Credit: DisneyWill Disneyland use floats from the newest parade — Magic Happens — for character appearances in the form of cavalcades once the Southern California Disney Parks reopen in April? Let’s dive into why may be a possibility.
When Walt Disney World reopened to Guests in July 2020 after a four-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orlando Resort brought a different type of magic and entertainment to the theme parks.
Since hosting typical entertainment offerings, such as parades and fireworks, could draw crowds and make social distancing a challenge, Disney instead decided to create pop-up cavalcades so Guests could still see Mickey and the gang and get that special Disney feeling when visiting, even during the pandemic.
At Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, however, the theme parks have remained temporarily closed for over one year — since March 2020. The good news is that now all California theme parks, no matter the size, are allowed to reopen in the red tier (tier 2) at a 15% limited capacity. Additionally, the theme parks can only host California residents only, no out-of-state Guests are allowed.
Thanks to these new guidelines from Governor Newsom, known as the “Blueprint Refresh,” Disneyland has announced they will be reopening both of their theme parks — Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure — on April 30, 2021!
Related: How Will Disneyland’s Reopening Compare to Disney World’s?
We already know that when the parks reopen, some amenities — including FASTPASS, Disney MaxPass, Magic Mornings, and Extra Magic Hour offerings — will be suspended as part of the phased reopening efforts amid the pandemic. This is not too much of a surprise, as this is similar to what Walt Disney World did when they reopened last summer.
The official Disneyland website also explains that select attractions and certain experiences that draw crowds, including parades and nighttime spectaculars, will return at a later date. Again, this isn’t too much of a surprise since this is similar to how Disney World is currently operating amid the pandemic:
Additionally, select attractions and certain experiences that draw large group gatherings—such as parades and nighttime spectaculars—will return at a later date. While character meet-and-greets will be temporarily unavailable, Characters will be in our parks in new ways to entertain and delight our Guests.
With this being said, if Disneyland closely follows what Walt Disney World is doing in Florida, we could see pop-up cavalcades and other character experiences at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure when they do reopen.
Right now, at the A Touch of Disney event that Disney California Adventure is hosting, Guests can see Mickey and the gang, Miguel from Coco, Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars, and others out and about in the theme park. We could see these character interactions continue on once Disney California Adventure opens to the public under theme park reopening guidelines once again, but what about at Disneyland Park?
Well, as we mentioned earlier, Walt Disney World is currently hosting pop-up cavalcades at their theme parks. At Magic Kingdom, Guests can see certain parade floats from their daytime parade (which ran pre-pandemic) called Festival of Fantasy. These floats pop-up on the parade route randomly throughout the day so Guests can be surprised with seeing some of their favorite characters without drawing a huge crowd.
If Disneyland closely follows Walt Disney World, we could possibly see some parade floats used as pop-up cavalcades as well. Maybe we could even see floats from the new Magic Happens parade, which debuted just a few weeks before the temporary park closures. How amazing would it be to once again hear that incredible soundtrack featuring original music co-composed by Todrick Hall while seeing those stunning floats featuring characters from Moana and Coco?
When comparing the floats to Disney World and how they are utilizing the Festival of Fantasy parade floats, we could possibly see the first set of dancers with Mickey’s float in the Magic Happens parade as one cavalcade.
Another possibility is seeing Moana on her float, closely followed by Maui on his float as a second pop-up cavalcade.
And, of course, one of the highlights is the last float in Magic Happens, featuring the three good fairies from Sleeping Beauty — Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather — along with Princess Aurora in her one-of-a-kind dress, hand in hand with Prince Phillip. Seeing that as a pop-up cavalcade would be amazing, don’t you think?
Please keep in mind this is pure speculation and Disneyland Resort has not confirmed if they will be hosting pop-up cavalcades or if they will be using the Magic Happens floats at all once Disneyland Park reopens on April 30, 2021.
In case you didn’t get a chance to see the Magic Happens parade before the temporary park closures, check out our YouTube video here:
Do you want to see Disneyland bring back some of the Magic Happens parade floats? Let us know in the comments below.
Do you want to visit Disneyland Resort on your next family vacation, but aren’t sure where to begin planning? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our trust-worthy friends over at the Authorized Disney Vacation Planners at Academy Travel for a free quote.