Things are getting really exciting for Disney in October! (Disney world 50th anniversary overview)

     It's amazing that Disney World has been around for 50 years, but as of October 1, 2021, the Magic Kingdom down in Orlando will be 50 years old. To celebrate this occasion, they're pulling out quite a few stops. A lot of the things that they had planned to do for this celebration they aren't really able to do yet since Covid-19 caused a lot of things to get pushed back, but we will hopefully get to see what they'll come up with before the end of this 18-month period. Today I'd like to provide a short overview of all the new stuff that's coming this year, specifically to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, though don't think that is the only park to be receiving new additions.

All in the Name of Magic!

    Magic Kingdom is really the land that is being celebrated, as EPCOT, the second park to be built in Florida, wouldn't be opened for another 11 years following the grand opening of the area. As such, Magic Kingdom is getting a lot of the attention, so we'll start there. The big thing that's happening in this park is that we're getting a new nighttime fireworks show, "Disney Enchantment," which will be utilizing projections not only on the castle, but also along the storefronts down Main Street USA. While this isn't anything super revolutionary, as they've had a show utilizing Main Street for a few years in Disneyland, I'm just excited to have that effect working in a park that's just a tiny bit closer to home. This new show is seemingly temporary to celebrate the 50th, and after that it will probably go back to "Happily Ever After." It's not confirmed that it's just a temporary replacement, but it seems unlikely that the current show would be retired after premiering in 2017, following "Wishes," the previous show which had a 14-year run started in 2003. To have only a four-year run, and one that didn't even run most of last year or the beginning of this year due to Covid, seems like it would be a waste of time and money, especially since "Happily Ever After" is so good. This new show for the 50th will most likely be in place for 18 months, as the company website says that this celebration will run for that long. In addition to this new show, Mickey and friends will be getting some spiffy new duds, dubbed "EARidescent," to celebrate, as well as getting a new parade, "Mickey's Celebration Cavalcade." They've been doing more "Cavalcades" or mini parades like this since social distancing policies have been in effect to allow people to still see characters without having the usual Meet and Greet experiences. Though they are having this celebration, which should be a lot of fun, they're trying their best to keep people safe while doing so.

    Over at EPCOT, The new show will finally begin its run, as "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth" finished showing in 2019, and since then, a show called "Epcot Forever" has been running as a placeholder while they prepared for the new permanent nightly fireworks show, "Harmonious." Though not much is known about the show other than the three large rings and stages floating out in the middle of the World Showcase Lagoon, Disney has previously described it as one of the largest firework shows to ever be in a Disney Park, so it will almost surely be something pretty spectacular. Epcot will also finally see the opening of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, a trackless ride based on Pixar's "Ratatouille" which previously opened in Disneyland Paris. This will also be opening along with the new fireworks on October 1st, meaning that Epcot will be especially hopping, I would imagine. Obviously this is exciting just by being a new ride, but also this is only the third trackless dark ride in Walt Disney World, following Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Rise of the Resistance, which makes me very excited to try it out.

    At Animal Kingdom, there's less fanfare, but there is a new daytime show also starting on October 1, called "Disney KiteTails." As the name suggests, this show will be featuring many giant kites flying through the sky of the Discovery River Amphitheater, which is also the home to the Animal Kingdom's night time show, "Rivers of Light." These kites will depict many different animals during the show from Simba to King Louie, and some of the kites will be as large as 30 feet long. There isn't a lot else going on in Animal Kingdom for the celebration as far as I can tell, other than the things happening in all four parks, of which there are several..

Not All Magic is Park Exclusive!

    As part of the "Most Magical Celebration On Earth," all of the parks are having a few transformations and surprises inserted, even while Hollywood Studios isn't getting any major changes. Over all four parks, there will be 50 statues made of classic and favorite characters placed around. This will be a kind of scavenger hunt for people to go around and see, and it seems like it'll be interesting to see which characters they place where, and even what characters they will be including. Personally I hope they'll have some characters that we haven't seen in a while because of attractions that have closed, but we'll just have to wait and see. The other thing that all of the parks are doing comes in the form of "Beacons of Magic." All of the park centerpieces at night time are being affected by the "EARidescent magic," making them shine to reflect different elements of the park. Cinderella Castle is going to be surrounded by "pixie dust," while Spaceship Earth is going to be sparkling with stars, which apparently is going to be a permanent change to the attraction. I love the idea behind these improved lights for the celebration, though I do think they may be putting a bit too much stock into them unless they end up being something really spectacular to see, which they very well may be. Of course, that's spread out over all four parks, with the two aforementioned landmarks in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, Hollywood Studios will have the Tower of Terror lit up to reflect the style of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life will receive a similar treatment and glow with magical fireflies. There are surely going to be many more things in store during the 18 months that this celebration is going to take place, but that's all that I could find as of right now. October 1st is going to be packed at Disney World, and for good reason. I'm not sure how long all of the park reservations and tickets have been sold out, but I've heard that it's been sold out for a good little while. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to visit while the celebration is happening.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends! I hope you've all had a good week! Is there a character that you would like to see a statue of as part of the 50 around the parks? Let me know in the comments! Personally, I would like to see John from Carousel of Progress or maybe Figment near Journey Into Imagination. I think Figment is pretty likely as the little purple dragon is one of the few recognizable characters original to Epcot, but we'll just have to see! Thanks again for reading this, I've been your Self-Proclaimed Disney fan, and I'll talk to ya real soon!