The Main Street Electrical Parade is a nighttime Disney parade created in 1972 by Robert Jani and project director Ron Miziker. It features floats and live performers covered in thousands of electronically controlled lights and a synchronized soundtrack triggered by radio control along key areas of the parade route. Since its debut more than 50 years ago, it has performed for millions of guests at Disney theme parks around the world, most notably Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
The parade has also inspired several variations and spin-offs, some of which still operate today. Currently, an updated version runs at Tokyo Disneyland as "Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights". In 2014, Hong Kong Disneyland premiered a spiritual successor to the Main Street Electrical Parade called the "Paint the Night Parade", which, like its predecessor, features "Baroque Hoedown" as its theme song. An extended version of Paint the Night premiered at Disneyland on May 22, 2015 as part of the park's 60th anniversary celebration.
The original iteration of the Main Street Electrical Parade ran at Disneyland until its heavily-promoted "Farewell Season" in 1996, but after being dismantled, reassembled, and sent to perform at other Disney theme parks from 1999 to 2016, it returned to its original home for a limited-time run starting on January 20, 2017. This run was intended to last until June 18, 2017,[1] but popular demand saw it extended to August 20, 2017.[5] After this, the parade sat dormant for nearly two years, but returned for a second limited-time run at Disneyland from August 2 to September 30 of 2019.[3] Following another two-year hiatus, the parade returned once again to Disneyland starting on April 22, 2022 to celebrate its 50th anniversary that year, complete with a brand new finale sequence.[4] This run lasted until September 1, 2022.[6]
On February 28, 2020, the Tokyo Disney Resort temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 24, 2021, the Tokyo Disney Resort reopened, and Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights resumed performances later that year on November 1, as part of Tokyo DisneySea's 20th anniversary celebration.[9]
One of the original parade's floats also made an appearance on ABC's Dancing with the Stars during its 2020 season.
The predecessor to the Main Street Electrical Parade is the Electrical Water Pageant, a show made up of fourteen 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) screens with electrical lights placed on them. The screens are placed on a string of seven barges that travel around the Seven Seas Lagoon in front of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, beginning at 9 p.m. at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort or immediately after the fireworks if they are scheduled for 9 p.m.
The Electrical Water Pageant premiered on October 25, 1971, just weeks after the Walt Disney World Resort opened, and continues to operate to this day. It was decided shortly thereafter that Disneyland needed a similar show, but because the park's property did not contain a sufficiently large body of water, the concept was revised into a more traditional street parade.
Disneyland's original 1972 Main Street Electrical Parade was commissioned by company president Card Walker and designed by Hub Braden, an NBC Burbank Television art director, who had designed projects for Robert Jani, Disneyland Entertainment Division. The original parade units were built by Silvestri, a Chicago, Illinois, display company known for its holiday light displays along Michigan Avenue in Chicago. However, construction of the floats in the factory ran severely behind schedule, leading Disney to ship the half-built floats to Anaheim, where Imagineering technicians and electricians finished the work themselves.
Because of these delays in construction, Disneyland was only able to hold one dress rehearsal before the parade's debut. This rehearsal was a complete disaster, with performers' costumes emitting sparks and several floats collapsing or crashing into buildings. Even with construction occurring around the clock, the parade was still being worked on as late as the day of its premiere.[10] Against all odds, however, the parade opened successfully on June 17, and quickly became a favorite of park guests.
The engineers who helped create the parade also created the first show-control program in existence. This allowed the 2000-foot-long parade route to contain multiple radio-activated "trigger zones". As each float entered one of these zones, the park's audio system played float-specific music through that zone's speakers. Each zone was between 70 and 100 feet long, and the zoned system meant that every person watching the parade would experience the same show, no matter where they stood along the parade route.[11]
From 1972 to 1974, the parade's roster of floats consisted largely of flat, two-dimensional screens similar to those used in the Electrical Water Pageant. These screens were placed on rolling platforms that needed to be pushed or pulled manually along the parade route. However, even from the beginning, some units were partially or entirely three-dimensional. Of the original floats, the Blue Fairy, Casey Jr. and the drum, Dumbo's circus calliope, the Cinderella ballroom canopies, and the Chinese Dragon (later replaced by Elliott from Pete's Dragon) were all 3D. After 1974, this original version of the parade was retired and replaced by the bicentennial-themed America on Parade from 1975 to 1976.
The return[]
On June 11, 1977, an upgraded version of the Electrical Parade was introduced to Disneyland, now featuring an entirely three-dimensional lineup. To coincide with these upgrades, the parade's soundtrack was updated as well. Working at United Audio Studios in Santa Ana, California, Don Dorsey and Jack Wagner rearranged the soundtrack, adding an opening fanfare, a spoken introduction announcement provided by Wagner, and new music loops for some of the parade units, though others retained their music from the original soundtrack. On the same day, a nearly identical replica of the upgraded parade was formally introduced to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. This version of the parade was the same as in California, but the floats were built larger for the wider version of Main Street, U.S.A. at the park.
In 1978, several of the parade's floats were used for a special performance in the halftime show of the 1978 Orange Bowl. For this presentation, Don Dorsey composed a closing fanfare, and starting the following year, this element was implemented into the parade's soundtrack at the theme parks. At the same time, Disney started applying a vocoder effect to Jack Wagner's opening and closing announcements; both of these alterations carried over into all future versions of the parade. Beginning this year, the Magic Kingdom version updated the text on its drum to include "Walt Disney World Presents" blinking with the parade logo alternatively and included a special Mickey Mouse 50th Anniversary float.
Disneyland's version of the parade ran until 1982, when it went on hiatus and was temporarily replaced by the Flights of Fantasy Parade. There was no nighttime parade of any sort for 1984, but the parade was brought back in 1985 for Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration, with more updates added. In addition to some brand new floats and a special 30th Anniversary logo float, the drum's text was updated to now read "Disneyland Presents" alternating with the parade's logo, as with the Magic Kingdom version. That year, a third version of the parade debuted at Tokyo Disneyland. Because this park features the World Bazaar in place of Main Street, USA, and because the park's parade route does not traverse the World Bazaar, this rendition of the parade was instead known as Tokyo Disneyland's Electrical Parade. It was also the first version of the parade to see a major sponsor in the form of Unisys.
The retirement[]
On September 14, 1991, the Magic Kingdom version of the parade ran for the last time at the park. The purpose for this retirement was due to the park debuting a brand new nighttime parade - SpectroMagic, for Walt Disney World's 20th Anniversary; and so the Magic Kingdom version could be sent over to Euro Disneyland to prepare for the April 1992 opening of the Euro Disney Resort. With this, the floats had to be re-bulbed in order to correspond with the 50 Hz electricity standards. The parade debuted with the opening of the park as planned on April 12, 1992. This version of the parade also saw another major sponsor - Philips.
Within the meantime, the three versions of the parade continued for another four years until 1995, when The Oriential Land Company began its "Sayonana Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade" season at Tokyo Disneyland. The parade ended for the final time on June 21, 1995, as the park introduced their own nighttime parade - Disney's Fantillusion. For the original Disneyland version, the parade gained its first and only major sponsor - General Electric, with the drum being updated now alternating between the company's logo and the parade's logo.
In 1996, Disneyland announced that the parade would end at the park at the end of the year. With this, the park focused their 1996 season to the parade. "Farewell Season". The parade was due to end on October 15, 1996, but due to unexpected guest attendance, the farewell season run was extended to end on November 25, 1996. As a promotional event, Disney sold light bulbs certified as having been used in the parade as collectible souvenirs. These light bulbs were sourced from the Casey Jr. float and the blue and pink mushroom floats in the Alice in Wonderland unit; the latter two floats were de-bulbed following the first of two performances given on the parade's final day, and the former was de-bulbed shortly following the second. After being stripped of their lights, all three of these floats were disassembled and their parts were placed in storage. The drum attached to the Casey Jr. float was saved, with the intention of using it as part of a Smithsonian Disney exhibit, but these plans fell through, and this float was instead placed in storage along with the others.[citation needed]
Disneyland's replacement nighttime show Light Magic opened in 1997 to disappointing results. Disney quickly cancelled Light Magic but held off in bringing back the popular Main Street Electrical Parade. Despite the parade's absence from Disneyland, however, it did make one more appearance that year when it was used to promote the premiere of Disney's newest animated film, Hercules. For this event, the Electrical Parade floats that had not been dismantled were sent to New York City, where the film was set to premiere at the then-recently-restored New Amsterdam Theater. These floats were then joined by four new Hercules-themed floats that had been created specifically for the event. The parade was temporarily rebranded as the "Hercules Electrical Parade" and traveled down the streets of New York for a special, one-night-only performance on June 14, 1997. After this, the special Hercules-themed floats were scrapped, and the remaining floats were all disassembled and placed in storage, much like Casey Jr. and the mushrooms had been the year prior.[citation needed]
At this point, only Disneyland Paris' version of the parade was the only version of the parade that was still running. 1997 saw the addition of the Swan Lake unit from Tokyo, while 1998 saw the addition of the diamond mine float from the Snow White unit and both of the Pleasure Island floats from the Pinocchio unit. However, they did not always appear, varying depending on park attendance.
Later years[]
In 1999, the Magic Kingdom's SpectroMagic parade was in need of refurbishment, so the decision was made to put it on hiatus and temporarily replace it by bringing back the Main Street Electrical Parade. To accomplish this, Disney pulled the disassembled floats from Disneyland's version of the parade out of storage and hired Garner Holt Productions to reassemble and refurbish them to show-ready condition. This revived rendition of the parade premiered at the Magic Kingdom in May of 1999 for a limited engagement, just in time for Walt Disney World's Millennium Celebration. It was virtually identical to Disneyland's aside from the floats sent to Paris not being included, and the drum being updated to read "The Magic Kingdom Presents". The parade ended its run at the Magic Kingdom on April 1, 2001 and SpectroMagic returned the following day.
At the same time, The Oriential Land Company had announced that they would produce a modernized version of the parade for Tokyo Disneyland, which would premiere following the conclusion of the "Sayonana Disney's Fantillusion" event. The modernized updated version - "Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights", debuted on June 17, 2001, to major success.
As for the original Main Street Electrical Parade floats, they were then sent back to California with the intention of running the parade at Disneyland once again. However, this plan changed after Team Disney Anaheim saw the poor attendance figures for the spring break season at Disney's California Adventure and feared that the park would fail to attract large crowds during the crucial summer season without a big draw.[citation needed] Therefore, on April 25, 2001, Disney announced that the popular Main Street Electrical Parade would be coming to Disney's California Adventure on July 2, 2001, in honor of the park's inaugural summer. The Main Street Electrical Parade was renamed to "Disney's Electrical Parade", as California Adventure does not have a Main Street. Aside from the absence of the floats that had been sent to Paris and the revision of the drum float to reflect the parade's new name, this version of the parade was practically identical to the one that used to run at Disneyland, however the drum was changed to read "Disney's Electrical Parade" and "A California Classic". The parade was offered during summer periods and select weekends.
The Disneyland Paris version on the other hand, began to prepare for its retirement in order to allow the exported Disney's Fantillusion parade from Tokyo to premiere. However, due to major technical difficulties, the parade continued on from its expected 2002 ending all the way until March 23, 2003.
In 2005, the parade went on hiatus at the Disneyland Resort. Lighting company Sylvania became the parade's sponsor, and with this, all the lights on the floats were replaced and the words "Presented by Sylvania" were added to the drum float. At the same time, Disneyland Resort Paris sent the ex-Disney World version of the parade to Hong Kong Disneyland to be showcased there, but the park declined to showcase it, leaving the Disney World version in limbo.
In 2007, Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights saw its first major overhaul with the removal of some floats (including the A Bug's Life unit) and the additions of other films being represented.
On the 2008 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade special, Disney announced that a Tinker Bell float would be added to Disney's Electrical Parade, making it the first new float to be added to the classic parade in nearly 20 years, since the 35th Disneyland anniversary float in 1990. In truth, however, this addition was merely the first step in a process to upgrade the entire parade for the Disneyland Resort's 2009 "Summer Nightastic!" promotion. Starting on January 5, 2009, Disney's Electrical Parade went on hiatus, and over the next five months, the parade underwent a complete refurbishment. During this time, one of the turtle floats from the Alice in Wonderland unit was put on display at the "technology" section of that year's D23 Expo.
Elements of the parade that had remained unchanged for years were given an overhaul. The entire soundtrack was revised to more closely resemble that of Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights, and the Blue Fairy float that had led the parade since 1972 was retired and replaced by the new Tinker Bell float as the parade's first float. The entire Dumbo section was also cut from the parade for unknown reasons, though its music was also updated before this decision was made. However, the latter removal was made up for by the return of the missing floats from the Snow White and Pinocchio units, as announced by Disney at a press conference on April 24, 2009.[12] As stated above, Hong Kong Disneyland had sent these floats back to Anaheim after deciding not to run Disneyland Paris' copy of the parade, but they required significant refurbishment to be able to run alongside the rest of the Anaheim version's floats.
Various enhancements were made to the existing floats as well. Animated LED pixie dust effects similar to those on the new Tinker Bell float were added to most of the major floats. The light bulbs that made up the letters on the drum float were replaced by smaller LED bulbs embedded into the sides of the drum, and new, larger light bulbs were added around the edges of the drum. The butterfly in the Alice in Wonderland unit was altered in appearance and given the ability to flap its wings, and the Cheshire Cat was altered to fade between "visible" and "invisible" rather than simply blinking on and off. In the Peter Pan unit, Tinker Bell was removed from the crow's nest of the pirate ship now that she had her own float, the central mast was made slightly taller, and the skull on the bow of the ship, previously formed by a group of light bulbs, was replaced by a single piece lit from the inside. In the Pete's Dragon unit, Elliott was given more detailed eyes and, much like the Cheshire Cat, a more elaborate sequence for fading in and out of view. Finally, the "To Honor America" unit was given a new title banner and animated fireworks.
Disney started testing these updated and new units in late May of 2009, and finally unveiled them formally to the public when the parade returned on June 12, 2009. That December, more changes were made to the parade: the caterpillar in the Alice in Wonderland unit was changed in color from green to a more movie-accurate blue and was given a digitally-projected face whose lips synched up with the caterpillar's dialog and Elliot's wings were given the ability to flap . A few months later, however, ongoing construction projects at California Adventure necessitated that parts of the parade route be walled off, and because of this, Disney's Electrical Parade was forced to end its run at the park on April 18, 2010.
That same year, "Summer Nightastic!" was extended to Walt Disney World, and to tie in with the promotion there, the parade was sent back to the Magic Kingdom, where it started performing on June 5, 2010.[13] Though billed as "Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade", the title on the drum float was not changed from its run at California Adventure, still reading "Disney's Electrical Parade". The "Presented by Sylvania" text was removed, however, as Sylvania declined to renew its sponsorship. The only other major change was that the fairy dancers now led in front of the Tinker Bell float rather than following behind it as they did at California Adventure. While Disney initially announced that the parade would stay just through the summer and then it would be sent back to California to continue performing Disney California Adventure, they later extended this into an open-ended run.
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights was updated once more in 2011 and 2015, showcasing more unique lighting displays not possible by the original parade.
On August 11, 2016, it was announced that the parade would be ending its run at the Magic Kingdom on October 9, 2016, after which it would travel back to Disneyland for a limited-time encore run starting on January 20, 2017.[7] After the parade ended its run at the Magic Kingdom, it was immediately shipped back to Anaheim in preparation for its limited-time return to Disneyland. The parade's return to Disneyland was heavily promoted, with a Main Street Electrical Parade-themed yacht featured in the 2016 Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, with Mickey Mouse as Grand Marshal. During ESPN's broadcast of the 2017 Rose Bowl on January 2, 2017, Disney began airing a 30-second television commercial advertising the parade's return. The commercial focused on two workers restoring the parade floats in a large hangar filled with defunct Disneyland attractions, such as Skull Rock, the Skyway, the Rocket Jets, the Flying Saucers, and the PeopleMover; and characters and props, such as the original Abominable Snowman from the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Captain Rex from the original version of Star Tours, Sam the Eagle from America Sings, the Mighty Microscope from Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the Sea Serpent from the original Submarine Voyage. The commercial ended with Elliott leading the parade out of the hangar with the tagline "IT'S COMING HOME".
On January 19, 2017, a special ticketed premiere event was held after regular park hours, costing 95 US dollars to attend.[1][14] Banners with the parade's logo were hung on the Main Street lamp posts during the parade's run, similar to those hung on the lamp posts during the Halloween and Christmas seasons and during the Diamond Celebration. Jack Wagner's original opening vocoder announcement from 1979 was restored, albeit pitched down slightly to better match the updated soundtrack that had been in use since 2009.
The parade underwent several changes in the months between the final Magic Kingdom performance and the Disneyland premiere. Casey Junior was made the lead float of the parade, and the text on the drum float was reverted to its original state, alternating between "Disneyland Presents" and "Main Street Electrical Parade" rather than "Disney's Electrical Parade" fading in and out. When this change was made, the LED lights spelling out the words on the drum were replaced with regular light bulbs. The Tinker Bell float was relocated from the front of the parade to the end of the Peter Pan unit, and Tinker Bell's balloon was replaced with a large flower platform. Despite Tinker Bell no longer leading the parade, the pixie dust effects on the rest of the major floats were not removed until several weeks into the parade's run. Finally, the float upon which Pinocchio rode in the Pleasure Island unit was omitted, as it was damaged during the trip to Anaheim. As a result, the donkey boys' dance was rechoreographed, and Pinocchio himself was integrated into the new routine.
This run was originally scheduled to end on June 18, 2017,[7][15] but due to overwhelming guest demand, it was extended to August 20.[5] Immediately following this date, Disney arranged for the parade floats to be stored away in an off-site warehouse in Anaheim[16] but did not make any announcements regarding the parade's future.
Within this return, over in Japan, Dreamlights was updated once more in July 2017.
Nearly two years later, on June 28, 2019, Disney announced that the Main Street Electrical Parade would again return to Disneyland from August 2 to September 30 of that year.[3] When the parade returned, it had not received any alterations since its 2017 run aside from several minor choreography updates and behind-the-scenes refurbishments. After only eight weeks, on September 30, the Main Street Electrical Parade performed for the final time once again, leaving this as the parade's shortest run to date.
After this, the parade floats were returned to the storage warehouse. One week prior to the last performance, the Disneyland Resort's official Twitter account stated that it would be the final show "of the season",[17] implying that the parade might return in the future, but aside from this, Disney gave no official word regarding the parade's status. In 2020, one of the snail floats from the Alice in Wonderland unit was briefly taken out of storage and sent to Los Angeles to perform on Dancing with the Stars as part of that show's "Disney Night" on September 28.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights went on hiatus from February 28, 2020 to November 1, 2021. When the parade returned, several elements, including the entire Disney Fairies segment, were cut due to COVID-related concerns.[9]
50th Anniversary and Beyond[]
On October 26, 2021, over two years after its most recent performance at a Disney park, the official Disney Parks TikTok account posted a short video heavily implying that the Main Street Electrical Parade was preparing once more to return to Disneyland,[18] which Disney officially confirmed less than a month later, on November 20.[19] On February 22, 2022, Disney announced an exact date for the parade's return: April 22 of that year. In addition, it was revealed that a new finale unit would be added to the parade to celebrate its 50th anniversary, replacing the classic "To Honor America" finale unit. This new finale, whose floats would reuse the chassis and general structural design of "To Honor America", would be visually inspired by Mary Blair's art style for It's a Small World. In addition to featuring representations of several retired or temporary units from the parade's past (such as the Blue Fairy, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty Castle), it would also introduce newer Disney properties to the classic parade, such as Coco, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Encanto.[4]
On April 20, two days before The Main Street Electrical Parade was scheduled to return, it had a surprise soft opening, which was live-streamed on the Disney Parks Blog.[2] In addition to the new finale, several other changes had been made since the parade's 2019 run. Following the precedent set by Tokyo Disneyland's DreamLights version of the parade the year prior, a new opening vocoder announcement was recorded, replacing the words "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," with "To all who come to this happy place". On the drum float, the lights spelling out the text were replaced yet again with new LED lights reminiscent of the 2009 update, a "50 Years" logo was added, and the lights around the rims were upgraded to flash on and off in a simple "chase" pattern. Finally, projection effects similar to those used in Disneyland Forever and Mickey's Mix Magic were added, playing on the It's a Small World facade building, the Matterhorn, Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the buildings along Main Street as the new finale unit passed by each landmark.
On July 14, 2022, Disney announced that the parade's 50th anniversary run would end on September 1.[6] After this date, Disney once again declined to offer an official announcement regarding any future plans for the parade. However, its description on Disneyland's official website in the last few weeks of its run specifically stated once more that the parade would be leaving "for the season".[20] This, combined with its enduring popularity, seems to indicate that the Main Street Electrical Parade has yet to be permanently retired and is simply on another hiatus for the time being.
While the parade did not perform in 2023, a large amount of merchandise was released, most prominently a Hallmark ornament of the drum float which plays the 2001-2009 California Adventure soundtrack. Otherhand for Dreamlights, the parade returned to its 2017-2020 status in July, with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions at the park.
At D23 2024, it was announced that the Magic Kingdom version would finally receive a replacement with Disney Starlight. A few months later, it was announced that Disneyland would see the return of Paint the Night for the park's 70th anniversary in 2025, leaving the Electrical Parade likely to remain on hiatus until at least 2026.
Parade units[]
The roster of floats in each iteration of the parade has gradually evolved over the years. The version of the parade that has appeared in Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney's California Adventure has maintained a mostly-unchanging lineup of parade units since the 1980s. As of 2022, these include the Casey Junior train from Dumbo carrying Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy, and subsequent floats based on Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Pete's Dragon, and It's a Small World, the latter of which itself features characters from multiple Disney properties. Notable previous units included the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, a series of circus floats connected to Dumbo, a patriotic American finale titled "To Honor America", and a promotional float for Return to Oz that ran for only a few months in 1985 before being retired and placed in storage, where it was later destroyed in a backstage fire.[21] The Disneyland Paris and original Tokyo Disneyland versions of the parade featured similar lineups, but with minor additions and omissions.
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights features several upgraded or alternate models of floats featured in the western incarnation, alongside units unique to the DreamLights version. As of 2021, the floats are the Blue Fairy, the Knights of Light, Mickey's DreamLights Train, Alice in Wonderland, Pete's Dragon, Peter Pan, Toy Story 3, Aladdin, Tangled, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, and It's a Small World.[9]
Disney Neon Finale (1977-1978, repurposed for "To Honor America"), consisting of a series of rotating mirrors adorned with the following neon-lit Disney characters:
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights (2001-present)[]
Unlike other versions of the parade, the order of the units in this version has significantly changed multiple times over the years, as detailed below:
Flower Dancers (suspended after February 28, 2020, returned in July 2023)[9]
Dancing Teacups (Added in July 2023)
Alice and the Cheshire Cat (replaced by a new version on March 29, 2019)
Butterfly Dancers (retired in December of 2017)
Inchworm (retired in July of 2011)
Mr. and Mrs. Snail (retired in July of 2015)
During previews held in May of 2001, the order of the floats in this unit was: Inchworm, Butterfly Dancers, Ladybug, Flower Dancers, Alice, and Cheshire Cat, Mr. and Mrs. Snail.[8]
From June 17, 2001 to July of 2011, the order of the floats in this unit was: Alice and Cheshire Cat, Flower Dancers, Ladybug, Butterfly Dancers, Inchworm, Mr. and Mrs. Snail.
Ballroom and Dancers (replaced by a new version with Prince Charming on July 11, 2017, dancers were replaced with the Fairy Godmother and two mice after February 28, 2020 until July 2023)[9]
Swan Lake (retired in July of 2011, replaced by Disney Fairies)
Mother Swan
Baby Swans
Disney Fairies (added in July of 2011, suspended after February 28, 2020, returned in July 2023)[9]
On June 14, 1997, a variant of the Main Street Electrical Parade called the "Hercules Electrical Parade" ran on Broadway, Manhattan, New York City for the opening of Disney's New Amsterdam Theater and the film Hercules. Disney arranged for the lights to be all turned off on about eight blocks of Broadway up to the theater. All businesses complied, with the exception of Disney rival Warner Bros. It was led by several custom Hercules floats that were only used for this singular performance. It was shown on national television on a one-hour promotional program featuring the music and making of Hercules.[22]
With the following exceptions, the parade's lineup was exactly the same as when it left Disneyland in 1996:
On January 2, 1978, an abridged version of the Main Street Electrical Parade was presented during the halftime show of the 1978 Orange Bowl college football game.[23]
Baroque Hoedown Dance Floats (golf carts with lights)
Music[]
The Main Street Electrical Parade's underlying theme song is called "Baroque Hoedown". The original version was created by early synthesizer pioneers Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley and first appeared on their 1967 album Kaleidoscopic Vibrations: Electronic Pop Music from Way Out. Originally, the parade's soundtrack had the same themes as the current recording but was a different arrangement by Jim Christensen and Paul Beaver. In 1977, an updated version was arranged by Jack Wagner and electronic music artist Don Dorsey, which was used until January 2009 in Disney's Electrical Parade. The current soundtracks for both the Main Street Electrical Parade and Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights were arranged, programmed and performed by Gregory Smith, who also arranged the music for Disneyland's Remember... Dreams Come True and Magical fireworks spectaculars.
Disney has officially released the soundtrack to the parade numerous times:
Main Street Electrical Parade (1973 soundtrack) (Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort)
Main Street Electrical Parade (1977 soundtrack) (Disneyland and Magic Kingdom)
The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song (1992) (Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort)
Fantasmic!: Good Clashes with Evil in a Nighttime Spectacular (1992) (Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort)
The Main Street Electrical Parade (1999 CD) (Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World)
Les Parades En Musique (2000 CD) (Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort Paris)
Disney's Electrical Parade (2001 CD)
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade DreamLights (2001 CD)
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade DreamLights - Show Mix Edition (2001)
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade DreamLights ~Christmas~
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade DreamLights (2011 Renewal Version)
A Musical History of Disneyland (Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort)
Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection: Disneyland (2015)
Dorsey used eleven synthesizers to create his arrangement of the soundtrack: Moog Model III, Mini-Moog, Steiner-Parker Synthacon, Oberheim 8-voice, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Fender Rhodes Piano, New England Digital Synclavier II, Bode 7702 Vocoder, Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter, Yamaha DX7, and Yamaha TX7.
While the original soundtrack is played solely on synthesizers, the Tokyo Disneyland version uses an orchestra with adult and youth choirs in addition to harmonies and synthesizers. This version also includes prerecorded character voices in both English and Japanese. An alternate version of the soundtrack is used during Tokyo Disneyland's Christmas season, with Christmas songs mixed into the theme music. For Tokyo Disneyland's 30th anniversary, a show stop was added to the parade; it includes a 2-minute Christmas medley and a synchronized fireworks display.[24] The show stop only ran for the 2012 and 2013 Christmas seasons.
As of 2009, the soundtrack for the American version of the parade utilizes much of the soundtrack created for DreamLights, with new loops created for the Cinderella, Pinocchio, and "To Honor America" units. Although the Dumbo's Circus unit was removed from the parade before the new soundtrack debuted, a new music loop was created for it as well, possibly suggesting that the decision to remove the unit was a late one. The American soundtrack retains a more electronic sound than that of Tokyo's, with many of the orchestral parts of the DreamLights soundtrack being rerecorded on synthesizers. This version of the soundtrack was used for the parade's runs at Disney's California Adventure from 2009 to 2010, the Magic Kingdom from 2010 to 2016, and Disneyland from 2017 onwards. Starting with the parade's 2022 run at Disneyland, an additional new music loop was created for that version's new It's a Small World finale, rather than reusing the music from the corresponding DreamLights unit.
Opening and Closing Announcements[]
Since 1979, all versions of the Electrical Parade have included spoken announcements at the beginning and end of the parade, provided by a human voice that has been processed through a special synthesizer called a vocoder. Jack Wagner provided the underlying voice for the vocoder announcements during its original runs at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. After Jack Wagner's death in 1995, other Disney employees filled the role when new announcements were required, with Bruce Healy voicing the Hercules Electrical Parade announcements[citation needed] and Bill Rogers voicing the announcements used when the parade returned to the Magic Kingdom in 1999. The announcements used for the parade's run at Disney's California Adventure were based on Jack Wagner's announcements for the Disneyland version of the parade, with alterations made to reflect the parade's new name and venue.
After the soundtrack was updated, the vocoder announcements were updated as well. In Disney California Adventure, the announcements were rerecorded in a lower key with new vocoder effects, though they were still sourced from Jack Wagner's Disneyland announcements. The parade's third run in the Magic Kingdom used newly recorded vocoder announcements instead of either the 1979 or 1999 versions, but for the parade's runs at Disneyland in 2017 and 2019, Jack Wagner's original vocoder introduction from 1979 was pitch-corrected and integrated into the modern soundtrack. However, Wagner's original closing vocoder announcement was replaced with a segment of audio reused from the opening announcements.
Starting on November 1, 2021, the wording of the opening announcements for Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights was altered to be more inclusive.[9] A similar change was later made to the American version of the parade when it began its 2022 run at Disneyland on April 20.[2] In both cases, the opening and closing announcements were rerecorded from scratch.
The opening and closing announcements for each iteration of the parade are as follows:
Main Street Electrical Parade (Disneyland)[]
Prior to 1979, the opening announcements lacked the vocoder effect.
Opening Announcement (1977-2019): "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Disneyland proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Main Street Electrical Parade."
Opening Announcement (2022): "To all who come to this happy place, Disneyland proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Main Street Electrical Parade."
Closing Announcement (1979-1996): "Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade."
Closing Announcement (2017-2022): "The Main Street Electrical Parade."
In 2022 only, the parade opened with an additional announcement honoring the parade's 50th anniversary. This extra announcement lacked the vocoder effect and played after the opening fanfare but before the standard vocoder announcement:
"50 years ago, a magical parade sparkled to life, bringing wonder and joy to the young and the young at heart. Alive with imagination, it continues to grow, welcoming new friends and stories, inspiring new generations, and shining into our hearts with its heritage of hope. For its magic celebrates togetherness and the spirit of Walt Disney's words that welcomed the world..."
Main Street Electrical Parade (Magic Kingdom)[]
Prior to 1979, the opening announcements lacked the vocoder effect.
Opening Announcement (1977-1991): "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Walt Disney World proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Main Street Electrical Parade."
Opening Announcement (1999-2016): "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the Magic Kingdom proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Closing Announcement (1979-1991): "Walt Disney World's Main Street Electrical Parade."
Closing Announcement (1999-2016): "The Magic Kingdom's Main Street Electrical Parade."
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade[]
Opening Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Walt Disney proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: Tokyo Disneyland's Electrical Parade."
Main Street Electrical Parade (Disneyland Paris)[]
Opening Announcement (1992-1995): "Mesdames et messieurs et vous les enfants, EuroDisneyland est fier de vous présenter son extraordinaire festival de magie nocture et d'enchantement. Dans une féerie de milliers de lumières, sur une musique electro-synthe-magnétique: the Main Street Electrical Parade."
Opening Announcement (1995-2003): "Mesdames et messieurs et vous les enfants, Disneyland Paris est fier de vous présenter son extraordinaire festival de magie nocture et d'enchantement. Dans une féerie de milliers de lumières, sur une musique electro-synthe-magnétique: the Main Street Electrical Parade."
Closing Announcement (1992-1995): "EuroDisneyland Main Street Electrical Parade."
Closing Announcement (1995-2003): "Disneyland Paris Main Street Electrical Parade."
Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights[]
Opening Announcement (2001-2020): "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Tokyo Disneyland proudly presents our most spectacular pageant of nighttime dreams and fantasy. In millions of sparkling lights and brilliant musical sounds: Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights."
Opening Announcement (2021-Present): "Good evening and welcome, one and all, Tokyo Disneyland proudly presents our most spectacular pageant of nighttime dreams and fantasy. In millions of sparkling lights and brilliant musical sounds: Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights."
Opening Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Disney proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: Disney's Electrical Parade."
Opening Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, as part of Disney's Hercules' world-premiere weekend in New York, the Walt Disney Studios proudly presents this spectacular pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Hercules Electrical Parade."[25][26]
1978 Orange Bowl Halftime Show[]
These announcements lacked the vocoder effect.
Opening Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, the Orange Bowl honors the most unique event staged in America in 1977: Disneyland and Walt Disney World's incredible spectacular of nighttime pageantry and imagination, in electrical sights and sounds: the Main Street Electrical Parade."[23]
Closing Announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Orange Bowl 1978 Spectacular of Lights."[23]
Remixes, samples, and parodies[]
The nighttime parade Paint the Night at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland is heavily inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade, though unlike Tokyo’s DreamLights, it is not a direct upgrade. One of its theme songs is an EDM remix of "Baroque Hoedown", which plays alongside Owl City's "When Can I See You Again?" from Wreck-It Ralph. The parade's opening fanfare and announcement are both based on those of the Main Street Electrical Parade. In the California version, the Tinker Bell float that leads the parade also has a drum float behind it, which is heavily modeled after the drum float in the Main Street Electrical Parade.
A "Celtic"-inspired version was heard in the Main Street Electrical Parade's replacement, Light Magic. Due to an overwhelmingly negative response among park guests, Light Magic was permanently retired after only one summer.
At Disneyland Paris, the music loop made for the Return to Oz unit could be heard in the Storybook Land Canal Boats, where dioramas of the Emerald City and Witch's Castle can be seen.
Samples of both the original 1972 and 1977 compositions of "Baroque Hoedown" (the former of which was arranged by Paul Beaver and Jim Christensen, and the latter by Don Dorsey and Jack Wagner) made for the Electrical Parade were used from 1975 to 1979 in the end credits of the Mexican comedy series El Chapulín Colorado.
The audio was acquired from the 1973 and 1977 soundtrack picture discs released and were used without authorization from Disney or Perrey and Kingsley. It is unknown how it was obtained for the production of Chapulín and if there were any lawsuits for using "Baroque Hoedown" specifically.
A remix of the Electrical Parade theme (called the "Retro Future Remix") was released on Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix and contains audio samples from the Apollo 8 reading of Genesis.
In Japan, Walt Disney Records released a CD called DJ Digs Main Street Electrical Parade which featured the theme music remixed by Japanese DJs.
The Japan-only House☆Disney album, also released by Walt Disney Records, contains a remix of the song by famous Japanese DJ Shinichi Osawa.
The album Eurobeat Disney 3, also only released in Japan, was done by the group A-Beat Power and features a remix of the song in Eurobeat style.
In 1998, a Disney Tribute Album entitled We Love Mickey ~ Happy 70th Anniversary (Walt Disney Records), featuring covers of Disney songs by Japanese artists, included a remake by the Eccentric Opera. The track uses samples from Dorsey's arrangement and Snow White. The lyrics appear to be in German and are from an unknown source.
In The Simpsons episode "Selma's Choice" Lisa could be seen dancing in a dazed state in front of the Duff Gardens Light Parade to a musical parody of "Baroque Hoedown". Most of the floats appear to have 2D designs, which may be a reference to the Electrical Parade's original 1972-1974 iteration.
A cover version by They Might Be Giants was released on the Disneymania 2 album. The same version was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Moog. It is also heard in the episode "Orlando" from ABC's sitcom, The Middle, where Sue listens to it during the Heck family's road trip to Walt Disney World.
Parodies of the parade are featured during the ending credits of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario.
A cover version of "Baroque Hoedown" by ska band Reel Big Fish was included on the Japanese album Dive into Disney.
A remix by Shinichi Osawa was released on the 2014 Disney remix album, Dconstructed.
A tribute to the vintage Main Street Electrical Parade was recorded "old school style" by Jim Presley for Jiminy's Limited Editions, entitled "Jiminy Salutes The Main Street Electrical Parade".
The vocaloid producer DaniwellP created a remix of the Electrical Parade using Hatsune Miku.
The parade is parodied in the 2002 film Scooby Doo as a spooky themed parade called the "Electrical Torture Parade".
In the 1981 Spanish film La Segunda Guerra de Los Niños, an original composition loosely based on "Baroque Hoedown", called "Parada Nocturna Disneylandia", was played alongside footage of Walt Disney World's version of the Electrical Parade before the end credits of the movie.
The anime series Interspecies Reviewers features a parody of the Main Street Electrical Parade and its music at the end of episode 6.
The 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "Cruella World" features a parody of the Electrical Parade called the "Electrical Fashion Parade".
Disney Magical World 2 features collectible puzzle pieces which are obtained from characters, allowing the player to attend Dream Parades heavily inspired by the Electrical Parade. A remix of the parade's soundtrack also plays during these sequences.
The video game Kirby and the Forgotten Land contains a level titled "The Wondaria Dream Parade". This level consists of a parade that draws heavy inspiration from the Main Street Electrical Parade, even featuring synthesized music reminiscent of the parade's soundtrack.
The opening fanfare is sampled in "Joe Hawley Attacks", the first song on Tally Hall member Joe Hawley's comedy hip-hop album Joe Hawley Joe Hawley. The lyrics of this song consist exclusively of Hawley singing his name repeatedly in an electronic voice in tune with the music.
In the House of Mouse episode "Rent Day", Daisy has prepared an act she calls "the Daisy Duck Light Parade", which involves her parading dressed in Christmas lights to the parade's theme. However, when she learns that Donald bribed Mickey into letting her perform this, she quits, leading Mickey to perform the act himself.
At least three versions of the parade have been created since 1972. As recently as 2022, two of these are still known to exist.
Version A (Original Disneyland version) premiered at Disneyland Park (in Anaheim) in 1972 and consisted primarily of flat wire frames on wheels that were hand-pushed. After the 1974 season, it went on hiatus due to America on Parade and returned in 1977 with new 3D floats. This upgraded Version A ran at Disneyland from 1977 to 1982, went on hiatus from 1983 to 1984 (during which time it was replaced by the Flights of Fantasy Parade), and then returned for another run that lasted from 1985 to 1996. On June 14, 1997, it performed a one-off performance in New York to celebrate the opening of the New Amsterdam Theater as well as the premiere of Hercules. The diamond mine float and the two Pleasure Island floats were sent to join Version B in late 1997, and all of the other floats were stripped of their lights, taken apart, and placed in storage.
In 1999, Version A was rebuilt and restored by Garner Holt Productions for use at the Magic Kingdom (in Orlando), where it ran until 2001. After that, it moved to the struggling Disney's California Adventure Park (in Anaheim), where it ran from 2001 until 2010. In 2009, the diamond mine and Pleasure Island floats rejoined Version A after having been returned from Version B. After leaving Disney's California Adventure (in Anaheim), the parade moved back to the Magic Kingdom (in Orlando), where it lasted from 2010[13] until 2016.[7] It then traveled to Disneyland (in Anaheim), where it ran from January 20 to August 20, 2017.[1][5] After this, it was stored away in a parade warehouse owned by Disneyland,[16] before returning to Disneyland again for its 2019 run, which lasted from August 2 to September 30.[3] Following its return to storage and another two-year period of inactivity, it returned to Disneyland once more from April 22 to September 1, 2022, complete with a new finale to celebrate its 50th anniversary.[4][6]
Version B (Original Walt Disney World version) was built in 1977 and premiered at the Magic Kingdom (in Orlando). It was a clone of the version that was running in Anaheim, but with slightly wider floats to better fit the Magic Kingdom's larger parade route. It lasted there until 1991, when it moved across the Atlantic to Disneyland Paris and ran at that park from 1992 to 2003. After that, it was sent off to perform at Hong Kong Disneyland, but for unknown reasons, the park decided not to run the parade. While the diamond mine and Pleasure Island floats (originally from Version A) were returned to Anaheim, where they sat unused until rejoining Version A in 2009, the current status and location of the remaining Version B floats is unknown. One popular but unproven rumor is that Version B was scrapped sometime after arriving at Hong Kong and disposed of in the bay just off of Lantau Island.[27]
Version C (Tokyo Disneyland version) was built in 1985 and premiered in Tokyo Disneyland. It lasted until 1995. It is unknown what happened to the floats in this incarnation. It has been rumored that they were destroyed or have been refurbished into Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights. The Swan Lake unit was moved to Disneyland Paris in 1997, and it presumably shares its fate with that of the other Version B floats.
In 2001, Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights premiered in Tokyo Disneyland. It is unknown whether this version is a refurbishment of Version C or was built from scratch; if the latter is true, it is a fourth version, separate from Version C. In either case, this version ran at Tokyo Disneyland from 2001 to 2020, at which time it was forced to go on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned on November 1, 2021, with street dancers and several characters omitted due to COVID-related concerns, and it continues to run to this day.[9] The floats are unique to Tokyo Disneyland and have never been replicated or relocated to any other Disney theme park.
Accident (DreamLights)[]
On December 22, 2012, during a performance of the Christmas version of DreamLights, the "Crush's Current" float from the Finding Nemo unit began to turn in the wrong direction before briefly stopping inches away from spectators, which forced them to quickly stand up to avoid being hit. Though several guests screamed in fear, no one appeared to be injured in the accident.[28] The parade continued as normal after the float was reversed back into its proper direction.[29]
Disney Electrical Sky Parade[]
A spin-off of the parade performed at Disneyland Paris from January 8, 2024 to January 9, 2025 called the Disney Electrical Sky Parade, which honored the Disneyland Paris version of the parade that debuted in 1992 around the same time the resort opened using drones, water effects, projections, and pyrotechnics on drones.
