Millennium Celebration To celebrate the new millennium, with a theme of “Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand, ” Walt Disney World concentrated its efforts on Epcot. There an enormous Mickey Mouse hand held a magic wand that trailed a giant “2000” over the globe of Spaceship Earth for 15 months beginning in October, 1999. In World Showcase, the 65,000 square foot Millennium Village presented exhibits from countries around the world. Additionally, there was a program of pin trading, updated Innoventions and Illuminations, and the opportunity for guests to have their photos etched into steel tiles on 35 granite slabs at Leave a Legacy. Disney commissioned two Millennium Symphonies, “Four Seasons” by Michael Torke, and “Garden of Light” by Aaron Jay Kernis, which premiered at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall on October 8, 1999. After the close of the celebration, the Millennium Village facility was remodeled and opened in 2001 as a convention meeting location.
