Fan-Favorite Parades Removed at Disneyland, Replaced by Pixar Characters

in Disneyland Resort, Pixar

Disneyland Magic Happens Parade with Pixar character Mei

Credit: Inside the Magic

Disneyland is making a major change to its live entertainment and replacing beloved parades with new Pixar characters.

Parade scene at Disneyland
Credit: Disney

Every year, families (and Disney adults) come to the original Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, Disney California Adventure Park, and all the other legendary theme parks from around the world, expecting the unique entertainment that only Disney Parks provide.

Over the decades it has been in operation, Disneyland Resort has vastly expanded its entertainment options and “lands,” which originally included Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Since then, the park has added New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Mickey’s Toontown, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, all of which are regularly upgraded, refurbished, and sometimes even replaced.

splash mountain at walt disney world
Credit: Disney

Most recently (and notoriously), Disney announced that it would shut down the legendary Splash Mountain ride, which has been in operation since 1989 at Disneyland Resort and 1992 at Magic Kingdom and was based on the controversial feature film Song of the South (1946).

Related: Cast Member Commits Sexually Inappropriate Act on Minnie Mouse During Public Parade

Splash Mountain is being replaced by a new ride named Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based on The Princess and the Frog (2009). While many fans of Splash Mountain accused Disney of giving into “woke” culture by removing a ride that many felt glorified the legacy of slavery and plantations in America, the company has consistently said that the ride was replaced simply as an update to the various parks it features in.

Pixar Pier and balloons at Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort
Credit: Disney

Since Disney acquired Pixar Animation Studios and its roster of critically acclaimed characters and stories in 2006, the company has worked hard to incorporate its IP anywhere it could. Paradise Pier Hotel is being “reimagined” into the Pixar Place Hotel this January, and, later on in the year, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will feature a new, updated version of the previous Pixar Fest.

Related: Disney California Adventure Big Transformation Is Nearly Complete

However, the new Disney emphasis on Pixar Fest and its characters seems to be displacing some longtime fan-favorite parades. The Disneyland parade Magic Happens and the nighttime Disneyland show Wondrous Journeys are both not on the schedule for 2024 (per LA Times), having been seemingly replaced by Pixar Fest events. A Disney representative gave the non-committal statement that the “return of Magic Happens” will be announced at “a later time.”

Rosalie Chiang as Mei Mei
Credit: Pixar Animation Studios

Instead, Disney Park Guests will get a new daytime parade titled Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!, though details of the event are still vague. This will be the first Pixar Fest since 2018 when the Pixar Play Parade was retired. Reportedly, a new version of the fireworks and projection show Together Forever — A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular will also be featured, and new park characters from the Pixar movies Elemental and Turning Red (2022) will be introduced.

Disney has announced that Pixar Fest will run from April 26 through August 4.

Do you want Pixar to replace more fan-favorites or should Disney keep the old events? Let us know in the comments below!

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