Less than a week before the kickoff of its 70th Anniversary celebration on May 16, Disneyland is busy adding decorations and details around the resort.
Esplanade 70th Anniversary Sculpture
This castle sculpture, honoring the 70th anniversary of Disneyland Resort, will be in the center of the esplanade between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. In our last update, crews had built construction walls and supports for the sculpture after adding colorful panels to the facade. Now, it appears the structure is nearing completion.
Charms representing the five original lands of Disneyland Park have now been added, along with additional spires, flags, and glass panels. Each of the land-inspired pennants are topped with an icon from the specific land. They include the Mark Twain Riverboat for Frontierland, a horse from King Arthur Carrousel for Fantasyland, Space Mountain for Tomorrowland, the Partners statue for Main Street U.S.A., and a Jungle Cruse boat for Adventureland.
Disneyland Park
In our last 70th anniversary decoration update, flags had been added to the roof covering the turnstiles and the Emporium had received art of the Fab Five wearing their new costumes behind the various checkout counters. The “70” medallion has also recently been added to the front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Now, just inside the park, a new “70 Celebrate Happy” sign has been added to the Main Street Station, along with pink and purple swirls in the Mickey flower bed.
The colors of the signage match most of the official items for the anniversary with shades of pink, blue, and gold. The turrets of Sleeping Beauty Castle stick up from the top of the number “70.”
Upon entering the park, guests are now greeted with a “70 Celebrate Happy” sign at the heart of Town Square that should eventually also feature Mickey and Minnie. The lampposts up and down Main Street U.S.A. have also been adorned with 70th decor, including medallions and streamers of gold, pink, purple, and blue.
Colorful draperies have also been added to the roofline down Main Street U.S.A.
The drapes are blue, pink, yellow, and purple. The large yellow section has various stars in the same festive shades.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary details have also been added to the windows of the Emporium. Each has a new frame in celebration colors along with “70” castle cut-out signs. No 70th Anniversary merchandise was showcased in the windows, but that will likely change when the celebration begins.
Inside the Emporium, a 70th standee has appeared in the center of the main room. The sign is attached to a gold base with “Disneyland Resort” written in bronze.
Disney also recently added a “70” medallion to the front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. The medallion hangs on colorful chiffon drapery and is surrounded by blue and pink filigree. The golden “70” sits against a blue and pink floral design. Now, the banners lining the castle’s bridge have been changed to reflect the original concept art. The lamppost banners leading to the castle are magenta with golden trim. At the top of each is a small triangular banner in deep blue dotted with golden stars. A small, round 70 medallion should be added upon each according to the concept art.
The Golden Horseshoe restaurant received a themed scrim at the end of March. Now, we now that this was due to the additional text being added to the signage. The location’s sign now has “Celebrating 70 Years” written underneath the restaurant’s name.
Disney California Adventure
Over in Disney California Adventure, 70th Anniversary decor has started going up, as well. Near the entrance to the park and along Buena Vista Street, several of the colorful draped banners have been added.
70th decor including medallions and streamers of gold, pink, purple, and blue have been added to the lampposts in the area, just like the ones down Main Street U.S.A.
Another “70 Celebrate Happy” medallion has been added to a planter near Carthay Circle.
Carthay Circle has also received some 70th decor after being hidden behind a scrim. A blue banner with the “70 Celebrate Happy” medallion has been added to the facade. The restaurant’s marquee now reads “A 70th Celebration World Premiere.”
Festive 70th Anniversary banners have been added along Hollywood Boulevard. One side of the banner features the “70 Disneyland” logo along with Disney California Adventure park icons, colorful stars, and diamond shapes.
Some of the banners feature Goofy and Pluto, while others showcase Donald and Daisy Duck. The characters are situated above and below the “Celebrate Happy” wordmark.
The Disneyland Monorail has a new wrap in honor of the event. Other 70th anniversary offerings include limited-time menu items, special merchandise, and themed PhotoPass lenses. The Paint the Night parade, “Wondrous Journeys” nighttime spectacular, and Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration parade will return.
New entertainment includes the “Tapestry of Happiness” projection show at “it’s a small world,” The Celebrate Happy Cavalcade featuring Duffy, “World of Color Happiness!” with a Muppets pre-show, and “Celebrate Happy” at the Carthay Circle Theater.
Are you planning a Disneyland trip during the 70th Anniversary celebration? Let us know in the comments.
For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.