Disneyland's Diamond Celebration

As if Disneyland couldn't get any more magical, Disneyland has been blinged out to the max to celebrate their 60th anniversary.

To help celebrate the diamond jubilee, Disneyland has debuted a new fireworks show and nighttime parade, "Paint the Night," and California Adventure revamped the "World of Color" show. And, of course, an array of bejeweled 60th anniversary merchandise has been added to store shelves and "special edition" food items has been added to park menus.

The celebration kicked off on Friday, May 22, 2015, with Disneyland's annual open-24-hour-you're-insane-to-go day. My cheapy pass was blocked off that day, but I did occasionally (or obsessively, if you ask my husband) check in on their live streaming cameras. To give you an idea of how hysterically ridiculous it was at the park, people were camping out the day before, Thursday, as early as 2pm; and the park was at full capacity by the early Friday afternoon causing Disneyland to shut its gates.

I did sneak away the following Monday night to check it out. Being that the kiddos are a little on the young side for a 9:30pm fireworks show, I haven't seen the fireworks in years so I was very anxious and excited to see how the new show. I arrived at the park at 6:30pm and Main Street was already full of visitors staking out their spots for the parade and fireworks show. Lucky for me, I was able to snag a seat right in front of the castle.

From left to right: Paint the Night Float with Peter Pan, Mach from Cars, Anna and Elsa

I'll start with the new parade, "Paint the Night." Disneyland still has the "Mickey's Soundsational Parade" during the daytime. The "Paint the Night" parade goes down the same parade route right before the fireworks start. This parade is like the the old "Electrical Parade" but 1000x better. The lights are brighter, the gigantic floats are epic, and the music brings it all together. The parade has a nice mix of the Pixar crew like Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen; Disney Princesses including Anna and Elsa; and Mickey Mouse and friends. With each new float coming around the bend, you could hear the "ooo's" and "ah's" from everyone. I'm not sure if it was the stunning lightwork or the diamond jubilee energy, but this parade is by far the best one that I have seen at the parks.

Next up, was the fireworks. I was still on my parade high when the show started. I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and watched the fireworks. I don't have much to compare it to since I don't remember what the old fireworks show looked like. The show started out with a clip of Walt Disney and his dream for the orange grove that once stood where Disneyland stands today. It's such a touching introduction. And then who should come flying across the sky but none other than Tinkerbell to kick off the sparklers. I kept thinking how does that poor girl not catch on fire?

The castle transformed with each new song as images of Tangled, Mary Poppins, Jungle Book, and Frozen were projected onto it. It was a beautiful addition to the fireworks. Because of this, I would highly recommend sitting in clear view of the castle. Now, this makes it a bit tricky if you are trying to catch the "Paint the Night" parade right before. What I did was sit on the brick walkway in front of the castle (before the drawbridge which is roped off before the show) because everyone in that area will be required to sit down. If sitting in front of the castle is not an option, I do believe they project similar images on the buildings lining Main Street.

I have yet to check out "World of Color" at California Adventure, but I did catch a preview of it on youtube. With Neil Patrick Harris as the host, how can you go wrong? Watching the show in person is definitely on my list to do (very soon). For now, I'll just enjoy watching the snip-its online.