After our walk down the golden carpet we were treated to a fabulous party in New Orleans Square that, like the previous night, included yummy treats (a martini bar where the drinks were poured through blocks of ice carved in the shape of a giant 50) and great entertainment (The Goo Goo Dolls) and a night time showing of the Parade of Dreams (so pretty at night, this is when you should plan to watch it).
Setting up the gold carpet earlier in the day.
Even Goofy's patchwork is celebrating.
Elizabeth and Richard Sherman arrive at the party. But the best part of the evening was the new fireworks show, Remember... Dreams Come True. I'm going to throw out a few adjectives here and you'll have to trust me when I say I am not exaggerating. Remember... is astounding, amazing, and downright fantastically fabulous. It's an E-ticket in the sky. The show is so good that after it was over, I found myself feeling sorry for every other Disney park around the world because they don't have this show. I felt exactly the way I did the first time I saw Fantasmic. Grinning from ear to ear, I couldn't imagine how they did that, I was amazed and delighted, and I wanted to see it again, right now. I wanted more and lots of it. A few spoilers are going to follow here so be advised... The official press release describes the show as consisting of "five spectacular acts," Magic Starts With a Wish, Our Disney Storybook Friends, Tinker Bell Unlocks the Magic, Walt's Dream  "E-Tickets in the Sky", and Wishes Everlasting. The opening narration, voiced by Julie Andrews, is followed by the wishes of some of your favorite Disney characters and then Tinker Bell makes her entrance. You've all watched The Wonderful World of Disney, right? Don't you love it when Tinker Bell flits in and flies around the castle sprinkling her pixie dust all around at the start of the show? Imagine that scenario around Sleeping Beauty Castle and you get the picture of the flight path Tink takes nightly during the fireworks. She glides down from the Matterhorn and all of the sudden; she's dipping and gliding all around the castle, just like the TV show. It's pretty darned amazing. And when you consider that she starts off 13 stories above the ground and at times reaches speeds up to 20 mph, it's pretty darned astounding too. You know, that and a few well placed pyrotechnics would probably be enough to please anyone, but the show doesn't stop there. Oh no, there's more. Walt's voice reaches out to you, "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past. And here, youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to the entire world." And then... its starts. The best part of the show. You hear the toot-toot of the Disneyland train and the words, "Your attention please..." and from then on it's one wild ride after another as the show makes its way through every beloved attraction in the park. I will spare you the description of how this is done because you have no need of hearing this until you actually see it. But trust me, it's so fantastic. Even if you have no personal history with the park, you've still heard of the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, etc. I guarantee you will still be tickled pink when you watch. I do have one caveat about the show. It needs to be watched from the hub area. Whether it's directly in front of the castle or near Coke Corner, you must watch it somewhere in that area. You must be able to see both the Matterhorn and Sleeping Beauty Castle from where you stand. Keep this in mind when positioning yourself for the show because you can bank on it that at times it will be a trial to achieve this. Persevere. Take a deep breath, remain calm, and try to put up with the thousands of people who want to stand in the very same spot you do (and be kind to the guest control cast members too). It's worth whatever trouble you have to go to to see this show. And if you live far away and weren't planning to get around to coming to Disneyland, change your plans. Save every penny you can, you've got 18 months to get here, but get here you must. You have to come see Remember... Dreams Come True, it's that good. Oh, and when you come see the show, you may want to drop by City Hall and leave a note of thanks for Steve Davison, the creative genius behind the show, he certainly deserves it. Thank you Steve! I have one more story to tell you about the evening and then we're going to get on with the Castle unveiling on the morning of the 5th. My final story is about Disneyland President Matt Ouimet and I do hope he will forgive me for telling it. Lately, as Disneyland has been looking "spit-spot," I've been thinking "what a guy." Under the past management, Walt's park was starting to look pretty shabby. Attractions broke down or disappeared altogether and the pixie dust just seemed to dry up. But all of the sudden, everything's neat and tidy and looking good again. As someone said to me, "It's a good time to be here." It all seems exciting again and that feeling of excitement has been gone for a long time. I keep hearing stories of what a terrific boss cast member Matt is, how he brings his personal guests in through the main gate, signing them in the same way all cast members are required to do, instead of coming in through TDA as he surely could. He talks to people and walks around the park, just like Walt used to do. "He's a regular guy," I was told.
In this picture taken at the next day's final ceremony Matt Ouimet is in the front row with a dark suit.
Back row: Donald Duck, Art Linkletter, Michael Eisner, Bob Iger and LeAnn Rimes.
Front row: Christina Aguilera, Julie Andrews, Jay Rasulo, Ouimet, Mickey Mouse. When the evening was almost over and we were mingling in Town Square enjoying the sumptuous desserts, there was Matt just hanging out with everyone. At one point, Tina remarked to him how much she enjoyed the fireworks and he quickly replied, "They're damn good, aren't they?" Yep, a regular guy. And isn't that nice for a change? THERE ARE THREE PAGES TODAY - CLICK HERE FOR PAGE TWO
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.