Credit: DisneyThe Main Street Electrical Parade has had many renditions at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Park, and Disneyland Paris over the years, but has not made an appearance since September 2019; however that is about to change in just a few days as it will officially return to Disneyland Park on Friday, April 22!
When the Main Street Electrical Parade returns, it will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, there will include “an all-new, enchanted grand finale that celebrates the theme of togetherness.”
Related: Main Street Electrical Parade Is Returning, But Fans Wish It Was to a Different Park
Guests will be able to catch a glimpse of iconic films such as The Jungle Book, Aladdin, Coco, Mulan, and Disney’s newest animated film, Encanto! Disney Parks Blog stated:
As the new grand finale passes by, guests along each side of the parade route will see a different set of stylized scenes from classic and contemporary favorite stories such as “Encanto,” “The Jungle Book,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Aladdin,” “Coco,” “Mulan,” “Brave,” “The Princess and the Frog” and more. Check out one of the early pieces of concept art, featuring Mirabel and Antonio from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Academy Award-nominated film, “Encanto.”
And today, we have a first look at what the new parade float looks like!
In the image above, you can see the new finale float, which will make its debut when the Main Street Electrical Parade returns this Friday. The float includes Mary Blair’s iconic style and features various Disney characters including Moana, Pocahontas, Tiana, and more.
Disney Parks Blog shared new details surrounding the new finale float, along with the following details:
In honor of the parade’s milestone anniversary, the “Main Street Electrical Parade” will return with an all-new, enchanted grand finale that celebrates the theme of togetherness. This universal theme is reflected in the creative concept of the new finale sequence.
Inspired by both the original design of classic “Main Street Electrical Parade” floats and Disney Legend Mary Blair’s iconic art style on “it’s a small world,” the new grand finale brings together more than a dozen Disney Animation and Pixar stories. These stories are interpreted in thousands of sparkling lights and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sound, with unique representations of beloved characters as animated dolls.
Here to tell you a little more about the new finale and give you an exciting first look are two of the show directors for “Main Street Electrical Parade,” Jordan Peterson and Robin Trowbridge.
The iconic nighttime parade will return to Disneyland Park on April 22, 2022 and will be available for a limited time. Disneyland Forever will also return to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park on April 22, along with World of Color at Disney California Adventure.
More on the 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.
Are you excited for the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade? How do you feel about the new additions? Let us know in the comments below.