Disney News

Tag: anniversary

  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios Celebrates 31st Birthday amid COVID-19 Closure

    Disney’s Hollywood Studios Celebrates 31st Birthday amid COVID-19 Closure

    Hollywood Studios is celebrating its 31st anniversary today and to celebrate, Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro visited the iconic park and made the now-empty space a little louder.

    The Disney Parks Blog posted on its Instagram a video of D’Amaro saying he’s heard from many people asking how it sounds inside the Disney parks, so for just a few minutes, he wanted to share a little music and magic from inside Hollywood Studios with the world on its birthday.

    Take a look at the video below:

    The video ends with D’Amaro saying he can’t wait for the time when he can share the parks with everyone.

    Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened to the public on May 1, 1989, as Disney-MGM Studios.

  • ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition’ To Honor Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary

    ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition’ To Honor Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary

    Everyone’s favorite mouse is celebrating his 90th birthday this year and the celebrations   are ubiquitous. Today, Disney announced that ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition,’ an interactive art exhibit, will open in New York in honor of the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse.

    The 16,000-square-foot interactive experience will feature original work from renowned and emerging contemporary artists. Before the official opening in November, three artists will preview their installations in three pop-up locations across the country. The installations pay tribute to three iconic pieces of Mickey Mouse merchandise that have withstood the test of time – the Mickey Mouse watch, tee-shirt, and plush.

    In this exhibit you’ll be able to walk through the evolution of reimagined Mickey moments, from his Steamboat Willie days to the icon we know today. To begin the 90-day countdown, new brand and product collaborations spanning fashion, food, consumer electronics, toys, accessories and more are now available worldwide.

    This magical exhibit will be curated by designer Darren Romanelli and will showcase the talents of many contemporary artists including Kenny Scharf, Amanda Ross-Ho, and Shinique Smith. Before the grand opening in November, these talented artists are giving us a little taste of what’s in store! Scharf, Ross-Ho, and Smith will preview their installations in three pop-up locations across the country, each of which pay tribute to iconic Mickey Mouse merch through the ages.

    “As Walt said, ‘I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse.’ From ‘The True Original Exhibition’ to a year-long celebration in our parks around the world, we are honoring the deep connection that families and fans have made with Mickey and Minnie Mouse for nearly a century.” said Bob Chapek, Chairman of Disney Parks.

    “Mickey: The True Original Exhibition” runs from November 8, 2018 through February 10, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 60 10th Avenue, New York.

  • Happy Birthday Disneyland! The “Happiest Place on Earth” Celebrates 63 Years of Magic

    Happy Birthday Disneyland! The “Happiest Place on Earth” Celebrates 63 Years of Magic

    On this day in 1955, the “Happiest Place on Earth” opened its doors for the first time and now Disneyland celebrates its 63rd anniversary!

    The original Disney theme park celebrates another year during its first-ever Pixar Fest. The “Happiest March on Earth” included 63 Disney characters, Dapper Dans barbershop quartet, and the Disneyland Resort Ambassadors marching down Main Street U.S.A.

    Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955 to over 31,000 specially invited guests, including; Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, Bob Cummings, the Mouseketeers, Frank Sinatra, California Governor Goodwin J. Knight and Walt Disney who uttered the immortal words, “To all who come to this happy place, welcome…”

    When the theme park opened it was hailed by many as the eighth wonder of the world and admission was $1 including tax for adults and 50 cents for children under 12. To take in all the attractions at Disneyland guests, priced at 15 to 50 cents, it cost an adult $8.70 and a child $5.15.

    It was broadcasted on ABC and it was the biggest live telecast to date! The following day, Disneyland officially opened to the public. Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California on what used to be a 160-acre orange orchard, cost $17 million to build. The original park included Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.

  • Today In Disney History: ‘it’s a small world’ Opens 52 Years Ago at Disneyland Park

    Today In Disney History: ‘it’s a small world’ Opens 52 Years Ago at Disneyland Park

    52 years ago today, It’s A Small World opened in Fantasyland at Disneyland. Also stylized as “it’s a small world,” the interior boat ride features 297 animated children, 256 toys, a canal filled with 233,000 gallons of water, and the 30-foot tall kinetic clock tower centerpiece, which puts on a show every 15 minutes as a parade of characters mark the time with pomp and fanfare.

    Following its run as one of the four Walt Disney-developed attractions at the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York, “it’s a small world” was shipped piece by piece to Disneyland, where it debuted in Fantasyland on May 28, 1966.

    Walt was joined at the opening ceremonies that day by over 50 foreign consulate representatives along with children wearing the traditional dress of many countries. Some of these children helped Walt pour water collected from every ocean plus major rivers and bodies of water from around the world into the flume, truly symbolizing the attraction’s theme of global unity.

    it’s a small world

    It was the park’s first continually loading high-capacity ride. The day was marked by special ceremonies attended by Walt Disney himself in which water from all over the world is poured into the attraction’s moat.

    Showcasing the classic work of Disney Legends including art director Mary Blair and costume designer Alice Davis, with an unforgettable theme song by the Sherman Brothers, the Disneyland version of “it’s a small world” famously introduced the gleaming white and gold-tinged facade, incorporating legendary international landmarks.

    Disneyland threw another grand opening celebration for the attraction two days later. It’s A Small World proved to be so popular that versions were later added at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.

  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios Celebrates 29 Years Today

    Disney’s Hollywood Studios Celebrates 29 Years Today

    Places, everyone! Today, Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrates 29 years of Hollywood glamour and glitz right in the heart of Florida. Here’s a look at the park’s entrance 29 year’s ago with its original moniker, Disney-MGM Studios, on its marquee.

    Nearly three decades later, the park is in the middle of an exciting multi-year transformation, expanding to add two new lands where guests will become part of their favorite stories and create their own exhilarating adventures: Toy Story Land, which will debut to guests this June 30, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is set to open in 2019. Work is also underway on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction, our first Mickey-themed ride-through attraction, set to open in 2019.

    Toy Story Land

    When the park opened, there were nine attractions for guests to enjoy: Backstage Studio Tour, Catastrophe Canyon, Disney Classics Theater, The Great Movie Ride, The Magic of Disney Animation, The Monster Sound Show, Residential Street, SuperStar Television and Hollywood! Hollywood! at Theater of the Stars. Here’s a unique look at Hollywood Blvd. just prior to opening day.

    Hollywood Studios Opening

    Still after 29 years of showbiz, there’s always a chance you’ll have a celebrity sighting while visiting the park. (Ok, world-famous character celebrity – but it counts!)

    Hollywood Studios Opening

    Happy Anniversary, Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Here’s to another 29 dazzling years.

  • Disney Celebrate 90 Years of Mickey Mouse with the ‘World’s Biggest Mouse Party’

    Disney Celebrate 90 Years of Mickey Mouse with the ‘World’s Biggest Mouse Party’

    Mickey Mouse may be tuning 90 this year, but he still a kid a heart!  To celebrate this momentous occasion Disney announced today the launch of a world-wide celebration honoring 90 years of Mickey Mouse.

    Since his big-screen debut in Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928, Mickey has been the global ambassador for The Walt Disney Company. The cross-company festivities will continue through 2018 and beyond and will include an exclusive fashion show, a new television special, a celebration at Disney parks and resorts and much more.

    The party kicks off on March 7 with “The Happiest Show on Earth”—a runway fashion event featuring a Mickey-inspired collection designed by couture brand Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The show will also serve as Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2018 runway show and close out fashion week celebrations around the world. Select items from the Mickey collaboration will be immediately available for sale following the runway show at shopDisney.com, while the remaining ready-to-wear looks will hit stores in November. The iconic story of Minnie Mouse, who shares this milestone anniversary with Mickey and recently received her official star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, will also be celebrated at the fashion show.

    Disney’s collaboration with Opening Ceremony will serve as the launch of “Mickey the True Original”—a global celebration of Mickey’s heritage, personality and status as a pop-culture icon. The campaign will come to life through fashion collaborations with other true original brands, as well as engaging content and events that embrace Mickey’s impact on the past, present and future.

    The celebration continues throughout 2018 and beyond:

    • This fall, ABC will air a star-studded celebration of Mickey in honor of his birthday, with special guests, musical performances and more.
    • Disney Channel will debut season five of the Mickey Mouse animated shorts, taking the series total to more than 90 shorts, including a special seven-minute extended-length birthday episode that will air later this year.
    • Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world will celebrate Mickey’s 90th on November 18, marking the day with commemorative merchandise, photo locations and more.
    • Beginning in late 2018 and into 2019 the World’s Biggest Mouse Party, saluting Mickey and Minnie, will take place at Disney Parks worldwide.
    • Disney On Ice will salute Mickey as the “True Original” host of Disney On Ice since its inception in 1981 by creating Mickey’s 90th pre-shows for productions touring the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
    • Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Special Celebration, a new production showcasing Mickey Mouse’s memories throughout the years, will launch in Japan in July 2018 and continue touring throughout the Asia-Pacific region until August 2019.
    • In France, 38 design and art schools will take part in “Mickey Is Art,” a unique contest in which students will craft works of Mickey, inspired by their favorite artistic movement. The winning designs will be displayed this summer in 12 major train stations in France and for sale this September at Galerie Glénat in Paris.
    • Disney store will continue to celebrate milestone moments for Mickey Mouse with the Mickey Mouse Memories Collection (launched Jan. 2018), a monthly, limited-release series of 12 collectible plush, mugs and cloisonné pins inspired by Mickey’s most memorable movie roles.
    • Disney Publishing Worldwide will introduce more than 30 titles globally as part of Mickey’s 90th, including books, arts & crafts and comics.

    In addition, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club will be celebrating Mickey’s 90th throughout 2018:

    • D23 and the Walt Disney Archives, in partnership with Walt Disney Animation Studios, have commissioned legendary Disney animator Mark Henn to paint Mickey’s official 90th birthday portrait. Henn follows in the footsteps of artists such as Disney Legend John Hench, who crafted five of Mickey’s official portraits. Henn animated Mickey for Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and is currently at work on Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018). The new portrait will debut on the cover of the fall issue of Disney twenty-three, a quarterly publication from D23.
    • This November, D23 will present Destination D: Celebrating Mickey Mouse, a two-day event at Walt Disney World Resort featuring panels, presentations and fun-filled entertainment.
    • This year’s annual D23 Gold Member gift is an exclusive box set of 23 special Mickey Mouse mementos—authentic reproductions of such treasured keepsakes as pages from the script of Steamboat Willie and a miniature animation cel from Parade of the Award Nominees (1932).

    Mickey’s birthday is celebrated in honor of the release of his first theatrical film, Steamboat Willie, on November 18, 1928, at the Colony Theatre in New York City. Since then, he has starred in more than 100 cartoons and can currently be seen on Disney Channel in the Mickey Mouse cartoon series and on Disney Junior in Mickey and the Roadster Racers.

    To join the conversation on social, fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #Mickey90.

  • Marvel Studios Kicks Off The Marvel Cinematic Universe 10-Year Anniversary Celebration

    Marvel Studios Kicks Off The Marvel Cinematic Universe 10-Year Anniversary Celebration

    Marvel Studios kicked off its year-long Marvel Cinematic Universe 10-Year anniversary celebration Wednesday with an iconic class photo featuring talent and filmmakers from over the last ten years.

    On the set of Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” a group of more than 80 actors and filmmakers all came together to memorialize the last ten years with a photo and to celebrate the accomplishments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    An impressive group of Super Hero talent and filmmakers from the past 10 years of MCU was assembled, including everyone from Robert Downey Jr. to Samuel L. Jackson and from Kevin Feige to Stan Le.

    Take a look below at a video from the photo shoot. Even the super stars were fanboying over the massive amount of celebrities.

    Commemorating the anniversary, Marvel plans to offer up exclusive consumer products and collectibles, in-theater events and more in the coming months leading to Avengers: Infinity War. The Marvel 10-Year Sweepstakes will take place across social media and last for five weeks, from February 8 to March 15. Each week of the sweepstakes features a different Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Fans can post a photo of themselves on Twitter or Instagram and/or tweet their favorite personal memory from the film of the week using the film hashtag and #Marvel10YearSweepstakes to be entered for a chance to win.

    Each week, a drawing will take place and a winner will be selected. The weekly winner will receive the Ultimate Marvel Fan prize package, including Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” set visit; Marvel Studios visit and tour; tickets to Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” premiere; all transportation and lodging; and more. Full prize details, information on how to enter and official sweepstakes rules can be found at: www.marvel.com/10YearSweepstakes

    Marvel Studios’ 10th anniversary begins with the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” and covers an impressive decade of Marvel Studios’ blockbusters released from 2008 through the “Avengers” untitled film in 2019. In celebration of the anniversary, fans can expect exclusive consumer products and collectibles, along with in-theater events and much more in the coming months.

    Marvel Studios’ unprecedented success over the last ten years is reflected in its cumulative box-office receipts of over $13.5 billion worldwide. Legions of fans—both old and new—have enjoyed the live-action exploits of favorite Marvel Super Heroes in films that express the unique vision and creativity of the filmmakers, and deliver spectacle and thrilling action with relatable characters.

  • Tokyo Disneyland Reveals Plans For 35th Anniversary Celebration

    Tokyo Disneyland Reveals Plans For 35th Anniversary Celebration

    It’s hard to imagine but, Tokyo Disneyland has been open now for 35 years. What’s easy to imagine is the over the top magical celebration Disney is going to have to commemorate the occasion.  The special anniversary event, “Tokyo Disney Resort 35th ‘Happiest Celebration!’” will take place from April 15, 2018 through March 25, 2019.

    The celebration marks the 35th anniversary of the Grand Opening of Tokyo Disneyland Park and will including an all-new daytime parade and much more. Guests visiting the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Parks will be able to experience the happiest time ever with the Disney Friends and Cast Members during this milestone year. Tokyo Disneyland Park opened its gates on April 15, 1983 and grew from a single theme park into a resort that now includes Tokyo DisneySea Park, four Disney hotels and more.

    The celebration kicks off at Tokyo Disneyland Park with the premiere of “Dreaming Up!,” a brand new daytime parade which takes Guests to a world of fantasy and imagination. Also at Tokyo Disneyland will be the reopening of the newly enhanced attraction “it’s a small world” with the addition of almost 40 new figures based on characters from Disney films, and Main Street in World Bazaar will be transformed into Celebration Street for the duration of the event. At Tokyo DisneySea the celebration begins with a new show, “Happiest Celebration on the Sea,” where the Disney Characters dressed in new costumes welcome Guests to celebrate the anniversary.

    From July 10, the new nighttime spectacular, “Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland” will
    premiere at Cinderella Castle. This performance incorporates projection mapping, music, lasers, water cannons and more for a show on a grander scale than ever before experienced in the Park.

    Also at Tokyo Disneyland, a new show titled “Let’s Party Gras” will open at Theatre Orleans,
    while Tokyo DisneySea will present “Hello, New York!” a new show at Dockside Stage.
    Both Parks will be decked out in an array of colors for the anniversary year, and Guests
    will discover Happiest Mickey Spots throughout the Parks. In addition to special merchandise and special menu items for the 35th anniversary, there will be a shop specializing in the classic Tokyo Disney Resort souvenir, Chocolate Crunch, opening at Tokyo Disneyland for a limited period only.

    The Disney hotels will feature decorations and special room amenities themed to the 35th
    anniversary, and Guests can enjoy special programs, menus and merchandise during this period. The Disney Resort Line monorail trains will also be decorated to commemorate the 35th anniversary, adding to the excitement around Tokyo Disney Resort.

    Tokyo Disney Resort has continued to be a place filled with happy moments where people of all ages can have magical experiences, a place “where dreams come true.” In 2018, Tokyo Disney Resort will create even more happiness and even brighter dreams as it celebrates 35 years of fun and joy with the “Happiest Celebration!”

  • Mark Hamill Pays Tribute to Carrie Fisher on the Anniversary of Her Death

    Mark Hamill Pays Tribute to Carrie Fisher on the Anniversary of Her Death

    On the one year anniversary of beloved Carrie Fisher’s death, Mark Hamill is remembering his Star Wars costar with a very some very touching words.

    Quoting a piece of dialogue from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Fisher’s final film in the franchise, Hamill wrote on Instagram “No one’s ever really gone” followed by the hashtags #AlwaysWithUs and #CarrieOnForever.

    No one’s ever really gone… #AlwaysWithUs #CarrieOnForever

    A post shared by Mark Hamill (@hamillhimself) on

    The post was accompanied by photos of Hamill and Fisher as well as a sketch of Fisher famously flipping the bird as she holds her beloved dog Gary.

    Hamill and Fisher became close when they were both rising stars after meeting on the first Star Wars in 1977.

    Hamill and Fisher starred in the original three Star Wars films in the 1970s and 1980s, and they finally reunited in the latest movies, 2015’s The Force Awakens and the latest film The Last Jedi, which is dedicated to her memory.

    Fisher had several poignant moments with the whole cast, including her daughter Billie Lourd. The young actress made her debut in the 2015 Star Wars movie The Force Awakens alongside her mother.

    Lourd also remembered the actress on Instagram, revealing that she traveled to Norway to honor her mother.

    “Star Trek” icon William Shatner, who often engaged in playful public battles with Fisher about whose franchise was better, also shared a photo on Twitter of him and Fisher.


    Many celebrities and fans shared heartfelt messages about Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars.” Fisher died at age 60 just two days after Christmas in 2016, following a heart attack she had on a flight from London to Los Angeles.