Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary – New Attractions, Dates, & News

Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary – New Attractions, Dates, & News

Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary – New Attractions, Dates, & News

In this week’s episode, we are going to take a look at all the new attractions coming to Walt Disney world for the 50th anniversary celebration, everything including Ratatouille, Tron, guardians of the galaxy. And we’re even going to fill you guys in on how Disney figured out a way to charge people to get lost in their parks. So if you’re looking forward to the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary read on!

Visiting Walt Disney World in 2021

It’s June 7th, and this is the park prodigy episode 4  bringing you the most up to date theme impart news and vacation planning tools. So if you guys are fans of the theme parks, be sure to follow us and get notified as soon as our next episode drops. As we discussed last week on our show, it’s looking like 2021 is going to be a jammed pack year at Walt Disney world. With the recent changes to the Walt Disney World, including the reservation system, the Disney dining plan and everything else going on in this crazy world, we found a lot of families have decided to postpone their Walt Disney world trip until 2021. So even though it might seem like it’s far away, we wanted to take a look at all the new attractions we’re looking forward to at the Walt Disney world 50th anniversary celebration.

It’s also important to note that historically Disney releases all of its vacation packages for the following year towards the middle or the end of June. So the summer is typically when families can start to price out and plan their Disney vacation. Although we don’t know the exact date just yet, we’ll be sure to keep you guys posted once details aren’t revealed. The crazy thing is, is if you were to ask me a few weeks ago, I would have told you my gut is telling me, Disney is going to postpone the release of the 2021 vacation packages. And my main reason there would be because I thought they really wanted people to travel and visit Disney in 2020, but with everything going on, I don’t feel like that’s the case. I really think Disney expects and even wants people to travel in 2021, as they figure out how to handle their new reservation system. That would actually be the only reason why we might see a delay is because Disney is still getting a handle on their new reservation system. But we are just going to have to see.

Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration

As many of you know, Walt Disney first opened on October 1st, 1971. It’s crazy to believe, but we are fast approaching the 50th anniversary celebration. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. And although we can sing very merry un-birthday for the next 16 months, let’s take a look at what we’re expecting for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration. Disney announced some new changes coming to Walt Disney world over the past few years, including new attractions, new restaurants, and even the highly anticipated Star Wars hotel, the Galactic Starcruiser. And although there’s still definitely a lot up in the air, let’s take a look at what we know so far.

Which Attractions Will be Ready for the Disney World 50th Anniversary?

Remy’s Ratatouille adventure

The first ride that comes to mind is Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. For those of you guys who are unaware, Disney has been “cooking up something special at Epcot”. Their words, not mine. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is planned to open up in the French pavilion and is obviously based on the classic Pixar film Ratatouille. Now, although construction has been delayed, it’s important to note that this project had an anticipated opening date of the summer of 2020. Also anyone who’s visited EPCOT over the past few years, they could tell you that the ride is pretty much built. Now obviously Disney has to test the ride out and work out any issues, but the good news is that they already have a version of this ride in Disneyland Paris so that should not be an issue. We do see this ride being open for the 50th Anniversary.

Tron Lightcycle Rollercoaster

The second attraction that comes to mind in regards to the Disney World 50th anniversary is Tron. And I have to be honest, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this ride. Specifically with where it’s being built.  For those of you who don’t know this is the newest roller coaster coming through Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and construction has been underway for a while now. The newest attraction is being built in the back of Tamara land. Now I actually found the video on social three 360 which shows a ride through of the Shanghai version of Tron, and after watching this I feel the ride definitely looks very cool. My issue is that I just love unique attractions and IP at the Magic Kingdom. There’s just something so cool about Apace Mountain, the Haunted Mansion , and Pirates of the Caribbean.  The truth is Tomorrowland definitely needed a makeover, so let’s look at it in a positive perspective. Tron never officially received a release date, but we do know that it was expected to be in 2021. So fingers crossed that Disney is able to pull this one off and we’re going to leave a link in the bio and you guys can check out that ride through that we spoke about.

Space 220 Restaurant

Let’s jump over to a restaurant and that is Space 220 restaurant. So this is another addition that we’re pretty confident that Disney will be able to pull off in time for the fall of 2021. The Main reason being  they were already ready to open up in the winter of 2020 before Disney had to close its doors due to the Corona Virus. If you’re unfamiliar with this restaurant, guests will board an elevator that will simulate real time rocketing into orbit with panoramic views of earth and space. We have high hopes for the Space 2020 restaurant. The truth is with the technology that they have, I think the views are going to be insane.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Let’s move over to another attraction and that is going to be Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.  Looking past the Disney world 50th anniversary, I am super geeked and excited for this ride to open. I also have to give a huge shout out to Ellen Degeneres and her Universe of Energy ride, which this ride is replacing. That was obviously a classic and it was the perfect way to get out of the hot Florida sun and even take a nap on some of those longer days.

So now back over to the guardians attraction. This ride is opening up in future world and it is going to be a game changer for sure. For those of you who are not familiar, it is going to be one of the longest indoor roller coasters, and it is also going to have the first ever reverse launch into space. Now the first attraction that  comes to mind is the mummy over at Universal. And if it’s anything like that, it’s going to be awesome.  I’m also a huge fan of the movies, specifically the soundtracks. So if they can get the soundtracks, and we’re talking about Awesome mix volume one and two into the ride, It’s going to be amazing.  I can’t hype this ride up enough. The only thing that I feel might hold this back is the technology is so new that the testing might not just be ready for an October 2021 deadline, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

And course you guys know I couldn’t end this without saying I am Groot.

Fountain of Nations Construction

So sticking with future world, it’s going to be interesting to see how Disney is able to handle the construction going on in the middle of EPCOT. The reason being, if you have been to Epcot within the past couple of months to the past year, you obviously know that there is a ton of construction going on. Most importantly, going on in the area where the Fountain Of Nations was, and this is now being turned into a garden area. This area is critically important from a traffic foot traffic standpoint, because that’s really how everything funnels into the different areas of EPCOT. So I’m sure Disney will figure that out. The truth is they have to with all the people we anticipate coming in for 2021. It will be interesting to see how delays might impact World Discovery and World Nature.

Moana Journey of Water

So sticking with World Nature, let’s talk about Moana. Fun fact, I did not know that the Moana attraction Journey Of Water is not actually a ride, but a walk through maze. Yes, you heard me right. The attraction is a walk through maze featuring “the goddess Tafiti that will let guests interact with magical living water in a beautiful and inspiring setting”. I just don’t get this at all. I mean, if it turns out to be a walk through version of finding nemo, I’m going to be really upset about this. And the truth is if it actually turns out to be a difficult maze, this is a recipe for disaster. Everyone who lives in the Orlando area understands how bad the drivers really are. And you want to know why? It’s because they’re tourists and they’re all lost. So I guess Disney really figured out a way to profit off that.

What is their game plan? Hey guys, tickets are 135 bucks. Oh. And by the way, good luck with the Maze. Who thought that this was going to be a good idea? It can’t end. All I’m picturing in my head is Kevin from the office when he gets lost in that hay maze.  I have no idea what to say about this.

I also have no idea if this will even be ready for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary. And you want to know what? I honestly hope it’s not because half of you will probably get lost and miss the celebration completely.

Marry Poppins

Let’s jump into another attraction that unfortunately we are hearing has been postponed. That attraction  is the Mary Poppins ride scheduled for the UK in EPCOT. Now I thought this ride had a lot of promise and I for one am a huge fan of the Mary Poppins movies, specifically the Tom Hanks film, Saving Mr. Banks. That movie without a doubt has one of the most underrated motion picture soundtracks of all time. Unfortunately we will have to wait and see what happens with the ride.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

Let’s jump over to a hotel and the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. This is the highly anticipated game-changing Star Wars luxury hotel being built in the back of Hollywood Studios. This is going to be a one of a kind experience at Walt Disney world where you can actually live out what you would be like to live in a galaxy far, far away. And as of right now, this is actually one of the few projects that we have confirmed has started back up with construction. So that’s definitely a good sign.I’m really excited about this one, even though I don’t think I’m going to be able to afford, nor will I be able to get a reservation for a very long time. But it’s still something that we anticipate them having open for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration.

Disney Springs Updates for Disney World 50th

So whats going on at Disney Springs for the 50th Disney World anniversary celebration? Let’s talk about Cirque du Soleil the brand new version of the popular show in Disney Springs. And we have a very, very good feeling about this being ready to go by the 50th anniversary celebration.  This was anticipated to be open in the spring of 2020. The only real concerns at this point would be making sure they have the necessary social distancing seating arrangements in place. I’m sure Disney will figure that out. And they’ll get this attraction open in time for the Disney World 50th anniversary.

Other Notable Attractions for the 50th Disney World Celebration

Some of the other notable attractions that are fairly new to Walt Disney World are Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge which launched at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2019.  Also don’t forget about Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which opened up to rave reviews in March, 2020, right before Disney had to temporarily shut its doors.

Harmonious

Harmonious is the new at nighttime fireworks show at EPCOT. Guests can expect Disney music inspiring people around the world and we’ll include large scale floats, LED panels, fountains, lights, fireworks, and lasers. So this sounds awesome. And to be honest, expectations are very low after EPCOT forever. I know, I know I’m throwing a lot of shade at Disney, but listen, sometimes you have to be honest. And the truth is the only part of the EPCOT forever show that I liked was the journey into imagination part.

Spaceship Earth Refurbishments

Something that I know is going to affect a lot of people, including myself, is that Disney has announced Spaceship Earth has officially closed for refurbishments. And this is definitely a low blow for a lot of people like me who thought that they would be able to go on the ride in its current form one last time. Now it’s super important to know that the ride is not going anywhere. It’s just getting an upgrade. And Disney has said that “many of the moments, you know, in love will be updated in amazing ways, blended with new brand new scenes, to tell a story about our human experience.” So overall let’s look forward to it. Let’s celebrate change, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the Imagineers can do.

Changes at The Magic Kingdom for the Disney World 50th Anniversary

Let’s talk about The  Magic Kingdom park which is really the home for the 50th anniversary celebration. Disney has not released much official news regarding what we will see for the 50th, but it’s safe to assume we can expect some special edition fireworks and hopefully we’ll see a new nighttime parade. And if you have read my past few articles you already know, I am a big fan of parades and fireworks specifically special event fireworks, just like the ones at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party & Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They’re crazy. You can literally see the fireworks from anywhere in the park and that’s kind of what makes them so special. Hopefully Disney has something amazing planned for the 50th anniversary.

Let’s take a look at the nighttime parade which is something that has been missing at the magic kingdom park for the past few years. And it’s actually the longest period in the parks 50 year history that we have not seen a nighttime parade. That’s why this has been such a big rumor in the Disney community for the past few years that it’s perfect timing for Disney to release a new nighttime parade for the 50th anniversary. We are all very excited and we have our fingers crossed, but again, we’ll just have to wait and see.

When Will the Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration Begin?

It’s important to note that with everything going on, Disney does have a lot of flexibility with the 50th anniversary and it’s official start date. I recently read  an article on inside the magic. They did a really good job of explaining that Disney was initially planning to have the anniversary celebration start in the spring of 2021, but they have already pushed that back to the actual birthday, which is October 1st, 2021.  And the truth is if the delays continue, they could still push it a few more weeks or even adjusted to let’s say 2022. We do expect this celebration to last at least a year, and if it’s anything like Disneyland 18 months. So it’s not a matter of, when we celebrate it’s really just a matter that we do celebrate. I’m sure Disney has so much more up their sleeve as we all get ready for the 50th anniversary.

The truth is this is a great way for them to bring families back into the park. And let’s be honest. I think families want to be there to celebrate, especially a lot of the older adults who were lucky enough to visit the park back in 1971.  The nostalgia aspect of being able to go back to the place you love 50 years later, what your family is amazing!!

I cannot wait for the 50th celebration to start and we will be sure to keep you all posted on the latest news and information as we receive it!

When is The Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Our Disney  World Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature. We also break down the best time to visit Disney World based on specific times of the year and special events.

Are You Ready to Plan Your Next Disney World Trip?

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be sure to speak with a Disney World Travel Agent for the most recent deals and promotions. The Park Prodigy will provide a Free Quote for all Disney World Vacation Packages.

The Park Prodigy can also help you save up to $20 per ticket when purchasing your Walt Disney World Tickets, and we offer promotional discounts for special events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tickets and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets.

If you’re brand new to Disney vacation planning we recommend our Walt Disney World Planning Page! Learn more about Disney hotels by reading our Walt Disney World Hotels Review page.

Last but not least if you’re also planning a trip to Universal Studios, be sure to check out the best time to visit Universal Studios and our Universal Orlando Tickets! All Park Prodigy Universal Orlando tickets come with Universal Studios Early Park Admission.

Are you planning on visiting Walt Disney World for the 50th anniversary? Or have you visited in the past? Would you like to share your experiences and tips? Do you have any questions for The Park Prodigy? Hearing your feedback and helping with your questions is not only our goal but will help other readers! Please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments!