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 encompᴀss celebrations across both parks, Downtown Disney, and the Disneyland H๏τel, 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 H๏τel

In addition to the Disneyland 70th anniversary, the Disneyland H๏τel is also celebrating 70 years of operation. The H๏τel, 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 pᴀssed away in 1988, bringing the H๏τel under the Walt Disney Company.

Over the years, the H๏τel 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 H๏τel 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 H๏τel 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.

• The only Star Wars-themed 70th merchandise I saw was a multicolored R2-D2, which is available in multiple shops, but notably at the Trading Post. However, if the large toy is too big, there’s a smaller version at World of Disney.
• Likewise, continuing with the Spider-Man focus in Avengers Campus, there’s a multicolored Spider-Bot available for purchase.
• A character-themed mint box is being sold during the 70th anniversary that represents the original ticket book parkgoers would use to redeem at certain rides.
• To celebrate Walt Disney himself, as part of the nostalgia collection, there’s a limited edition pin that also acts as a locket. It has “Grand Opening. 1955.” on the front, with a pH๏τo of Walt on the inside.
• Also part of that collection is a jacket and a mug, both of which have Walt Disney’s signature and a quote from him. But the really cool thing is that they also contain the exact GPS coordinates (in decimal form) to the central island on Main Street.
• Clothing-wise, there are several 70th-themed t-shirts and sweaters. I purchased a grey sweater with red, white, and blue elastic bands that had the classic Disneyland font on it.
• There’s a similar sweater with a fairly transparent Disneyland map, along with various lands named on multiple flags, on it. That one was popular during my visit, as was a bright orange sweater.
• Now if you’re a fan of storage items, there are plenty of handbags and tote bags with 70th themes on them. My favorite was the tote bag, as it was a decent size and was the only one with Mickey Mouse front-and-center.

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 H๏τel. The two shops at the H๏τel, 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 H๏τel room or your car.

Disneyland 70th Anniversary Food

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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.

• As with other celebrations, Disneyland’s 70th anniversary food and drinks encompᴀss breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and drinks, such as coffee. The dark roast blend and Specialty Cold Brrr-ew from Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company carried me through each day. They had hints of Disney in them, with chocolate, confetti, and syrups.
• Several items on the menu were inspired by the original food and sweets served at Disneyland in the 1950s, and then through the following decades. These are things like the W.E.D. Chili Cheese Baked Potato that’s served at the Troubadour Tavern.
• Other reimagined classics are the Fried Tamale Walking Taco (fried beef tamale), Cowboy Fries (fries, nacho cheese, and sautéed ground beef), and the Banana Split Churro (quite literally like it sounds), among others.
• Of course, on the flip side, there are a few classics that have been brought back from those early years: the classic Banana Split and the Apple Pancake Rolls, which one of the chefs told us was pretty much identical to what it was like all those years ago. So if you want a taste of Disneyland’s past, go for that.
• I’m still vying to try the Grilled Tahitian Ribs at Bengal Barbecue, and I want to get the Abominable Snowman Sipper, but unfortunately I couldn’t find it in time before I left the park. Next time!

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 can 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 core theme of the new World of Color is happiness, and it’s done by celebrating all movies from Disney’s 100 years, not just recent hits.
• It begins and ends with Walt Disney’s quote from Disneyland’s opening day, “To all who come to this happy place… welcome!”
• For the first time, the Muppets are also involved. Because the Muppets are also celebrating their 70th anniversary, Disney and Muppets collaborated to have them perform the pre-show check right before World of Color starts. It’s approximately 4 minutes long and features all the Muppets, including Mrs. Piggy singing.
• The entire World Of Color Happiness show is led by Inside Out 2’s emotions. There are multiple sequences, with each one focused on different movies and characters, but all related to the Inside Out emotion for that sequence.
• For example, Fear’s sequence is all about Disney villains like the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and Jafar.
• Anger’s sequence has a big focus on The Incredibles, Hercules, and other big heroic characters. And the fun part here is that, because Anger is H๏τ-headed, the sequence ends with a huge fire plume that can be felt from a great distance.
• Joy, Sadness, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, and other emotions are used throughout the show, with the moral being that, together, they make happiness.
• Disney is using everything in their arsenal for this show; the wet zone has been extended, there’s the fire plume, the lights on the Incredicoaster are used much more than in previous iterations, and there are bubbles that spray throughout Paradise Pier.
• One really cool thing is that, whereas parades and previous World of Color shows have focused on the big properties, so many lesser-loved or lesser-discussed movies get a lot of love here. “I’ve Got A Dream” from Tangled and “This Wish” from Wish both play midway through the show, for example. They pretty much hit everything.

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.