When I heard the Main Street Electrical Parade was coming back to Disneyland for a limited time, I knew I would be there to see it. It began it's final run January 20th and will end on June 18th. Although there is still some ambiguity as to its future, many believe that it will be permanently retired after this run.
The Main Street Electrical Parade holds a special place in my heart because of the fond memories I have of seeing the parade as a child with my Mom. Although my kids have now grown up with the Paint the Night Parade, it was a special experience for me to share the Main Street Electrical Parade with them and for them to see the parade that paved the way for any and all future night time parades.
Below is the audio intro to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Although it is slightly different from when I grew up and there is a lot of background noise in the audio due to the excitement in the crowd, it takes me down memory lane every time I listen to it:
The minute the intro to the parade came over the speakers, my eyes were immediately filled with tears. It is slightly different than the original back in the 1980's, but similar enough to bring me back to my childhood.
Although my camera (and its operator) wasn't operating perfectly resulting in some blurry photo's, here is the parade in pictures:
The lead float in the parade is the train that pulls the iconic drum.
And here's the drum...
...and again.
Although not "spectacular" by today's standards, these little guys brought back fond memories...unfortunately they move so fast I had a hard time capturing a clean photo of them.
These floats are all apart of the Alice in Wonderland procession.
The white rabbit!
I love that the MSEP focuses on the older franchises such as Alice, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan rather than all the newer stuff...
Who R U?
Now on to the Cinderella portion of the parade...
Prince Charming, and the step-sisters
Big Ben starts off the Peter Pan procession.
Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
And, of course, Mr. Smee
The dancing pixie's lead the transition from Peter Pan to Tinkerbell
Tinker Bell!
Dopey, driving the mine train to start off the Snow White portion of the parade...unfortunately my photo doesn't do it justice...
Snow White and a few of the dwarfs.
Pinocchio is next, dancing with the "donkey boys."
Pleasure Island float
Next is perhaps the most iconic and most photo graphed float - Elliot from Pete's Dragon. The last time my kids saw this parade, my oldest, Shelby, was only 3 years old and when this float came she turned into an ostrich by putting her head down in my lap as it came by. I was worried this time about my 3 year old, Judi. She didn't seen to me scared at the time it came by but she later informed me that the "big dragon is sometimes a little bit notty" which is Judi code for she was a little scared of him.
He still blows smoke out his nose although quite a bit quieter than I remember it being before.
The final float reads, "To Honor America" across the front. It is a great finishing touch to a great parade!
The Main Street Electrical Parade will always hold a special place in my heart. As newer parades with more cutting edge technology emerge, I hope they will always in some way pay a small tribute to their predecessor.
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