March of the ARTimals was a daytime parade at Disney's Animal Kingdom that debuted with the park in April 1998 and ran through June 1999.
History[]
When the park was finishing development, show producer Douglas May wanted the entertainment at Animal Kingdom to take on a different attitude. Forgoing a more traditional Disney parade loaded with characters, he instead decided to develop a concept of the residents of Discovery Island (then known as Safari Village) putting on a carnival. Costumes and floats for the show were designed by Swiss artist Rolf Knie.
The quirky end result was mostly confusing for guests and efforts to liven up the show with more live music and a storyteller did not succeed in boosting it's popularity or clarity and the parade ended its run in June 1999.
Summary[]
The parade featured around six floats, in addition to a wild cast of costumed animal performers. These units included:
- Title Float - Accompanied by different animals ranging from oversized fish to giant insects.
- Accompanied by the music of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon", "Three Little Fishies" and "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing"
- Frog Bandstand - Featuring a jazzy frog musician accompanied by a group of frogs
- Bumblebee Hive - Featuring a Queen Bee on a honey throne accompanied by her ribbon waving swarm.
- Accompanied by the music of "Flight of the Bumblebee"
- Lion Bandstand - Featuring a Lion on a xylophone of wooden antelopes, accompanied by a Tiger, Monkey and Elephants whose trunks are a tuba, trumpet, and trombone
- Accompanied by the music of "Baby Elephant Walking" and "Tiger Rag"
- Giant Spider and Spider Web unit- featuring numerous insect costumed performers fleeing from the Giant Spider
- Accompanied by "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "La Cucharacha"
Trivia[]
- The parade was seen in the video Disney Sing Along Songs: Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
