MAJOR MILESTONES

Some of the city’s most beloved institutions are celebrating big anniversaries in 2023. |

By Robin Jones

100 Years of Disney…

 The Walt Disney Company marks its 100th anniversary in 2023, and Disneyland® Resort will celebrate Disney100 with new shows, parades, food and drink o erings, merchandise, and decorations. Starting on January 27, Mickey and Minnie, festooned in new platinum and purple outfits, will welcome visitors to the park shimmering platinum bunting and banners. Two new nighttime shows will commemorate the company’s legacy in film: “Wondrous Journeys” will project clips and images from every Walt Disney Animation Studios film to date on facades throughout Disneyland® Park; and World of Color – One at Disney California Adventure® Park will feature inspiring Disney characters and a new song called “Start a Wave.”

…and a Century of Halloween Parades

Another soon-to-be centennial, the first Halloween parade in Anaheim was staged in 1923 with Babe Ruth as the grand marshal. Initially created to deter Halloween night pranksters, the Anaheim Fall Festival & Halloween Parade grew into a major event; in the 1960s, it was broadcast live on local television and drew 150,000 spectators from around Southern California. But by the 1980s, the event had become a smaller a air, and it stayed that way until 2013, when Disney artists and new Anaheim residents Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily decided to revive the parade with re-created floats from historic photos. Today, the festival draws locals and visitors featuring costume contests for kids and pets, live music, puppet shows, a pumpkin art contest, and, of course, the parade, which starts at Anaheim City Hall and heads down Center Street and Broadway. Vintage-inspired floats are still the stars of the show.

30 Years of Entertainment…

Just two days after Anaheim Arena opened on June 17, 1993, the indoor venue hosted its first show, a sold-out Barry Manilow concert. When the Mighty Ducks hockey franchise took the ice for the first time in October 1993, the arena was called Arrowhead Pond, and it became Honda Center in 2006 after Henry and Susan Samueli took ownership of the Ducks and the arena’s management company. No matter the name, the arena has been a favored destination for sports and music fans from across Southern California, hosting college basketball tournaments, stand up comedy tours, and major music bands like the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. There have also been return engagements to the arena including Disney On Ice, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Ultimate Fighting Championship matches.

…and Three Decades of Hockey

When the National Hockey League awarded Anaheim one of two expansion franchises in 1993 (the Florida Panthers in Miami were the other team), the Walt Disney Company founded the Mighty Ducks, a nod to Disney’s 1992 movie of the same name. Anaheim quickly made its mark on the league, posting the most wins (33) for an expansion hockey team in its inaugural season. With future Hockey Hall of Fame stars Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, the Mighty Ducks reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003. When the Samuelis bought the team two years later, they rebranded the team as the Ducks and redesigned the uniforms prior to the 200607 season, which resulted in the franchise winning its first Stanley Cup.

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