Disneyland Update Special Edition - January 10, 2000
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Special Edition of the Disneyland Update - Tom DeCaro, Disneyland's Vice-President of Merchandising speaks to Once Upon a Classic Collector's Club

• This Page
  Introduction
  45th Anniversary Events
  45th Anniversary Merchandise
  
• Page 2
  More 45th Anniversary Merchandise
  July 17, 2000 - Disneyland's 45th Birthday
  
• Page 3
  Disney's California Adventure

Introduction
On Sunday, January 9th, Disneyland's Vice President of Merchandising Tom DeCaro spoke to a group of collectors at the Once Upon A Classic Collectors' Club meeting. He spoke about Disneyland's 45th anniversary celebration, Disney's California Adventure and, of course, merchandise.

The first thing DeCaro showed was the new Disneyland Resort logo that encompasses Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure and Downtown Disney. He also said there would be a Pirates of the Caribbean special event this year but no further information given. Below is a wrap-up of some of the other things discussed:

45th Anniversary
As you probably already know, the slogan for this year's celebration is: 45 Years of Magic - There's Magic in the Stars. DeCaro said the "stars" are the Disney characters and guests. He said "characters will be all over the place like you've never seem them before." Two new entertainment events will be be a part of the celebration:

The 45 Years of Magic parade will feature eight floats, a Blue Fairy, Swan Boat with Princesses, The Little Mermaid, Belle on a rose being pulled by butterflies, The Lion King with Simba being pulled by giraffes, Tarzan with Tantor and the whales from Fantasia 2000 pulling a "character cloud". All of the floats have a cloud motif so that they appear to be floating through the air. The parade will feature traditional characters and performers. Disneyland guests will also interact with the parade. Created by Jean Luc Choplin, the parade is inspired by the renderings of constellations created by astronomers, artists and visionaries. It will debut on February 18, 2000.

The second new event is a new fireworks show entitled Believe ... There's Magic in the Stars. It will feature new, innovative pyrotechnics and combine story, music and fireworks. It will be unlike any fireworks show Disneyland has ever had. An opening date was not mentioned.

45 Year Merchandise
In addition to the items shown below, DeCaro announced a new Official Album of Disneyland with the 45th logo on the front.

The complete Main Logo for 45 Years as it appears on a lithograph

There will be three merchandise programs for the 45 Year celebration:

The Main Logo program will be on all kinds of merchandise. Merchandise has already started to appear in shops and much more should be available by the end of the week. There are two main logos, shown below along with some of the merchandise

Mickey and the gang with the Disneyland skyline
behind theme and a layer of clouds underneath them

Mickey and the gang playfully display the "45"

The look of the logo on these Mickey Ears
hasn't been finalized yet, but you get the idea