fun to see what pops up there, and these enhancements may add some new dimensions and challenges to the game.
On its actual 70th anniversary (July 17, 2025), Disneyland Park is also set to debut a new audio animatronics Walt Disney figure. The figure is the centerpiece of a new show that will share the Main Street Opera House with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
Limited Time Food and Merchandise
As with all Disneyland celebrations, special food, drinks and merchandise have been created for Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. The Disney Parks Blog has an extensive guide for the limited time food and another guide for the special Disneyland 70th merchandise.
Get a Guide to Disneyland 70th Merchandise
Candidly, we do not spend much of our Disney budget on merchandise, so we cannot offer personal guidance in that area. If you are interested, be sure to take a look at that guide for the Disneyland 70th merchandise. Some pieces of 70th collection mirror the color scheme of the resort’s anniversary decor. Other items play heavily on Disneyland nostalgia with retro designs and direct references to Disney history. Two merchandise items will allow you to interact with Disneyland 70th installments around the park, but more on that later in this guide.
70th Food Firsts
As for food, a couple of the offerings have caught our eye (caught our taste buds?) Specifically, we are interested in the new breakfast offerings at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. We hope that breakfast might be a good time to go with kids to enjoy the fanciful features and a great way to spend a morning on a non-park day. Starting with the 70th celebration on May 16, Trader Sam’s will now be open for breakfast from 8:00am to 11:00am. Breakfast is walk-up only (no reservations)
We also noticed that all the big entertainment offerings for Disneyland’s 70th are paired with dessert parties or dining packages offering reserved show seating. Plus, Donald and his pals are hosting a new “Donald’s Tales of Adventure Dinner Buffet” over at Storytellers Cafe in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. This is the first time that Storytellers Cafe has offered evening character dining. We like that you can eat with characters without using a park ticket. You can reserve those special dining experiences as you would other dining: on the Disneyland website or app.
Other Disneyland 70th Anniversary Bonuses
Disney has created some new interactive stations around the resort in honor of Disneyland’s 70th. You can experience them by purchasing and using a MagicBand+. Another set of interactive elements will respond to the “Key to Disneyland,” which is also available for an additional fee.
While you can purchase 70th themed MagicBands, any MagicBand+ should work with the Disneyland 70th features. In addition to activating 70th anniversary installments, you can also use your MagicBand+ to scan into park and Lightning Lane entrances. Plus, you can play the bounty hunter game in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and experience your MagicBand+ responding to entertainment and some other elements around the parks. We do not use MagicBands at Disneyland, but if any of this sounds good to you, the 70th celebration might be the right time to get one.
Disneyland is offering a special two-hour tour for the 70th celebration. It is called “A Story of Celebration: 70th Anniversary Guided Tour”. In addition to requiring admission to Disneyland Park, you will need to book and pay extra for this tour. You can check it out on the Disneyland website.
And to round out the Disneyland 70th bonus perks, Disney is adding new 70th themed PhotoPass Magic Shots and PhotoPass Lenses to their existing roster. PhotoPass and PhotoPass Lenses are included in a purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Premier Pass. You can also purchase a PhotoPass separately.
The 70th anniversary celebration is scheduled to last for over a year! This should be plenty of time to find the right dates for your visit so that you can enjoy these offerings. Let us move on to some FAQs around all of this celebrating.
FAQs: Disneyland 70th Anniversary
Finally, here is some quick information around Disneyland Resort’s 70th Celebration with FAQs.
When is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary?
Disneyland’s actual 70th anniversary is on July 17, 2025. But Disneyland loves a party, so the celebration of the anniversary will last much longer. Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration starts on May 16, 2025 continues through Summer 2026.
Disney has not shared a firm end date, but they have shared that not all 70th offerings will be available for every day of the celebration. Be sure to check the Disneyland website and particularly the entertainment guide before your visit.
Where can I celebrate Disneyland’s 70th anniversary?
Disneyland will be celebrating its 70th birthday all over the resort including both parks, all three hotels, the Downtown Disney District and even the Esplanade. The party will mostly center around the parks, especially Disneyland Park, but you should be able to find 70th decorations, food, merchandise and entertainment all around the resort.
Will Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebrations be crowded?
We wish we could predict the future, but we just do not know how the 70th crowds are going to play out. Because Disneyland has scheduled the celebration to last for over a year, we would expect there to be both high and low crowd times. We would also expect these to follow the general ebb and flow of non-anniversary years. There are a few exceptions to this.
First, we would expect the initial days of the celebration to be busier, particularly for evening entertainment. Local guests will probably be drawn-in by the new offerings, and we think many guests will be excited to see the new and returning 70th entertainment. Plus, guests who hold lower-tier Magic Keys will want to see that entertainment before they hit their summer black-out dates. Disneyland has shared that they expect to pause some of anniversary entertainment for the fall and winter holiday seasons, so this may add some extra urgency around spring visits.
Second, we do expect higher crowds on and around the actual day of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary: July 17, 2025. On that day, Disneyland has promised the premier of two new offereings. The Walt Disney audio animatronics figure will debut at the Main Street Opera House, and the new verse for “it’s a small world” will first play in its titular attraction. We expect other festivities for that special day as well. That said, the crowds like likely center around Disneyland Park specifically, but again—unlike Raven—we cannot predict the future.
Will it be expensive to visit Disneyland during its 70th anniversary?
Compared to many vacation destinations, Disneyland is an expensive place to visit. However, it should not cost more to visit during the 70th celebrations. In fact, Disneyland has been offering some nice promotions for the anniversary celebration including discounts on tickets and hotel stays.
At the time of writing, there is a 4-day ticket on sale for a base price of $100 a day and a discount of up to 20% off of select Disneyland Resort Hotel rooms. We suggest checking the “offers and discounts” section of the Disneyland website to see current promotions and evaluate whether they would work for you.
Do Disneyland’s 70th anniversary offerings cost extra?
Mostly no, but sometimes yes.
The best parts of the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration (in our opinion anyway) are included with general admission to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. With a regular ticket, you can view all of the special entertainment and enjoy the enhanced attractions, anniversary decor and character costumes. Actually, you can even enjoy some of the offerings without a ticket by visiting the Downtown Disney District and the Disneyland Resort Hotels.
Other parts of the anniversary celebration come with an extra cost. This would include any merchandise and food, plus the 70th tour, PhotoPass perks and interactive elements that require a MagicBand+ or “Key to Disneyland” as we mentioned above. If you want reserved seating for one of the entertainment offerings, you can pay for a dining package.
You should be able to enjoy much of what makes the 70th anniversary special without a ticket, but you may choose to pay for some extras.
Thanks for reading this guide to the Disneyland Resort 70th Anniversary Celebration
We hope you will get a chance to visit during this vibrant celebration. For helping planning your time at Disneyland Resort, we offer our free and complete Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep. For a look at other festivals and celebrations, we have an overview of other 2025 events here. Finally, please consider subscribing to our newsletter below to get new posts in your inbox. Thanks again for reading!
