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News > Walt Disney World to honor Disneyland's 50th birthday
with new rides from around the world
Disney News
Press Release
Walt Disney World to honor Disneyland's 50th birthday with new rides
from around the world
Careening, flying, flaming vehicles, from France. Tantalizing sights,
sounds and aromas of natural wonders, from California. A joyous musical
celebration fit for a princess, from Japan.
Spectacular attractions are being imported to Walt Disney World Resort
from Disney destinations all over the globe as the Florida Vacation
Kingdom sets to launch the biggest celebration in its 33-year history.
But the 18-month jubilee beginning May 5 -- "Happiest Celebration
on Earth" -- is part of something bigger yet: a worldwide Disney
theme park commemoration of the 50th anniversary of California's Disneyland,
the original Disney park.
During the worldwide festivities, each of the four Walt Disney World
theme parks will feature a blockbuster attraction from somewhere else
on Earth -- from Paris, Tokyo and California. In addition, a unique
attraction will be created just for the Florida resort.
"Disney parks are an international phenomenon -- the most popular
in the world," said Walt Disney World President Al Weiss. "During
this golden anniversary celebration, we're giving Walt Disney World
guests a chance to sample Disney magic from three continents and creating
new reasons to visit each of our Florida parks."
* At Magic Kingdom, guests will enjoy "Cinderellabration,"
an enchanting musical spectacular direct from Tokyo Disneyland. Performed
several times daily in front of the glittering spires of Cinderella
Castle, the icon of Walt Disney World Resort, the live stage show will
continue the "happily-ever-after" story of Cinderella as Disney's
most beloved princesses gather to celebrate the coronation of this favorite
character.
* At Epcot, Disney's California Adventure will provide a tribute to
the West Coast heritage of Disney theme parks with "Soarin' "
-- one of the most popular attractions at one of the newest Disney parks.
Epcot guests will take to the skies in a thrilling hang-gliding journey
over the rich wonders of the Golden State, with breathtaking sights
of nature's majesty in its many forms - and even the sweet aroma of
citrus blossoms. The "flight" ends, appropriately enough,
with an aerial view of Disneyland itself.
Also at Epcot, guests will get a sneak peek at the start of the next
50 years of Disney theme parks at Hong Kong Disneyland Preview Center.
Scale models and never-before-seen renderings will showcase Disney's
11th theme park, scheduled to open December 2005 on a picturesque site
in China.
* At Disney-MGM Studios, the "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme
Stunt Show" from Walt Disney Studios Paris will spotlight the bombastic
best of the movie industry's stunt masters several times daily. Filled
with high-octane energy and tightly choreographed thrills, the live
show will send cars, motorcycles and watercraft careening and jumping
across a re-created European village, giving 5,000 guests in a custom-built
grandstand a behind-the-scenes look at movie mayhem.
* At Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney Imagineering will showcase
Lucky the dinosaur, the first-ever free-roaming Audio-Animatronics creation.
After successful previews at Disney's California Adventure, Lucky will
roam DinoLand U.S.A., interacting with guests and even signing autographs
during a limited engagement. The startlingly lifelike creature -- which
can laugh, sneeze, bray and even hiccup -- was named one of 2003's top
inventions by Time magazine and represents the next step forward in
Disney's pioneering Audio-Animatronics technology.
* Later in the celebration year, Walt Disney World Resort will present
a new adventure of its own with the opening of the towering Expedition
Everest thrill ride in the Asia area of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The
legend of the yeti comes to life in a dramatic high-speed train adventure
that combines coaster-style thrills with the excitement of a close encounter
with the abominable snowman among the icy peaks of the world's highest
mountain.
The celebration will cap an incredible array of blockbuster attractions
and shows that have been added to Walt Disney World Resort over the
past two years: "Soarin' "; "Lights, Motors, Action!
Extreme Stunt Show"; Expedition Everest; Stitch's Great Escape!;
"Wishes" fireworks spectacular; "Mickey's PhilharMagic"
and Mission: SPACE.
These new experiences showcase all the ways Disney theme parks entertain
guests, Weiss noted, "from classic 'E-ticket' thrills to spectacular
live shows to great new adventures with beloved characters."
"Fifty years of Disney theme parks really means 50 years of magical
experiences and cherished memories for families around the world,"
Weiss said. "During 'Happiest Celebration on Earth,' our guests
here in Florida will find new magic from all the worlds of Disney, no
matter which of our parks they visit."
