Thoughts and/or memories of the Main Street Electrical Parade

[LittleScienceGuy]

I love the lights parade so much!!!! Almost every year I get the White Rabbit to come over and give me a hug as he walks down the street with the rest of them, but still my favorite is Cinderella and the others dancings under the lights with their dresses all lite up.

I was always amazed that they could dance and keep moving forward, with out missing a step. I think the court dancers are some of the most skilled performer in the parade. They make it look easy, but I bet it's not. If you're not convinced that all of the music signatures for each unit in the parade is tied to the Baroque Hoedown, you needn't look any farther than the court dancers. If you watch them dancing while listening to just the main Baroque Hoedown theme, without the Cinderella overlay, you'll see theme match every beat as if they were dancing only to the Baroque Hoedown. Very cool to watch.

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

I was always amazed that they could dance and keep moving forward, with out missing a step. I think the court dancers are some of the most skilled performer in the parade. They make it look easy, but I bet it's not. If you're not convinced that all of the music signatures for each unit in the parade is tied to the Baroque Hoedown, you needn't look any farther than the court dancers. If you watch them dancing while listening to just the main Baroque Hoedown theme, without the Cinderella overlay, you'll see theme match every beat as if they were dancing only to the Baroque Hoedown. Very cool to watch.

I agree, the Ball Dancers are fantastic! What's also amazing is the To Honor America dancers who do that choreographed piece and switch sides over and over all the way from Paradise Pier to Sunshine Plaza. That seems very complex to do that routine. They do such a great job

[LittleScienceGuy]

my only memory is watching elliot disappear. I loved that as a child. My parents and I watched the electric parade in DCA and my father said my face lit up just like when I was a child. I love that parade.

Same here. You just can't help but to smile when to music starts and you see your favorite floats and characters.

[LittleScienceGuy]

Well, my memory isn't about it in DL... But one of the few things I remember about visiting WDW as a child was the ELP. It just amazed me. When I saw it in DCA, after all those years, it INSTANTLY brought me back to WDW, and I cried too. It was magical! Too bad nobody ever wants to stay and watch it I'm sad I never saw it in DL itself.

What did you mean by "Too bad nobody ever wants to stay and watch it?" Do you mean people in the park or just people you know personally? It still draws big crowds in DCA. I have to fight for a front row seat in Sunshine Plaza if I don't get there early enough.

[LittleScienceGuy]

Regarding the video, thanks for the compliments, everyone! Wow, to see MSEP at Walt Disney World would have been a dream come true since they had a different set of floats i.e. Dumbo's Circus and among others before it left for Disneyland Paris in 1991. I have only seen this version of video.

Same here. The funny thing is, I was in WDW in 1991 with my family right around the time when it was about to leave the Magic Kingdom (which was around August-September). I don't recall seeing the parade. We should have seen it, but I don't remember it.

Have you seen that clip of the parade in Paris from Christmas 2002? It looked so strange. I kept thinking, this is the compilation of the Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland floats?! Like, compare that video on You Tube from Paris to the one from Dragonrider1227 that has the original Walt Disney World units. There's no match. I've seen pictures of the Tokyo floats too. They were unique in themselves. The only thing that was adding up were the Swans. Something's fishy here. :/ What's your take on it?

[Modern Folly]

Back In the early 90s when I was in kindergarten, I got my first pair of Minnie ears. While watching the parade I had a light-bug go up to me. I used to think it was because of the ears. haha

[LittleScienceGuy]

Ahh, the soundtrack of my childhood! It's absolutely delicious! There has never been a parade as great as MSEP! I want it back on Main Street in the summertime where it belongs. It's classic, it's fabulous, it's magical, and dripping with everything Disney should be! Perfection!
That was a great video! Thanks for uploading it!

I couldn't have said it better myself. You know, it's hard summing up this parade in so many words, but you did a wonderful job there. I think when describing the Main Street Electrical Parade, it's nice to quote the late great Herb Rhyman (long time artist in the Walt Disney Company). In an interview that used to frequently air on the Disney Channel back in the day, he was asked "How would you describe your job?" He replied, "Oh, it's indescribable. I couldn't describe it at all." When you ask, "How would you describe the Main Street Electrical Parade?", a person could say "Oh, it's indescribable. I couldn't describe it at all." Ihave a lot of fun trying, but it really is indescribable.

[LittleScienceGuy]

MSEP is easily the best parade I have seen anywhere. I agree, I think Walt would have really been impressed this feat of color and technology. It was a sad day when it was retired from Main Street and I agree, it does seem out of place in DCA.

Yes! When I was there for the last performances, it didn't hit me for the longest time what I was witnessing. I knew it was history, but I just never believed that it was really the last time. I think I was just numb. It looked almost like business as usual, not the last parade. Now, I have the DVD from the last parade, which I purchased from WTTM last year, and I find it hard to watch the very last performance. It really is sad. It's been over 10 years since we heard Jack Wagner say those immortal words "Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade", 10 years since we saw Blue Fairy and the rest of the crew move down Main Street, and 10 years since Disneyland had a solid nighttime parade. SMH. What a waste. That's why it needs to come back NOW.

[LittleScienceGuy]

Actually the footage I had was from a tape I bought from Ebay years ago.

I see. It didn't give the year?

[LittleScienceGuy]

I agree, the Ball Dancers are fantastic! What's also amazing is the To Honor America dancers who do that choreographed piece and switch sides over and over all the way from Paradise Pier to Sunshine Plaza. That seems very complex to do that routine. They do such a great job

Yes! I love that! I actually think the choreography is better than in previous years. Another thing to be proud of is the fact that here in Disneyland we have pretty dancing girls to go with our finale, Walt Disney World did not. Ha!

[ragrobyn]

/[quote=
Speaking of nostalgia, does anyone hear remember the Toy Soldiers carrying flags and banners behind Casey Jr/Bass Drum, The Briny Deep Unit (which was reincarnated as the Little Mermaid unit in WDW's SpectroMagic), and the Disney Neon Finale? I have a Super 8mm of the parade with these cool units intact.[/quote]

I do!!! I have uploaded all of my dad's slides.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2613287...7594094731634/

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

I see. It didn't give the year?

Yes, it was from 1991.

[LittleScienceGuy]

/

I do!!! I have uploaded all of my dad's slides.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2613287...7594094731634/

Great pictures! They were so clear too, to say that they were from 1977. Were the pictures a mixture of Disneyland and Walt Disney World? The Drum had the WDW symbol on it.

[ragrobyn]

Great pictures! They were so clear too, to say that they were from 1977. Were the pictures a mixture of Disneyland and Walt Disney World? The Drum had the WDW symbol on it.

Hmm, I hadn't noticed that. I assumed my Dad took them all when we went to Disneyland. So I called him. He said most of them are his but a couple of them were slides he bought at the Emporium on Main Street in Disneyland. None of them were from WDW. Now that is not to say they weren't a "package" both parks put together for sale. The slides really maintain their quality. I have been in the process of scanning all the family slides and putting them on cd's for my dad ( and me ) It is labour intensive but I LOVE looking at the vintage Disney stuff! I just wish he had taken more picture. One roll of flim per trip was his motto . Now thanks to the age of Digital, I take 1500+ I like to remember every detail

[LittleScienceGuy]

Hmm, I hadn't noticed that. I assumed my Dad took them all when we went to Disneyland. So I called him. He said most of them are his but a couple of them were slides he bought at the Emporium on Main Street in Disneyland. None of them were from WDW. Now that is not to say they weren't a "package" both parks put together for sale. The slides really maintain their quality. I have been in the process of scanning all the family slides and putting them on cd's for my dad ( and me ) It is labour intensive but I LOVE looking at the vintage Disney stuff! I just wish he had taken more picture. One roll of flim per trip was his motto . Now thanks to the age of Digital, I take 1500+ I like to remember every detail

I see. Very cool! You're right, the slides really did maintain their quality. Yes, it would have been great if he took more pictures, but why don't we play the glad game (like Pollyanna used to always do)? I'm glad that he had enough foresight to capture the pictures that he did. Something's always better than nothing. There's a lot of people who have nothing from that era and can only wish that they had've gotten something. I'm one of those people. I was a little boy and had no control over the process, but not anymore. I'm so glad that you have those pictures and are able to share them with us. It gives a rare window to the park's/parade's past.

By the way, I love your signature. I always think of that quote when I come upon a situation that might require the use of it.