The time has finally come for Disneyland Resort fans to celebrate 70 years since Walt Disney opened our beloved park with the words “ To all who come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land.”
For millions, Disneyland is our happy place. A place to let go of the heaviness that the world often places on our shoulders and just have fun. It is a place of nostalgia, of exciting new changes, and of comfort in those things that always stay the same.
It was 70 years ago that my grandparents took their 5 children (including two sets of twins!) and visited the new theme park surrounded by orange groves. It was the fruition of a dream realized by an animator and innovator that continues to make dreams come true decades after his passing.
Disneyland 70- What’s New and Exciting
When you enter the esplanade between Disneyland and California Adventure during the 70th, you will see a 50-foot sculpture created in the vision of Sleeping Beauty Castle with glass panels and golden charms representing the park’s five original lands.
Disneyland
More touches of the 70th celebration spirit will be displayed with new gear for Mickey and his pals, special decor on Sleeping Beauty Castle, colorful bunting on Main Street, and the train station at the park entrance, as well as some other spots for park goers to discover during their visit.
Trekaroo tip: If you have a Magic Band+, scanners keep your eye out for special interactive scanners throughout the park including inside Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the data pad in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and by Autopia. It will also light up and synchronize with “Paint the Night,” “Tapestry of Happiness,” “World of Color Happiness!” and “Wondrous Journeys.”
During the day, keep an eye out for The Celebrate Happy Cavalcade marching down the Disneyland parade route during the day. Expect to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip, Dale, and teddy bears Duffy and ShellieMay. The short parade is energetic and lots of fun.
Disneyland Park is lucky to have the original it’s a small world ride with its famous clockwork facade. During the 70th celebration, the facade will come to life with lights, projections effects, and music in Tapestry of Happiness. It reflects the style of famed Disney artist Mary Blair and will include a new song, Celebrate Happy, sung by the Jonas Brothers.
It showcases some of the classic Fantasy rides as well as rides that are no longer in the park and the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade. If you grew up going to Disneyland, expect to get all the feels.
Speaking of it’s a small world, keep your eye out for Miguel and Dante from Coco who can be found in the Mexico area of the ride.
Discover our favorite rides for little ones in our guide to Disneyland with toddlers.
Disney PhotoPass+, a ticket add-on which gives you unlimited downloads of photos taken by cast members at the various Disney PhotoPass locations throughout the parks, has added some 70th celebration pixie dust to the experience.
There will be Magic Shots and other PhotoPass enhancements available for your photos. Keep in mind the PhotoPass is included with the purchase of a Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
Paint the Night Parade will be returning to Disneyland. This LED Parade is lit with over 1.5 million individually controlled lights.
The parade is set to the story of artist, Mickey Mouse, who mixes his imagination with Tinker Bell’s pixie dust, creating a magical paint in the process which covers the vibrant costumes of classic characters from Monsters, Inc, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Toy Story, Cars, and more.
From May 16-Aug. 21, 2025, a “Paint the Night” dining package is available at Plaza Inn, which
includes access to a reserved viewing area for the parade.]
Wondrous Journeys will also be making a return to Disneyland. This projection show uses special effects to transform various areas of the park- Main Street, Sleeping Beauty Castle, it’s a small world, and Rivers of America into various beloved moments from Disney classics like Moana, Encanto, and The Princess and the Frog.
There will be lots of music to enhance the show, 18 different songs as a matter of fact, and fireworks on select nights.
Finally, if you love a Disneyland guided tour you won’t want to miss A Story of Celebration: 70th Anniversary Guided Tour. It is a two-hour walking tour which highlights the history of Disneyland and how it has continued to evolve over the decades.
The tour includes popcorn to munch on, rides on Mark Twain Riverboat and Disneyland Railroad, a Lightning Lane attraction pass, reserved viewing for Paint the Night Parade, and a special keepsake.
Trekaroo tip: On July 17, 2025, the official 70th anniversary date, Disneyland will debut new
Walt Disney – A Magical Life at the Main Street Opera House.
Disney California Adventure
A daytime parade will take over the streets of Disney California Adventure- Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration. This parade has a focus on friendship, and there will be dozens of Pixar characters making appearances along the route in the Paradise Gardens area, including favorites from Up, Turning Red, and Luca.
Be sure to ride Toy Story Midway Mania!, one of my favorite rides in the park, during the 70th anniversary. You will see special nods to the celebration as you compete in the carnival games. The games are the same, but some of the point values have changed with 70 stickers boosting up points of select targets. Some targets will now be worth 7,000 points!
Toy Story Midway Mania is one of the best rides at Disneyland. See what else made the list!
The new Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! show debuted in the Disney Theater in Hollywood Land. This upbeat and interactive show is designed for kids under 10 but I think all ages will have lots of fun watching it and dancing to the music.
It stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse who are on a mission to find their friends Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto and get them to a party at Mickey’s house.
There is a new World of Color water projection show, World of Color Happiness!,which takes place at Paradise Bay. Before the show, keep your eyes out for The Muppets which will deliver a special message via projections on the water features. It is hilarious and not to be missed so much sure you arrive early!
This new show is hosted by Joy from the Pixar Inside Out franchise and will feature songs and moments from Tangled, Encanto, Turning Red, The Incredibles, and more. There will be plenty of classic Disney songs as well as Boyz II Men’s rendition of Rainbow Connection and Fitz’s new song, Makes me Wanna Move.
Before the first World of Color Happiness! Show of the evening, be sure to log onto the Disneyland app and vote for one of four different Emotions– Sadness, Anger, Disgust or Envy. The top vote getter will be featured in special scenes during the show.
Key To Disneyland
The Key to Disneyland is a special new key you can buy to unlock magic in each land. It can be purchased at World of Disney in Downtown Disney or at select shops inside of Disneyland and will only be available during the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration.
There will be special 70th Celebration lock stations in each of the 9 lands in Disneyland Park. When you turn your key you will reveal an icon, light effect, and music for that land on your key. After unlocking those 9 spots, you can find the Mickey Topiary Finale lock station by the park entrance where you will unlock 1 of 9 commemorative reading pins.
Watch a video on how to use the Key to Disneyland.
New Food and Drinks
There are so many great new things to eat and drink at Disneyland Resort and I had the chance to sample several. Here are some of our top picks along with a video highlighting a few more options.
The 70th Stuff is a shortbread cookie topped with cookies and cream cake and raspberry jam surrounded with white chocolate mousse and sprinkles. You can find it at the Red Rose Tavern in Fantasyland at Disneyland.
A 70th Celebration Macaroon which is filled with birthday cake buttercream and a confetti cake center can be found at Alien Pizza Planet in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.
Another 70th Celebration Macaron can be found at Jolly Holiday Cafe on Main Street. It is shaped like a slice of birthday cake and has vanilla bean buttercream, strawberry jam, fresh strawberries with strawberry whipped topping, and a strawberry crunch.
The Celebration Matternhown Macaroon is a tall coconut macaroon topped with white chocolate and sprinkles. You will find it at Jolly Holiday Cafe on Main Street in Disneyland.
A Banana Split Churro is being offered at Goofy’s Churro in Disney California Adventure. It amps up a classic churro with banana sauce, vanilla sauce, and a cherry on top
Specialty Cold Brrrr-ew is at Cafe Daisy in Toon Town at Disneyland. It is Joffrey’s cold brew coffee and vanilla creme syrup topped with whipped cream, chocolate medallions, and confetti sprinkles.
Another treat at Cafe Daisy is the vibrantly-colored Miss Daisy, which is Minute Maid light lemonade mixed with cotton candy syrup and topped with blue raspberry gummy rings.
Who doesn’t love a Disneyland Resort corn dog? Well they are taking it to another level with the Chili Cheese Corn Dog at Corn Dog Castle in Disney California Adventure. This corn dog is topped with chili, shredded cheese, and corn chips. Yum!
A Fried Tamale Walking Taco is being served up at Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland at Disneyland. It is a fried beef tamale with chili, corn chips, diced onion, cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
Grilled Tahitian Ribs are being served at Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland at Disneyland. They are served with rice and pineapple slaw.
I was first attracted to the world of blogging because I was a mother of infant twins and I wanted to show others that if I could travel with two young kids and expose them to many adventures that would shape their lives, then so could they! I received my degree in Communications from UC Davis in 2000 and have had a passion for writing since I learned to use a #2 pencil many moons ago.
I am proud to have been featured as a top family travel writer by USA Today and have been featured in the Orange County Register, Huffington Post, CBS LA, MSNBC, Backpacker Magazine, and countless other publications over the years. I have also had the joy of working as a writer for some of my local tourism bureaus, Destination Irvine and Visit Anaheim, as well as providing my expertise on many projects including building family travel tourism in Peru and family-focused articles for Vail Resorts.
I have worked with the biggest players in the family travel industry including Disney Resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Marriott, Hilton, Adventures by Disney, KOA, Visit Britain, Visit Norway, Visit California, Visit Florida, and so many more amazing organizations than I have space to list.
I currently live in Orange County, CA with my husband, twin son and daughter (who are now Seniors in high school!), three rescue dogs, and one rescue cat. My favorite things (besides travel) are the San Francisco 49ers, animal rescue, Mexican food, being outside, being crafty, and my ridiculously large crystal and mineral collection.
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