Wednesday, February 24, 2021

WDW 50th Anniversary Details

There are only 220 more days until Walt Disney World officially turns 50.  The WDW 50th anniversary celebration is something I've been looking forward to for years.  As we get closer to the event, more and more details are expected to be released.

Like many other Disney fans, Eliot and I have been anxiously awaiting the news of what they have planned.  Last Friday, Disney finally released some of their 50th anniversary plans on Good Morning America for what they're dubbing "The World's Most Magical Celebration" which will officially start on it's October 1st birthday.  There still aren't many details, but we do finally see a few ways of how they're incorporating the iridescent shimmering 50th anniversary logo.

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In fact, the WDW 50th anniversary is such a big deal that Disney has made a new word to describe the shimmer and sparkle of the decorations- "EARidescence."  I'm all about shimmer and sparkle so I'm 100% fully on board with this.  But I digress... 

First, Disney released photos of the Cinderella Castle updates.  Then, it appears as if Tinker Bell flies by to add a little extra pixie dust and sparkle in the form of golden ribbons around the turrets, some sashes and a large 50th medallion.  I was already a fan of the updated color scheme and I can't wait to see how it looks with the added anniversary decor.  It's both beautiful and elegant.  I was really impressed with the Disneyland 60th decor on Sleeping Beauty Castle and I can't wait to see this!

The other renderings released were images of each of the park icons.  At night, each icon will be lit with special lighting in order for them to become Beacons of Magic.  I really recommend you going to the Disney Parks Blog where they show short animated videos of these icons.  It will give you a better idea of how the projections will look!

Cinderella Castle looks like it's covered with an extra sprinkling of pixie dust.

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The Tree of Light at Animal Kingdom has fireflies with blue, teal and purple lights.

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The Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios has golden details.  I'm assuming that all of it's anniversary "decor" will be projected and only visible at night time.

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Epcot's Spaceship Earth looks like it's color scheme will be updated in shades of blue, teal and purple.  It also has a new lighting system that will make it's reflective surface look like stars.  According to the Disney Parks Blog, the new star lighting will be a permanent fixture and will remain after the 50th celebration is over.

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Finally, Disney also released photos of Mickey and Minnie's special "EARidescent" 50th anniversary outfits.  They have beautiful shades of blue, teal and purple, purple Castle embroidery details, rhinestones and gold accents... and I am obsessed.  I hope they make little Mickey and Minnie plushies that match these outfits.  I also want an adult sized version of Minnie's dress for myself, but I'd settle for something similar.

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Even though I've temporarily stopped making ear hats, I immediately started to look for supplies to make hats of their outfits.  You might recall that I made Eliot and I hats to match their Disneyland 60th outfits.  I'd also like to have ear hats of these costumes to display with the WDW 50th merchandise that we're sure to be purchasing.  Hopefully, we'll be able to take pictures of us wearing them with Mickey and Minnie!

Most importantly, the celebration is going to be 18 months long much like the other celebrations in the past.  I'm so thankful, because we aren't 100% sure when we'll be able to go.  I've been at Walt Disney World during the 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 45th anniversary years, so I'd really like to be there for the 50th.

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In fact, Eliot and I had talked about going down for the actual 50th anniversary this October, but the Magic Kingdom is already "sold out" for that day.  We've decided to stay away from the park that week due to the pandemic and it probably being super crowded, but we'd still like to go sometime during the celebration.  

Screencap of Mickey's Jacket Detail from Video Above

After hearing the news Friday, Eliot and I talked about going sooner than we had been planning.  We've been talking about going for the Festival of the Arts next year since we really missed it this year.  But Eliot mentioned going during the holidays to see the holiday decor... so maybe we'll go for the holidays as well?  I guess time will tell.

Regardless, I'm sure we'll get down there at some point during the celebration.  The decor, renderings and the concepts all look and sound incredible.  Plus, I'm pretty obsessed with iridescence and I love blues, teals and purples.  I'm going to start saving money for the merchandise now because I'm sure it's going to be amazing and I'm going to want everything.  After all, this is a celebration 50 years in the making.  °o°

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