4. HIT: Happiest Celebration on Earth

Image: Disney

For Disneyland’s 50th anniversary in 2005, the company pulled out all the stops. The focus might have been on that park, where the year-long party was also known as the “Happiest Homecoming on Earth,” but Disney didn’t forget about its Florida properties. Three of the Walt Disney World parks received a brand-new attraction copied from another Disney park somewhere around the globe. The fourth received two new original attractions.

The Magic Kingdom got Cinderellabration, a musical extravaganza on the Castle forecourt stage that was originally debuted at Tokyo Disneyland. The high-energy show celebrated Cinderella’s coronation. More impressively, the Castle itself received a highly detailed Renaissance façade. Festooned with banners, tapestries and golden statues of many of Disney’s most famous characters, the Castle also received its own gigantic magic mirror facing the Hub. The mirror’s image changed regularly to show all of the Disney theme park castles.

Epcot received its own copy of Soarin’ Over California, a hit attraction at Disney’s California Adventure. Its name shortened to simply Soarin’, the ride remains a smash success today. Epcot also featured a preview center for Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened later that year.

At Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios), the Lights, Motors, Action! Stunt Show opened. Based on the hugely popular Stunt Show Spectacular at Disneyland Paris, the show also brought about a major redesign of the park’s Streets of America.

Animal Kingdom opened Expedition Everest, an original design that was also the park’s first roller coaster. It also gained Lucky the Dinosaur, a 12 foot long, 450 pound free-roaming audio-animatronic.

5. MISS: Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary

Image: Disney

In 1996, Walt Disney World’s 25th anniversary celebration did some things right. But the party will forever be enshrined in Disney lore as the year of the Pepto-Bismol Castle. For some reason, the Imagineers decided it would be a great idea to turn the iconic Cinderella Castle into a gigantic birthday cake. More than 400 gallons of nauseatingly pink paint later, they topped it off with impossibly huge replicas of gum drops, Life Savers, lollipops and other candy creations, and covered the whole thing in blue “icing” and candles. The unfortunate choice of Pepto-Bismol pink and the sheer gaudiness of the entire creation overshadowed the entire year-long celebration in many guests’ minds.

6. A BIT OF BOTH: Millennium Celebration

Held from October 1, 1999 through January 1, 2001, the Millennium Celebration was primarily focused on Epcot. The spectacular Tapestry of Nations parade, featuring 120 18-foot tall puppets, 150 performers, and 720 drums, received such rave reviews that it was held over through 2001 as the Tapestry of Dreams parade. The now wildly popular Disney Pin Trading began. Innoventions was entirely re-imagined.

Arguably the most impressive change was the debut of Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth. Intended as a temporary replacement for the long-running Illuminations, which had experienced only minor tweaks since its 1988 beginning, Reflections of Earth was an instant sensation. After the Millennium Celebration ended, Disney simply dropped the “2000” from the name, but kept the show intact.

Another major hit was the Millennium Village, a 65,000 square foot building that housed showcase exhibits from more than 50 nations. The cultural ambassadors were full of stories, the highly interactive exhibits were a lot of fun, and the entire experience was reminiscent of a mini-Worlds Fair. Although many hoped it would be held over, the Millennium Village closed at the end of the Celebration.

Unfortunately, despite all its successes, the Millennium Celebration also brought some major failures. Perhaps the worst was the mounting of a giant Mickey hand holding a wand with the text “2000” over Spaceship Earth. Many long-time Disney fans felt that the sculpture completely ruined the look of Epcot’s icon. Undeterred, when the Millennium Celebration came to an end, Disney simply replaced the “2000” with the word “Epcot” and left the wand in place until 2007. In September 2001, they followed up that debacle by plunking a 122 foot tall Sorcerer’s Hat directly in front of the Chinese Theater at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios). Sadly, the Sorcerer’s Hat still remains today.

The most controversial thing to come out of the Millennium Celebration was Leave a Legacy. Park guests could have their photo etched onto a steel tile and mounted on a granite monolith. The monoliths were placed at the entrance to Epcot, and served as a lasting reminder of the guest’s visit. The program was successful, and was continued through 2007. During that time, more than 550,000 guests took part. However, many feel that the monoliths are out of place. Some take issue with the changed sight lines, others find the entire experience creepy. Regardless, the huge granite slabs, which weigh in at as much as 50,000 pounds, are not likely to go away.