Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has announced that it has already sold out all ticket types for the 50th Anniversary Celebration scheduled for 1 October, 2021.
The pandemic had badly affected Disney’s theme park business in 2020 with worldwide lockdown, phased openings and closings again. The impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry, especially Disney Parks, have resulted in a loss of $6.9 billion since the pandemic started. This year, however, with the 100 per cent ticket sale of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration, things are looking a little brighter. However, the pandemic is far to be over and October is still a long way from now.
Disney World first opened to the public on 1 October, 1971 and was initially designed to act as a supplement to the existing Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. It eventually became more than just a supplement to Disneyland and later surpassed to become the most visited vacation park in the world.
With an average of over 58 million guests annually, there are a lot of people who enjoy visiting the park on a regular basis. Many of them were excited to help Mickey and Minnie Mouse celebrate the park’s 50th Anniversary as well as new attractions like the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser luxury resort. Unfortunately, in recent COVID times, it seems too many people are willing to visit the park on that day.
Though no official actual events have been announced for the golden anniversary event at Walt Disney World. However, anniversary events are generally year-long celebrations rather than just a single-day event.
Since the pandemic is still not over yet, Disneyland is still closed to guests. Disney World remains open, though there are still many attractions that are closed to the public and events that have been cancelled. All fireworks, parades, live performances, and other attractions like the Walt Disney World Railroad and character meet and greets are currently not operating. People with a premier pass can still visit Walt Disney World until 31 March.
Formal Disney World 50th Anniversary plans are yet to be announced, but there are a number of new rides on the way, though it’s still not clear if any of them will actually be available in October. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind are all some of the rides that are currently under construction. However, even if they are open by the end of the year, some more tickets will have to open up in order for park goers to experience them during the 50th Anniversary Celebration.
— Disney Parks News (@DisneyParksNews) January 14, 2021
As per BlogMickey, the Disney Park Pass reservation system has been updated to show no reservations available for any ticket type on 1 October. However, few reports suggest that Disney theme parks frequently manage capacity, even going as far recently as to cancel Disneyland’s annual pass programme. For special events, the company will monitor sales and will close reservations once it comes close to capacity. As the date approaches, more tickets are often made available as Disney gets a better understanding of crowd control.
Disney said it is developing a new membership programme that will “utilise consumer insights to deliver choice, flexibility and value for our biggest fans.”