Disneyland Celebrates It’s 59th Anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX7ajhsYilQ&list=UUA3ermB2Eg_pyMYcOb3Pdjg
Complete ceremony, including sing-along with the Dapper Dans

Every year on July 17, Disneyland celebrates their opening day. In recent years this has been marked with a simple but moving ceremony on Town Square, the location where Walt Disney dedicated Disneyland during a live television broadcast on July 17, 1955. This year, the opportunity was taken to also roll out details about Disneyland’s upcoming 60th birthday.

The “Diamond Celebration” of Disneyland will officially begin in the spring of 2015. To commemorate six decades of memories, Disney is asking guests to send in their happiest images. These will be sorted by decades, and put to a vote of the public. One image will be elected for each decade, and one will be chosen for all time.

On this July 17, festivities in Town Square kicked off with a sing-along of beloved Disneyland tunes, led off by the Mayor of Disneyland and performed by the Dapper Dans. From the rollicking calypso of the Tiki Room to the uplifting sentiment of It’s a Small World, guests were encouraged to join in and sing the familiar tunes.

A surprise for the day was the arrival of 59 Disney characters, who joined in singing Happy Birthday, listened as Walt Disney’s dedication speech was replayed, and enthusiastically kicked up their heels for a rousing version of A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Climaxing the ceremony was the unveiling of Disneyland’s official 60th birthday logo.

Kyle Burbank
Kyle is a writer living in Springfield, MO. His deep love of Disney and other pop culture finds its way into his stories, scripts, and tweets. His first book "The E-Ticket Life: Stories, Essays, and Lessons Learned from My Decidedly Disney Travels" is available in paperback and for Kindle. http://amzn.to/1CStAhV