Disneyland to host all-nighter to celebrate 60 years

The Happiest Place on Earth will be keeping the lights on all night to kick off the 60th anniversary celebration of Disneyland.

The theme park in Anaheim plans to launch a 24-hour party, starting at 6 a.m. May 22, to begin the celebration, which will include a new parade, light show and fireworks display, among other extras.

The new nighttime parade, dubbed Paint the Night, will feature 1.5 million LED lights and characters from popular Disney movies such as “Monsters, Inc.,” “Cars,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Toy Story” and “Frozen.”

The park will debut a new fireworks show during the 24-hour bash. The Disneyland Forever fireworks show will incorporate “projection mapping technology” to project scenes from Disney movies on storefronts, the Matterhorn mountain and the facade of the It’s a Small World ride.

In addition, Disney officials have said Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland and the Carthay Circle Theatre in Disney’s California Adventure park will be overhauled with “diamond” exteriors to reflect the diamond anniversary.

At Disney’s California Adventure, the World of Color light-and-water show will also be remade to use fire, water and lights to tell the history of Walt Disney and his park, featuring Mickey Mouse and actor Neil Patrick Harris, officials said.

On the same day, Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida will host a 24-hour event, but only selected attractions and entertainment will be available in that park.