Disneyland on Friday began the celebration of its 60th
anniversary by opening for 24 straight hours and debuting a slate of new
nighttime programming as well as improvements to rides and attractions.
As part of its Disneyland Diamond Celebration, the Southern
California theme park on Friday night will debut its “Paint the Night” parade,
an update on the classic Main Street Electrical Parade that was first featured
in 1972. Among other features, “Paint the Night” will include more than 1.5
million LED lights as well as depictions of Disney characters from titles such
as “Frozen,” “Cars,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Cinderella.”
The park on Friday will also debut the “Disneyland Forever”
fireworks show while the park’s nighttime programming will include features
such as images of the London-rooftop dancers from “Mary Poppins” rotoscoped
across portions of the park.
At the adjoining Disney California Adventure park, Disney on
Friday will premier its new “World of Color” water show that will feature a
voiceover from actor Neil Patrick Harris.
Additionally, Disneyland updated longtime attractions such
as the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which first opened in 1959, and the Haunted
Mansion, which debuted a decade later. Peter Pan’s Flight, which last received
upgrades in 1983, will be updated with improvements later this summer.
As part of the promotion, the theme park opened at 6 a.m.
this morning and will remain open until 6 a.m. Saturday, marking just the
fourth time in the park’s history that it’s been open for 24 straight hours.
While Disney declined to disclose projected attendance figures for the long
weekend, Walt Disney Travel Co. President Kenneth Svendsen said he expected a
“full house.”
Disneyland opened in 1955, and Disney California Adventure
debuted in 2001. In 2013, Disneyland was the world’s third-most popular theme
park — behind Walt Disney World in Orlando and Tokyo Disneyland —attracting
16.2 million visitors, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment
Association.