"To all who come to this happy place, welcome!" Last year, Disney celebrated the 60th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland. After the year long celebration came to a close, Disney fans across the country were speculating if there would be any form of celebration for 45th anniversary of Walt Disney World's opening. Well, there was a celebration that took place yesterday, but it was no where near as elaborate at the Disneyland 60th, although I'm sure there will be bigger and better plans for WDW's 50th celebration.
And even though it wasn't an elaborate celebration, that didn't mean that there was no crowd. It took me almost an hour to get into the park yesterday around noon. With a combination of a huge crowd, crazy heat, and the monorail not operating at that time, I was very close to turning around and heading home. But, I knew I would regret not going, so I stuck it out.
Once inside, there was a banner hanging in the front at the train station. Park entrance cast members were handing out buttons to every guest that came in, and there was also a special edition park map that opened up into a poster.
As you made your way down Main Street, USA, the Emporium was absolutely packed with people, as that was the main location for the limited edition merchandise, which included pins and t-shirts that said "I Was There!" Everything limited edition sold out in less than two hours into park opening, with most open edition selling out by later in the afternoon. I was still able to score this cute tumbler from the Emporium!
Across the way at the Main Street Bakery were two other in-demand items: the Starbucks commemorative mug and the specialty cupcake. The mugs were perfection and couldn't stay on the shelves for very long as people in line were grabbing them left and right. As much as I loved the mug, I was still happy with my purchase from the Emporium.
If you have any friends who like Disney at all, I'm sure your timelines were clogged with this very similar picture: the commemorative button in front of Cinderella's Castle. I did have plans on posting that #basic picture on my Instagram, but instead I settled for posing with the park map poster.
There was one sad part of the celebration yesterday that was on my bucket list to accomplish. The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob sang the songs of Frontierland for the last time yesterday. Although I didn't get to see their full set before I left, I was happy to see them in passing. They'll always have a special place in my hear because they helped me create one of my favorite magical moments for a three-year-old child who just loved music. If you'd like to read that story, click on the picture below!
My few hours in the park did end on a great moment. I stopped by Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square to get a quick cup of ice water, and one of the cast members gave me a free waffle! I hadn't planned on eating at the park, so this was an amazing surprise!
All in all, the 45th celebration was fun, but felt a little thrown together. But I do believe that this made fans even more excited for five years from now for the 50th anniversary.
Did you attend the 45th celebration? What did you think of the event?
