Welcome back readers to Muting and The Mouse! Do we have a fun blog to post this time. Abby and I are about a month removed from our most recent trip and let me tell you, it was so magical. It happens to line up that this post is coming to you on a very special day as well. The start of the Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration is officially here! This post is going to take you through some of the fun things we saw that prep us for the 50th as well as talk about things I am looking forward to. But first, can we just talk about something for a second? Disney World is 50, what an awesome celebration. No matter your age, you cannot deny that Disney has been a part of your life. It does not mean that you have been, it means its touched your life at some point. That is the magic I always talk about. Yes, I know Disney has been around for more than 50 years, but the fact that there was an expansion to Florida from the main Disneyland was a huge step. Walt’s dream of Disney World Resort came alive on October 1, 1971! Fast forward 50 years and here we are, October 1st, 2021 and we are ready to celebrate. It is sure to be the most magical celebration we have ever seen! Some of the decor started to appear while we were down there and it was awesome to see. So without further rambling, lets show you what we saw and give you some fun Disney magic on this historic day!
Arriving at Magic Kingdom, we were able to see some banners and they were pretty cool. The iridescent or should I say EARidescent color of the banners looked pretty awesome in the sun. A simple sparkle with the 50th number in them looked nice and were fun to see at each park. They were a little themed for the parks as ones around Animal Kingdom had green to them as well. It is the smaller things like this that really make the differences in going above and beyond to let you know something special is happening. Installed a couple days before we arrived, we were able to see the “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” sign in front of the newly renovated train station. The sign is amazing and creates a nice photo op. As we walked down Main Street USA we saw the new decor on the castle along with a giant number 50 on the castle. It looks so nice. See some of the photos above to escape into the magic.
A couple days into the trip, we noticed a fun wrap on the busses. Now, if you have not been in a while, there are new wraps on most of the Disney busses. These are super fun and really hammer home the Disney themes. There is a new 50th Anniversary wrap for the bus and it is so adorable. Mickey and Minnie in their best for the 50th Celebration had us stopping to take photos. Yet another minor detail that makes the magical celebration even more special. To ride the 50th wrapped bus is a nice surprise and makes you look forward to finding it.
Magic Kingdom really started to get ready for the celebration. The parks were announced to start getting The Fab 50 Golden Statues. These are 50 of the Disney Character greats solidified in golden color around the parks. There had been some leaks of who would be around but no one knew where or when they would pop up. One of the nights when we were walking around the park, we noticed that some had popped up in the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we saw the first one, we decided to search Magic Kingdom for the rest of them so we could see as many as we could. We were able to find Lady and The Tramp, Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Dumbo, Tinkerbell, Pooh Bear and Piglet and so much more! Now, I thought they would be little golden statues and that would be cool, but these are much larger than I thought and create fun hunts for the characters as well as photo ops. In the days after we left more and more popped up at the other parks and I cannot wait to find them all! Click the photos below of these statues.
This was enough to get us excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary and let me tell you, we were overjoyed to see a couple of the fun things they have in store for guests. There has been so much more announced. I will mention that Disney has some new nighttime shows that are starting up for the 50th. Harmonious and Disney Enchantment are new firework extravaganzas that will fill the sky! We were able to see some of the last showings of EPCOT Forever and Happily Ever After and that was magical. I am really excited to see these new shows Disney has planned. We are sad to see those two shows go and really feel lucky that we were able to see them one last time. The new shows begin with the 50th Celebration and will feature some new technology and accompaniments to the fire in the sky. These are two things I am really looking forward to in the upcoming year. See some of the photos of the old shows we saw for the last time.
Speaking of being excited for the 50th, I am really excited to see some of the merchandise in person. I have seen so many posts showcasing them but I will be sure to grab some to commemorate this magical time. In addition, I am really looking forward to some of the new food offerings that are being showcased. There are new desserts, spring rolls, menus and so much more! Disney really is going all out in all aspects to celebrate Walt’s dream.
I cannot believe I was able to see some of the offerings and from what I have seen and read about, if you are looking to celebrate, I advise it. There are new rides planned to open as well and that is always exciting. We were able to preview a new ride that also is opening today, October 1st: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. This is is located in the France Pavillon in Epcot and is new to guests. The ride is trackless and in 3D for all ages. The line is well themed and really has you enter into the rat world. As you get into the ride, the vehicle is a small mouse and you are on your way through the kitchens. You are shrunk down to mouse size and the scenes around you are larger than life. We were able to preview this as Annual Passholders and it was so fun! The ride is sure to be popular so make sure you look into it if you are headed there. The area is well themed and the ride is going to be a hit. This is just another new offering that coincides with the 50th Celebration.
All in all, you probably have seen all of the fun that is planned for the 50th but I just wanted to share what we were able to see in person and what I am excited for. Living out of state from Disney is hard to be a blogger as you cannot always be the first to break the news. But that is not why I got into this. I got into this to bring the Disney joy to others. Disney has touched my life in so many ways and I want others to see what they have to offer. These offerings for the 50th are sure to be amazing and I can tell you from what I have seen in person, it will be worth it! I love the color scheme, the slogans, the offerings, and all of the new ideas the parks are bringing to us! Are you planning a Disney Vacation for the 50th? If so, let us know what you are most excited about in the comments below! Remember to escape into the magic, no matter how far and join us in singing…
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Walt Disney World, happy birthday to you! Happy Anniversary/birthday to you Disney World, lets kick off the celebration!
Muting & The Mouse 
I am so looking forward to the trips we have planned during the 50th celebration! I love the color scheme that they have been using and that iridescent sheen that gives a hint of sparkle to everything is phenomenal. Extra suitcases may be necessary to bring home all of the souvenirs I have my eye on. Ears, popcorn buckets, pins, hats, plushes, Spirit Jerseys…they are all calling my name! And I think I need one of everything from the Vault Collection. And I cannot wait to ride Ratatouille and maybe have a crepe!
Now, about Harmonious and Enchantment. I had such high, high hopes for both and was horribly disappointed during the streaming events for both. Illuminations, Epcot Forever, Wishes, Happily Ever After…all of them evoked emotion from everyone who watched and listened to the music. I think most Disney fans will tell you that they get misty or they get goosebumps during at least once section of those shows. I didn’t feel that once during either Harmonious and Enchantment. And I feel that Harmonious completely forgot that it is being shown in Epcot. The IP laden show completely took away from the feelings of imagination, forward thinking technology, and globalism that Epcot is known for. I know that they tried to tie the World Showcase in by having the songs sung in various languages, but it just seemed disjointed to me. During the 25th Anniversary, Disney changed Illuminations for the Remember The Magic year. The opening to Illuminations that year was great because each country welcomed visitors to Epcot to celebrate in their native languages. To me, that is the kind of thing that embodies Epcot and that was what I was hoping for here. I am obsessed with Disney music…particularly the music from the Parks. I seriously listen to it all day long while at work, it’s playing while cleaning up the house, and it’s usually what’s playing in the backyard during pool time. Neither Harmonious or Enchantment had me saying, “I can’t wait to listen to that again!” like I did the first times hearing the soundtracks to Epcot Forever and Happily Ever After. And with these being shows that were created with the 50th in mind, I expected more love for Disney past. It seemed like most of the highlights in these shows were on more recent Disney characters and movies. It seemed like both shows were significantly watered down versions of HEA. I could go on and on about this, but I think you get my point! On a positive note, I was happy to see that Tink is still flying from the castle!
Oh, one last thing. I do not like the fact the placement of the giant portal looking screen in the middle of the lagoon can only be viewed from two sides. It seems like those areas are going to be more congested with people and if you can’t get into those areas you have to watch from the sides you’ll be missing out on whatever is being shown on the screens. I don’t know how the Imagineers didn’t think about that while developing this show. Or more accurately, I can’t believe the Imagineers didn’t care while developing this show. Okay, rant over…for now!
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