Walt Disney World celebrates 45th anniversary

Oct 03, 2016 in "Magic Kingdom"

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Walt Disney World 45th celebration at Cinderella Castle

Posted: Monday October 3, 2016 11:31am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney World officially opened on October 1 1971, and this past weekend saw a special ceremony at the Magic Kingdom to mark the occasion.

“I was here on that day,” Walt Disney World President George A. Kalogridis told guests gathered in front of Cinderella Castle Saturday. “I can tell you that, for all of us Cast Members, in the resorts and the theme park, both, it was a day of excitement, anticipation, and considerable butterflies in the stomach. But mostly it was a day of joy, because we had the privilege of knowing that we were about to create Disney memories that our Guests could cherish for a lifetime.”

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ford91exploderNov 02, 2016

With Tech Fail like this, Iger says 'Disney is a tech company...' Just goes to the utterly clueless management teams which think fail like you describe is acceptable in todays world of e-commerce

MissMNov 02, 2016

Interesting. I think the fact they didn't mention a month turnaround time on the item page, then didn't have any information to give me when I emailed (besides telling me to refer to the page that was no longer a live link) and then never emailing me to let me know my order was shipping - yeah, that's some heavy fail. At least I FINALLY got my shirt though. Sheesh. The other half of the order - a 45th anniversary Hall of Presidents Shirt - arrived about a week after order by the way. Leaving me with half an order and no idea why.

Sonic SunglassesNov 02, 2016

Just to clear things up, Paradies Gifts is a wholesale distributor of Disney products in Florida. So if Disney World is strapped for inventory, reaching out to distributors to fulfill orders is warranted. Their communication with customers could use some work, though. Also, "paradies" is German for "paradise" or (more fittingly in this case) "wonderland". :)

MissMNov 02, 2016

So I'm quoting myself here nearly a month later because my 45th Anniversary Passholder shirt FINALLY arrived yesterday!! I emailed Disneystore.com two weeks ago and the reply was so vague! You will receive an email with tracking information once your order ships. Most items ordered via Standard Delivery will arrive in 5-7 business days of the order date. With this item you order that you are waiting on this is coming from our trusted 3rd Parrt vendor and it does takes 2-3 weeks to receive this item. I do so apologize, but hopefully you will receive this item soon. Please check individual product pages for specific delivery schedules at DisneyStore.com. At that point it had been 2 weeks already. Out of nowhere yesterday I get an email from USP - NOT Disney - telling me there was a package scheduled for delivery. I have UPS package manager so they tell me when someone prints a shipping label to my address. Disney still never notified me. I never got any kind of shipment or confirmation or anything. Came from a company called "Paradies Gifts" (I'm NOT kidding. Para DIES??) in Ft. Lauderdale. So anyway, if you're like me and were waiting forever, seems like they're finally getting to customers!

Pam Hates PenguinsOct 06, 2016

Well whatever they do, it has to be better than the 60th.

DaveeeeedOct 06, 2016

Yeah it will be good. I'm going to go out on a leg and predict that SM will get a refurb along with Peter Pan, and hopefully a new ride. Paint the Night might come next year so I don't know what entertainment we will get if it does, maybe a new firework show?

DaveeeeedOct 06, 2016

I hope the ones along the coast that don't evacuate will be alright. It's not going to be ala Katrina, but it is still a huge deal.

Pam Hates PenguinsOct 06, 2016

I can't wait for it though. Will DEFINETLY be there in 2021.

Pam Hates PenguinsOct 06, 2016

I'll be praying for everyone there.

DaveeeeedOct 06, 2016

Yeah, I have family down in Jacksonville Orlando and Miami, and the ones in Jacksonville are evacuating to Atlanta and will stay with us. I also have friends in Orlando and friends from my school in Atlanta that went this weekend, and they regret it now. Will definitely be praying for everyone.