Leave it to Disney to pick 05/05/05 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Backward, that's 50/50/50, said George Reiger, who calls himself Disney's No. 1 fan. Reiger has 1,724 tattoos on his body representing everything Mickey.
Visitors and dignitaries filled the Magic Kingdom on Thursday to get in on what Disney is calling ``The Happiest Celebration on Earth.''
Under cloudy skies, they gathered at Cinderella's Castle to watch Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner and Bob Iger, president and CEO- elect of the Walt Disney Co., launch a celebration at Disneyland that will feature new attractions, rides, parades, firework displays and shows at each of the 10 theme parks.
The cameras then zeroed in on Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Tokyo and Disneyland Hong Kong, which will open Sept. 12.
Eisner spoke of Walt Disney, who started it all, and how he knew that magic and dreams were ``timeless treasures that would strike a chord around the world.''
Art Linkletter, who accompanied Walt Disney on the day Disneyland opened, made a repeat performance Thursday, saying, ``Thank you, Walt, wherever you are.''
The day saw the debut of Cinderellabration, a musical from Tokyo Disneyland. Rain stopped the show, but it went on after skies cleared.
Chris and Jamie Newcomb, of Daytona Beach, watching with their three children, wanted to thank Walt Disney. The couple honeymooned at Walt Disney World, and Chris Newcomb did his doctoral dissertation on Disney World.
``This is the place we find our center, the place we find our home in this crazy world,'' said Newcomb, who teaches at Bethune-Cookman College.
Sleeping Beauty Castle decorated for the celebration
The American theme park Disneyland celebrated its golden anniversary on Thursday, in Anaheim, California.

The theme park, created and opened by Walt Disney in 1955, hosted a special gala opening at 1pm in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the world-famous icon of Disneyland.

CEO of the Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner, COO Bob Iger, honorary Disneyland Ambassador Julie Andrews and a host of stars opened the celebration, which is scheduled to run for eighteen months.

Singers Christina Aguilera and LeAnn Rimes sang Disney classics, while actors Tim Allen and Steve Martin opened new attractions. Martin had worked at Disneyland as a teenager, and Aguilera was part of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1980s.

Within California, Disney is calling it the ''Happiest Homecoming on Earth'', and worldwide it is known as the ''Happiest Celebration on Earth''. Several attractions have been swapped between parks, and the four main Disney theme parks (the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland) gave a salute to Disneyland via live satellite feed.

The ceremony was hit with deep purple stormclouds but no rain. 

The park celebrates its actual birthday on July 17, 2005. There are no clear details on how Disney will mark the occasion.