Two New Nighttime Spectaculars for Disney World’s 50th Anniversary!
Good Morning America has announced more details about Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, including new entertainment in Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. In this post, we’ll cover everything revealed and offer some thoughts on what’s coming to Magic Kingdom this fall for the celebration!
The latest GMA first look follows one a couple months ago, which showcased the new character costumes for Minnie & Mickey Mouse and the transformation of Magic Kingdom’s iconic Cinderella Castle with new sparkling embellishments. It also shared concept art for the “Beacons of Magic” nighttime projections for the icons in the four Walt Disney World theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios.
The “World’s Most Magical Celebration” will kick off on October 1, 2021 and last for 18 months. The event will be celebrated at all four theme parks throughout 2021 and 2022. You can read everything that’s officially announced and rumored for the festivities in our Ultimate Guide to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary!
Today’s announcement is that two new nighttime spectaculars and one new daytime lagoon show will debut at Walt Disney World on October 1, 2021 for the start of the World’s Most Magical Celebration!
First, there’s Harmonious at Epcot.
The news that Harmonious will debut on October 1, 2021 doesn’t come as a huge surprise since installation has been progressing since late last year and testing actively began on the full show after park hours (and has been seen from the Crescent Lake resorts) throughout June 2021.
Nevertheless, it’s great to have this officially confirmed. Walt Disney World had been silent about the future on Harmonious for a while, including in the announcement that fireworks would return to Magic Kingdom and Epcot this summer.
Although not shared on Good Morning America, Disney has also announced new daytime entertainment, so let’s jump to Animal Kingdom for a look at “Disney KiteTails.” This will come alive several times daily at the Discovery River Amphitheater beginning October 1, 2021.
Performers will fly wind catchers and kites of all shapes and sizes, while out on the water with elaborate three-dimensional kites– some stretching to 30 feet long–will depict Disney animal friends, including Simba, Zazu, Baloo, and King Louie. These colorful creations will dance through the sky to the beat of favorite Disney songs in an uplifting, vibrant experience for the whole family.
Also quietly revealed in the press release is the new “Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade” in Magic Kingdom, which will be performed several times throughout the day.
This will feature Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto, and Chip ‘n’ Dale sporting their sparkling new EARidescent fashions for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but this probably rules out a new daytime parade–or Magic Happens being imported from Disneyland–at least for the start of the World’s Most Magical Celebration in October. (Maybe in 2022!)
These eight characters will also be featured in special golden character sculptures debuting October 1, 2021 at Magic Kingdom. In the artist rendering above, you can see Mickey and Minnie shining in the sunlight near Cinderella Castle.
There will be 50 characters total in this series of sculptures that will be displayed across all four Walt Disney World theme parks. More of the “Disney Fab 50” will soon be revealed as excitement builds for the big day, as well as the surprising ways you’ll be able to interact with these beautiful sculptures as part of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
This is something Tokyo Disney Resort has done several times for its anniversaries.
Usually, there’s a piece of merchandise (see photo of Sarah using the Tokyo DisneySea anniversary wand) that activates a portal and special effect on the statue. Given the verbiage in the press release, it sounds like this might be akin to that. Think of this as somewhat similar to the wands in Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Finally, the main event: “Disney Enchantment” is a new nighttime spectacular debuting at Magic Kingdom on October 1, 2021.
Disney Enchantment was created to launch with the World’s Most Magical Celebration, and per the company, “this evening extravaganza will take you on a journey filled with adventure, wonder and empowerment. Inspiring everyone to believe in magic, Disney Enchantment will feature music, enhanced lighting, stunning fireworks and, for the first time, immersive projection effects that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.”
This reveal was really light on details, with a single piece of concept art and the name quickly flashing on screen during Good Morning America–and that’s it. We’ve previously heard a couple of “competing” rumors about the new night show debuting at Magic Kingdom, both of which we’ve shared in prior Walt Disney World news & rumor roundups.
The first would be more akin to Once Upon a Time; effectively a pre or post-show for Happily Ever After. However, given the phrasing (calling it a nighttime spectacular) and the limited details of what this will entail, we suspect it’s a temporary replacement for Happily Ever After.
That’s exactly what the other rumor indicated–that Disney Enchantment would be a fully-fledged limited run fireworks show. In previous posts, we’ve likened this to Disneyland Forever or Celebrate Tokyo Disneyland.
The former debuted for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration and focused more on film franchises with some Walt Disney dialogue scattered in, whereas the latter was a love letter to attractions around Tokyo Disneyland for that park’s 35th Anniversary. “Remember… Dreams Come True” at Disneyland would be another relevant comparison, if you’re familiar with that.
Our hope is that Disney Enchantment at Magic Kingdom is more akin to Celebrate Tokyo Disneyland or Remember… Dreams Come True.
Even though Celebrate Tokyo Disneyland was created for Japan, most of the projections in that nighttime spectacular could be recycled since it was designed for Cinderella Castle and the two parks share many of the same attractions.
Seriously, roughly 90% of that 35th Anniversary show could be reused, with the rest only lightly modified. My only request/demand is that the Country Bears riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad segment (seriously, watch Sarah’s clip above!!!) is longer in the Magic Kingdom version. Fifteen minutes sounds about right.
That show featured a “tour” of each land, with scenes from the Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mark Twain Riverboat, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Celebrate Tokyo Disneyland also had a decent amount of characters to appeal to more casual guests (including a “surprise” appearance by Mickey Mouse in Cinderella Castle’s balcony). But I digress. This isn’t about that show, and Disney Enchantment could end up being totally different.
Additionally, the Main Street projections make a lot of sense. Disneyland has been doing this since that park’s 60th Anniversary, with the Diamond Celebration fireworks having projections up and down Main Street.
More recently, Mickey’s Mix Magic carried forward the legacy, often times minus pyro. Disneyland Forever and other fireworks have also since been modified to have a “B-mode” with projections and other effects only when it’s too windy for pyro. Likewise, projections in World Bazaar at Tokyo Disneyland have become standard beginning with the 35th Anniversary.
One unquestionable upside of the Main Street projection mapping is that it spreads out crowds during fireworks. This is hugely advantageous at Disneyland, where congestion in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle began hours before fireworks time.
The introduction of projections up and down Main Street helped spread guests out more, as there were many more interesting viewpoints and visuals. Given the crowd forecasts for October through (at least) December 2021, this will be hugely beneficial for easing congestion in the hub. It’ll still undoubtedly be bad, but not as bad as it could be.
Finally, we’ve had many readers ask why the return of Fantasmic, Festival of Fantasy, and other entertainment on temporary hiatus was not announced. There are several reasons this has not yet occurred, most revolving around staffing shortages and unique wrinkles of productions with performers.
Beyond that, anything with the words “coming back” would never be in a reveal on Good Morning America. This type of tease is directed at a very casual audience–most definitely not readers of blogs like this one. Mentioning returning entertainment would only give rise to unwanted “there’s stuff missing right now?” questions from those planning trips prior to October.
In other words, we wouldn’t read anything at all into existing entertainment that was not mentioned during the segment. While it’s entirely possible much of that isn’t back by October, today’s sneak peek should not be viewed as indicative of what won’t be shown during Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. More announcements are still to come.
Ultimately, we are really happy there’s now official confirmation about nighttime entertainment for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. This is seriously great, and incredibly reassuring that the World’s Most Magical Celebration will be a blockbuster event worthy of a half-century celebration.
However we may feel about the daytime visual blight of Harmonious, it’ll be nice to finally enjoy its fruits during the evening hours–and hopefully that show gives Epcot a much-needed shot in the arm. Disney KiteTails looks like a cute diversion that’ll add something to Animal Kingdom’s lineup, too. The statues should also be great enhancements that will reinforce the celebratory spirit throughout all four parks.
With that said, the big thing for us is Disney Enchantment. No matter what it is, a new fireworks show in Magic Kingdom is always cause for excitement. Personally, we really hope it pays tribute to 50 years of the Magic Kingdom. Given that everything else debuting on that date will lean heavily into characters and intellectual property, we think that it makes sense for the fireworks in Walt Disney World’s flagship park to leverage nostalgia of the parks themselves.
Not only is that the essence of a golden anniversary, but it’s a way to differentiate the shows and spectaculars from one another. If this is on par with Celebrate Tokyo Disneyland or Remember Dreams Come True (but with more pyro than both since it’s Walt Disney World), this will be a memorable show that lifelong Walt Disney World fans will absolutely adore. Here’s hoping!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the latest announcements for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary? Excited for the newly-announced Disney Enchantement or KiteTails? Thoughts on the Disney Fab 50 character statues? Happy that Harmonious now has an official debut date? Think Disney has any surprises for the anniversary up its sleeves? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom, I second Caroline N’s question about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration-any ideas at all if we’ll get to have one in December? We will be there for Christmas and it won’t be the same without it.
the kite show looks really neat. the only drawback is sitting in that amphitheater in the midday sun. while rivers of light didn’t hit the mark, i was hoping for a new nighttime show there sometime, ala world of color.
as several have mentioned the cavalcades… while we haven’t seen them firsthand, my thoughts keep gravitating toward it sounding better to me personally than staking out a parade spot 45-60 minutes, or more, ahead of time in the baking sun, only to have someone try butting in 5 minutes before parade time. the spontaneity is also nice.
Think of the kite show as a “kitevalcade.” 😉
It’s going to be the same idea–with the same things you like about the cavalcade. Agreed about a Rivers of Light replacement.
What are your thoughts on the chances of a night parade at MJ?
I think it’s looking less and less likely that one will debut on October 1, but Paint the Night being imported next spring for a soft reboot of the event would not surprise me in the least.
I’m also wondering about Happily Ever After. If this is meant to be a temporary replacement, will it span the entire 100th celebration? And if so, I’m guessing it will be free event, with the hopes that an extra ticket won’t be required… is that how they have typically run such celebrations in the past?
Disney hasn’t said one way or the other, but the credible rumors we heard prior to this announcement (which were correct about the show itself) indicated that the plan would be to bring Happily Ever After back in 2023.
That’s consistent with what Disneyland has done with its celebratory nighttime spectaculars. Happily Ever After isn’t that old, so I’d expect the same here.
Think Disney has any surprises for the anniversary up its sleeve
Tom you’ve made my day yet again.
When the weakest announcement in a blog is a new daytime show at Animal Kingdom that’s one heck of a loaded column.
I was not “excited” when you brought up the kite thing but I bet people will be pleasantly surprised when they see & hear this show. FULL DISCLOSURE I also make sure to see the bird show every trip.
The only thing I’m not looking forward to is trying to collect all 50 replicas of those statues that will be offered with Happy Meals.
To your last question about surprises. Oh yeah! Disney has some pretty long sleeves.
Remember I predicted there would be no masks and fireworks for Oct 1st way back when. We haven’t heard the last of WDW’s 50th celebration events.
Do you think they will extend the celebration? It seems like something they do… a year into the celebration they extend it an extra 6months or is that something I’ve just made up in my mind?
No, you’re not making it up. That has happened several times.
I could see it being extended to 24 months, especially if they decide to “reboot” and rebrand it halfway through with more new entertainment and attractions. I wouldn’t bank on that, though.
This is great, but I desperately want a night time parade. I’ll even accept permanent daytime cavalcades if they’d do that.
Hi Tom! We are planning a trip for February 2022. Will all these new shoes still be running then as well? Hoping so!!
@FairyGodDaughter I’m not sure how I feel about the cavalcades. It seems like most people have really liked them, but we found we saw very few. We didn’t see any cavalcades in Epcot, even though we spent quite a bit of time in the World Showcase. I was glad I didn’t tell my daughter she’d see princesses there. I thought it would be a surprise, but the surprise never came. We saw some characters (storm troopers and Chewy) on stage at Hollywood Studios, but no cavalcades. At Magic Kingdom, we saw two cavalcades–the only ones our whole trip. One was small and just had Tinkerbell. Later, we saw a big one with all the princesses, and that was amazing. When it works out, I like that you can see all the characters without a giant crowd or planning an hour out of your day for the parade. However, it seems easy to run into bad luck and not see any at all.
They’ve definitely reduced the number of cavalcades pretty dramatically since even a few months ago. For last summer through Christmas, they occurred around once every 30 minutes. We’ve gone entire visits to Magic Kingdom more recently without seeing any.
We’re some of the lucky ones and have park reservations for MK on Oct 1. Would love a guide for what to do! Though just camping out for a spot for the fireworks is seriously crossing my mind! 😛
Any idea why they’re bringing back fireworks, but not parades? I am NOT a big fan of the “cavalcades”, and I seriously hope they don’t become a permanent replacement. I miss the parades and hope they return soon. That they are not even returning for the 50th is a bitter disappointment.
I wouldn’t read anything into the lack of an announcement about Festival of Fantasy–that’s not the kind of announcement they’d make on Good Morning America. It’s a more casual audience, and saying “we’re bringing back ___” would just draw attention to the fact that it’s presently missing. Most non-fans probably don’t know that in the first place.
With that said, any entertainment with performers is going to take more time to bring back than fireworks or projection shows.
Any chance any of this starts at the end of September instead of all on 10/1? Thanks!!
Perhaps a preview night or two, but I wouldn’t count on it. Disney can test these shows out after hours–no need for ‘soft openings’ like with new attractions.
Any news/rumors about the dessert parties returning?
None whatsoever, but they generate a lot of revenue, so I think the odds are good by October.
I like the idea of the 50 statues. Reminds of Disneyland’s 50th, when there were fifty “hidden 50” emblems installed around the parks. Many were super obvious, but some were well-hidden, and it was a fun game to try to find all 50 of them. This is that same idea, but now with eye-level statues for convenient selfie-taking (we didn’t even HAVE selfies back when Disneyland had its 50th, kids).
What are they smoking with this Animal Kingdom kite show? I get that Rivers of Light never caught on, but the best idea for a replacement in that venue is a DAYTIME show in an UNSHADED seating area that faces DUE WEST into the afternoon sun?!?
My guess is that it’ll be pretty short and won’t require any advance planning, so that shouldn’t be a huge issue.
My hope is that Disney reworks and renames Rivers of Light, and debuts that “new” show sometime during the 50th. Walt Disney World needs to find a way to keep guests in Animal Kingdom after dark.
My husband and I will be in Disneyworld October 6 for 5 days. Can’t wait.
We tried to be there for Oct 1, but all was booked.
Keep trying. It’s highly likely that many more reservations will be released between now and then.
Wow – that’s more news than I expected. I’m excited they are using the DAK amphitheater for something, though I still hope a replacement for Rivers of Light comes someday. HEA is my favorite Disney show ever, so seeing it replaced (even temporarily) leaves me with trepidation. but Enchantment could be really nice.
Does the announcement of the cavalcade have any bearing on FoF? Is that coming back anytime soon?
“Does the announcement of the cavalcade have any bearing on FoF? Is that coming back anytime soon?”
I haven’t heard anything about Festival of Fantasy, but I’d expect it to be back sometime during the 50th. Maybe not in October, but at some point–unless Magic Happens is brought over from Disneyland.
The cavalcade should have no bearing on it–I’d expect it to be more akin to the past cavalcades/moving dance parties pre-closure.
Will Happily Ever After be back? I took my kids for their first trip two weeks ago and we had no fireworks… and our next trip is planned for December. They must see Happily Ever After!!
Hi Tom, thank you for all of your updates. Any idea when Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas celebration will be announced?
“50th Anniversary, including xxx”.
Not sure if that was left a left over lorem ipsum or some new reference I’m not cool enough to get.
Lol, thanks for the heads up. Got that one fixed!
Hi Tom. I love your updates. Looks like you didn’t complete your edit. Might want to fix: “including xxx”.
Thanks for getting us quick information!