Disneyland Kicks Off Its 70th Anniversary Celebration

This month, Disneyland officially kicked off its 70th anniversary celebration with festive decor, entertainment, food, merchandise, and even treasure hunts, all centered around the theme of “Celebrate Happy.” The more-than-yearlong event will run through summer 2026.

“These anniversaries really started in 1955 on July 17 with Walt Disney, when they decorated Main Street red, white, and blue,” David Caranci, Walt Disney Imagineering manager for creative development, said during a media preview event. “We don’t live in the past, but we honor the past. We honor our history, culture, and tradition as we look to the future.”

And that’s exactly what the celebratory elements do best, as I experienced last week during a sneak preview of the milestone event. So many nostalgic nods pulled on my heartstrings, from the return of the Paint the Night after-dark parade at Disneyland Park with reminders of the Main Street Electrical Parade to the new World of Color Happiness! nighttime show at Disney California Adventure Park, where I caught myself singing along to snippets of The Muppets’ “Rainbow Connection” and the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. 

The 70th celebration felt like a living scrapbook of all the memories I had made at Disneyland in decades past, while also making me feel like a curious and carefree kid at heart again, rediscovering that magic does exist.

Here’s your guide to Disneyland Resort’s 70th anniversary celebration.

Entertainment 

For the milestone celebration, the parades, shows, and nighttime spectaculars have been dialed up a notch.Throughout the 70th anniversary entertainment, an upbeat new theme song, also called “Celebrate Happy” is played, featuring the familiar voices of the Jonas Brothers, longtime members of the Disney family.

At the original park, the short-but-sweet Celebrate Happy Cavalcade showcases an all-star line-up of Disney characters all dressed in the celebratory colors with fan-favorite characters Duffy, ShellieMay, and Max joining the anniversary party with Mickey, Minnie, Peter Pan, and Aladdin, among others. 

The mood turns even more festive after dark, with Tapestry of Happiness, a five-minute projection show against the It’s a Small World facade. It’s a tour through the resort’s history, ending with the new theme song merging with the classic ride’s song, tying the perfect knot between Disney’s past and present. 

The Paint the Night parade makes its much-anticipated return with more than a million LED lights spotlighting movies from classics like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid” to more modern favorites like “Monsters Inc.” and Cars, culminating in Sorcerer Mickey soaring above the street.

Of course, the grand finale here is the Wondrous Journeys fireworks spectacular set against Sleeping Beauty Castle, a walk through 100 years of Disney animation. I remember hearing stories of my mom being wowed by Tinkerbell floating in the air during her first visit, and let’s just say there are two floating figures in this show.

Over at Disneyland California Adventure, the Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! daytime parade features nearly 30 characters, while Carthay Circle’s tower lights up with a two-minute music and light Celebrate Happy show.

The big World of Color after-dark show also has a 70th-specific happiness theme, starting with a Muppets pre-show that’s technically about safety but is sure to induce a few laughs. The colorful light, fountain, and projection show is themed around the Inside Out films, with songs from Boyz II Men and Fitz from Fitz and the Tantrums, but overall it’s inspired by Walt Disney’s words from opening day: “To all who come to this happy place, welcome!”

Rides 

It’s a Small World is one of Disneyland’s most historic attractions, so it’s only fitting that it would get a refresh for the 70th. Envisioned by Walt himself for the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965, he chose a pair of women to bring the 300 characters singing in harmony to life: Mary Blair as art director and Alice Davis as the costumer. Now guests will spot Miguel and Dante from “Coco” in the Mexico section, and a new song verse written by Richard Sherman, who passed away last year, will be added to the ride on July 17, the exact 70th anniversary.

Over at California Adventure, Toy Story Midway Mania! is celebrating the 70th anniversary with logos throughout, including sparkly “70” targets to aim for during the interactive 3D ride.

Food and Drinks

From turkey legs to Mickey waffles, iconic food items have long been a part of Disneyland Resort’s legacy—and more than 70 new menu items will be featured through the celebration. 

“We wanted to take our classic flavors and put a contemporary presentation on them, and match the color scheme, which gives that celebration feel to it,” Eduardo Rodriquez, chef for Disneyland Resort, tells Travel + Leisure. He called the Peach Cobbler Funnel Cake Fries served with vanilla ice cream his personal favorite, which can be found at Disneyland’s Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree.

Several dishes also pull on old-school favorites, like the Banana Split Churro (available at California Adventure near Goofy’s Sky School) inspired by the original banana split served at Carnation Cafe in 1955, and the W.E.D. Chili Cheese Baked Potato (at Disneyland’s Troubadour Tavern ) and Chili Cheese Corn Dog (at California Adventure’s Corn Dog Castle) that were inspired by Walt’s favorite chili.

I was most excited about the throwback Mickey Hat Cookie with the Mickey Mouse Club logo (at Disneyland’s Market House), as well as the ube sugar-dusted 70th Celebration Churro (available near Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, and Town Square, and California Adventure’s Willie’s Churros).

The 70th anniversary also introduces collectible popcorn buckets like the light-up Mickey Balloon bucket and Mickey Mouse bucket that moves and talks.

Merchandise 

It wouldn’t be a Disney celebration without exclusive merchandise, and there are four distinct collections to choose from.

The Celebration Collection uses the celebratory colors along with classic characters and rides in everything from t-shirts and shoulder bags to water bottles and bubble wands and even an interactive MagicBand+ to enhance the park experience. The Castle Collection features all things Disney royalty with a retro logo. Meanwhile, the Vault Collection is a blast from the past with dedicated items for various chapters of the resort’s history.

Finally, the Disneyland Resort 70th Anniversary Walt Disney Nostalgia Collection dives into the heritage of Walt Disney and the parks themselves, including items with the quote that’s memorialized on the underpass leading into Main Street U.S.A.: “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” 

Medallion stations throughout the parks now have 70th-themed coins, while a few collectible penny machines also have the logo as an option.

Treasure Hunts

As part of the seven-decade commemoration, Disneyland Park also has a pair of special tech features hidden around the park that unlock surprises, almost like a geocaching search, which I’m dubbing “treasure hunts” with magical twist.

First, there’s the Key to Disneyland, an oversized light-up key that can be purchased at park shops. At each of the nine stations (one in each land), guests place the key into the lock, which will reveal an icon, as well as light and music effects themed to the land you’re in. Upon finding the ninth, head to the Mickey Topiary final station near the entrance, where your mystery pin (hidden inside the key) will be revealed.

Then there’s my obsession that I completely stumbled upon while wearing my MagicBand+, an RFID bracelet that can function as a ticket, payment method, and more. At certain points while walking around the park and during shows, I’d feel it buzz or light up in sync with the surroundings. As I was walking through Downtown Disney, the 70th displays also unlocked songs whenever I waved my hand, leading a bystander to ask “How did you do that?” to which I could only answer, “Magic.” 

But the coolest thing was when I was wandering past the shop by the Golden Horseshoe and saw a few buttons with the 70th logo on them. As I tapped my band on the buttons, a ticket appeared, each for a nostalgic ride. One was for Disneyland Railroad, another for Mark Twain Riverboat, and the third for the Golden Horseshoe Revue–free collectors’ items that I didn’t even know existed!

I then learned there were stations hidden across the park, so of course, I had to hit them all. Near the Jungle Cruise, I got a ticket for the Mekong Maiden. But not all stations were created equal. Tucked in Sleeping Beauty Castle were five different buttons, which unlocked animated movements for the characters behind the window when I tapped them. The highlight was the one from Tilly at the Main Street Cinema, which ejected a retro movie ticket that says it’s for “Our Special 70th Anniversary Guest.”

With that kind of pixie dust hidden in plain sight, I found myself smiling nonstop while I explored the park as Disneyland continues its legacy of Celebrating Happy, just as Walt wished.