Disneyland Announces New Diamond Celebration Philanthropy
Thursday, July 30, 2015
During a special ceremony on July 17th at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, Disneyland Resort announced a new philanthropy as part of their 60th Anniversary — the Million Dollar Dazzle.
Throughout the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration, the “Million Dollar Dazzle Crew” will surprise local nonprofits with gifts of $60,000. Throughout the year, the crew will award $1 Million in donations.
The first group to receive a gift from the Million Dollar Dazzle Crew were the Girl Scouts of Orange County. The non-profit group received this donation during the kick-off ceremony.
President of the Disneyland Resort, Michael Colglazier said, “What makes our Diamond Celebration so special is the opportunity to share even more Disney magic with our guests in the parks, and our neighbors in the community. Our ‘Million Dollar Dazzle’ program proudly supports local organizations that enrich the lives of children and families.”
To commemorate the occasion, Ashley Brown (star of the Broadway production “Mary Poppins”) and Academy Award-winning composer Richard M. Sherman (“Mary Poppins”) performed “Feed the Birds” and lead guests in singing “Happy Birthday” to Disneyland. Naturally, Mickey and friends joined in on the festivities.The ceremony also included the playing of Walt’s original welcome to Disneyland from 1955.
Later on, Disneyland Resort hosted a parade down Mainstreet, U.S.A. where cast members danced and sang, while a group of original Disneyland cast members from 1955 rode in a cavalcade. Disney welcomed guests to celebrate the special date by inviting them to dress up in 1950s style outfits and provided all guests with special Diamond Celebration cupcakes. Over 100,000 cupcakes were created for the event.
Throughout the celebration, Disneyland is also hosting 3 new nighttime shows. First, Disney celebrates the man who started it all in “World of Color — Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.” Mickey joins Neil Patrick Harris to showcase Walt and his vision of The Happiest Place on Earth. World of Color is hosted in the Disney California Adventure park.
Next, “Disneyland Forever,” Presented by Honda is a new fireworks show using special effects and projection mapping technology. The new show is “street-to-sky” experience, fully immersing guests in the magical event.
Lastly, at night Main Street U.S.A. will be illuminated by the “Paint the Night — All-New Electrical Parade.” This colorful event features a variety of Disney characters on imaginative floats decorated by 1.5 million LED lights.
To learn more about the Diamond Celebration, visit Disneyland.Disney.go.com.
