Disney World 50th Anniversary
Disney World and Disney’s Magic Kingdom are coming up on an important milestone, their 50th anniversary celebration. Walt Disney World will be celebrating Disney’s 50th anniversary starting on October 1, 2021.
It’s likely that Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration will last through the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. If you’re planning on visiting Disney in 2021 or 2022, you can take part in the Disney anniversary celebrations.
Make sure to read on for everything you need to know about the Disney 50th anniversary!
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Past Disney Anniversary Celebrations
In the past, Disney World has gone all out to celebrate big anniversaries. The Magic Kingdom was completely decked out and held a months long celebrations for the 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th anniversaries.
Many Disney fans remember the infamous 25th celebration because Cinderella’s Castle was turned into a giant birthday cake.
Photo Credit: Disney Blog
We expect Disney to go all out as they have for previous anniversary celebrations . The Disney World 50th celebration will likely span at least 12 months so Disney guests can celebrate all year long!
What Is Disney Planning for the 50th Anniversary?
For months or even years, Disney has been adding new attractions and restaurants and upgrading existing Disney facilities to wow Disney guests on the 50th.
Most recently, Disney is currently updating the paint on many of the famous Disney signs. The Disney welcome sign and the Magic Kingdom entrance sign are both being upgraded to feature royal blue and gold paint.
In 2020 during the COVID shutdown, the Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella’s Castle received a new paint job too. Cinderella’s Castle now features pink and gold accents.
The major addition to the Magic Kingdom will be the new Tron roller coaster but the Magic Kingdom is also receiving many face lifts prior to Disney’s 50th anniversary.
Magic Kingdom 50th Anniversary Changes
Each Disney park will see changes for the 50th anniversary celebration. Many of the projects have been scaled down due the COVID-19 pandemic. But each Disney park will still have some magical changes for Disney’s 50th anniversary.
One of the biggest new attractions coming to Walt Disney World is the Tron motor bikes in Tomorrowland.
Disney hasn’t announced a timeline for Tron’s opening but it will likely open sometime during Disney’s 50th anniversary celebration.
While Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland is receiving the new Tron coaster, it is also getting a face lift with new white accents and more modern theming.
Epcot
In the next few years, Epcot is ongoing a major remodel. If you’ve visited Disney in the past, Epcot will look dramatically different in the next few years.
Future World at Epcot is undergoing the most significant change as Future World will now be divided into three distinct neighborhoods. We will address the Epcot remodel in another post. Here we will cover what new additions Epcot will have for Disney’s 50th anniversary.
The two major additions that will hopefully arrive before Disney World’s 50th anniversary are the new Guardians of the Galaxy Roller Coaster and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride.
First, the Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster will be located in Future World in the building formerly used by Ellen’s Adventure. This ride will be a major e-ticket ride for Disney World.
While there is no official timeline for the opening of the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster, we hope it will be open in time for Disney’s 50th anniversary in October. Today, Disney has been conducting test runs of the coaster so we are optimistic about the timeframe.
The other major addition to Epcot will be Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France Pavilion of World Showcase. Remy’s Ratatouille is a slow moving, family friendly attraction that was supposed to open in 2020. But with the pandemic, this attraction should open in early 2021.
Another major addition to Epcot, will be the new nighttime show Harmonious. Harmonious was also supposed to open in 2020 but now will open in 2021, with plenty of time for the 50th anniversary.
Disney hasn’t released tons of info about the new show, Harmonious but in Disney fashion, it will be a great nighttime show.
A final long overdue addition to Epcot, is the Space 220 restaurant. Space 220 was supposed to open in 2019 but has faced many challenges that has delayed the opening.
The Space 220 restaurant will give Disney guests the opportunity to eat in outer space. This Disney restaurant should open in plenty of time for Disney’s 50th anniversary.
These are just some of the major additions to Epcot but with Epcot’s transformation, there will be many smaller additions too. Epcot will have many great additions you need to check out during Disney World’s 50th anniversary.
Hollywood Studios
In the past several years, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has face many changes. In 2018 and 2019, Hollywood Studios had the biggest expansion ever and introduced Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy Edge.
Both Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy Edge have been open for a little time so hopefully crowds won’t be too bad in these Disney lands during Disney’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Right before the pandemic in March 2020, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Train opened in the renovated Chinese Theater at the center of Hollywood Studios. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway takes you through a Mickey cartoon on a slow, moving family attraction!
As you can see, there have been lots of changes to Hollywood Studios and were not aware of any more major additions in time for Disney World’s 50th anniversary. Be sure to check out all of the relatively new attractions at Hollywood Studios though.
Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is usually the most “quiet” Disney park because it sees the fewest additions, renovations, and live entertainment. With that being said, Animal Kingdom will see very little changes or additions prior to Disney’s 50th anniversary.
The small change to Animal Kingdom is the renovated entrance area. The construction to Animal Kingdom’s entrance, parking, and bag check have been underway for some time so this will surely be done before the 50th anniversary.
Altogether, don’t expect anything crazy for Disney’s 50th anniversary at Animal Kingdom but you should check out Pandora – the World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom.
How is Disney’s 50th anniversary being impacted by COVID?
When Disney World shut down in March, Disney executives have had to scale down plans for Disney’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Disney’s Epcot is undergoing a major renovation but many of the big projects have been delayed or cancelled. For example, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth was supposed to undergo major changes but this project has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing pandemic.
With the pandemic, many of the changes have shifted from new attractions to remodels of older attractions that we love. This has allowed Disney to save on budget while sprucing up the Disney Parks ahead of the 50th anniversary.
While we get new information on Disney World’s 50th anniversary, we’ll make sure to update this post!
When Should You Book Your Disney 50th Anniversary Trip?
Disney vacations can be book approximately 499 days in advance so you can book your Disney World trip NOW!
If you’re looking to be at the Magic Kingdom on October 1, I would recommend booking your trip as soon as possible. If you’re like me, your a Disney fanatic and many Disney fans plan to be at the Magic Kingdom for the 50th anniversary.
Like previous Disney anniversaries, Disney’s 50th celebration will likely span at least a year. If your planning to go to Disney in 2021 or early 2022, consider booking your Disney trip soon!
If your looking for more information on Disney World resorts and what’s right for your family, check out our Disney World Resort Guide!
Disney World 50th Anniversary Overview
Disney’s 50th anniversary will be here before we know it. There will be lots of changes to Disney World to celebration this exciting anniversary.
Make sure to plan your Disney vacation ahead of the 50th, to see all the new Disney additions and have the best Disney World vacation yet!
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What a year it’s been for Disney! I’m so happy that they are pressing on because we NEED that magic to look forward to. I’m so excited for Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy. CANNOT wait!
It’s been many years since we’ve been to Disneyland & Disney World from BC Canada. Sounds like a wonderful Anniversary planned. Let’s hope everything is back to some sort of sense of normality for all of us to travel and enjoy life once again. Sounds like a great time to be had! 🙂