ABC lets it go (big) with 'Disneyland' special
ANAHEIM, Calif. – ABC will flex some Disney marketing muscle during Sunday’s two-hour celebration of Disneyland's 60th anniversary, with everything from a Let It Go performance by Frozen's Idina Menzel to a preview of Star Wars theme park plans with Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET/PT), commemorating the July 1955 opening of Walt Disney's first theme park, will feature Elton John singing The Lion King's Circle of Life in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and master of ceremonies Derek Hough and Witney Carson dancing down Main Street, U.S.A. Little Big Town will perform Steve McQueen at Cars Land in the adjacent Disney California Adventure, where Menzel will sing during the World of Color show.
Hough and Carson, stars of Disney-owned ABC's Dancing with the Stars, will open the show by dancing through the years in a spectacle that starts in black-and-white — the way ABC viewers would have seen Wonderful World's TV ancestor Disneyland, launched in 1954 — and transforms to color.
"The number starts out back in the day when Disneyland first opened. Derek and I are outside of the gates and we have the original Disneyland tickets and we're going into the park and we're just celebrating this amazing moment of 60 years," says Carson, standing on a Main Street, U.S.A., rooftop that affords a commanding view of the park."We are dancing through the parade. It's a really big, energetic, fun dance number."
She describes the music as a "big remix" of old and new Disney tunes, as Pentatonix joins in on Beauty and the Beast's Be Our Guest.
Star Wars fan Carson is one of many awaiting details on themed attractions planned for Disneyland and Florida's Walt Disney World. Not surprisingly, executive producers Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager are mum about any details Ford and his Star Wars colleague, BB-8, will reveal of the 14-acre additions, which will feature a a new planet and a remote trading port.
Viewers will see places generally off limits, as Frozen's Olaf, Josh Gad, gets a "Behind the Magic Kingdom" tour of Walt's Apartment, a 500-square-foot room above Main Street's firehouse where Disney bunked to oversee construction, and the Disneyland Dream Suite, a large, luxury pad (with Peter Pan, Jungle Book and Mickey Mouse surprises) in New Orleans Square that was put on hold for years after Disney's death in 1966.
"It's an opportunity for someone like Josh, who's a huge Disney fan, to see it and for us to share his excitement," Prager says.
Featured performances at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre include Jesse J singing When You Wish Upon a Star and a Tori Kelly and Kermit the Frog duet on Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie.
Disneyland Park ranked third worldwide in visitors in 2014 with 16.8 million, up 3.5%, according to the Themed Entertainment Association, and Star Wars additions will likely spur attendance. The influence of The Force Awakens already is apparent, as BB-8 joined the Star Tours ride and Space Mountain has been temporarily renamed Hyperspace Mountain.
Such related Disney properties gave producers many options for the park's TV celebration.
"We wanted to celebrate all 60 years of Disneyland plus (its) inspiration, Walt Disney, and Disney in general," Prager says. "It's trying to touch on the past, the present, the future."