Mickey Mouse – one of the most recognizable brand icons in the world is turning 90 this year! And that means Disney is throwing the biggest birthday party of the decade to celebrate – for a limited time only, of course!
To celebrate, The Walt Disney Company launched a worldwide celebration honoring our favorite mouse. It started with a Mickey-inspired spring runway fashion event and continued recently with an ABC television special that included special guest stars and performances. Other divisions of The Walt Disney Company such as Disney Channel, Disney on Ice, and D23: The Official Disney Fan Club have incorporated special celebrations honoring Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. In New York, visitors can immerse themselves in Mickey: The True Original Exhibition, which is a 16,000 square-foot experiential exhibition inspired by Mickey’s 90 years.
In between the special birthday events, The Walt Disney Company has planned all this year to honor Mickey Mouse; fans can celebrate all year long by visiting the Disney store online. An entire section of the site has been dedicated to promoting Mickey’s 90thbirthday, with several of these products available for a limited time only. One of the best collections is the Mickey Mouse Memories Collection, which is a limited-release series of monthly collectible plush, mugs, and pins. There are 12 sets total that you can collect, and each set is inspired by Mickey’s most memorable movie roles. Rest assured these pieces of memorabilia won’t be available this time next year, so the time to buy is now!
Disney has used Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday as a major marketing push, and it is definitely not disappointing, given the company’s massive reputation. From celebrations promoting the yearlong event to the Mickey Mouse birthday merchandise, fans are celebrating their childhood icon at the parks themselves as well. Disney parks around the world will be holding their own special festivities for boosted celebration, as well as sales. Those lucky enough to be heading to Disney World for Mickey’s birthday weekend will be in for a real treat! In Magic Kingdom, guests will be able to enjoy limited-time entertainment, new merchandise, and celebratory food and drinks. Let’s be honest, Mickey-shaped food always tastes better!
To add to the birthday extravaganza, the celebration goes well beyond The Walt Disney Company with intense cross-promotional marketing. Oreo has joined in the festivities with a birthday cake flavored cookie that has three Mickey birthday designs and special packaging. Likewise, Sugarfina has rolled out a “Cheers to the Ears” collection of Mickey-inspired candy, and even Pepperidge Farm has released a special edition Mickey Mouse-shaped Goldfish.
As creators of the Disney Vault, no company knows better the motto of limited supply = high demand than these Mouseketeers. The Walt Disney Company plans to keep the birthday celebration going through part of 2019. With the amount of festivities happening for Mickey’s 90th birthday, I can only imagine what Disney will come up with to promote Mickey’s 100th birthday in 10 years, because it will truly be the event of a lifetime.
