Walt Disney World Will Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary With Two New Nighttime Spectaculars

In just over three months' time, Walt Disney World will mark its 50th anniversary. And while the Orlando resort continues to slowly ease back to something approaching normality, they've just announced some very big entertainment options that will premiere this fall.

Yesterday at the Disney Parks Blog, it was revealed that there will be not one, but two new nighttime spectaculars: one at the Magic Kingdom and one at Epcot. Over at the Magic Kingdom, starting on October 1 (the actual 50th anniversary of the overall resort), they'll kick things off with "Disney Enchantment," which will feature music (duh), fireworks (double duh), screen projections (triple duh), and will inspire "everyone to believe in magic". Yes, even all you parents and relatives who have been dragged along on the Disney World trip begrudgingly. Even you will believe in magic when this show is over! That's the rule.

If you've been following along with theme-park updates over the last year or two, though, the Epcot announcement is a little less snazzy, if only because the long progress on the Harmonious nighttime show has been well-documented and memed by Disney Twitter. ("There's not really a segment of Twitter dedicated to Disney fandom, right?" There is. Of course there is.) But yes, the Disney Parks Blog is confirming that "Harmonious" will arrive on October 1 as well. Good luck topping the utter beauty and majesty of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth! You will need it, Harmonious.

But wait, as they say, there's more. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, there will be a new daytime show called "Disney KiteTails." This one sounds genuinely fascinating, as live performers will use windcatchers and kites while intricate three-dimensional kites on the Discovery River evoke characters like Simba and Zazu. That sounds compelling frankly because...well, we've all seen fireworks shows. Have you seen shows with flying kites nearly as frequently?

Lastly, the Elite Eight of Disney – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale, of course! – will be appearing at the Magic Kingdom often every day in the "Mickey's Celebration Cavalcade," sporting something called...sigh..."EARidescent looks," and yes, before you (or this writer's editor) asks, the word "EAR" is capitalized in there. Because, you see, it sounds like "iridescent" and the characters' clothing is very shiny and new.

The point is this: if you're traveling to the Walt Disney World Resort this fall (or anytime in 2022, because the 50th anniversary celebration is extending all throughout next year), you're going to have a hard time picking which live-entertainment show to see first. Better that than no live entertainment at all.