Photo courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
Did you hear the news? The Main Street Electrical Parade (or MSEP for short) is making its triumphant comeback to the Disneyland Resort! For a limited-time engagement between August 2 and September 30, the iconic parade will return to Main Street U.S.A. so that multiple generations can enjoy this magical nighttime spectacular!
The show originally debuted June 17, 1972 and entertained guests at Disney Parks worldwide. The parade then “glowed away” on November 25, 1996. Due to its timelessness, Disney California Adventure park revived the MSEP from 2001-2010, where the parade then moved on to Walt Disney World. After inspiring the “Paint the Night” parade for Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, the Disneyland Resort decided to bring back MSEP for a limited time engagement in 2017, and now it’s back again!
Here are some fun facts about the parade:
- 600,000 lights sparkle in the parade’s nighttime journey from Small World Mall in Fantasyland to Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A. (approximate number).
- 22 floats illuminate the parade route at Disneyland, nearly doubling the number of floats from the parade’s debut (12) in 1972.
- 7 films are represented in the parade: “Alice in Wonderland,” “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Dumbo” and “Pete’s Dragon.”
- 27 beloved Disney characters perform throughout the show including Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell.
- 80 parade performers (estimated number per night) bring the magic to light including 10 To Honor America patriots, 16 royal court dancers and the Seven Dwarfs.
- 35 dazzling, lighted costumes are worn by the parade performers.
- 8 jittering insect floats spin and dance for guests during the “Alice in Wonderland” sequence.
- At 18 1/2 feet high, the Clock Tower in the “Cinderella” sequence of the parade, is the tallest float.
- At 118 feet long, the To Honor America float is the longest float in the parade. It was added in 1979 after the success of the bicentennial tribute parade “America on Parade.”
- At 5,600 pounds, the massive Elliot float, added in 1977 for the release of “Pete’s Dragon,” measures 16 feet tall, 10 feet wide and 38 feet long.
- 2 composers, Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley, wrote the iconic synthesizer piece known as “Baroque Hoedown” in 1967, and the song was adapted for the “Main Street Electrical Parade” in 1972, interwoven with classic Disney themes to create the now iconic parade soundtrack.
- 6 different colors of light bulbs flash throughout the parade, in amber, blue, green, chartreuse, red and pink.
- 150,000 glowing amber lights are used in the production, the most of any color.
- 80 highly skilled cast members were involved in the creation of “Main Street Electrical Parade”, including 20 designers and 60 craftspeople.
- 5 Disney Parks have presented versions of the “Main Street Electrical Parade” including Disneyland, Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Park, Disney California Adventure Park, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
Sound off! Are you excited about the return of The Main Street Electrical Parade?
