Disney Restricts Guests From Entering Park, Capacity Limit Hits 5 Times - Inside the Magic

Yesterday marked a massive day at Disneyland Resort, as three spectacular nighttime shows made their return, and Guests were flooding the gates to be a part of it. 

At Disneyland Resort, many Guests have been waiting to see the Parks feel like normal again. Although Guests are able to enjoy cavalcades starring Anna and Elsa, as well as Mickey Mouse Minnie Mouse, Peter Pan, Alice, and more, there still has been a void that many have been trying to fill with the lack of entertainment caused by the pandemic.

On April 22, Disneyland Forever will finally returned to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park, replacing Mickey’s Mix Magic. Joining the show, World of Color returned to Disney California Adventure! At the moment, we have seen work being done to the fountains in preparation for this return. And finally,  Fantasmic! is preparing for its return to Disneyland park on May 28, 2022. We also announced the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade, read more on that here.

Disney Parks Blog noted:

As announced in November during Destination D23, the Disneyland Resort is thrilled to bring back its nighttime spectaculars this spring. So many fan-favorite entertainment offerings have continued to return – from Jambalaya Jazz in New Orleans Square at Disneyland park to “Disney Junior Dance Party!” in Disney California Adventure park. Plus, we’ve recently introduced experiences like encountering Raya in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail to the Celebrate Soulfully entertainment throughout the month of February. Each of these offerings highlights the incredible momentum at the Disneyland Resort as part of our phased reopening.

Today, we’re excited to share even more on the entertainment front, with additional details around the return of our nighttime spectaculars!

On April 22, 2022, the “Main Street Electrical Parade” and “Disneyland Forever” fireworks spectacular will return to Disneyland park, and “World of Color” will return to Disney California Adventure park. “Fantasmic!” is preparing for its return to Disneyland park on May 28, 2022.

Yesterday, we attended the return of all the shows, and anyone who was trying to get into Disneyland closer to any showtime would have likely experienced the massive line-ups that led many of us Guests to be held at the gates. We were held at the gates due to the Park hitting capacity. A Cast Member told us that this was the fifth time they had to restrict entrance that night due to capacity. There were likely hundreds of Guests that were held at a time, and it did not matter if you had a Park ticket to Disneyland. It seems that the Park Hopping turned out to be a little more used than expected! Luckily, everyone was able to get in at some point in the night and there were multiple parade showings.

The first showing of the Main Street Electrical Parade was at capacity and when we went to get our spot for Disneyland Forever after the parade, we overheard Cast Members noting that the firework show also hit capacity within minutes of the parade ending. 

Thankfully, we are starting to see Disneyland return to a more pre-pandemic state, which means that Guests will be able to get a more “normal” theme park experience when they visit. Having all of the nighttime entertainment return is massive news and a huge draw for Guests, so it will be interesting to see how attendance picks up come April and May. At Disneyland Resort, mask mandates are now lifted for fully vaccinated Guests, as it is in Walt Disney World Resort. Although entertainment is getting closer to returning to normal, massive shows like Frozen – Live at the Hyperion have still not returned to round out the daytime entertainment.

The return of these shows also means that Guests traveling in for D23 in September will have an excuse to extend their stay so that they can enjoy the Parks! At the moment, Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has not yet announced an official return, aside from 2022. 

Disneyland Forever

Disneyland Forever is:

Just in time for warm summer nights, “Disneyland Forever” fireworks spectacular returns to Disneyland park starting this evening! The street-to-sky celebration, which first debuted during Disneyland’s 60th anniversary and Diamond Celebration, features sparkling pyrotechnics, immersive projections and other effects that transform Disneyland into a magical canvas.

“Disneyland Forever” fireworks, Disneyland park.
A fan favorite, “Disneyland Forever” envelops you in an enthralling, breathtaking journey. You’ll be literally surrounded by timeless Disney stories—from soaring over London with Peter Pan one moment, to journeying across Simba’s Pride Lands the next.

Main Street Electrical Parade

D23 explains the Main Street Electrical Parade and its history as:

Main Street Electrical Parade Parade in summers at Disneyland beginning on June 17, 1972, and ending Nov. 25, 1996. The parade, featuring half a million tiny lights on floats themed primarily to Disney movies, became one of the most beloved traditions at Disneyland. The park’s lights were dimmed and the illuminated parade snaked from a gate next to “it’s a small world, ” past the Matterhorn, skirted the hub, and then continued down Main Street to conclude at Town Square. The parade’s synthesizer music was based on a piece called “Baroque Hoedown, ” with themes from Disney songs worked in.

The parade did not run in 1975 and 1976 because of America on Parade for the Bicentennial, but it returned in 1977 with a whole new edition. A 108-foot-long “Honor America” finale unit was added in 1979. During 1980 there was a special unit reproducing Sleeping Beauty Castle in honor of the park’s 25th anniversary. The parade did not run during the summers of 1983 or 1984.

A duplicate version of the Main Street Electrical Parade ran at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World beginning on June 11, 1977, and ending on September 14, 1991, when it was replaced by Spectromagic. The Walt Disney World parade was moved to Disneyland Paris in April 1992. A version of the parade, called the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade, ran at Tokyo Disneyland from March 9, 1985, to June 21, 1995, being replaced by Disney’s Fantillusion.

The Disneyland parade floats were completely refurbished for a move of the parade to Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Park from May 28, 1999, to April 1, 2001. Then, on July 4, 2001, they made a return to California, this time as Disney’s Electrical Parade at Disney California Adventure. The Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dream Lights returned on June 1, 2001. The Disneyland Paris Main Street Electrical Parade ended on Mar. 23, 2003.

A new Tinker Bell float was created to lead the parade at Disney California Adventure, along with other updates, beginning June 12, 2009. The parade concluded on Aug. 23, 2009, to henceforth operate seasonally until Apr. 18, 2010. The parade then moved back to Walt Disney World, where it ran at the Magic Kingdom from June 5, 2010, until Oct. 9, 2016, returning to Disneyland Park for a limited engagement from Jan. 20 to Aug. 20, 2017.

The parade ended its run at Walt Disney World on October 9, 2016, returning to Disneyland for limited engagements between January 20 and August 20, 2017, and again between August 2 and September 30, 2019.

More on Disneyland

There is so much to see and do at Disney California Adventure Park! Guests can enjoy Buena Vista Street as they walk the roads Walt had in Hollywood, enjoy a hand-dipped corn dog at Award Wieners, Head to Cars Land to enjoy the neon signage and Radiator Springs Racers, check out the new Marvel-themed land in Avengers Campus, where they can meet Spider-Man, Loki, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, and so many more characters. And of course, you have to ride WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION BREAKOUT. Rock on the Silly Symphony Swings as well, and go catch Jack Jack on Incredicoaster! The list of rides and attractions never ends!

At Disneyland, there is so much for Guests to enjoy! Now that the mask mandate has dropped for fully vaccinated Guests, Guests can enter buildings without a face covering if they so choose. Walking up to Sleeping Beauty Castle is always a dream, especially when you get to go inside and relive the story of Aurora and Maleficent. Riding classics like “it’s a small world”, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, The Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Splash Mountain, and more will have you feeling the magic, and craving a churro! Toontown is currently gearing up for a massive change which will be revealed in 2023 with the reopening of the land, and the debut of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Plus, now at Disneyland, Guests can enjoy Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge for some blue milk, or green milk, and ride Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run.

What do you think about all of the shows returning to Disneyland? 

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney District. Or what about Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!