Rumours have been circulating for some time that Marty Sklar had been strongly advocating a gigantic interactive historical display to celebrate Disneyland’s 50th on the ground floor of Innoventions. This idea was only shelved recently, as Matt Ouimet, President of the Disneyland Resort stated that the original plans (touted at $10 million) were too costly and would not attract enough guests’ interest due to its format and location. Instead, imagineers plunked for Disneyland..The First 50 Years that will be unveiled in its rightful home in the Main Street Opera House next May 5. It is believed that Disney archivist Dave Smith will be working closely with famed imagineer and park historian, Bruce Gordon to present never-before-seen models, artwork and designs for the park. In addition, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln will give way to a new movie presentation about Walt Disney and the park, that promises to feature footage not seen for over 40 years. Several imagineers also indicated to us that Lincoln may never return from this hiatus, as the capital spent on the recent rehab of the attraction has not been to the benefit on the majority of Disneyland guests. Only time will tell if this was anything more than personal musing.

At last, Disneyland will retire the much-maligned Parade of the Stars, a remnant of the 45th anniversary celebrations early next year, to make way for Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams. This all-new parade should not to be confused with the similarly titled Dreams on Parade, currently running at Tokyo Disneyland.

Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams
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Breaking a eight-year old voodoo, the park is claiming this new parade to be a "streetacular", a phrase last used for Light Magic. The parade will feature show modes, which will see classic Disney characters invite guests to participate in the procession. The parade floats are rumoured to be the largest ever built for Disneyland and will each showcase a different classic Disney movie from The Lion King to Alice in Wonderland to The Little Mermaid. Over 100 Disney performers will perform the parade twice daily, once during the day and the other at nighttime.

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Finally, the criticised plan to paint the castle gold has been dropped in favour of Greg Pro’s vision that will encompass a fresh pink paintjob and five individual gold crowns, one for each decade of the park’s existence on its turrets. In addition, the castle and its ramparts will be adorned with festive royal banners, bejeweled with precious stones.

Conceprt art for the 50th's Castle
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Throughout the day, the castle will feature in light displays as part of the 50th celebration and at night, it will form the centrepiece for the new fireworks spectacular and feature ever-changing projections, much like the castles at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland park in Paris.