Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom on its 45th anniversary weekend, but changes in the park certainly didn’t stop for the festivities. Rapid progress on the look of Tomorrowland continues, Stitch’s Great Escape has closed, and OK, we have some duck pictures.

Magic Kingdom 45th Anniversary

A special commemorative map was given out to mark the day.

The opening day resorts and the park also had complimentary buttons for guests.

The day began with a special welcome show at the Train Station:





Plenty of specialty merchandise was available (the line lasted over an hour at some points though).

The line wrapped around the Emporium and went down most of the street.

The main event of the day was a special anniversary ceremony at Cinderella Castle:





A special “Celebration Dog” was being served at Casey’s Corner:

Big Top Treats had some special candy apples.

Gaston’s Tavern and the Main Street Bakery were serving the infamous anniversary cupcake.

This time, guests could choose chocolate or vanilla cake.





The only piece of the open edition merchandise that came out on the 1st was this lanyard and pin set. That being said, most of the open edition items are currently sold out.

Tomorrowland Goes Rogue One

The Stitch related Tomorrowland murals in Merchant of Venus were covered up with giant Rogue One art when the merchandise was released (I’m sure it helps that Stitch’s Great Escape is now closed and only operates seasonally).

There’s a Tomorrowland mural under there, and no, it’s not by Mary Blair.

This and That

The Carousel of Progress finally got its new marquee sing, but you probably already saw that post…

The often congested Fantasyland bottleneck is now equipped with permanent signage for cast members to use. This only took 45 years.

Only 8 days before it happens, Disney releases a “Glowing Away Soon” shirt for the Main Street Electrical Parade. This shirt will be outdated in less than week. Why not put the final day on it? Oh, in case it gets rained out this weekend…

There is a fantastic photo-op at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe right now featuring Sonny Eclipse, “the biggest little star in the universe”.

New Space Mountain Lighting

After years of waiting, LED lighting was finally installed on the exterior of Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and it looks fantastic!

MagicBand Interactivity Returns

Right after we reported that they were off, many interactive elements returned to the Magic Kingdom. The goodbye at “it’s a small world” was turned on, but has still been breaking a lot.

Stitch’s Great Escape is Closed!

Starting Sunday, Stitch’s Great Escape now operates seasonally. The attraction will return for two short stretches at the end of 2016, but after that it should close to make way for a Wreck-It Ralph ride.

Tomorrowland Rocks

Work on the Tomorrowland rocks is wrapping up.

The new grass is still rough, but we probably need to give it some time to grow in.

The ducks decided it was ready for them.

The Magic Kingdom wildlife was being particularly photogenic.





Some extensive work is being done to the Express Monorail load platform at the Magic Kingdom, but the service remains open through the work.