Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebration has now begun in California, and I had the chance to spend a week there courtesy of Disney Parks and learned so much about what the year-long event entails. It’s amazing that it’s been 70 years already. As a local, I remember the 60th anniversary “Diamond Celebration” 10 years ago, which feels like a much different park in hindsight.
Back then,Galaxy’s Edge, Pixar Pier, and Avengers Campus didn’t exist, and rides like Guardians of the Galaxy and Tiana’s Bayou were themed differently. So much has changed, but that’s befitting Walt Disney’s vision of an ever-changing park. “Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world,” Disney once said. And now, 70 years on, there’s even more to celebrate with the upcoming anniversary.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Info
Disneyland’s 70th anniversary officially began on May 16 and will run through summer 2026. It’s meant to be more than a year long and encompass celebrations across both parks, Downtown Disney, and the Disneyland Hotel, in particular. While the last major anniversary was themed around a diamond jubilee, this time it’s all about happiness.
Disneyland’s famous slogan of the park being the “happiest place on Earth” has been used since the beginning (since that fateful “Black Sunday”), so it makes sense to center the 70th’s theme around happiness. This carries through the colorful decor around the entire resort, the new and updated parades, the new World of Color show, and the various food and merchandise that is meant to evoke a sense of contentment.
Disneyland Hotel
In addition to the Disneyland 70th anniversary, theDisneyland Hotelis also celebrating 70 years of operation. The hotel, created by Jack Wrather and Maria Helen Alvarez, opened in 1955 with just eight rooms and was operated by the Wrather Corporation for decades. Eventually Disney purchased the entire company after Jack Wrather passed away in 1988, bringing the hotel under the Walt Disney Company.
Over the years, the hotel expanded to include multiple towers, a vacation club, a convention center, a large pool area, and perhaps one of the most famous dining options in the resort: Trader Sam’s. The hotel now boasts over 1,300 rooms, including the ultra-expensive, luxury rooms like the Mickey Mouse Penthouse.
If you’re not interested in going into the park during the 70th celebration, but still want to get a taste of the festivities, you can visit the Disneyland Hotel and see much of the decor for yourself, purchase Disneyland 70th merchandise and food, and perhaps sample Trader Sam’s brand-new breakfast options (the restaurant now opens at 8am). And if you want something beyond food, Broken Spell — a full-service bar located in the convention center — is a great place to lounge and have a drink.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Merchandise
Far and away, the biggest thing about Disneyland’s 70th anniversary is the merchandise. Clothes, ears, backpacks, trinkets, pins, water bottles… there are exciting goods everywhere, but of course the cost will need to be considered as well. Below are some of the coolest merch we saw on our trip.
Something to note: you don’t need to have access to the parks to buy most of the merchandise. Several things are sold at World of Disney, Disney Home, Star Wars Trading Post, and even at the Disneyland Hotel. The two shops at the hotel, as well as The Coffee House, carry severs 70th anniversary goods. If you have time, I recommend checking out those locations before going into the park, especially if you then have time to drop off the merch at a hotel room or your car.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Food
Theme park food can be expensive but great, and Disneyland has never been an exception to that rule. Every year, multiple times per year, the park has unique themed items available for people to try. There’s a lot this time around — so much so that there’s something special at virtually every place you go in the park.
Overall, you could spend days upon days, and hundreds upon hundreds of dollars, sampling all the food, sweets, and drinks in both Disneyland and California Adventure. But if you’re looking for specific items to get the best experience out of your visit, I suggest going for the classics.
Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure Parades & Shows
Both parks include small updates to rides like It’s A Small World and Toy Story Mania, as well as updates to famous shows and parades like Paint The Night and World Of Color.
Coco has been added to It’s A Small World ride — specifically, Miguel and Dante figures — for the 70th anniversary, but perhaps also as setup for the return of Plaza de la Familia at Disney California Adventure later this summer. And there are unique, 70th anniversary targets for people to hit on Toy Story Mania, which by the time the event ends in 2026, Pixar will be celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Related:All 9 Lands At Disneyland, Ranked
MagicBand+
If you have MagicBand+, there are five quick activations in the park — Main Street Cinema, Silver Spur Supplies, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Skipper Lockers, and Autopia — that you may use your band at and receive a unique ticket to take home. However, there have been times already that the ticket booth is out of tickets to distribute, due to overwhelming demand. If that’s the case, you may have to return later or another day.
Each ticket is themed to the location the kiosk is at. The one we tried was at Main Street Cinema, as it was the closest one to the entrance of the park — and it was the least crowded at the time!
Disneyland Parades & World Of Color
Moreover, Paint The Night is back with the Frozen float returning after years away. But if you want to check out a parade before nighttime rolls around, you should head to Main Street in Disneyland around midday for Mickey and Friends Celebrate Happy Calvacade, a short, 5-to-10-minute parade that features Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Aladdin, Genie, and Hook, as well as Disney Princess like Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Merida.
And while all of that is great, the biggest and best show happens to be a California Adventure. The new World Of Color Happiness water show is incredible, to say the least. It runs 30 minutes (or a tad longer because of a new introduction) and it’s the culmination of everything Disney Parks has learned over the past 15 years of having this show.
Here are some things to know about it:
The Disneyland 70th anniversary celebration is going on now and, again, will last through summer 2026, so don’t worry about booking your reservation immediately; there’s plenty of time and so much to see.
