What's Up With All The Stop Parades at Disneyland/DCA? Why No Continuous Parades?

By stop parades I mean Disneyland's Parade of Dreams that stops and performs and then starts back up and stops and then starts back up.

I never saw Block Party Bash but I have seen videos showing the parade moving and then stopping.

And now Pixar Play is suppose to do the same thing, i'm assuming.

The only parade that is continuous is the Electrical Parade and that's only a seasonal parade now along with the christmas parade.

Does everyone here enjoy the stop parades or would they rather get a new continuous parade once POD leaves to go to WDW?

I know over at WDW they have christmas, halloween, night and day continuous parades at all the theme parks, except Epcot which has none.

So again, are you fans/supporters of the stop parades or do you want continuous parades in Disneyland and DCA?

It's an evolution of the concept of a parade. The idea is that as a parade goes by, it stops to do an elaborate dance routine before moving on. It works best in Parade of Dreams, where is is a good length (shortened from its original stop length) and then continues.
Light Magic kind of got stuck in one spot. That show could have worked, but it needed a new show stop theory.
Block Party and HSM are made to be rolling stage shows to take advantage of the wider street spaces and higher energy level that Disney is aiming for California Adventure.

Also, A Christmas Fantasy doesn't stop.

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Originally Posted by Micoofy Duck

By stop parades I mean Disneyland's Parade of Dreams that stops and performs and then starts back up and stops and then starts back up.

I never saw Block Party Bash but I have seen videos showing the parade moving and then stopping.

And now Pixar Play is suppose to do the same thing, i'm assuming.

The only parade that is continuous is the Electrical Parade and that's only a seasonal parade now along with the christmas parade.

Does everyone here enjoy the stop parades or would they rather get a new continuous parade once POD leaves to go to WDW?

I know over at WDW they have christmas, halloween, night and day continuous parades at all the theme parks, except Epcot which has none.

So again, are you fans/supporters of the stop parades or do you want continuous parades in Disneyland and DCA?

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Let's first educate you on which parades actually stop and what doesn't...

Block Party isn't a parade. It travels on the parade route, yes... but it's not a parade. There are two locations to watch and depending on where you're standing, what you see in front of you is pretty much what you get.

Same goes for the awful Light Magic. Trade fun and excitement with scary pixies and pajamas. They coined the term "STREETACULAR" for Light Magic.


Parade of Dreams has only a brief stop but it's pretty much continuous.


I'm not sure what the parades to come will be like but i too prefer the continuous parades. Although for the lighter crowds of DCA, I can see how two stops would be more cost effective. Or... make a parade so good that people will just have to come and see it!

I enjoy POD when it has its brief stops because it allows the cast to really entertain the crowd instead of just waving as they pass by. I however, don;t watch parades often, so I love the stop parades because it allows a time for me to cross over the parade path.

I love the POD parade stop it adds an extra magical touch to it! And like the others said BPB isn't a parade it's a traveling show.

I believe the first parade to do "show stops" was the Lion King Celebration. If you remember this parade, it was extremely well done, and very popular. I think that ever since then, they have tried to duplicate the success of this parade by following the model of the stops. In my opinion, they have yet do produce anything that even comes close to the quality of LKC.

My vote is to keep the parades moving unless the quality of the show (aka Lion King) warrants a stop.

I also believe that a parade that stops is cheaper to produce. They can keep the guests entertained for a longer period of time, while building fewer floats, and employing fewer cast. But, where does it stop being a parade, and start being a "streetacular"?

I vote for parades. You know... the ones that actually MOVE down the street.

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Originally Posted by briansp

I believe the first parade to do "show stops" was the Lion King Celebration. If you remember this parade, it was extremely well done, and very popular. I think that ever since then, they have tried to duplicate the success of this parade by following the model of the stops. In my opinion, they have yet do produce anything that even comes close to the quality of LKC.

My vote is to keep the parades moving unless the quality of the show (aka Lion King) warrants a stop.

I also believe that a parade that stops is cheaper to produce. They can keep the guests entertained for a longer period of time, while building fewer floats, and employing fewer cast. But, where does it stop being a parade, and start being a "streetacular"?

I vote for parades. You know... the ones that actually MOVE down the street.

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Actually I think it was Party Gras back in 1990 or 1989

Well, Show stops are much cheaper. Regular Parades require more than the amount of floats included in the current parades. The show stop adds length to an otherwise short parade.

The problem with "stop" parades is that they have to have something worthwhile to do if they stop - - and most don't. Stopping the parade so a bunch of people can hop up and down to a disco beat or do cheerleader level acrobatics doesn't do much for me, but it seems to please the entertainment department.

I prefer a continuous parade, unless there is some Macy's level superstar performance that needs to stop the show...

Pixar Play from what I have heard will be continuous and very long, without any stops at all.

That being said, if Parade of Dreams had no show stops it would eliminate the Lion King float's birds doing their spin "thing" and the Alice cards and their acrobatics, etc. The Pinocchio marionettes can do more as well when they aren't in motion and many guests enjoy it and often ask where the show stops occur.

Parades like the High School Musical 2 Parade are more shows that move along the parade route than they are parades. With that one, it would be pointless to move it because everyone would walk with it until they're done with the set so I'm glad it stops.

Firstly, Pixar Play does not have showstops.

Lastly, the length of a christmas fantasy parade is a decent approximation to the length disneyland parades used to be on average. By having showstops they can put out something the size of Parade of Dreams and still have it spend the same amount of time entertaining guests. That doesn't make it filler or anything, it's just a balance. Those heat index 3 days where POD is in parade only mode you can really tell how short the parade is, it just whizzes by.

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Originally Posted by briansp

I believe the first parade to do "show stops" was the Lion King Celebration. If you remember this parade, it was extremely well done, and very popular. I think that ever since then, they have tried to duplicate the success of this parade by following the model of the stops. In my opinion, they have yet do produce anything that even comes close to the quality of LKC.

My vote is to keep the parades moving unless the quality of the show (aka Lion King) warrants a stop.

I also believe that a parade that stops is cheaper to produce. They can keep the guests entertained for a longer period of time, while building fewer floats, and employing fewer cast. But, where does it stop being a parade, and start being a "streetacular"?

I vote for parades. You know... the ones that actually MOVE down the street.

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Lion King Celebration, if I remember correctly, did not start out as a "show stop" parade. It started out as a great parade that was too short and they ended up adding the "show stops" to increase the length. It was something like 5 or 7 mins...nothing worth waiting 30 mins to an hr to see. When they added the "show stops" it ended up being one of the best DL parades ever!

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Originally Posted by mrfantasmic

Also, A Christmas Fantasy doesn't stop.

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Hmm. Not my experience seeing it twice in December! Got nice pix of reindeer stopping and dancing, watched snowflakes stop to dance, the genie sure had fun while everything was stopped, some chefs and a moose-like character had fun dancing while everything stopped...tons of stops, to my eyes!


Stopping like that allows for much nicer pictures. :)

Well, yeah if a float breaks down or something. But the ACFP floats move continuously.