Nothing adds to a vacation like a reason to celebrate, and Disney knows this better than most. If you don’t have a celebration of your own, Disney has one you can borrow. The 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World in 1996, the Millennium Celebration in 1999/2000, the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth in 2001, and Disneyland’s 50th birthday in 2005 all marked company or worldwide milestones. Sometimes, the celebratory focus has shifted to the guests themselves. “The Year of a Million Dreams” (well two years—2007 and 2008) started the trend. Then, “What Will You Celebrate?” promoted the “celebration vacation”—families that celebrate milestones like birthdays and anniversaries at Disney. In other words, your celebration became Disney’s celebration. Regardless of focus, celebrations give Disney a chance to dress up its parks and introduce new rides and attractions, and give guests even more reasons to come visit. In 2013, Disney Parks presented “Limited Time Magic” at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Some of the announced festivities were obvious, such as Valentine’s Week and Independence Week. Of course, it’s harder to find a theme for other weeks. “Long Lost Friends Week” (rarely-seen characters were out to meet and greet, and guests had a vote in who appears), and “Pirates Week” are among the gap-fillers. They dedicated a Friday the 13th to the Villains—Disney Hollywood Studios were open September 13th ‘til the 13th hour (1:00 am) for a special dance party. Overall, we liked the idea; no matter when you visited Walt Disney World (or Disneyland) during 2013, something special and unique was happening.

An "Incredible" summer is coming to Walt Disney World in summer 2018. First, the 11-acre "Toy Story Land" is opening at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Then the Incredible take over Tomorrowland each evening with a "SUPER" dance party on the Rocket Tower Stage. Over at Epcot, the Guardians of the Galaxy will join an alien band and feature hits from the Awesome Mixtapes 1 and 2. At Disney's Animal Kingdom, the "Explorers Meet UP! A Great Bird Adventure" show debuts PLUS Donald Duck takes over Dinoland, U.S.A. in a "Dino-Tastic" character celebration

Curious what's next? Mickey's 90th birthday is on November 18, 2018, and parties are planned around the world. Walt Disney World’s 50th birthday is coming up in 2021, and we expect they’ll put on a grand celebration of some sort! By then, all three new lands (PANDORA, Star Wars Land, and Toy Story Land) will be open and that will be reason enough to visit. Chance are good Disney will weave it all together in a grand celebration.

Special celebrations come and go, but other events are annual fixtures, each spreading over many weeks. These include Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival, Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season, which now begins about a week after Halloween. Then there are seasonal, after-hours parties—Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Want to keep track of Disney’s ever-changing lineup of celebrations? Subscribe to PassPorter News at http://www.passporter.com/news/.