The ORIGINAL Main Street Electrical Parade

[princedalton]

So I know that some of the floats are different from what we see now...and I know that the Pinocchio float was removed when it was brought back over to DCA...but what other floats were there??? If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that there was a Maleficent Dragon float??? and a Small World float? and I know that the recording on the Fantasmic! cd there is the whole "Return To Oz" section... what was that float like???

Basically I just want to know what was different, and I mainly want to see photos of the old floats!!! I did see it a few times actually on Main Street, but I was just 8 when it closed from Disneyland...

[DisneyIPresume]

There was also a Dwarf's Mine float from Snow White. I think the new parade doesn't have this. I think now it's just Dopey driving the mine carts with the other dwarfs walking around. Or maybe its just Dopey and the mine carts. I don't remember. But I do know that the Dwarf's Mine float isn't there anymore.

[Oblivion]

^correct about the Dwarfs Mine float. I was sad that this was gone.

[PrincessY]

That's a good question. I don't remember the "original" parade. Do you think there is something somewhere that would give the details of the difference between the old and the current?

[Luke Manning]

The Pinocchio float was sent to Paris & they pretty much wrecked it beyond repair. The It's a Small World float was destroyed in a fire back in the 80's. The Return to Oz float was only used for a year as a promotional gimmick for that movie.

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

There was also the Briny Deep unit with the fish band from Bedknobs and Broomsticks which changed to Pinocchio Underwater. I could be mistaken but that unit is now part of the Little Mermaid unit in SpectroMagic at WDW.

Here are some photos captured from an old Super 8mm film of the parade:





They were also the Toy Soliders from Babes In Toyalnd carrying flags and banners behind the Casey Jr. Unit as well

[Angie_Duke]

The Fox and the Hound also had a promotional float featuring Amos' car I think. The Solders were for the Christmas version which added Christmas music to the parde. The Return to Oz float actually had costumes and props from the movie, but I heard it burned down or something. A picture of the float was posted on some Disney blog (don't as me which one) awhile ago, I'm sure you could find it if you searched. Tron (now THAT'S something they should have kept!) had a segment too and the characters can be seen in the Disneyland 30th Anniversary special.

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

The Fox and the Hound also had a promotional float featuring Amos' car I think. The Solders were for the Christmas version which added Christmas music to the parde. The Return to Oz float actually had costumes and props from the movie, but I heard it burned down or something. A picture of the float was posted on some Disney blog (don't as me which one) awhile ago, I'm sure you could find it if you searched. Tron (now THAT'S something they should have kept!) had a segment too and the characters can be seen in the Disneyland 30th Anniversary special.

I did a Google search just now and struck gold. The elusive Return to Oz unit can be found here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Mar.htm

It's 1985 all over again!

[Neverlandtink]

The most I remember of the Small World unit was pedestals on wheels with several of the dolls standing on them. The CMs would push them down Main St. Not real exciting!

[Wanda Woman]

The most I remember of the Small World unit was pedestals on wheels with several of the dolls standing on them. The CMs would push them down Main St. Not real exciting!

Neverlandtink, you might be interested to know John Eaden, now of Billy Hill fame, was a Small World Arch Pusher.

[Aura of Foreboding]

I too have read about the Maleficent Dragon float. I wish they would bring that back!

[Neverlandtink]

Neverlandtink, you might be interested to know John Eaden, now of Billy Hill fame, was a Small World Arch Pusher.

That's funny Wanda! I just met him at the Golden Horseshoe event. What a nice guy. It would have been fun to have known that bit of trivia before I met him.

[Aladdin]

For a history of the MSEP

GO TO THIS THREAD, right here at MiceChat

See post 2 for a detailed history over all the years

See post 22 for a summary of the history (with a few corrections/additions)

I don't think there is any other place on the web or even at Disney that has this much info!


At YouTube, it looks like the earliest version of Anaheim's MSEP only goes back to 1991

The First of the three part 1991 or 1992 MSEP is HERE
(the link says 1991, but the intro for the video says 1992).
Be sure to notice:
The Blue Fairy has about 6 people carrying the train of her gown,
Snow White's Float, the largest Snow White MSEP float of any of the MSEP's
All the units for Pinnochio

[Melonballer]

I can help with some pictures. These are from 1974.

A dragon, maybe the one people refer to as Maleficent.



IASW



Alice and a Snail



casey Jr.



Notice that in the early version many floats were flat.





More to come.

[Melonballer]

1979 pics.

Pinocchio



Pink elephant



Pooh Bear



IASW



Roller Skaters!