A History of Happiness: Celebrating Disneyland's Milestone Birthdays Through the Years

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[music]
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[music]
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To all who come to this happy place,
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welcome.
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Disneyland is your land. Here aid
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relives fond memories of the past.
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[music]
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And here you may savor the challenge and
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promise of the future. Disneyland is
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dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and
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the hard facts that have created America
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[music]
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with the hope that it will be a source
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of joy and inspiration to all the world.
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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Welcome to Daps Magic, Disney and
1:01
positive stuff. I'm Mr. Daps and this
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week, unsurprisingly, we're going to be
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talking about Disneyland's birthdays.
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That is correct. Not just birthday, but
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birthdays. I thought it'd be fun [music]
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to take a look at the birthdays,
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specifically the milestone birthdays,
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through the years of Disneyland, many of
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which we've been at. And this goes
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[music] back all the way to 1955 up
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through today. I guess 1955 is [music]
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the original birthday. But we are going
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to cover all of that fun stuff. Before
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we get into it though, [music] I'd like
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to encourage you just to take a moment
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to subscribe wherever you're watching or
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listening to this podcast. [music]
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Leave me a comment with your favorite
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Disneyland birthday memories. Whether
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it's in the park or you watched [music]
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it from home, doesn't matter. We'd love
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to hear from you. And then also leave us
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a rating and let us know how much you
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love Dap's Magic Disney and positive
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Share that love of Disney [music] and
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positive stuff together as well. All
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right, business is taken care of. Let's
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get into the fun stuff which is
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Disneyland birthdays. [music]
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And as you go back into the history of
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Disneyland, the f first really big
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Disneyland milestone birthday would be
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the tentennial. This was that year where
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Walt Disney announces the first
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Disneyland Ambassador. That's a legacy
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that continues on through to today. Uh
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does a special show for the birthday.
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Has some fun stuff that comes out. But I
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think perhaps most importantly, he sets
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the the path for how Disneyland
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birthdays will be celebrated for decades
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to come.
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This birthday isn't just about looking
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back and celebrating the accolades of
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what has come before. It's also about
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looking forward and painting that
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picture of what's coming to the happiest
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place on earth. So at this birthday
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celebration or during this birthday
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celebration, Walt Disney is not just
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saying, "Hey, look at all the great
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stuff we did." He said, "Hey, look at
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all the great stuff that's also coming."
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Whether that's New Tomorrowland, whether
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that's New Orleans Square, so many
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amazing things that we love today really
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got introduced in 1965.
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And I think it's important to note that
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this is the point where you really
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notice that Walt Disney isn't just going
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to rest on his laurels. we already knew
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this like but this is where historically
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we can look and be like hey no we don't
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just celebrate milestones we also look
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to what the milestone means for the
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future and and that generally means
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change that means growth that means um
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maybe some things going away and being
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replaced
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but it sets a vision and a legacy from
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Walt Disney that we see today 61 years
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later as Disneyland's entering its
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Disneyland forward era and we see what
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the Walt Disney Company is going to be
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under new CEO Josh Demaro and and I
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think that's an important thing to note
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because as Disney fans we often want to
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stick with what we know and we want
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things to stay the same and we want to
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relive the nostalgia that we had as as
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younger you know maybe we were children
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maybe you were young adults whatever it
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was but we want to have that nostalgia
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factor uh preserved and and one of the
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things Walt was doing in this 10year
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anniversary was saying, "Hey, this isn't
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going to just be a museum. This is a
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living, breathing, growing theme park."
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You know, Disneyland said or he said
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Disneyland will never be completed. And
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he was demonstrating during this
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celebration that, hey, we're just
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getting started. It's going to keep
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going. And we've seen that happen and
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continue to happen through the years as
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Disneyland has grown and continues to
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grow into the future.
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as we celebrated the 71st birthday this
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week and as we look forward to next
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month's D23 where there'll be many more
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announcements about the future of
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Disneyland, the Disney parks and resorts
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and Disney Cruise Line as well. So then
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we fast forward and the next major
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milestone for Disneyland in terms of a
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birthday I think is for its 25th
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anniversary. And this is still before my
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time but I would love to have
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experienced it. This is the family
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reunion. This is where where I think the
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origins of the 24-hour day came from. I
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could be completely wrong, but this is
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this is what what I remember. Um they do
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this because it's the 25th anniversary.
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You should of course have a 25hour
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celebration and so Disneyland is open on
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July 17th for 25 hours. They have that
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family reunion parade
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fanfare of lights that that get added to
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Main Street's electrical parade. Um,
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this is the origins I really think of
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the more modern uh milestone celebration
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at Disneyland. This is a eventbased
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thing as opposed to it being a a
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Waltbased thing. And I think it's kind
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of when Disneyland is first discovering,
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hey, this is how we can celebrate these
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things um in in our own way moving
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forward and and not necessarily
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completely
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um relying on what Walt had already
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done. And instead of relying on those
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specifics from Walt, I think it's the
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pivot of starting to
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realize the
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core values and the vision of Walt and
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running with them um as opposed to just
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doing exactly what would Walt do. And
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that that was a mindset that continued
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on for many more years. And in fact, I
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can remember being a younger Disney fan
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and still people asking, "Oh, what would
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Walt do? Walt wouldn't do this and he
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would do that and and that conversation
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was was pretty common especially it
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seemed like in the '90s but this was
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that first step to uh I feel like taking
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things to a new direction and a new way
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and taking some risks and and
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going a little bit further forward than
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perhaps they had in in previous years.
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And some of the ways they did this is
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they did have a TV show which is
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something that Walt would do. But this
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ina in this case it was Craft Salutes
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Disneyland's 25th anniversary hosted by
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none other than Danny K. For those of
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you who have seen White Christmas, you
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probably know who Danny Kay is. He's
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that quirky lanky
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a little bit um crazy I guess you could
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say. He's the funny one. He's that tall
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dancer guy that's that's along Bing
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Crosby and uh and sings the best things
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happen while you're dancing. And you
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fast forward a few years and now he is
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celebrating Disneyland's 25th
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anniversary in being the host of this
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show. Ironically, or interestingly
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enough, just a couple years before he'd
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be hosting the opening of Epcot. But one
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of the highlights of this, yes, there's
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Yosman's, Adam Rich, there's Annette
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Funichello, but I think one of the
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moments that's very interesting of this
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this uh celebration is the performance
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of When You Wish Upon a Star by none
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other than Michael Jackson. Michael
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Jackson comes out of the castle. He's
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got Disney characters on him. It's a
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beautiful rendition of When You Wish
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Upon a Star that leads into this high
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energy Disney medley. And I think this
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is interesting because this is before
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Captain Eio. And this is kind of that
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first step into that collaboration. And
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and I would love to know the behind the
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scenes conversations and things that
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happened around this show that might
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have planted seeds to what would become
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Captain Eio. Maybe there's a book about
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it or something. I don't know. I'd be
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very curious to see um those connections
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and how they grew and what ultimately
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became Captain Eio and if there's any
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connections beyond Michael Jackson
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really loving Disney beyond that come
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with the uh 25th anniversary. The next
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big one at least in my world and I do
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remember this one. It's one of my
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favorite childhood memories and that was
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the 35th anniversary. This was the party
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gro. This you might have read about on
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30 years ago at Disneyland on Dap's
9:29
Magic. Doug did a fantastic post on it.
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I think he did a couple actually. And
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this was
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just the happiest celebration. This was
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a how can we just make the biggest
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birthday party and what would that theme
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be? And it really fit in with everything
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that was going on in the '9s if I
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remember. But you got this this
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wonderful parade, the Party Gar Parade.
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and and I can hear the music and the
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song as I'm thinking about this right
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now and and how much fun it was and how
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um vibrant everything was and big
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everything was because they had these
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massive balloon floats that were going
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down the street and and I can remember
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being I think I was 9 years old or
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something and just looking up at that
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and hearing and feeling the music and
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seeing the dancers and and realizing how
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this was unlike anything I'd ever
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experienced before and just the energy
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and the excitement that came through all
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of this really was something special.
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And that wasn't the only thing that was
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special. Like you knew the day was going
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to be special the moment you walked into
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the park and sometimes there was a
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magical noise that happened as you
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entered through the gates and that meant
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that you might have won something from
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the dream machine. And that could be a
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car, that could be free tickets, that
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could be pins, my dad won a watch, I
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remember, which was very exciting. And
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as as you came through the click style,
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you were notified that you'd won
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something. And then you go to the dream
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machine and find out what it was, I
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think, at a certain time, if I remember
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correctly. But it built that excitement
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and the anticipation that you already
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had cuz you're going to Disneyland, but
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it took it to the next level. And it
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really was something special. And I
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think that's why it deserves a a hat tip
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in the milestone celebrations as you
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look at these notable moments of
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Disneyland's history. And then you fast
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forward a little bit more and uh you go
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15 years further and there's other
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things that happened through the time,
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but these are the ones that seem to
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really stand out, I guess you could say,
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through the history of Disneyland's
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birthdays. and and you go to 19 or 19,
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you go to 2005.
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In 2005,
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you start seeing the
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the change of the Walt Disney Company, I
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think, is a good way to put it. It it
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it's where you start noticing the
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company kind of goes from being a uh a
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family feeling company, almost like a
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small company, to suddenly something
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bigger.
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And the the magic gets a little bit more
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polish. Maybe it was gold polish. Um,
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you get you get things that are grander
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in scale and
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more expansive and the synergies growing
12:31
and maybe cast members are a little bit
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more um
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more less casual, I guess, a little bit
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more formal. Not in a bad way, just in a
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like the the standard that was already
12:43
high was taken to another level because
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this was the 50th anniversary of
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Disneyland. And
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this wasn't celebrated just at
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Disneyland. This was the happiest
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homecoming on earth. It was celebrated
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around the globe. It wasn't just a
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birthday. It wasn't just July 17th. It
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was May 4th and 5th. You know, the park
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was closed for May 4th for that media
13:08
preview. Then May 5th, the world was
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introduced to um Parade of Dreams, which
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in my humble opinion is one of the best
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parades that Disneyland has ever done.
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And then you look forward to the evening
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and you get to experience for that first
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time. remember dreams come true and you
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hear the gasps of crowds as the
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fireworks go up all the way around uh uh
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the hub and
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you get to experience Disney
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storytelling
13:37
um both through the parade and and
13:39
through the fireworks in a way that just
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hadn't been done before. It it was
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bigger. It was more immersive. It was um
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it it just was that much more awe
13:50
inspiring. they took everything to the
13:52
next level and and even to the point of
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of synergizing with the parks around the
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globe and celebrating Disneyland's
13:59
birthday um globally as well. And then
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you also had the, you know, the gold
14:04
vehicles, the ride vehicles, and you had
14:06
the murals around the park that were
14:08
amazing that people sent in their
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pictures leading up to this big
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celebration.
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And then you could go find, oh, I'm in
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this picture on Main Street or maybe in
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Fantasy Land or things like that. And
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and it really was something that was
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mindblowing and awe inspiring. And it
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really did make you go, "Wow." And and I
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say that because I remember as a kid my
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dad would go to Disneyland and he'd
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study how Disney did things. And I
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remember one of the things he always
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said is Disney knows how to make Wow.
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Like that's kind of what they're aiming
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for. And that was one of those moments
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where as a young adult I suddenly was
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like, "Oh, this is wow." Like nobody
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nobody can do this but Disney. And you
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see all of these different stories
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coming to life in in Parade of Dreams
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and you know whether it's incredible
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acrobatics or dancing or jumping on
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trampolines. There was so much happening
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and it was just a beautiful parade,
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phenomenal music, um, great use of
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welcome to our family time and it was it
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was a very big classic Disney
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celebration.
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And I think anybody who experienced that
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and especially were there for either May
15:29
5th or July 17th, uh, will never forget
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those days. You know, who can forget
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walking in on July 17th and being handed
15:36
those gold Mickey ears with the date on
15:39
them and and the cupcakes that were
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given out? Like it was just so many
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things that went above and beyond um
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from a hospitality standpoint, from a
15:49
magic standpoint, from you name it. They
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went wow and they went all in. And it it
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really to me it sets the bar for for
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what a milestone birthday celebration
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can be. And that continued on and that
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led into more hospitality through the
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year of million dreams. And I don't
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think the year of a million dreams
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happens without the happiest homecoming
16:10
on earth because it really did, you
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know, they they up the hospitality level
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and they they really are like, oh, we're
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already this. How can we take it even
16:18
higher? And then I think the question
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was probably asked like, well, what's
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next? And and that's where Year of
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Million Dreams came and all of that
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special stuff. and and that could be a
16:27
whole podcast on its own.
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But what we saw though in in the 50th
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was kind of the launch of the modern
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Walt Disney or Disney experiences,
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Disney parks um experience. It was the
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change from um just being Disney land to
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being a part of a bigger story that's
16:50
being told, a bigger experience that's
16:52
being offered and in a much
16:56
it's it planted the seeds, I guess, to
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what we have today. Um because it just
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had a much further range and scope and
17:05
reach and all of those fun things as uh
17:08
as Disneyland celebrated this milestone.
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And this led to the 60th which you know
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was 11 years ago and 2015 came about and
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there were a lot of questions like well
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you can't just redo the 50th but what's
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going to be different and and how is it
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going to be different and how is it
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going to feel and Disneyland made the
17:30
diamond celebration and this this was a
17:34
different approach whereas I think the
17:36
50th anniversary was classic and grand
17:40
and
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traditional Disney in in many regards
17:44
even though there was some modern music
17:45
and stuff used throughout it. The 60th
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suddenly was a era where Instagram is
17:52
happening. It's an era where social
17:54
media is a much bigger deal. 50th
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social media was still a fairly new
17:59
thing. YouTube wasn't even around yet.
18:02
60th these things are now a part of our
18:05
daily lives. And so I think the approach
18:07
to it had to be different. It was a more
18:09
modern approach. It was a more um
18:12
interactive in some ways. There's
18:14
there's more ways to connect digitally
18:17
versus just experience what's going on
18:19
around you. And maybe that's a 24-hour
18:23
day with the Paint the Night parade,
18:25
which was a much more um
18:30
upbeat
18:31
and and modern parade than well
18:34
definitely than uh Main Street
18:36
Electrical Parade, but it was it was a
18:38
parade for a younger generation. The
18:40
focus it had this is really what it is.
18:41
the focus had changed from being a
18:46
uh whatever that demographic was that's
18:49
the target audience let's say young
18:51
families of the in for the 50th
18:52
anniversary young families were a new
18:55
generation now by the by the 60th and
18:57
and so it was more upbeat it was a
18:59
little bit more um poppy music there's a
19:03
different approach to the technology
19:04
that was used you know the the LED
19:07
lights the projection mapping for
19:10
Disneyland forever
19:11
The World of Color now is a part of this
19:14
and well world of color
19:17
celebrate uh debuts during the 60th and
19:20
you you see a way of storytelling that
19:24
builds on the past but definitely is
19:27
bringing the Walt Disney Company and
19:29
Disneyland into a completely new era
19:32
that's very technologically advanced.
19:35
And the thing is is the 50th did that
19:38
too to another level.
19:41
But the speed of technological growth I
19:43
think as it continues to speed up and
19:45
new things are more available quicker.
19:48
um you saw a bigger change in technology
19:52
from the 50th to the 60th than you did
19:54
from probably the 40th to the 50th where
19:57
yes, the 50th saw new firework um
20:02
launching spots and a a much more
20:06
comprehensive and massive scaled parade.
20:10
But then you fast forward 10 years and
20:13
you suddenly you're doing new things
20:14
with with lights, new things with audio,
20:17
new things with projections and
20:20
making these experiences
20:23
immersive in a different way. Whereas
20:26
Parade of Dreams, it's immersive because
20:27
people are moving around in front of you
20:29
and performing in different ways. Paint
20:32
the night. Still performers, incredible
20:34
floats, lights, and then you have a
20:38
different type of of engagement as
20:41
you're watching the parade. And then you
20:42
move into the fireworks in the evening
20:44
and the Main Street buildings are coming
20:47
to life with the projections that are
20:49
absolutely gorgeous. and and it just
20:51
changed the way the story was being told
20:55
and the way that guests were being
20:56
pulled into the story that was being
20:58
told and really showed a a Walt Disney
21:03
company and Disneyland that was
21:06
continuing to grow and change with the
21:09
times that it was in. And this is a hard
21:12
thing for for us fans that, you know,
21:14
I've mentioned it. We love our
21:15
nostalgia, but we also love new and
21:17
exciting things. I I think most Disney
21:20
fans will say that Paint the Night is
21:22
one of their favorite parades. And
21:25
that's a good thing because we do want
21:26
Disney to continue to grow and evolve
21:28
and to to excite us with new things and
21:31
wow us new with new things. And that
21:34
leads to last year's birthday, which was
21:37
the 70th celebration. And and what you
21:40
see this time is a balancing act between
21:44
nostalgia and innovation.
21:48
There's a lot of like celebrating what
21:51
made Disneyland such a happy place over
21:54
the last 70 years. And then there's also
21:56
leaning into where Disneyland is going
21:58
in the future and the new things it has
22:01
to offer. I think of the tapestry of
22:03
happiness, which takes so many of the
22:05
lessons that Disney learned through the
22:06
years, whether it's projections on Main
22:08
Street walls or or on on it's a Small
22:12
World, but let's add it to the Karth
22:13
Circle restaurant also. And so you have
22:15
two versions of tapestry of h happiness
22:18
on it's a small world and and also on
22:21
the car circle restaurants. You get the
22:23
new version of a world of color with
22:26
world of color happiness. You get the
22:28
return of wondrous journeys. You get the
22:29
return of paint the night which are fan
22:32
favorites and and really brighten up the
22:35
light the night with light and Disney
22:37
magic as well as the tapestry of of
22:40
happiness. But perhaps the most
22:41
important thing that comes in uh 2025 as
22:47
part of the birthday celebrations of the
22:49
Disneyland Resort or Disneyland
22:50
specifically is with all of these new
22:54
things and these exciting things that
22:57
are are being celebrated,
23:00
they also celebrate with something
23:02
that's incredibly new, incredibly
23:04
advanced and technological, but
23:07
completely rooted in the origins of
23:10
Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company.
23:12
And that's through the audio animatronic
23:14
version of Walt Disney himself in the
23:16
new opera house show Walt Disney Magical
23:19
Life. And I think about this a lot
23:25
because this was one of those things I
23:27
remember going to the preview of this
23:29
the day before it debuted. I think it
23:31
was the day before it debuted and
23:34
we'd seen I think a video of it by then.
23:36
We'd seen pictures of it. We obviously
23:39
had concept art of it and uh we walk in
23:43
and you watch the show and it's it's
23:46
built off one man's dream which I love
23:48
that show and then you see the Walt
23:51
Disney like you see Walt Disney leaning
23:53
on his desk and speaking to us in the
23:55
audience and standing up which was
23:57
amazing technologically and and doing
24:00
his little twitches with his fingers and
24:02
reacting to things and the glimmer of
24:03
his eyes. And I remember afterwards I
24:08
was walking out with a friend and they
24:09
said, "What'd you think?" And I just
24:12
couldn't tell them because I didn't
24:13
know.
24:15
And I realized part of that is because I
24:18
didn't know what it was like to be in
24:21
the presence of Walt Disney. It's very
24:23
different watching someone on a screen
24:26
versus watching someone physically in
24:28
front of you. It's very different, I
24:30
would assume, meeting me in the parks
24:33
versus watching me through a YouTube
24:36
video or or on a podcast somewhere. And
24:39
it really it took me a while to really
24:42
process this and and connect. That's
24:44
what I was feeling is like I just didn't
24:47
have a way to
24:50
know like I didn't have a way to balance
24:53
out what it was that I was actually uh
24:56
seeing and experiencing. Um, I loved
24:58
what he had to say. I I thought the
25:02
technology was great. The show structure
25:04
is beautiful, but I just didn't know
25:06
what I thought of Walt. Like, it really
25:07
took me some time to figure that out.
25:10
And now that we're a year later, it's
25:13
become one of those things that I really
25:14
think is a treasure at Disneyland
25:16
because as we're moving forward,
25:20
this is rooting everything in the man
25:24
who started it all. Great. But it's also
25:28
a living reminder that Walt was always
25:31
about taking the risk, moving forward,
25:34
adding new things, trying new things, um
25:37
telling that new story. And this audio
25:41
animatronic is doing exactly that. And I
25:44
know it's controversial because there is
25:45
this this level of
25:49
respect and awe for Walt Disney that's
25:51
deserved. And I think that was honored
25:55
in the way they did this. And I presume
25:57
it will be honored in the way that they
26:00
do uh the next version of him for the
26:02
Carousel of Progress.
26:05
But as we're looking at Disneyland
26:07
birthdays,
26:09
I love that 71 years after Walt Disney
26:13
said to all who come to this happy
26:15
place, welcome. We now hear that
26:20
basically every year one way or another.
26:21
Sometimes they've played it over the
26:23
entire park through loudspeakers in in
26:25
years gone by. And then other times it's
26:28
like what we had this week, which is
26:30
there's a Cavalcade and part of the
26:32
Cavalcade is you hear Walt Disney do
26:34
that speech and then they sing happy
26:36
birthday Disneyland. And it's it's a
26:38
cute moment that's very reminiscent of
26:40
some of the old um I guess some of the
26:43
old Disney live action moments when
26:44
they're coming up with that that
26:46
emotional oh we all came together and
26:48
and celebrated whatever or whoever it
26:51
happens to be. But it's it's wonderful
26:55
that as we are celebrating the 71st
26:59
birthday this week to know that some
27:02
celebrations are big, some celebrations
27:05
not so big.
27:07
But they're all celebrating the same
27:08
thing and they're celebrating that
27:11
vision and that legacy of Walt Disney.
27:14
And one of the the best parts or he
27:18
probably knew, but one of the most
27:19
amazing things I think of all of this is
27:22
that as it's moved through the years and
27:25
as it's evolved these different
27:27
celebrations, it really has come. The
27:29
50th nailed it. Um it's become a
27:32
homecoming every year. It's a reunion
27:34
every year. um or every time you visit
27:36
Disneyland.
27:38
And what the 50th did that I think was
27:42
probably one of the best gifts for many
27:45
of us fans is with that welcome home
27:49
slogan and campaign that's continued on
27:51
in in resorts and places around the
27:53
world, which I love. Um it kind of
27:56
changed the mindset for going to
27:58
Disneyland. Actually, it changed it from
28:00
going to Disneyland to coming to
28:02
Disneyland. Um, and it really is that
28:07
that change of of mindset from being a
28:12
place you go to a place you come from a
28:16
place that that's kind of over here that
28:20
you go and experiencing thing. you
28:22
experience things and then you go tell
28:24
everybody about it to it's really now
28:27
that that happy place that come home you
28:31
come home to with the people that mean
28:33
the most to you whether it's family
28:35
found family friends the friends you
28:38
meet along the way but it really is that
28:42
special place with special people um
28:45
that get to celebrate the legacy and the
28:47
dreams of a special man and as I think
28:50
about this
28:52
it's not just the community that's been
28:54
built through the years around
28:56
Disneyland. And I think some of these
28:58
milestones definitely have been
29:00
instrumental in building those
29:02
friendships in that community. um the
29:04
50th, the 60th, the 70th, all of these
29:06
things. We walk away with stories and
29:08
shared experiences and core memories
29:10
that we share with um other people that
29:12
weren't there and then relive the people
29:14
that were that it really it's it's a
29:16
special thing.
29:18
But it's also a
29:21
it's a celebration of the people that
29:23
make this happen on a daily basis. It's
29:25
a celebration of the cast members that
29:28
come into work day after day after day
29:30
after day to make the world a little bit
29:33
more magical, a little bit more joyful,
29:35
a little bit happier, and they succeed
29:37
in that. And it's a celebration of the
29:40
people that are supporting them, whether
29:41
it's the people that do all the
29:43
behindthe-scenes stuff or cleaning or
29:46
fixing or maintaining all of these
29:49
things. Or maybe they're the ones that
29:51
dreamed it, the imagineers. or maybe
29:53
they're the ones that don't have some of
29:55
the glamorous jobs. Maybe that uh
29:58
they're they're doing the finances for
30:00
it or they're doing the logistics for it
30:02
or they're the person that uh markets it
30:06
or like there's so many different things
30:08
that go into making every person that
30:12
goes to Disneyland's stay or visit
30:15
magical. And and it's it couldn't happen
30:19
without all of them. You need the
30:20
leaders. You need the decision makers.
30:22
You need the bankers. You need the ride
30:24
operators, the entertainers. You need
30:26
all of these people. The people that
30:28
sell food, the people that sell the
30:29
merchandise. All of these things are are
30:31
important part of the Disney experience.
30:34
And and I think the celebration of
30:37
Disneyland's birthday every year is just
30:39
as much a celebration of cast members
30:43
legacy and their contributions as it is
30:45
of Walt Disney. Um, I think back to
30:48
there was a few years where they were
30:49
doing um, flash mobs and and so it was
30:54
never broadcast, but somehow everybody
30:56
always knew. And so you you'd be camped
31:00
out in town square waiting for this
31:02
moment to happen. And one of the things
31:04
I loved the most about it is this flash
31:07
mob. You'd have your upbeat music and
31:09
the characters would come running out.
31:11
And it wasn't just Disney characters,
31:14
which they're fantastic. I love Disney
31:16
characters, especially in in situations
31:19
like that. I think they just Disney
31:21
characters add so much magic to the
31:23
Disneyland experience or Disney
31:25
experience that u nobody else can do.
31:28
But among these Disney characters were
31:30
cast members from Tomorrowland, from
31:32
Main Street, from Fantasy Land, from New
31:34
Orleans Square, from Frontier Land, you
31:36
name it. you had cast members from
31:37
around the resort that were coming out
31:40
and being a part of that celebration and
31:43
being a part of that that moment that
31:46
honored the the dreams and the legacy of
31:49
Walt Disney. And I think it's something
31:51
that it's so easy to take for granted.
31:54
You know, it's so easy to just go in and
31:56
like, oh, the magic's there. The magic
31:57
happens.
31:59
I have a magic key. This is great. Um,
32:02
but I do think at least once a year, it
32:06
should be every day, we need to stop and
32:08
recognize the people that continue on
32:10
Walt Disney's dream at every level from
32:13
Josh Dearo to, you know, Adam on Main
32:17
Street taking photos and they're all
32:18
fantastic and they all have a critical
32:20
role in making Disneyland the happiest
32:24
place on earth today, yesterday, and
32:26
tomorrow as it continues to grow. And
32:30
it's important to know that as
32:33
Disneyland continues to grow, which is
32:35
what Walt always wanted to have happen,
32:37
um, it will never be complete, which
32:40
means it will never stop changing. It
32:42
will never stop growing. It'll never
32:44
stop trying new things. And some of
32:46
these things we're absolutely going to
32:47
love. Some of the these things, they
32:50
might be not our favorites, but they
32:51
might also might be somebody else's
32:53
favorite. And one of the things I have
32:55
learned uh time and time again is just
32:59
because it doesn't connect with me does
33:01
not mean it won't connect with you. And
33:04
and I I loved I don't remember who said
33:06
it, but like uh they said, "Well, don't
33:08
yuck on my yum." And and I overheard
33:11
them saying that to someone and I was
33:13
like, "That's true. As Disney fans, we
33:16
very easily can
33:20
give opinions that maybe are less than
33:21
glowing on things that other Disney fans
33:24
absolutely love. And and I think one of
33:27
the worst things we can do is crush
33:29
somebody's dreams, their inspirations,
33:31
their sense of excitement and wow for
33:34
something that Disney's offered just
33:36
because it didn't give us the same
33:37
feeling. Um because imagine going back
33:40
to that first really magical moment.
33:42
Maybe it was a 35th anniversary that
33:44
party gr parade. Imagine if you're
33:47
sitting there and you're all excited
33:48
about you think it's the best thing ever
33:50
and then the person next to you says
33:52
it's the worst thing ever and you're
33:53
stupid for thinking that. And and that's
33:55
just heartbreaking. Like I I just don't
33:57
think that should happen. And and I
33:59
think that's one of the reasons I love
34:01
Disneyland birthdays is because it's a
34:04
celebration of joy. It's a celebration
34:06
of the happiest place on earth and
34:08
people in general are happy and and I
34:10
loved getting to talk to so many people
34:13
this week and catch up with them, hear
34:16
about what they've been doing, where
34:17
they've been, maybe just
34:20
chat for a couple minutes and get a in a
34:22
quick photo. But, um, it's fun to
34:24
reminisce, to connect, and to dream
34:27
about the future of Disneyland on its
34:29
birthday. and I look forward to seeing
34:31
what the future milestones are going to
34:32
be, whether it's the 75th, the 80th, who
34:35
knows what's coming next. And and that's
34:38
part of the fun of being a Disney fan
34:40
and covering the Walt Disney Company.
34:43
So, as we wrap this up, the Disneyland
34:46
story is nowhere near complete. You
34:49
know, it started in 1955 on a very
34:51
chaotic day where, you know, not
34:53
everything was working right, not
34:55
everything was perfect. cords were
34:56
wrapped up and and things just didn't go
35:00
the perfect fairy tale story that I
35:04
think some people would have envisioned
35:05
for that first day. And if you haven't
35:07
watched it yet, watch Disneyland
35:08
Handcrafted because it really goes into
35:10
that really well and it's I think one of
35:11
the best new documentaries to come out
35:13
in recent years. But you look at its
35:15
origins and you look at people going,
35:18
"Oh, that thing that's not going to
35:20
work." And and then you look at how out
35:22
of those chaotic moments, one of the
35:26
most iconic places in the world was born
35:30
and continues to be loved by now a
35:33
billion people through the last 71 years
35:37
and and spawned off so many other parks
35:39
and resorts and a cruise line and in so
35:42
many other ways for people to experience
35:45
the magic of Disney and the continuation
35:47
of Walt's dream And
35:51
and I love that the chaos and the
35:54
criticisms about day one
35:58
were just a part of the story, not the
36:00
end of the story. Because how often do
36:02
we have those chaotic moments and those
36:05
criticisms levied at us and we can
36:08
either let them get us down or use it as
36:13
a, you know, that's a stepping stone to
36:15
something greater. And I think Walt
36:17
Disney knew that, hey, this is just step
36:20
one. We're going to keep going and
36:22
[music] and was driven to really make
36:24
that happen. And so, as we celebrate
36:27
Disneyland's birthday, we get to
36:29
recognize that. We get to celebrate the
36:32
great things that come [music] out of
36:33
chaotic moments, the the wow moments
36:36
that maybe surpass those critical
36:39
thoughts and critical words that happen.
36:41
And it's a great reminder to celebrate
36:44
where you're at in any given moment
36:46
[music] cuz you never know what's coming
36:48
next. But it's also a great reminder to
36:50
celebrate the things that do go right
36:52
and [music] to really focus on those
36:54
because as we focus on these things,
36:56
they're going to continue to grow just
36:58
like Disneyland's going to. And [music]
36:59
I can't wait to see what comes in the
37:00
next 5, 10, 20, 30 years, especially
37:03
hearing about it at D23 in a couple
37:05
weeks. It's going to be great. So,
37:07
[music] my question for you, I asked it
37:09
at the beginning, I'm going to ask it
37:10
again. What are some of your favorite
37:12
Disneyland birthday memories? [music]
37:14
Maybe you were in the parks, maybe you
37:16
watched on YouTube or TV or whatever.
37:18
Maybe you watched that tensennial
37:20
presentation or [music] Wonderful World
37:22
of Disney with Walt Disney back in the
37:24
day. Or maybe you saw Danny K
37:26
celebrating the 25th anniversary of
37:27
Disneyland. I want to hear from you what
37:29
your favorite Disneyland birthday memory
37:31
[music] is. And if you go back in time,
37:36
which milestone birthday or maybe not
37:38
milestone birthday would you like to
37:40
experience [music]
37:41
for the first time or maybe again? But
37:43
with that, I'm going to wrap it up and I
37:45
want to remind you all to make it a
37:47
great week. Keep kinds
37:50
[music]
38:00
[music]

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