NEWLY OPENED
Walt Disney World has kicked off its 50th anniversary showpiece and the fabulous Florida festivities to mark it will last a mousetastic year and a half.
Billed as “The World’s Most Magical Celebration”, visitors to the Orlando theme parks can expect an epic array of new attractions, glittering decor, nighttime spectaculars and more to mark five decades of delight.
Walt Disney’s magical theme park dream from 1971 only gets bigger and better. Here’s our pick of the Big Five-O highlights…
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, EPCOT
This flavourful family-friendly attraction invites riders into the tasty world of Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film Ratatouille.
You’ll feel as if you’ve shrunk to the size of Chef Remy, scurrying through Gusteau’s restaurant.
Harmonious, Epcot
One of the largest nighttime spectaculars created for a Disney theme park, it’s a joyous journey through new interpretations of classic Disney songs, inspired and influenced by cultures and people from around the world.
The sounds play amid choreographed moving fountains and with lights, lasers and fireworks bursting above and around the World Showcase Lagoon.
Disney Enchantment, Magic Kingdom
Visitors can join dreamers such as Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, Miguel from Disney and Pixar’s Coco, Rapunzel from Tangled and more as they set out on a journey beyond the ordinary.
Their arrival in a land filled with adventure, wonder, empowerment and enchantment is showcased with a spectacle featuring Disney music, fireworks, lighting and immersive projection effects that extend from the iconic Cinderella Castle down Main Street USA.
Space 220 Restaurant, EPCOT
This restaurant in World Discovery offers a CGI culinary experience in a space station, with virtual views of Earth from 220 miles above the planet’s surface.
Diners board a space elevator for a simulated journey to the Centauri base, where they experience the ultimate “height cuisine” with backdrops that are out of this world.
Disney Fab 50 Character Collection, all parks
Golden sculptures are spread across the four Walt Disney World theme parks and feature 50 characters including Miguel and Dante from Coco at EPCOT and Simba, Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Disney KiteTails, Animal
Kingdom
Head to the Discovery River Theater for a vibrant familyfriendly experience.
Performers fly windcatchers and kites of all shapes and sizes, while out on the lake elaborate kites up to 30ft long depicting Disney animal friends such as Simba, Zazu, Baloo and King Louie will be towed by jet skis.
50th FOOD Celebration sips and bites
The magic caters for foodies too, with Disney chefs and mixologists creating more than 150 items to eat and drink, all offering a dash of colour, a helping of whimsy and a touch of EARidescent shimmer. Examples include:
Cheese Fries with Walt’s Chili at Animal Kingdom.
Mission to Mars burger at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in Magic Kingdom.
EARidescent Croissant Doughnut at EPCOT.
Magical Beacon cocktail at many restaurants, lounges and pool bars.
EARidescent Ice Dream Cone at
Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park.
More tasty treats will follow over the next 18 months.
NEW FOR 2022 Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, EPCOT
A family-friendly adventure will start in the Galaxarium, a planetarium-like exhibition that explores the similarities and mysteries of the formation of Earth’s galaxy and the Guardians’ world Xandar.
Visitors will learn about the treasures Xandar has to share…and then the Guardians of the Galaxy gang arrive and guests go on a thrilling intergalactic chase through space and time.
The hi-tech attraction will also feature a brand new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering – a storytelling roller coaster that rotates 360 degrees to focus riders on the action itself, including the first reverse launch on a Disney coaster. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser,