Disneyland Announces Its Big Plans for Its 70th Anniversary

In 2025, Disneyland Resort celebrates its 70th anniversary, and the theme park wants to create an unforgettable experience. So, Disney just announced its big plans for its 70th anniversary.  You’ll want to book a trip as soon as you read everything coming to the parks over the next year.

Disneyland Announces Its Full Schedule

In an unusual move, Disneyland Resort went ahead and announced the dates for every major event and party in calendar 2025. Here’s the list of seasonal events:

• Lunar New Year – January 17th — February 16th, 2025
• Anaheim Ducks Day – January 24th, 2025
• Celebrate Gospel Disneyland – February 8th and February 15th
• Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival – February 28th – April 21st
• Season of the Force – March 28th – May 11th
• Disneyland 70 (70th Anniversary Celebration) – May 16th – Summer 2026
• Disneyland Halloween Time – August 22nd – October 1st
• A Celebration of Coco/Plaza de la Familia – August 22nd – November 2nd 
• The Holidays at Disneyland – November 14th – January 7th, 2026
• Disney Festival of the Holidays – November 14th – January 7th, 2026

Just to clarify, Disney does list its 70th anniversary as lasting through the summer of 2026. So, they’re following the lead of how Walt Disney World approached its 50th anniversary. Also, please remember that the Festival of the Holidays at Disney California Adventure is its own thing in addition to the regular holiday events at Disneyland Resort. 

Then, we have all the specialty dates at the parks. Disney has confirmed the dates for every after-hours ticketed event in 2026. Those dates are:

• Sweethearts’ Nite – January 21st, 23rd, and 28th, February 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th, and 13th
• 90s Nite – March 4th and 6th
• Star Wars Nite – April 8th, 10th, 22nd, 24th, and 29th, May 1st, 4th, and 6th
• Pride Nite – June 16th and 18th

Finally, we already know the dates for the 2025 Oogie Boogie Bash. Those are:

• August 17th, 19th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 28th, 31st
• September 2nd, 9th, 11th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 28th, and 30th
• October 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, 28th, and 31st

Disneyland Announces New Experiences

So, we already have the complete calendar for Disneyland Resort next year. That should help you book earlier than usual. In fact, if you own at one of the two DVC resorts here, you might want to go ahead and lock up your Halloween reservations now. Remember that Oogie Boogie Nights tickets sold out almost immediately in 2024, and the same thing should happen in 2025.

Disneyland also confirmed some of the unique elements of its 70th anniversary celebration. Most notably, you’ll notice a splashy medallion at Sleeping Beauty Castle. Also, Mickey & Minnie Mouse will wear new outfits at Town Square exclusively during this event.

Disney California Adventure will host a modified nighttime presentation to commemorate the event. World of Color Happiness! embraces the spirit of Walt Disney’s words during the park’s opening day: “To all who come to this happy place…welcome!” 

Similarly, Carthay Circle Restaurant will host a nightly event encouraging everyone to “celebrate happy.” Disney promises that this event will include “lights, music and projection effects.” And Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! will return at Disney California Adventure as well.

As expected, Paint the Night will return to Disneyland, too. It’s one of the park’s most popular nighttime parades ever. But that’s not all! Wondrous Journeys is coming back on “select nights.” However, Disney notes that Wondrous Journeys and Better Together will take a break during the holiday festivities, which feature their own nighttime presentations.

The Parks Blog also mentions a new character cavalcade coming to the parks. Plus, It’s a Small World will receive a unique digital projection in 2025. 

Disneyland Confirms Other Dates

For the first time ever, guests will be able to see the first-ever Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney in the new show “Walt Disney – A Magical Life,” which will eventually play in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” after its initial debut at Disneyland park in 2025.

We learned other exciting details about Disneyland Resort in 2025. The most consequential of them involves Walt Disney – A Magical Life. This show featuring a realistic Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic will officially open on May 16th, 2025. 

Disney also indicated that construction soon begins in earnest for the expanded Avengers Campus. As a byproduct of these changes, the beloved Red Car Trolley will close for good at the close of business on February 8th, 2025. 

At Downtown Disney, management didn’t provide exact opening dates. However, Disney Wonderful World of Sweets and the Parkside Market dining hall should both debut in “early 2025.”

Also, I should mention that during Season of the Force, the popular Hyperspace Mountain overlay will return. So, you’ll find plenty of reasons to visit The Happiest Place on Earth during its 70th anniversary party!