I adore the Tower of Terror’s new lights. The people dancing on top give me ghosts dancing for all of eternity vibes which adds to the creep factor. Kinda like the shinings’ gold room.
I forget which celebration it was but I still remember when they brought one ride from every park to another park. THAT was a celebration of Walt's enthusiasm and dream. We got soarin, lights motors action..it was cool to see a Disney-sized celebration
Could've been a great idea for Walt Disneys 100 Years of Wonder celebration. And to make it better, why not bring other castle shows to other parks or bring back some legacy nighttime shows but have major upgrades to them. Having all parks celebrate Disney's 10p years would've been amazing.
That's the Happiest Homecoming on Earth (Disneyland's 50th). I think the concept of bringing a new ride from an existing park to another is some sort of a "gift".
Magic Kingdom got a watered down version of the "Cinderellabration" show from Tokyo. Epcot got "Soarin Over California". MGM Studios got "Lights Motors Action" from Paris and Animal Kingdom got Expedition Everest which was an Original attraction not from another park. None of those attractions are at WDW anymore except for Everest, whose Yeti hasn't worked since the ride first opened. The celebration was for "50 years of Disney Theme Parks". It wasn't the best celebration but it was still way better than WDWs 50th anniversary.
I was able to attend Disneyland's 50th anniversary back when I was younger and I remember getting a free set of special edition 50th anniversary mickey ears and some free trading pins too to celebrate. Too bad this celebration stunk! Disneyland tends to do better with their celebrations than Disney World does.
The last time I was at DLR was for their 50th. It was amazing. And COVID is not an excuse for the malpractice of a HUGE organization like Disney to fumble wDW 50. Pure greed, lack of imagination, and disrespect for guests by administration is the reason wDW 50 sucked.
Yep, Disneyland's 50th was easily the best celebration they've ever done at any park. They offered so many special opportunities that honored the park's history!
I was lucky enough to be a local during Disneyland’s 50th and all throughout the year it was a magical celebration. It felt like such a great celebration of the park for the entire year and the great thing was that a lot of the nice changes were kept around afterwards.
We were in MK for the anniversary. It was very underwhelming. However, with the giant crowds on Main St., most of the attractions were walk-ons. The rest of the 18 months...also underwhelming.
I've been a frequent visitor to Walt Disney World since 1991. All special anniversaries have their own charm. Disney also offered great things at the 50th anniversary. There are always people who, for whatever reason, always have to talk bad about everything.
I have to wonder what we may have gotten if it weren’t for the pandemic. Though Chapek could be blamed. Heck even the 100th anniversary feels kinda meh
Agreed about the 100th; haven’t been to the parks for it, and it’s barely started to be fair, but it already feels strange and lackluster given how low key the 50th ended up being in the end. If they end up finding a way to better it, more power to them- it just feels odd coming hot on the tail of what was marketed as, and supposed to be, an enormous celebration- which didn’t deliver.
that's because the 100th is based out of Disneyland, whereas at WDW it's supposed to Epcot focused but not until later on this year for the actual date of the 100th
I liked the color scheme and Earidesence. It would have been nice for more rides to have opened. I suspect COVID had a LOT to do with that; it affected every industry and no matter how large, even Disney isn’t immune to that. From what I’ve seen 100, which should be a massive celebration as it’s a Massive milestone for the company so far is meh. I barely saw any 100th merch at WDW and on the Wish. I’d love to see Disney+ have special documentaries, new shorts, more than just ears and loungefly bags. There are 10 decades. They could have a documentary for each decade released monthly. Still, the park was fun last week and the Wish is a beautiful ship that I can’t wait to sail upon again.
Tokyo Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Nighttime show (Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland) is what the Magic Kingdom should have received for their 50th. It should've been the blueprint for the celebration but better and grander since it is the Magic Kingdom's special milestone, but alas we got a downgraded version of Happily Ever After. Hong Kong Disneyland's 15th Anniversary Nighttime show (Momentous) is even better at taking heavy inspiration from HEA than Momentous did. Hopefully the next Magic Kingdom Anniversary celebration would be better and have better celebration elements and shows, and maybe not touch HEA and just make a different version of the show just like how World of Color has different variants.
@@jimbokay5696 Probably, even though the 40th looks like a major downgrade for Tokyo compared to past celebrations (maybe too much expenditure tied up in expansions?)
Good day to all. I have not visited Disneyland (including Universal Studios LA & Knott's) since the mid-90s. I was 12 or 13 years old and into arcades, comics, card collecting, Star Wars, Star Trek, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Astros, Nolan Ryan, Hugo Sanchez, and etc... Anyways, I am amazed with all the changes pre & post COVID in all Disney parks. I hope more creative innovations for all Disney parks & other theme parks. All right, Live Long Prosper, May the Force be with you, and be safe out there.
Don't blame the pandemic. Universal was able to build and open new rides and it wasn't celebrating anything. DL 50th was WAY better. For that matter so was the 60th. This was the "lamest celebration on earth" instead of the most "magical". Most things didn't open until 8 to 9 MONTHS after it started. Even then most "new" things were rehashed copies of other parks products. We booked through the #1 Disney travel agent and still couldn't get to go to most of what was new, because of limited access and poor planning on corporate disney's part. The guardians ride was there, but only the rich were allowed to go on it while I was there. The only thing was pushing merch and IP. That was the "celebration". Even my daughter noticed it. As when we were there in 2015 not much was different and if it was it was closed or severely limited in some fashion. Truly pathetic and not worth the money I spent. I may NEVER be back. But corpr=orate disney won't learn anything as long as all the suckers keep going and proving that no matter how much they gouge people, overcharge for less given, etc. that the coffers will keep getting filled, corporate disney will keep screwing guests and giving lackluster product. They don't believe in Walt's ideals: "Give the people MORE than they expect and the money will take care of itself." (rough quote).
My worst park trip was December 2021. Cast members were great and crowds weren’t bad but the value proposition and magic were just totally absent. I still haven’t returned since, waiting on more changes
The original castle needs to return. The rose gold color totally blows the forced perspective on that beautiful building. I'm glad to see some new money coming into the resort in the future. Everyone is feeling really squeezed with all of the prices increases all across WDW property.
Great video! So our team was also part of the 50 celebration, we worked on the official 50th anniversary map of Magic Kingdom on Minecraft, i was a creative director of that and was a blast working on it as a huge disney and theme parks fan that wanted always to be an imagineer. It pains me seeing what finally the 50th anniversary was, because while we put a lot of love care and money into our map, seems disney didnt want to do the same irl. Im sure Bob Chapek being there didnt help matters at all.
I kinda agree, but Universal and Sea World didn't have the same advantages as Reedy Creek, and yet Universal is by far now the popular place to go. And if they need to cut over $5b immediately and firing 7000 people as part of that, where the heck are they getting the $17b???
Disney enchantment is better than happily ever after and that's true. The only thing that can be discussed is the sound track for happily ever after is more memorable.
Yep Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration was by far the best that they have ever done anywhere! There were so many awesome and thoughtful experiences that highlighted the resorts' history! At WDW they couldn't even do a real parade! Shame
Our first visit to WDW was during the 50th, in jan 2023. We loved it. Harmonious was really fun for me and my wife. We sang along and watched the fire works. I also really enjoyed seeing the golden statues throughout the park. However, we were very disappointed with the merchandise, feeling that universals offering was way better, which should never be a statement someone writes about Disney. After watching this, I can see why people felt it was a bit of a disappointment. However, even a disappointment at WDW is phenomenal compared to other theme parks, especially for us as we were coming from Sydney, Australia (where the most exciting parks are raging waters and Luna park, nothing to write home about).
The WDW 50th celebration was so disappointing. I remember the first morning, everyone gathered in front of the castle waiting to see what kind of extravaganza was coming. Just to see the same old 5 minute welcome show. Nothing felt like a celebration, except maybe the food. I grew to love Enchantment and Harmonious, but they were not the celebration material.
I could really forgive nearly everything if they hadn't absolutely gutted EPCOT, both physically and thematically. Yeah, it was a park dying on the vine before this, but at least the skeleton of a once great park was there...now, it's hard to see much to be excited about there, as it gets folded into the company wide "every attraction is just another ad for Disney-plus" approach. Brutal.
Here’s what Walt Disney World’s 60th should be 1. On the first day of the event, Magic Kingdom should have one brand new major attraction, while the other 3 parks should have at least one new major attraction or expansion. 2. Place props and other things around the resort to be a throwback to things that were there before. Such as a Swan Boat parked near the Cinderella Castle, or something from Horizons places near Mission: Space, assuming that’s still around then. They could even be placed WITHIN the attractions. Or maybe they would be special plaques commemorating the past attractions, with photos and all that. 3. A new Australia themed land for Animal Kingdom 4. One or two new luxury hotels. Maybe one themed to Spanish architecture. 5. All new entertainment options at Disney Springs 6. Lots of new areas at Hollywood Studios. 7. A completely revamped version of Fantasmic 8. Each park given a nighttime spectacular paying tribute to their respective histories. 9. New large scale parades, as well as a new nighttime one. 10. A 3 hour TV special taking you through all 60 years of the resort 11. Fix the Yeti 12. A revamp of Dinoland U.S.A. 13. A revamp of Tomorrowland 14. Vintage footage and tv specials of the resort playing on hotel tvs. 15. Discounts 16. The return of regular fastpass. 17. Monorail expansion 18. Something to replace Discovery Island 19. Something to replace River Country 20. A reason to visit Wide World of Sports 21. A massive EPCOT revamp, with new pavilions and attractions in both World Showcase and what was Future World 22. Compliment EPCOT with a luxury resort located just north of the park entrance, modeled after the central skyscraper in Disney’s original Epcot model, which would feature cutting edge eco-friendly technologyHouse of the Future Villas, food, drink, entertainment, and peoplemover transportation to EPCOT 23. New features for Fort Wilderness 24. New street entertainment, cast members in costume acting out scenarios to give life to the areas they are in. 25. A new musical score for the Electrical Water Pageant. 26. Maybe The Main Street Electrical Parade. 27. Bring back the flying Dragon on certain nights. 28. Pirates of the Caribbean rebuilt from the ground-up to be larger and more elaborate than the one at Disneyland. 29. Special tours 30. Keep adding new attractions and stuff throughout the celebration.
I live in south Florida and have the opportunity to visit WDW at least once a year. I visited 3 times during the 50th and I have to say it was underwhelming. Yes, there were some nice decorations, some new shows and some cool merchandise. But nothing truly amazing or to be missed.
I went to Disneyland Paris for the first time last year and thier 30th celebration was so much fun. I've never been to WDW, but judging from the videos even Paris had a better celebration.
What makes Paris celebration better is they keep adding new entertianment for the anniversary. The addition offerings as part of 30th Grand Finale in Paris this year what makes me believe that the WDW management is the problem.
@@TjSamson I mean even before the Grand Finale the offerings were great. Dream and Shine Brighter and Disney D-Light truly felt like special celebrations. There was a lot of 30th anniversary merch and food to buy, and the special decorations were really pretty. Now with the Grand Finale they're adding even more things, despite DLP being a resort that usually doesnt get huge budget by Disney. So I assume its WDWs fault
Well said, sir, well said. Merchandise should never be the highlight of a 50-year celebration... The lighting of Spaceship Earth is my favorite element, but there should have been more spectacular offerings than that. You said it best, the pandemic became a good excuse to hide behind for Disney, but I think budget cuts is a more obvious reason.
I wanted to go to the 50th ever since the 25th. I had been so many times before and after, and I feel that 1996 was the best it had been. Keep in mind that Animal Kingdom hadn’t open yet, and Test Track was delayed. But they tried their best to have 25 things. And by the end of it we did get a brand new theme park out if it. Eisner was all about opening new parks. All Iger cared about was land expansions.
By '25, they are going to have some serious catching up to do re: new attractions. Mickey Views has a fun theory about the expansion possibilities out past Big Thunder and the island. It would be a remodel of the Rivers and the WDW Railroad (again) but then guests would be able to walk past the Haunted Mansion. Speaking of, I grew up there in the 60's and 70's. EPCOT is only a little over halfway full, right? I really miss the NOVEL attractions like Pirates or the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder or Space Mountain- rides that even spawned films... Rather than films that spawned an IP attraction to get people to come to Disney- they're already going to come! I think they need to expand their cable gondolas up to the MK, since they have made it clear that the monorail network will never be expanded. A shame. I think they could expand the WDW rail network to create a hotel and parks line. There could be period trains (actual trains) and the various hotel stations could have amazing theming, Ideally, there would be a cool way to get between all the parks and at least the major hotels that is not a dead common city bus. Talk about breaking the magic spell!!! (for people who live in cities)
The best celebration Disney had was the 35th anniversary in Anaheim. They had the best parade, gift and prize winnings..Gave away a car every day of the year.. They have never matched this. 50th at Disneyland was nothing compared to it.
Agreed. Thank goodness it's over. I've been to Disney World every year since '71, several times each year. The celebration was a definite let down, pandemic or not. 18 months seemed like forever with a bunch of blue and gold banners spread around. Very disappointing.
leaving aside the Chapek regime for a moment. A lot of what Bob Chapek instituted was planned during the last time Iger was CEO. Chapek's problems were twofold. and related. First, general revenues were down. Second, Chapek was so removed from the personal experience of viewers and fans, he instituted policies that were more fore shareholders than for visitors. I'm happy that they have changed course and recognised their error.
Part of the reason that Isner(sp) was vague about how they're going to spend the money is that they're either still trying to figure out how much it's going to cost to undo the damage Chaepeck(sp) did to the parks or they don't want to admit it. Chaepeck neglected the parks badly and there is a massive amount of refurbishment and maintenance they need to do to make the park fully functional. Like new rides are great, but there are going to be problems if the classic rides keep breaking down. And, anecdotally because there are no public statistics, the rides keep breaking down more and more.
Despite with a tight budget, DLP's 30th were executed much better. The 30th Grand Finale is awesome! From the Marvel drone show, new version of Disney D Light, Disney Dreams, and the upcoming Together: Pixar Musical. But Dream and Shine Brighter takes the cake for their 30th anniversary entertainment. For the 50th of WDW, I only liked EPCOT's Beacon of Magic and Harmonious (the barges killed this show, it was doomed from the start).
It had absolutely nothing to do with COVID. It had everything to do with the Disney management that does not care about anything other than the stock price vs the previous quarter.
It took me quite a while realise that my family and I were actually part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration. We went there April 2006, which is well within the timeframe of Disney’s decade celebrations. I mean, I was 7 years old and from the Philippines. Visiting Disneyland will had been just as special as visiting anytime else. But to actually go to my first Disney Park during its 50th celebration is an achievement all on its own and I’m kinda proud of it even if my parents did pay for everything. Seeing now how disappointing WDW’s 50th celebration turned out, it kinda makes me sad that they didn’t have it as good as Disneyland’s 50th. But maybe I’m looking at it with rose-tinted glasses. Although everything was much cheaper back then, that’s not on me anymore.
I've been to disneylands 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 50th and wdw 40th and was really looking forward to the 50th. Talk about a huge disappointment. Why did they even bother? Im a passholder and have been counting the days for this lack of celebration to be over since the day it started. So happy it's behind us.
The 50th was an absolute travesty… Such a missed opportunity to really pump things up and promote Disney’s premiere resort… I could not believe how poorly they handled the entire situation. I visited during it and it was busy it was chaotic it parks were dirty rides were breaking down it was not what I thought it should be or thought it would be… Quite a shame honestly considering that Walt Disney World is their flagship resort… WDW deserves much better than this
I think it can be summed up quite easily.....shareholder and profit first, guest experience 2nd (or not at all!) Thats the way of the modern corporate entity where short termism rules! Each successive CEO looks for short term profit and gain, because by the time the cr4p hits the fan it will be someone elses problem while they saunter off into the sunset with a huge bonus!! Disney have the resources and the talent to have made this a genuine spectacular celebration - the reality is they chose not to. Because they'd rather give shareholders a few bucks more, than to give their guests life long memories that would have them clambering to bring their kids back to experience their 60th or 70th celebration!
I blame most of this on Chapek and the pandemic. Since he was head of parks etc before becoming CED he's the one who cheaped out on all the stuff for the 50th. I loved a lot of the 50th merch and decor. I'll miss Harmonious
I was supposed to visit in 2020 (that didn't happen) then I was going to visit for the 50th but health problems prevented me from doing that. It's clear I didn't miss much. :/
Pandemic aside, they just really dropped the ball. They should have started planning for the 50th in 2017 or 2018 instead of clearly waiting for the last minute. Go back and watch celebratory Disney videos from the 80s and 90s, huge difference.
I grew up in a lower-middle class family and we still managed to go to Disney World twice in the 80s/90s. Granted, we drove down instead of flying, but we didn't even have to stay at the cheapest places, even the Polynesian was affordable back then. I wanted to go down last year for my, and Epcot's, 40th birthday, but it's more expensive for 1 than it was for a family of 4 30 years ago. Insane.
BTW Iger is a liar. But a smooth one. 17 billion dollars over 10 years is nothing. That's about what it will cost to maintain and do minor upgrades for the parks over that time span. 2nd 13,000 jobs? they are getting rid of 7,000 right now! but people forget how many they laid off, (over 10,000) then how many jobs were left unfilled entirely. Remember all the complaints from cast members that they were overworked because of short staffing? That statement was a lie to try to appease stockholders and keep the stock from falling even more than it has. Remember, corporate disney was once, not too long ago, at over $250 a share, now it's under $100. NOT endearing to investors/stockholders!
Stop blaming Chapek for everything. Iger is the man who sank Disney's finances by his unchecked spending spree. He's also the man who gave us Chapek --- after driving more qualified people out of the company. It's absurd to believe Iger is going to fix anything....
Despite the pandemic and Bob "The Walt Damner" Chapek and the missing elements as a result of such things it seems that a number of us in the community who "know it all" if you will love to not even recognize the miracle of it all as well and that is the fact that under such circumstances that Disney was able to do something at all to commemorate Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary. Period. You may have noticed the bottom line of the Walt Disney World Dedication Plaque where it calls itself "A Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together" and in that spirit this is probably why Disney taps little children who do not know it all for its' promotions because overall they seem to be the ones who end up enjoying themselves at Disney especially for times like this more than adults who know it all and in effect make themselves too old for such an occasion much less for such a place as a Disney Park and not even realizing it.
WDW's 75th will be a lot better thanks to Disney having been broken up under antitrust and the Make Disney Great Again movement having completely erased the entire Iger era. Disney will be back to asking "What would Walt do?" to get things done, even if it means going backwards and staying stuck in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s.
Disney could do SO MUCH with today's AI advancements, it's very disappointing to see the imagination and daringness slowly disappear as the years go by.
Florida Corp rate is 5.5% but Disney is headquartered in CA so it doesn’t apply so whatever taxes Disney pays in Florida pale to the money the FL taxpayers fork over in benefits for Disney workers that make little and require state assistance.
@@haventesla8648 Disney guests pay the sales and hospitality taxes as a pass through so curious to audit Disney SEC filings. Property taxes are paid to Reedy Creek which then takes that tax revenue and pays out bond premiums back to Disney lol
@@bassjasinski You don't seem to have much of an understanding of taxes do you? For one thing, I was referring to the direct tax on the income of Disney's Floridian entities which they have to pay to the state government. Sales and hospitality taxes aren't part of that, they're indirect taxes, and a further contribution to the state that comes from Disney's customers, not Disney itself. If it's a state sales tax, Disney would have to transfer it back to state government, no question. If DeSantis had even an inkling that Disney was diverting state taxes to its own coffers, he would lead with that. He's quiet about taxation because he knows, in truth, that Disney makes big bucks for his state, especially the central region, which would still be a swamp if Disney hadn't chosen it as the site of WDW 52 years ago.
If you're gonna PAHHH TAY! You gotta bring your 50 year "A GAME!" 50-60 yrs. IS milestone in this fickle industry, let alone in the world of capitalism. The fact that the whole company is 100 yrs old this year says a LOT! Not sure management including CEO leadership understood not only the Boomers, Gen Xrs or even millennials bonding to such a nostalgic company & themed park. I was @ Disneyland tail end of the 50th. There was still a lot of cool stuff to do there esp. with the show that temporarily replaced Lincoln.
The question the shareholder asked was actually about how Disney is pushing a woke agenda. I like your channel but please don’t try to push your own narrative. And Desantis holding Disney accountable for trying to trans kids is not stupidity. I know you guys will not speak to this because you want as many subscribers as possible, and you want Disney to consider you media so you can be one of their beloved vloggers, but don’t try to play this as Ron Desantis is mean to poor little Disney. It’s not that at all, and you guys know it.
DeSantis's policies, not least the derogatory use of the word "woke", speak for themselves. There's a reason why Equality Florida is discouraging travel to the state. And yes, DeSantis is "being mean" - retaliating politically against the biggest taxpayer in the state, just because the company wants to be inclusive.
Love your content, but you need to stay away from political comments! Through a series of public attacks on Florida from the California home office, Disney created its own problems not DeSantis!
I am reminded of the saying in politics. "Its the economy stupid" But in this case it is the "grooming of children and race swapping stupid" What do you think?
Disney has a bigger problem than whether they get to fix their own potholes. The demand for their entertainment is going down. It hasn’t effected the parks at this point. Maybe it won’t. But I have to think it will have an impact eventually. Maybe that is why they are increasingly catering to a specific subset that has both deep pockets and believes in their political ideology.
Bigotry is bigotry REGARDLESS. I just hated the fact that people like you have to exist! I just want to watch a Disney theme park video and not be reminded of this crap going on in the world. God, when this'll end?
I love your videos, But do keep away from making political comments regardless of what side you are on, I already have to deal with seeing these comments about "woke agenda" and the like. I don't tolerate both sides but *please please PLEASE* keep this in mind next time.
![[4K] FULL Magic Happens Parade 2024 at Disneyland Park! - Disney100 Years of Wonder Celebration](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/70sz4tzpNwI/mqdefault.jpg)
I adore the Tower of Terror’s new lights. The people dancing on top give me ghosts dancing for all of eternity vibes which adds to the creep factor. Kinda like the shinings’ gold room.
I forget which celebration it was but I still remember when they brought one ride from every park to another park. THAT was a celebration of Walt's enthusiasm and dream. We got soarin, lights motors action..it was cool to see a Disney-sized celebration
Could've been a great idea for Walt Disneys 100 Years of Wonder celebration. And to make it better, why not bring other castle shows to other parks or bring back some legacy nighttime shows but have major upgrades to them. Having all parks celebrate Disney's 10p years would've been amazing.
Disneyland's 50th.
That's the Happiest Homecoming on Earth (Disneyland's 50th). I think the concept of bringing a new ride from an existing park to another is some sort of a "gift".
Magic Kingdom got a watered down version of the "Cinderellabration" show from Tokyo. Epcot got "Soarin Over California". MGM Studios got "Lights Motors Action" from Paris and Animal Kingdom got Expedition Everest which was an Original attraction not from another park. None of those attractions are at WDW anymore except for Everest, whose Yeti hasn't worked since the ride first opened.
The celebration was for "50 years of Disney Theme Parks". It wasn't the best celebration but it was still way better than WDWs 50th anniversary.
I was able to attend Disneyland's 50th anniversary back when I was younger and I remember getting a free set of special edition 50th anniversary mickey ears and some free trading pins too to celebrate. Too bad this celebration stunk! Disneyland tends to do better with their celebrations than Disney World does.
The last time I was at DLR was for their 50th. It was amazing. And COVID is not an excuse for the malpractice of a HUGE organization like Disney to fumble wDW 50. Pure greed, lack of imagination, and disrespect for guests by administration is the reason wDW 50 sucked.
EPCOT home for the 50th and not MK. WTF.
WDW did a better job celebrating Disneyland's 50th Anniversary than they did their own 50th Anniversary.
WDW's 10th. (Tencennial) and 25th. were far better than the 50th.
Yes they did. I was there and it was amazing.
Your mom and I celebrated the 50th multiple times.
Yep, Disneyland's 50th was easily the best celebration they've ever done at any park. They offered so many special opportunities that honored the park's history!
WDW’s 20th, 25th, and 50th
I was lucky enough to be a local during Disneyland’s 50th and all throughout the year it was a magical celebration. It felt like such a great celebration of the park for the entire year and the great thing was that a lot of the nice changes were kept around afterwards.
We were in MK for the anniversary. It was very underwhelming. However, with the giant crowds on Main St., most of the attractions were walk-ons. The rest of the 18 months...also underwhelming.
I've been a frequent visitor to Walt Disney World since 1991. All special anniversaries have their own charm. Disney also offered great things at the 50th anniversary. There are always people who, for whatever reason, always have to talk bad about everything.
I love how the merch shown at 6:50 is more the snazzy Epcot 40th merch than the cashgrab WDW 50th stuff. 🤣
I have to wonder what we may have gotten if it weren’t for the pandemic. Though Chapek could be blamed. Heck even the 100th anniversary feels kinda meh
Agreed about the 100th; haven’t been to the parks for it, and it’s barely started to be fair, but it already feels strange and lackluster given how low key the 50th ended up being in the end. If they end up finding a way to better it, more power to them- it just feels odd coming hot on the tail of what was marketed as, and supposed to be, an enormous celebration- which didn’t deliver.
Was just at Disneyland and they have a lot for 100th of merchandise, parade and such and does feel a bit more special.
The 50th as well as the 100th is nothing more than a ploy to sell cheaply made yet overpriced merchandise.
that's because the 100th is based out of Disneyland, whereas at WDW it's supposed to Epcot focused but not until later on this year for the actual date of the 100th
I liked the color scheme and Earidesence. It would have been nice for more rides to have opened. I suspect COVID had a LOT to do with that; it affected every industry and no matter how large, even Disney isn’t immune to that.
From what I’ve seen 100, which should be a massive celebration as it’s a Massive milestone for the company so far is meh. I barely saw any 100th merch at WDW and on the Wish. I’d love to see Disney+ have special documentaries, new shorts, more than just ears and loungefly bags. There are 10 decades. They could have a documentary for each decade released monthly.
Still, the park was fun last week and the Wish is a beautiful ship that I can’t wait to sail upon again.
Tokyo Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Nighttime show (Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland) is what the Magic Kingdom should have received for their 50th. It should've been the blueprint for the celebration but better and grander since it is the Magic Kingdom's special milestone, but alas we got a downgraded version of Happily Ever After. Hong Kong Disneyland's 15th Anniversary Nighttime show (Momentous) is even better at taking heavy inspiration from HEA than Momentous did. Hopefully the next Magic Kingdom Anniversary celebration would be better and have better celebration elements and shows, and maybe not touch HEA and just make a different version of the show just like how World of Color has different variants.
Pretty sure TokyoDisney's 40th is gonna blow WDW's away!
@@jimbokay5696 Probably, even though the 40th looks like a major downgrade for Tokyo compared to past celebrations (maybe too much expenditure tied up in expansions?)
that shot of the cinderella castle really made me miss the old colours, they were much classier
Good day to all. I have not visited Disneyland (including Universal Studios LA & Knott's) since the mid-90s. I was 12 or 13 years old and into arcades, comics, card collecting, Star Wars, Star Trek, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Astros, Nolan Ryan, Hugo Sanchez, and etc... Anyways, I am amazed with all the changes pre & post COVID in all Disney parks. I hope more creative innovations for all Disney parks & other theme parks. All right, Live Long Prosper, May the Force be with you, and be safe out there.
Don't blame the pandemic. Universal was able to build and open new rides and it wasn't celebrating anything. DL 50th was WAY better. For that matter so was the 60th. This was the "lamest celebration on earth" instead of the most "magical". Most things didn't open until 8 to 9 MONTHS after it started. Even then most "new" things were rehashed copies of other parks products. We booked through the #1 Disney travel agent and still couldn't get to go to most of what was new, because of limited access and poor planning on corporate disney's part. The guardians ride was there, but only the rich were allowed to go on it while I was there. The only thing was pushing merch and IP. That was the "celebration". Even my daughter noticed it. As when we were there in 2015 not much was different and if it was it was closed or severely limited in some fashion. Truly pathetic and not worth the money I spent. I may NEVER be back. But corpr=orate disney won't learn anything as long as all the suckers keep going and proving that no matter how much they gouge people, overcharge for less given, etc. that the coffers will keep getting filled, corporate disney will keep screwing guests and giving lackluster product. They don't believe in Walt's ideals: "Give the people MORE than they expect and the money will take care of itself." (rough quote).
It’s only been the first day and Tokyo Disneyland is doing a better job at their 40th anniversary than WDW’s 50th.
Every time Tokyo does something, I'm disappointed - because it seems like they do EVERYTHING better.
@@MissMyMusicAddiction That's because the Tokyo parks aren't administrated by Disney itself.
I know. It's like DisParks does not care to poach.
My worst park trip was December 2021. Cast members were great and crowds weren’t bad but the value proposition and magic were just totally absent. I still haven’t returned since, waiting on more changes
another amazing vid. thanks
The original castle needs to return. The rose gold color totally blows the forced perspective on that beautiful building. I'm glad to see some new money coming into the resort in the future. Everyone is feeling really squeezed with all of the prices increases all across WDW property.
Great video! So our team was also part of the 50 celebration, we worked on the official 50th anniversary map of Magic Kingdom on Minecraft, i was a creative director of that and was a blast working on it as a huge disney and theme parks fan that wanted always to be an imagineer. It pains me seeing what finally the 50th anniversary was, because while we put a lot of love care and money into our map, seems disney didnt want to do the same irl. Im sure Bob Chapek being there didnt help matters at all.
I kinda agree, but Universal and Sea World didn't have the same advantages as Reedy Creek, and yet Universal is by far now the popular place to go. And if they need to cut over $5b immediately and firing 7000 people as part of that, where the heck are they getting the $17b???
Disney enchantment is better than happily ever after and that's true. The only thing that can be discussed is the sound track for happily ever after is more memorable.
Yep Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration was by far the best that they have ever done anywhere! There were so many awesome and thoughtful experiences that highlighted the resorts' history! At WDW they couldn't even do a real parade! Shame
Our first visit to WDW was during the 50th, in jan 2023. We loved it. Harmonious was really fun for me and my wife. We sang along and watched the fire works. I also really enjoyed seeing the golden statues throughout the park.
However, we were very disappointed with the merchandise, feeling that universals offering was way better, which should never be a statement someone writes about Disney.
After watching this, I can see why people felt it was a bit of a disappointment. However, even a disappointment at WDW is phenomenal compared to other theme parks, especially for us as we were coming from Sydney, Australia (where the most exciting parks are raging waters and Luna park, nothing to write home about).
The WDW 50th celebration was so disappointing. I remember the first morning, everyone gathered in front of the castle waiting to see what kind of extravaganza was coming. Just to see the same old 5 minute welcome show. Nothing felt like a celebration, except maybe the food. I grew to love Enchantment and Harmonious, but they were not the celebration material.
I could really forgive nearly everything if they hadn't absolutely gutted EPCOT, both physically and thematically. Yeah, it was a park dying on the vine before this, but at least the skeleton of a once great park was there...now, it's hard to see much to be excited about there, as it gets folded into the company wide "every attraction is just another ad for Disney-plus" approach. Brutal.
Here’s what Walt Disney World’s 60th should be
1. On the first day of the event, Magic Kingdom should have one brand new major attraction, while the other 3 parks should have at least one new major attraction or expansion.
2. Place props and other things around the resort to be a throwback to things that were there before. Such as a Swan Boat parked near the Cinderella Castle, or something from Horizons places near Mission: Space, assuming that’s still around then. They could even be placed WITHIN the attractions. Or maybe they would be special plaques commemorating the past attractions, with photos and all that.
3. A new Australia themed land for Animal Kingdom
4. One or two new luxury hotels. Maybe one themed to Spanish architecture.
5. All new entertainment options at Disney Springs
6. Lots of new areas at Hollywood Studios.
7. A completely revamped version of Fantasmic
8. Each park given a nighttime spectacular paying tribute to their respective histories.
9. New large scale parades, as well as a new nighttime one.
10. A 3 hour TV special taking you through all 60 years of the resort
11. Fix the Yeti
12. A revamp of Dinoland U.S.A.
13. A revamp of Tomorrowland
14. Vintage footage and tv specials of the resort playing on hotel tvs.
15. Discounts
16. The return of regular fastpass.
17. Monorail expansion
18. Something to replace Discovery Island
19. Something to replace River Country
20. A reason to visit Wide World of Sports
21. A massive EPCOT revamp, with new pavilions and attractions in both World Showcase and what was Future World
22. Compliment EPCOT with a luxury resort located just north of the park entrance, modeled after the central skyscraper in Disney’s original Epcot model, which would feature cutting edge eco-friendly technologyHouse of the Future Villas, food, drink, entertainment, and peoplemover transportation to EPCOT
23. New features for Fort Wilderness
24. New street entertainment, cast members in costume acting out scenarios to give life to the areas they are in.
25. A new musical score for the Electrical Water Pageant.
26. Maybe The Main Street Electrical Parade.
27. Bring back the flying Dragon on certain nights.
28. Pirates of the Caribbean rebuilt from the ground-up to be larger and more elaborate than the one at Disneyland.
29. Special tours
30. Keep adding new attractions and stuff throughout the celebration.
I live in south Florida and have the opportunity to visit WDW at least once a year. I visited 3 times during the 50th and I have to say it was underwhelming. Yes, there were some nice decorations, some new shows and some cool merchandise. But nothing truly amazing or to be missed.
I went to Disneyland Paris for the first time last year and thier 30th celebration was so much fun. I've never been to WDW, but judging from the videos even Paris had a better celebration.
What makes Paris celebration better is they keep adding new entertianment for the anniversary. The addition offerings as part of 30th Grand Finale in Paris this year what makes me believe that the WDW management is the problem.
@@TjSamson I mean even before the Grand Finale the offerings were great. Dream and Shine Brighter and Disney D-Light truly felt like special celebrations. There was a lot of 30th anniversary merch and food to buy, and the special decorations were really pretty.
Now with the Grand Finale they're adding even more things, despite DLP being a resort that usually doesnt get huge budget by Disney. So I assume its WDWs fault
i still have my golden ears from disneylands 50th and minnie dressed as a princess with like a 50th pin on her foot
Well said, sir, well said. Merchandise should never be the highlight of a 50-year celebration...
The lighting of Spaceship Earth is my favorite element, but there should have been more spectacular offerings than that. You said it best, the pandemic became a good excuse to hide behind for Disney, but I think budget cuts is a more obvious reason.
I was there in April of last year and the only shred of evidence there was a 50th happening was reduced to the gift shops. I paid for my gifts 😂
I wanted to go to the 50th ever since the 25th. I had been so many times before and after, and I feel that 1996 was the best it had been. Keep in mind that Animal Kingdom hadn’t open yet, and Test Track was delayed. But they tried their best to have 25 things. And by the end of it we did get a brand new theme park out if it. Eisner was all about opening new parks. All Iger cared about was land expansions.
By '25, they are going to have some serious catching up to do re: new attractions. Mickey Views has a fun theory about the expansion possibilities out past Big Thunder and the island. It would be a remodel of the Rivers and the WDW Railroad (again) but then guests would be able to walk past the Haunted Mansion.
Speaking of, I grew up there in the 60's and 70's. EPCOT is only a little over halfway full, right?
I really miss the NOVEL attractions like Pirates or the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder or Space Mountain- rides that even spawned films... Rather than films that spawned an IP attraction to get people to come to Disney- they're already going to come!
I think they need to expand their cable gondolas up to the MK, since they have made it clear that the monorail network will never be expanded. A shame. I think they could expand the WDW rail network to create a hotel and parks line. There could be period trains (actual trains) and the various hotel stations could have amazing theming,
Ideally, there would be a cool way to get between all the parks and at least the major hotels that is not a dead common city bus. Talk about breaking the magic spell!!! (for people who live in cities)
The best celebration Disney had was the 35th anniversary in Anaheim. They had the best parade, gift and prize winnings..Gave away a car every day of the year..
They have never matched this.
50th at Disneyland was nothing compared to it.
Agreed. Thank goodness it's over. I've been to Disney World every year since '71, several times each year. The celebration was a definite let down, pandemic or not. 18 months seemed like forever with a bunch of blue and gold banners spread around. Very disappointing.
WHAT? Cavalcades were a huge step up from parades!
"Eh" was the perfect word for the 50th
leaving aside the Chapek regime for a moment. A lot of what Bob Chapek instituted was planned during the last time Iger was CEO. Chapek's problems were twofold. and related. First, general revenues were down. Second, Chapek was so removed from the personal experience of viewers and fans, he instituted policies that were more fore shareholders than for visitors. I'm happy that they have changed course and recognised their error.
Part of the reason that Isner(sp) was vague about how they're going to spend the money is that they're either still trying to figure out how much it's going to cost to undo the damage Chaepeck(sp) did to the parks or they don't want to admit it. Chaepeck neglected the parks badly and there is a massive amount of refurbishment and maintenance they need to do to make the park fully functional. Like new rides are great, but there are going to be problems if the classic rides keep breaking down. And, anecdotally because there are no public statistics, the rides keep breaking down more and more.
Overstayed welcome- perfect description.
Visited during the 50th…also visited during the 25th. The 25th was a much better experience than the 50th.
8:04. Just.... 8:04 xD I love it so much xD
13:37!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xD
It's harmoni US!!!!
The Walt Disney World Resort 50th anniversary celebration was so bad if it were a public restroom I wouldn't even let my s*** touch it.
😂😂😂😂
I really not sure what people see in Disney, overcrowded expensive and really lacking in places, there are much cheaper better theme parks around.
Despite with a tight budget, DLP's 30th were executed much better. The 30th Grand Finale is awesome! From the Marvel drone show, new version of Disney D Light, Disney Dreams, and the upcoming Together: Pixar Musical.
But Dream and Shine Brighter takes the cake for their 30th anniversary entertainment. For the 50th of WDW, I only liked EPCOT's Beacon of Magic and Harmonious (the barges killed this show, it was doomed from the start).
It had absolutely nothing to do with COVID. It had everything to do with the Disney management that does not care about anything other than the stock price vs the previous quarter.
It took me quite a while realise that my family and I were actually part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration. We went there April 2006, which is well within the timeframe of Disney’s decade celebrations. I mean, I was 7 years old and from the Philippines. Visiting Disneyland will had been just as special as visiting anytime else. But to actually go to my first Disney Park during its 50th celebration is an achievement all on its own and I’m kinda proud of it even if my parents did pay for everything. Seeing now how disappointing WDW’s 50th celebration turned out, it kinda makes me sad that they didn’t have it as good as Disneyland’s 50th. But maybe I’m looking at it with rose-tinted glasses. Although everything was much cheaper back then, that’s not on me anymore.
I've been to disneylands 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 50th and wdw 40th and was really looking forward to the 50th. Talk about a huge disappointment. Why did they even bother? Im a passholder and have been counting the days for this lack of celebration to be over since the day it started. So happy it's behind us.
The 50th was an absolute travesty… Such a missed opportunity to really pump things up and promote Disney’s premiere resort… I could not believe how poorly they handled the entire situation. I visited during it and it was busy it was chaotic it parks were dirty rides were breaking down it was not what I thought it should be or thought it would be… Quite a shame honestly considering that Walt Disney World is their flagship resort… WDW deserves much better than this
I’m still confused on the timing of the 50th celebration. Why did it go on for such a random number of months?
Imagine if they fixed the yeti for the 50th anniversary lol.
I think it can be summed up quite easily.....shareholder and profit first, guest experience 2nd (or not at all!) Thats the way of the modern corporate entity where short termism rules! Each successive CEO looks for short term profit and gain, because by the time the cr4p hits the fan it will be someone elses problem while they saunter off into the sunset with a huge bonus!!
Disney have the resources and the talent to have made this a genuine spectacular celebration - the reality is they chose not to. Because they'd rather give shareholders a few bucks more, than to give their guests life long memories that would have them clambering to bring their kids back to experience their 60th or 70th celebration!
I blame most of this on Chapek and the pandemic. Since he was head of parks etc before becoming CED he's the one who cheaped out on all the stuff for the 50th. I loved a lot of the 50th merch and decor. I'll miss Harmonious
You left out the coming state prison on Disney adjacent property 😂 😂 😂
😂😂😂😂
I was supposed to visit in 2020 (that didn't happen) then I was going to visit for the 50th but health problems prevented me from doing that. It's clear I didn't miss much. :/
Pandemic aside, they just really dropped the ball. They should have started planning for the 50th in 2017 or 2018 instead of clearly waiting for the last minute. Go back and watch celebratory Disney videos from the 80s and 90s, huge difference.
Love ur videos so much!!!
Bob Chapek: 'nuff said......
I am middle class. And can not afford to go to disney world. Thats when you know they screwed up.
I grew up in a lower-middle class family and we still managed to go to Disney World twice in the 80s/90s. Granted, we drove down instead of flying, but we didn't even have to stay at the cheapest places, even the Polynesian was affordable back then. I wanted to go down last year for my, and Epcot's, 40th birthday, but it's more expensive for 1 than it was for a family of 4 30 years ago. Insane.
Actually couldn't wait for this "celebration" to be over. The parks were worse than before, and purple and blue all over doesn't make a celebration
I'm still salty there was no ceremony in MK on Oct 1st and it happened the night before. Such an insult to those who traveled to be there that day
Scathing but fair.
The TRUTH coming off of this! We were lucky enough to be at Disneyland for the 60th and it blew away WDW’s 50th in terms of prestige and things to do…
BTW Iger is a liar. But a smooth one. 17 billion dollars over 10 years is nothing. That's about what it will cost to maintain and do minor upgrades for the parks over that time span. 2nd 13,000 jobs? they are getting rid of 7,000 right now! but people forget how many they laid off, (over 10,000) then how many jobs were left unfilled entirely. Remember all the complaints from cast members that they were overworked because of short staffing?
That statement was a lie to try to appease stockholders and keep the stock from falling even more than it has. Remember, corporate disney was once, not too long ago, at over $250 a share, now it's under $100. NOT endearing to investors/stockholders!
Did Disneyland’s 50th. Didn’t do Disneyworld’s.
Stop blaming Chapek for everything.
Iger is the man who sank Disney's finances by his unchecked spending spree. He's also the man who gave us Chapek --- after driving more qualified people out of the company.
It's absurd to believe Iger is going to fix anything....
Despite the pandemic and Bob "The Walt Damner" Chapek and the missing elements as a result of such things it seems that a number of us in the community who "know it all" if you will love to not even recognize the miracle of it all as well and that is the fact that under such circumstances that Disney was able to do something at all to commemorate Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary. Period.
You may have noticed the bottom line of the Walt Disney World Dedication Plaque where it calls itself "A Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together" and in that spirit this is probably why Disney taps little children who do not know it all for its' promotions because overall they seem to be the ones who end up enjoying themselves at Disney especially for times like this more than adults who know it all and in effect make themselves too old for such an occasion much less for such a place as a Disney Park and not even realizing it.
WDW's 75th will be a lot better thanks to Disney having been broken up under antitrust and the Make Disney Great Again movement having completely erased the entire Iger era. Disney will be back to asking "What would Walt do?" to get things done, even if it means going backwards and staying stuck in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s.
Disney could do SO MUCH with today's AI advancements, it's very disappointing to see the imagination and daringness slowly disappear as the years go by.
sounds like they were busy
Holy crap! This video was more disappointing than Disney's 50th!
Florida Corp rate is 5.5% but Disney is headquartered in CA so it doesn’t apply so whatever taxes Disney pays in Florida pale to the money the FL taxpayers fork over in benefits for Disney workers that make little and require state assistance.
Not true. Disney is one of the largest taxpayers in FL, and single-handedly raised central FL's profile from a literal swamp to a tourist hotspot.
@@haventesla8648 Disney guests pay the sales and hospitality taxes as a pass through so curious to audit Disney SEC filings. Property taxes are paid to Reedy Creek which then takes that tax revenue and pays out bond premiums back to Disney lol
@@bassjasinski You don't seem to have much of an understanding of taxes do you? For one thing, I was referring to the direct tax on the income of Disney's Floridian entities which they have to pay to the state government. Sales and hospitality taxes aren't part of that, they're indirect taxes, and a further contribution to the state that comes from Disney's customers, not Disney itself. If it's a state sales tax, Disney would have to transfer it back to state government, no question. If DeSantis had even an inkling that Disney was diverting state taxes to its own coffers, he would lead with that. He's quiet about taxation because he knows, in truth, that Disney makes big bucks for his state, especially the central region, which would still be a swamp if Disney hadn't chosen it as the site of WDW 52 years ago.
It probably also didn't help that Disney was as CHEAP as possible to put as much money into their own BAG as possible.....
EH 😂😂😂
If you're gonna PAHHH TAY! You gotta bring your 50 year "A GAME!" 50-60 yrs. IS milestone in this fickle industry, let alone in the world of capitalism. The fact that the whole company is 100 yrs old this year says a LOT! Not sure management including CEO leadership understood not only the Boomers, Gen Xrs or even millennials bonding to such a nostalgic company & themed park. I was @ Disneyland tail end of the 50th. There was still a lot of cool stuff to do there esp. with the show that temporarily replaced Lincoln.
Disney's failure was due to financier's vs creatives running the show
Eh.
The question the shareholder asked was actually about how Disney is pushing a woke agenda. I like your channel but please don’t try to push your own narrative. And Desantis holding Disney accountable for trying to trans kids is not stupidity. I know you guys will not speak to this because you want as many subscribers as possible, and you want Disney to consider you media so you can be one of their beloved vloggers, but don’t try to play this as Ron Desantis is mean to poor little Disney. It’s not that at all, and you guys know it.
DeSantis's policies, not least the derogatory use of the word "woke", speak for themselves. There's a reason why Equality Florida is discouraging travel to the state. And yes, DeSantis is "being mean" - retaliating politically against the biggest taxpayer in the state, just because the company wants to be inclusive.
Cringe.
This whole comment is cringe.
Love your content, but you need to stay away from political comments! Through a series of public attacks on Florida from the California home office, Disney created its own problems not DeSantis!
Both Disney AND desantis created this problem. They're both to blame.
I am reminded of the saying in politics. "Its the economy stupid"
But in this case it is the "grooming of children and race swapping stupid" What do you think?
Disney has a bigger problem than whether they get to fix their own potholes. The demand for their entertainment is going down. It hasn’t effected the parks at this point. Maybe it won’t. But I have to think it will have an impact eventually. Maybe that is why they are increasingly catering to a specific subset that has both deep pockets and believes in their political ideology.
I think bigotry isn't just stupid - it's evil.
Bigotry is bigotry REGARDLESS. I just hated the fact that people like you have to exist! I just want to watch a Disney theme park video and not be reminded of this crap going on in the world.
God, when this'll end?
I love your videos, But do keep away from making political comments regardless of what side you are on, I already have to deal with seeing these comments about "woke agenda" and the like. I don't tolerate both sides but *please please PLEASE* keep this in mind next time.