Honoring the 70th anniversary of the flagship Disneyland park, a new multi-gallery exhibit is opening in the Main Street Opera House on July 17 dedicated to the Happiest Place on Earth, featuring some pieces never before displayed to the public. Capping off this trip through the imagination, history and artistry of the park is a brand-new attraction where visitors can step into Walt Disney’s office, peruse historical mementos from his life and career and hear words of wisdom from an animatronic recreation of the man whose vision launched a global entertainment empire.

Entering the Main Street Opera House, visitors find “Evolution of a Dream,” featuring a gallery of illustrations throughout the lobby that show the evolution of Disneyland from the earliest concepts. The selection includes pieces from the Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney Archives, including pencil drawings and full-color concept artwork and storyboards of the park’s lands and attractions. Disneyphiles will also get to see first hand vintage merchandise from the park’s early days.

More memorabilia awaits in an exhibit of pieces from The Walt Disney Family Museum, which has loaned more than 30 artifacts to the Disneyland showcase. One section of especial note focuses on the small apartment Walt had built for his family inside the park, above Town Square Fire Station, so he could be close at hand while Disneyland built up over the first years.

There is also a collection of awards and accolades received by Walt over his lifetime, including a 1955 Emmy for Walt Disney’s Disneyland, a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson and a plaque from the Racing Pigeon Association.

Visitors will also get an up-close look at familiar faces from Disneyland rides in an exhibit dedicated to the history of “Audio-Animatronics,” featuring original and replica figures going back to Imagineering’s earliest ventures into the technology. The first Audio-Animatronics were introduced in 1963 with the Enchanted Tiki Room; the displays also feature figures from the New York World’s Fair debut of It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as a special Memories of Walt video in which his colleagues and the creators he inspired share personal anecdotes and memories

The Opera House theater itself presents the first-ever Audio-Animatronic figure of “the man behind the magic” in the attraction Walt Disney A Magical Life. A video of the full performance has been made available online.

On the way out of the theater, visitors will find a tribute to Disneyland Cast Members who have helped bring these magical storyworlds to life for the last seven decades, captured in a gallery of images from different eras of the park’s history. On the opposite wall, a new mural colorfully captures Disneyland’s historic legacy.

Reinforcing that this exhibit merely captures the park’s first 70 years, the closing note is a gallery offering a sneak peek at Disneyland’s future. Fans will gat an early look at plans for new attractions and experiences set to bring more magic to the kingdom in coming years.