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Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams premiered on May 5, 2005 as part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in California. In 2006, the parade was approved for 5 years at the Disneyland Resort.
[edit] The parade features the following floats and characters
- Gateway to Dreams Peter Pan inside a golden train with Tinkerbell with the backdrop of the float as Main Street train station. Merlin of The Sword in the Stone (occasionally - fills in for Peter Pan and Fairy Godmother), The Fairy Godmother of Cinderella, the Blue Fairy of Pinocchio, and Flora, Fauna & Merryweather of Sleeping Beauty dance around this float.
- Dream of Enchantment Themed to the ballroom from Beauty and the Beast, Belle and Beast dance and an Audio-Animatronic Lumiere sings. Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip entertain the crowd as well while spoon, fork, knife, salt & pepper shaker, and plate dancers perform around the float.
The Pinocchio float in Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams
- Dream of Laughter Pinocchio and toys from Gepetto's workshop dance around a giant Gepetto who is controlling the Can-Can and Dutch dancing puppets from the movie. Hanging behind the float are Russian Puppets on bungee cords. The part of the float that they hang on raises up during the show stop to allow the Russian Puppets to perform amazing bungee tricks. Other toys include two bell ringers, two ballroom dancers attached to female doll counterparts, a toy drummer, and Bo Peep. Other characters include Foulfellow, Gideon, Jiminy sitting atop a toy block, and Cleo swimming around in her fish bowl.
- Dream of Another World Ariel sits on top of a giant sea shell, with Part of Your World and Under the Sea playing in the background. Bubbles float around Ariel. This float also features Audio-Animatronics Sebastian and Flounder. Before the float are dancers decorated like stylized waves, blue and white pearl dancers, and light-colored 'fish kites'. When the Parade returned in 2007 the water on Ariel's shell was replaced by clear plastic tubes
- A giant Ursula puppet/balloon makes potions and cackles to "Poor Unfortunate Souls" while Flotsam and Jetsam lurk around. Black Pearl dancers perform for the audience as well
- Dream of Imagination A Giant Trampoline themed to Alice in Wonderland's Mad Tea Party, carrying a live-action Mad Hatter and Alice. A giant animatronic Caterpillar sits on the back of the float above the Cheshire Cat. The Queen of Hearts, White Rabbit, Tweedle Dee and Dum (occasionally), a pair of Royal Marching Cards, and four 'jumping' flowers entertain the crowd. The Cards climb atop the trampoline during the show stop to perform incredible acrobatics.
- Dream of Adventure Simba atop Pride Rock from The Lion King with Zazu, a live-action Timon, Pumbaa, and Nala. Various costumed animals surround the float, such as a zebra, giraffe, antelope, chimpanzee, and rhino (occasionally). On the back of the float are two Bird performers. During the show stop, that part of the float raises up and the Birds perform an amazing Spanish Web routine.
- Dreams Come True Lastly, Mickey and Minnie as King and Queen on Sleeping Beauty Castle with other Disney royalty, including Princess Aurora & Prince Phillip, Snow White & her Snow Prince, and Cinderella and Prince Charming. Attendants Chip 'n' Dale, Goofy, and Donald also follow this float along with the seven dwarfs.
- Before the start of Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams, a lucky family is chosen to be part of the "Grand Marshall Pre-Parade Cavalcade," in which they take a ride down the parade route along side the Winnie the Pooh characters and other Disney characters such as Mary Poppins, Bert, Aladdin, and Jasmine. The "Grand Marshall Pre-Parade Cavalcade" features two banner holders, six dancers, and two rope carriers as well.
[edit] Show facts
- Grand opening: May 5, 2005
- Show length: Approximately 20 minutes with 3 show stops
- Show Stop Song: "Welcome" from Disney's Brother Bear
- Show Times and Information: Generally 3:15pm (Small World to Main Street) and 7:00pm (Main Street to Small World). During off seasons, there is generally only one parade at 7:00pm that will go from Small World to Main Street. On hotter days, there are times where there will be only two show stops and reduced choreography.
- Sponsor: Sylvania [1] [2]
- Previous parade:
- Disneyland's Parade of Stars (2000-2005)
[edit] Trivia
- Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams was Jerry Orbach's last time supplying the voice of Lumiere. Orbach died in December 2004 after he recorded dialogue for the parade.
- Each float has a hidden Mickey on them.
- The original (May 2005 - October 2006) opening recording was voiced by award-winning actress Julie Andrews. It has since been replaced to conincide with the "Year of a Million Dreams."
- The Parade's Main song which is "Welcome" from Brother Bear was written by Phil Collins, and is also performed by him in the movie. The Parade version has slightly different lyrics and is performed by an ensemble.
- There is a similarly titled parade at Tokyo Disneyland called Disney's Dreams on Parade which started in January 2003 and is currently being performed as Disney's Dreams on Parade Movin' On. While there may be similar-looking floats, this parade contains a different soundtrack and theme.
- The original design for the Ariel float had Ariel on a swing in the front of the float and Sebastian on top.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
