Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration lights up night sky

Walt Disney officially opened the doors to Disneyland on July 17, 1955. That anniversary is being celebrated by a year-long Disneyland Diamond Celebration that features upgrades on three familiar attractions, more than 500 new pieces of merchandise and special giveaways.

Disney said Disneyland was “something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing … and adding to.” That’s exactly what he did until his death in 1966.

Disney Imagineers are constantly looking to improve the park while continuing to tell the story Walt Disney first imagined.

“How do we keep it relevant but also blend with our traditions and our heritage?,” says Mary Niven, vice president of Disneyland Park. “That’s why we are still going strong after 60 years at the Disneyland Park. The Imagineers found that balance we are looking for.”

Work on getting the park ready for the 60th anniversary started in 2012, just after expansion on California Adventure wrapped up with the opening of Cars Land and the Little Mermaid ride.

Three major upgrades have been completed for nighttime attractions:

▪ “Paint the Night,” is a new after-hours electrical parade that features an updated soundtrack and special effects. The parade includes characters from “Toy Story,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Monsters, Inc.” and others.

▪  “Disneyland Forever” blends traditional fireworks with projections in the park.

▪ “World of Color – Celebrate!” is the updated version of the water show at California Adventure. Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse host a show projected on walls of water that pays tribute to Walt Disney.

So far, more than 700 million guests have visited Disneyland and that number will rise this year. Here’s what visitors can expect as part of the Diamond Celebration.

SKY HIGH ATTRACTION

Guests will twist their necks to see all of the elements of the light show that make up the new fireworks display at Disneyland. Not only are there massive explosions in the night sky, but the production includes projections on Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the Matterhorn and on all of the shops that line the Main Street area.

This 360-degree version of the nighttime display both continues the work Walt Disney promised decades ago and helps mark a major milestone for the Southern California theme park.

Sayre Wiseman, the executive of parades & spectaculars at Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, has been with the company since 1992 and believes the combination of the new parade with the changes to the firework show have created something unique for visitors.

“We are really proud of the fireworks. We are pushing the limits to make it very immersive. You have projection mapping all over the park, including Small World, Fantasmic, Matterhorn, Main Street and the Castle. We also have effects on the roof.”

The visual elements match the music. When music from “The Lion King” plays, images of animals seemingly walking to Pride Rock are projected on all of the locations. The images change with the music, which includes selections from “Frozen,” “Mary Poppins” and other Disney films.

In the past, bad weather would cancel fireworks shows. But the new design means that while there may not be fireworks, a portion of the parade will still happen.

GUEST HOSTS

The team behind the revamping of the water show at California Adventure knew they wanted to add a host. They ended up adding two with Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse.

Getting Harris to be part of the production was easy. Harris says that Disneyland has been a part of his life since he was a child and is excited to be part of the entertainment options.

Harris filmed his role immediately after he completed his hosting duties for this year’s Oscars.

Among the new visual elements added to the show are tributes to “Frozen” and “Star Wars.”

“PETER PAN” COMPLEX

The Peter Pan ride in Fantasyland and The Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square were both scheduled to be revamped and opened in time for the anniversary celebration. The ghosts who haunt the mansion have been given a new look. But delays mean that Peter Pan will not be running again until July 1.

Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, a producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, says part of the changes at the Haunted Mansion include an appearance by the Hatbox Ghost. The attraction was part of the original ride in 1969, but the illusion never quite worked.

“Fans knew he existed. So, for 45 years this legend and lore has been built up around this character,” Shaver-Moskowitz says. “He was one of the most popular characters in the mansion even though he wasn’t there.”

The team decided that the Diamond Celebration was the perfect time to bring him back.

It’s been 30 years since any changes were made to Peter Pan.

Larry Nikolai, creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, and his team were delayed on their plans to upgrade Peter Pan because of the age of the building that houses the attraction. Plans had to be altered when a wall was taken down and the team found pipes and wiring that had to be moved.

MAKING IT BIGGER

When the Main Street Electrical Parade launched in 1977, it featured thousands of tiny Christmas tree lights wrapped around frameworks to create the floats. That technology has been updated and the new parade features large screens where animated elements can be shown.

Everyone of the 1.5 million LED lights on the new parade are individually controlled, which means the lighting can change as needed. Each float controls all of the costumes around it individually.

Randy Wojcik, at Walt Disney Imagineering, says the new parade is a next generation electrical parade but pays homage to the original parade. Those nods range from a base drum at the beginning to some sampling of the original theme song, “Baroque Hoedown.”

SPECIAL GIFTS

The Disneyland Diamond Days Sweepstakes includes daily and weekly prizes. And, it’s not just a small pin or stuffed animal. Some park guests will walk away with a 1- or 2-carat diamond.

Other giveaways include a tailgate party in Cars Land, a romantic cruise on the Mark Twain and a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite.

NOT DONE YET

The Disney Diamond Celebration began May 22, but work has already started on the next big event.

Niven won’t give away what’s on the planning boards, but says: “One of the great things about Disney is that we are constantly looking at what our future will look like. What’s next on the horizon. … Disneyland will never be complete.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration lights up night sky."