Happiest Homecoming on Earth

Disney allowed guests staying at the three Disney-owned hotels to become "extras" for all the media filming going on, though they only were notified by a letter delivered in the middle of the night, so they had no advance notice.

The ceremony included fireworks; speeches from Julie Andrews (official ambassador for the 50th anniversary celebrations), and Art Linkletter (original TV anchor for the opening day broadcast); a performance of "When You Wish Upon A Star" by Christina Aguilera; and LeAnn Rimes singing the 50th anniversary theme song "Remember When", composed by Richard Marx.

Before the ceremony, at a media presentation in Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Resort president Matt Ouimet announced the new attractions Monsters, Inc.: Mike and Sully to the Rescue and Turtle Talk with Crush.

Due to the thousands of fans that continued to line up through the night, Disney California Adventure Park was opened and housed everyone until the next morning.

This initiated the Happiest Faces on Earth in which over thirty giant mosaics of Disney tableaus were displayed at locations around Disneyland and California Adventure composed of photos submitted by guests from the past fifty years.

Many classic Disneyland attractions re-opened in 2005 after lengthy refurbishments, such as Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain.

Comedian and ex-Disneyland cast member Steve Martin opened the Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years exhibition and film, in which he features with Donald Duck.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, the official anthem song was written by Richard Marx, and was performed for the first time live by Grammy-winning artist LeAnn Rimes.

The Disney Magic sailed to the West Coast in the summer of 2005, where it offered 12 one-week cruises from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera with port calls at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas.