The motto of the Main Street Electrical Parade should be “Here We Glow Again” since nothing — not even a pandemic — can keep the fan-favorite festival of lights away for long with the venerable nighttime spectacular trotted out whenever Disneyland needs an energy boost.
Disneyland hosted a media preview of the Main Street Electrical Parade and the “Disneyland Forever” fireworks show on Wednesday, April 20 to mark the return of large-scale entertainment put on hiatus for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant Disneyland visitors got a “surprise” performance of the two nighttime spectaculars before they officially debut alongside the “World of Color” water show at Disney California Adventure on Friday, April 22. “Fantasmic” returns on May 28.
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Plenty of people were in on the back-to-back nighttime spectacular “surprise” as Main Street U.S.A. was lined with parade-goers five deep who responded with hoots and hollers as the Spring Breakers waited for the lights to dim on Disneyland’s primary thoroughfare. Passageways were opened behind the Main Street shops to handle overflow traffic rerouted by the clog of visitors lining the parade route.
A cheer went up through the Main Street crowd as the lights dimmed and the familiar strains of “Baroque Hoedown” began playing. A broad smile stretched across my face and I had to hold back tears as the glittering train float that kicked off the parade made the turn around the Disneyland hub and chugged down Main Street U.S.A. amid puffs of steam billowing from its smokestack.
The magic of the Electrical Parade lies in its simplicity after 50 years of delighting generations of fans. For the most part, the parade floats involve little more than Christmas lights combined with a few basic lighting effects any home designer could pull off — even half a century ago.
The parade’s mushroom floats are still built out of little more than plywood and two-by-fours painted with black primer. The simplicity of the parade makes you believe you could build it in your backyard, but the enormous scale of the spectacle makes you realize only Disneyland could and would pull off such an audacious performance.
The Main Street Electrical Parade has the ability to tug on nostalgic heartstrings while simultaneously catering to the Instagram generation. The spinning turtles and snails that have become icons of the parade fit perfectly on your smartphone screen and put on a viral-worthy performance for 10 seconds seemingly just for you and your legions of social media followers.
That in-your-face, only-for-you aspect of the Electrical Parade is its enduring appeal. The supersized snails and bees can and do come right up to you and look you right in the eye — whether you’re 5 or 55 years old. The effect is the same regardless of your age — leaving either a lasting memory for years to come or recalling one from decades past.
My favorite part of the parade still remains the Cheshire Cat from “Alice in Wonderland,” whose purple stripes appear and disappear in sequence — leaving nothing but a wide grin of gleaming white lights. I also love the continuous sister spat between Drizella and Anastasia as they fight for our adoration and how the endless battle only escalates when one gets the attention of someone in the crowd.
One thing I didn’t remember was how slow the parade moves. I was getting a bit “Sleepy” as the Seven Dwarfs float leisurely rolled past when Pinocchio’s donkey boys brought the energy level back up. The sinister smile of the Coachman on the Pleasure Island float reminded me of what I love most about the Electrical Parade: No matter how many times you’ve seen it, there’s always one part of the parade carved into your memory that you somehow totally forgot existed.
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The star of the show still remains the pink-winged Elliot the Dragon — who is about to become a popcorn bucket sensation when the parade officially kicks off on Friday. The smoke-billowing dragon rolled along the parade route in front of the newest addition to the procession — a seven-segment grand finale sequence replacing the 108-foot-long patriotic American flag float titled “To Honor America.”
The new 118-foot-long “Togetherness” finale float featured animated dolls based on characters from “Encanto,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Coco,” “Moana,” “Frozen,” “Brave” and “Princess and the Frog.” The new Electrical Parade dolls were designed in the iconic It’s a Small World artistic style of Disney Legend Mary Blair.
The grand finale float kicked off with the familiar Blue Fairy perched atop a swirl of glittering blue bulbs.
Hercules wielded a lightning bolt as big as himself surrounded by rolling hills topped with Greek temples. Miguel strummed his guitar above a shimmering marigold bridge. Moana rocked atop her double-hulled outrigger canoe riding blue iridescent waves.
Colorful illuminated leaves swirled in the wind around Pocahontas. Raya drew her sword with Sisu the dragon outlined in gleaming blue lights beside her. Aladdin and Jasmine soared on a magic carpet above a glowing onion-domed palace.
A 19-foot-tall Sleeping Beauty Castle float brought up the rear in sparkling blues, teals and purples with a smiling clock face inspired by the Small World facade.
The Small World-style animated dolls make subtle movements you might miss amid all the spectacle of the enormous finale float. Fireworks lighting effects burst over each of the float segments.
The new Electrical Parade finale float is two-sided — meaning you’ll have to see the parade twice to catch the entire experience. To put the size of the finale in perspective, the behemoth float is nearly as long as the Incredicoaster is tall.
If you’re on the Aladdin and Jasmine side of the final float you’ll see the backside of Mirabel and Antonio as well as the backs of Merida, Tiana, Mulan and Mowgli. Elsa and Anna face each other hand in hand — allowing parade-goers to easily see them from either side of the route.
It’s possible to see both sides of the Togetherness float in one evening if you stand on the same side of the parade route for the 8:45 and 10:30 p.m. showings — since the parade heads in opposite directions for each performance. Otherwise, you’ll have to make a return trip to Disneyland to catch the alternate version of the final float — which is exactly what Disney is hoping you’ll do.
The Main Street Electrical Parade has a long history of triumphant returns. After officially “glowing away forever” in 1996, the Electrical Parade came back in 2001 to Disney California Adventure in an effort to boost the new park’s attendance and it stuck around for another decade. The beloved parade made briefer return engagements at Disneyland in 2017 and 2019. The limited-time 2022 reincarnation marks the fifth debut of the parade at the Anaheim theme park resort.
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The crisp April evening that required an extra layer by Southern California temperature standards also brought enough of a breeze to put the evening’s fireworks show in danger of being canceled. But the light winds calmed enough by showtime for “Disneyland Forever” to return to the skies above Sleeping Beauty Castle in bombastic style.
The fireworks show from Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration is just as you remember it — filled with Mickey-shaped pyrotechnics, video projections on Main Street U.S.A. building facades, Tinker Bell soaring over the castle and faux snow during “Let It Go” from “Frozen.”
My favorite moment from “Disneyland Forever” remains the “Finding Nemo” fish tank scene complete with a towering ring of fire that never fails to shock and delight.
“Disneyland Forever” is at times sweet, inspirational, toe-tapping and exuberant with a little something for everyone — from Pooh and pachyderms to primates and pride lands.
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It’s still a bit stunning to see thousands of people standing shoulder to shoulder on Main Street U.S.A. after two years of pandemic precautions. The return of the nighttime spectaculars marks the newest normal at Disneyland and the latest step forward in the phased reopening of the parks.
Disneyland still knows how to do a fireworks finale like no other and “Forever” doesn’t disappoint — sending the masses home with a famed “kiss goodnight” and bomb blasts ringing in their ears.