Forever Magical
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Confessions of an MSEP Fan

I grew up with the Main Street Electrical Parade as an integral part of Disneyland summers. Mom and I would reserve our family’s favorite location between a hitching post and a garbage can near the Candy Palace. She’d do crossword puzzles and I’d read a book, waiting for the first performance of the evening. As the years went by it became easier and easier to find good parade viewing closer to parade time. In other words there just didn’t appear to be as many people stopping to watch the thousands of sparkling lights.

Then in 1996 the Farewell Season began. Crowds swelled at Disneyland. In fact, back then getting out of the parking lots was an electrical parade of its own…a stream of red lights heading towards the West Street exit. Instead of sticking around to see the Parade I’d often leave as it started to avoid the traffic. As the Farewell Season drew to a close, while I was sad to see the parade leave, I was ready to see the large crowds dwindle and the initial reports of an even better parade featuring fiber optics were exciting.

During our visit to Walt Disney World a couple of years later we saw the Electrical Parade again. I’m not sure what it was but it just didn’t connect with me. I was a bit misty eyed as the Blue Fairy appeared but I didn’t find myself engulfed in the melodies or intrigued by the motion of the lights. It was just there. It was actually disappointing. Some have said it was because their Magic Kingdom is bigger and made the parade less impressive. I don’t know, that could be it.

So when I heard the announcement that the Electrical Parade was returning to the Disneyland Resort I must admit that I was rather ambivalent. I had enjoyed the Parade growing up but really felt its time had come and gone. I have often told people that it was like a beloved pet that unfortunately has simply grown too old and sickly and out of love, must be put down. It is always very difficult to let go but it is too cruel to allow it to suffer. That was my view of the Electrical Parade. I wasn’t mad it was returning but it almost seemed cruel to drag it back out. I hoped the bright lights of Paradise Pier and the crisp setting of the new park wouldn’t overshadow the Parade I still remembered from my youth.

Sometime last week after dinner at the Storyteller’s Café I caught some of the Electrical Parade. I must admit that I was surprised by my reaction. As the lights along the DCA performance corridor dimmed I got a bit misty eyed. The Blue Fairy appeared. She was stunning. Even with Paradise Pier in view, my eyes were glued to her. The colors were so much brighter than they seemed in Walt Disney World. They danced with an energy that triggered memories of those Disneyland summers long ago. I watched as my favorite floats passed by—the turtle with his oversized glasses spinning round and round, the pink elephant, and Eliot the dragon. I listened for my favorite musical portion, which is the melody that plays beneath “Following the Leader”. Once, in a Disney Channel special, Don Dorsey illustrated the various layers of the parade’s music. For some reason that particular portion of the score stuck in my head and became my favorite. After watching the parade pass from outside the Park, I found myself excited about the parade’s return and eagerly awaiting a closer view.

So tonight as the lights dimmed and the voice announced the Parade, I was not surprised to find myself crying with joy as the Blue Fairy appeared around the bend by Grizzly Peak. The parade looks beautiful. The colors appear brighter than they had and even though they use the same eight colors they had previously, the floats appear to have many more shades. The music sounded great and the audience was clapping along within the first few bars. Since I was standing amongst many video and television cameras I had to be content to simply tap my foot. Next time I will be clapping along with the rest of the park guests who have lined the performance corridor for what Cynthia Harriss called, “the parade like no other”.

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Related Links

• The First Disney's Electrical Parade
• Coverage of the Opening Ceremony
• Interviews with Don Dorsey, Cynthia Harriss and Paul Pressler

-- Rebekah Moseley

-- Posted July 3, 2001