On October 1, 2021 Walt Disney World will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Up until recently it had been unclear just how big a celebration the resort would be able to have. But with the recent announcement that fireworks are on their way back to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, it started to look like things really could be "normal" by October, and now Walt Disney World has officially confirmed some new 50th anniversary celebrations in the form of two new fireworks shows and a daytime spectacular as well. That's three new shows in three of the parks, for some reason Disney's Hollywood Studios seems to be getting left out of the fun, at least for now.
This morning Walt Disney World officially confirmed that Harmonius, a brand new fireworks show at Epcot that was originally planned to debut in 2020, will instead open on October 1, 2021, the 50th anniversary of Disney World. On the same night a brand new fireworks show will also open at Magic Kingdom called Disney Enchantment. In addition to music and fireworks, the show will also include projection effects not only on Cinderella's Castle, but all down Main Street U.S.A.
In addition to the nighttime festivities, Disney's Animal Kingdom will be a place to check out during the day, as a new show "Disney KiteTails" will run several times a day beginning October 1. An artist rendering shows boats pulling massive kites, as long as 30 feet according to Disney. Give it a look below.
The three new shows all sound and look amazing, but since there are four Disney World theme parks, one is conspicuous by its absence. Nothing in particular was revealed for Disney's Hollywood Studios for the 50th anniversary. That doesn't mean we won't see an announcement down the road. It seems more than likely that the park will have something going on, but it does make one wonder why nothing was revealed.
That's not to say there will be no reason to visit Disney's Hollywood Studios for the 50th anniversary. It had been previously announced that all four parks would be getting EARidescent makeovers at night, and that includes the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. In addition, Disney has announced that 50 brand new character sculptures will be placed throughout all four theme parks for the 50th anniversary, so you'll need to visit DHS if you wish to see them all.
With the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World still more than three months away there's still plenty of time for more to be announced and we can be almost certain that this isn't the end of what is to come. The 50th anniversary celebration is set to last 18 months, so there will likely be new things added to the parks during the celebration itself. Hopefully some of that love can be given to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
