Credit: DisneyIn case you haven’t heard, today is Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary. To mark the occasion, Disney has several new treats for the thousands of guests who flocked to this park today.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Head of Parks Josh D’Amaro welcomed guests this morning to the “Happiest Place on Earth,” invoking Walt’s memory as they hoped for another 70 years of glory at the park.
Disneyland debuted a new verse for “it’s a small world,” written by Richard Sherman before his death last year. However, the latest attraction that guests were waiting for was the debut of Walt Disney: A Magical Life at the Main Street Opera House.
When Disney announced that the attraction’s opening date would correspond with Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary, it also announced that it would utilize a virtual queue system for the new attraction.
The first virtual queue opened at 7 a.m. this morning, and within seconds, the slots were completely filled.
To enter the virtual queue this morning, guests need a valid park reservation and ticket. To join the noon queue, guests needed to be physically inside Disneyland or Disney’s California Adventure.
The show takes guests inside Walt’s office, where we meet the controversial Walt Disney animatronic. Walt tells the story of Disney as he saw it with a twinkle in his eyes.
During previews, the Walt animatronic received some backlash. Many on social media felt it looked less like Walt Disney and more like Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Guy. However, many defended Walt Disney Imagineering and its lifelike portrayal of Walt.
Now that the public has had their first crack at seeing the show, they can decide whether or not the animatronic looks like Walt. However, unless they were able to get in the virtual queue today, they’ll have to wait another day.