The 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World is in 2021, and with everything that’s transpired the past year, this is going to be a and even more significant event for Walt Disney World than we would have expected when we first dreamed of what might happen years ago.
In this post, we discuss what we know about the 50th Anniversary Celebration at Walt Disney World. As details are announced, we’ll expand this post and offer more analysis.
Update: Post Status
With the 50th Anniversary now in full swing and, indeed, heading toward its end, we won’t be updating this post anymore. Most of the major things (Early Entry, Guardians of the Galaxy, the nighttime shows) have been integrated into our permanent content.
We expect Disney will make the final announcements about the 50th Anniversary Celebrations around the D23 Expo (September 9 to 11, 2022), and those celebrations will finish at the end of March 2023. The best place to look for our thoughts on major dates / changes to the resort is our Disney World 2-year outlook post.
Disney World 50th Anniversary — Basics
When is Disney World’s 50th Anniversary?
The actual 50th Anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World is October 1, 2021. The celebration, however, will encompass much more than just that date.
When will the Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebrations begin?
The celebrations began October 1, 2021.
When will the Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebrations end?
The celebrations are scheduled to last 18 months, setting a presumptive end date of March 31, 2023. Disney has not publicly confirmed this as a hard end date, though.
Will the celebration be the same all 18 months?
No! Definitely not. While we know many new things will debut on October 1, we know some things (like two new coasters) won’t be ready at that point. We’re also hopeful we’ll see changes to entertainment—like a new parade—that aren’t ready on October 1, 2021 but are ready by March 2023.
Disney World 50th Anniversary — Official Announcements
While we have a lot to say about the 50th Anniversary, we’ll go ahead and do you the favor of starting by pointing you directly to Disney’s official announcements so far:
6/30/21 — Updates on Bonus Park Access for Disney Hotel Guests (Disney Parks Blog)
6/22/21 — New Entertainment Announced for 50th Anniversary (Disney Parks Blog)
3/11/21 — Cinderella Castle 50th Anniversary Decorating Begins (Disney Parks Blog)
3/9/21 — Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Opens October 1, 2021 (Disney Parks Blog)
2/19/21 — Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration Announcement (Disney Parks Blog)
1/11/21 — Early Theme Park Entry Announced (Disney Parks Blog)
Disney World 50th Anniversary — What’s Happened So Far
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Opened October 1, 2021. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, a duplicate of the ride in Walt Disney Studios Park (Paris), opened at Epcot’s France Pavilion on October 1, 2021.
New Nighttime Entertainment Debuted October 1, 2021. “Disney Enchantment” (Magic Kingdom) and “Harmonious” (Epcot) debuted October 1, 2021. All four park icons also run short nighttime projection shows called “Beacon of Magic.”
New Daytime Entertainment Debuted October 1, 2021. A new cavalcade, “Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade” debuted October 1, 2021. KiteTails also debuted at Animal Kingdom.
Early Theme Park Entry for Disney Hotel Guests began October 1, 2021. Early theme park entry will grant guests of Disney hotels 30-minute entry to every park, every day to ride select attractions.
Extended Evening Hours for Deluxe Disney Hotel Guests began October 3, 2021. The details of extended evening hours can be found here.
Exclusive Decorations / Merchandise / Food Debuted. This is a given for any Disney event. What’s different about the 50th Anniversary is that the merchandise and food is changing throughout the celebration. Some merchandise has sold out, new merchandise has come in, and food items are being phased out in favor of new options as the event goes on.
Disney World 50th Anniversary — What We’re Expecting
Disney Dining Plans Return. Disney has confirmed dining plans will return, but we don’t know exactly when or how similar they’ll be to the old system.
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind (Epcot). The new Epcot coaster is set for a summer 2022 debut.
TRON Lightcycle Run (Magic Kingdom). Since the opening timeline for TRON is just “2022” so far, we’re assuming this will be in the last quarter of the year.
Disney World 50th Anniversary — What We’re Hoping For
A new parade. While a new cavalcade has been announced, we’re still hopeful that 18 months is long enough for Disney to decide to bring in a new parade. Along with the two new coasters, this would be a good way to avoid people getting fatigued with a lengthy celebration.
More new nighttime entertainment. While we know Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom will be getting some night time “touches”, we think both could use full new nighttime shows. The Hollywood Studios hodgepodge of projection shows and Fantasmic is fine, but Fantasmic is an old enough show in a grand enough theater that a replacement could be in order.
Similarly, Animal Kingdom had the mix of Tree of Life Awakenings and Rivers of Light, but the latter is now permanently ended, so the park seriously needs a feature nighttime show. (The chief challenge here, by the way, is that excessive noise / fireworks would disturb the animals, so their hands are somewhat tied.)
Should I visit Disney World during the 50th Anniversary Celebration?
Definitely. The 50th Anniversary is a great time to plan a visit. As far as exactly when in that 18-month window, that’s a bit more complicated. Read more about it in our two-year Disney World outlook.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
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