#Disney24
Apparently the Disney parks in the US threw a massive party last night. They're having a "Monstrous Summer", and kicked it off with a 24hour All-Nighter at the parks.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom had a live stream that let you peek in at the going ons down Main Street, it was great. I stayed up to catch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks show.
The camera angle wasn't ideal, but it was still pretty exciting. There also was no sound, but when the lights switched off for the parade, it didn't really matter. I was transported there instantly.
My first Disney park experience was back in 2001. nuinre invited me along to a wedding in the US, and we finished up our stay with a week of amusement park adventures in Florida. Magic Kingdom was our pick amongst the Disney parks, and I remember having a great time - Main Street Electrical Parade was one of the many things that absolutely blew my mind, it was an amazing experience - so I was very curious to see whether the parade had changed at all.
Honestly I'm not sure it had, but I remember there being a lot more interesting floats back then - which is a little strange. I especially remember a Fantasia themed one that was rather scary! That float was nowhere to be seen in yesterday's livestream. I also thought it was strange that they had main characters like Snow White just walk around without a proper float (Snow White has an amazing float in the Tokyo Disneyland's version). She had a dress that lit up, but still! I found that very strange.
I was generally very fascinated with the differences compared to the Tokyo Disneyland version of what is essentially supposed to be the same parade.
The general quality of the parade just seemed... lacking. Let me give you an example.
Pete's Dragon (which is one of those films I guess kids today aren't really familiar with) has a float in the Electrical Parade.
This is what it looks like in the Tokyo Disneyland version:
(click for huge)
Notice that the float has a Pete riding the dragon (ignore the Christmas wraith, we happened to be at the park around Christmas time)
... and this is the US version of the same float:
There is no rider, and just.. the general presentation of that whole float. The clearly visible lightbulbs, the garish colours. It looks like a home made version of the Tokyo one! It's rather strange, my only guess is that the US park is still using its original floats from the 80s? Maybe? It would explain a lot.
There was another very noticeable difference, the main Alice in Wonderland float.
In the Tokyo Disneyland version, Alice rides on top of a huge Cheshire cat (this is my favourite float):
(click for huge)
Yet in the US version, she rides on a rather simple yellow mushroom. The Cheshire cat wasn't featured at all (as far as I could tell from the angle I got with the live stream).
I have seen people on the internet say that Electrical Parade is their least favourite parade and that they wish Disney would replace it. I am starting to see why people say that.
The Electrical Parade at Tokyo Disneyland still add new floats to their parade. There's always been something new every time we've taken the time to watch the full parade. They have a couple of Stitch floats (very popular), Monsters Inc. is featured, they have the scary Fantasia float, and the last time I watched the parade, they had added in a mind blowingly amazing Genie float. I won't even try explaining its awesomeness. Here is a youtube video that just straight out shows you how awesome it is: Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade - Genie Float.
So yes, the Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom was a rather sad affaire. Especially since I know the US parks can do amazing light effects - they seem to have put a lot of effort into their castle projection shows which is something the Tokyo parks don't do (as far as I am aware at any rate). There was a castle projection show before the fireworks, it was parts pretty and parts confusing. I also thought the show went on for too long, my favourite sequence was the Wreck It Ralph one. But yeah, the projections seem a little cheap to me. The fireworks were amazing, and worth the wait. Even though, again, the camera angle was less than ideal.
Watching the fireworks was exactly how I ended my visit to the park back in 2001 - it's one of those lingering magic memories that just stays with you. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings thinking back on that point in time.
The livestream was a great idea, I wish they could have a permanent livestream of the park. With the crappy angle, they can't really claim that people are getting away with visiting the park without paying, because, come on. There's not even any sound! I think it's something they should seriously consider, I think a lot of fans would have appreciated it. When that Disney longing gets a little too much, it would be nice to have mirror access to the magic.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom had a live stream that let you peek in at the going ons down Main Street, it was great. I stayed up to catch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks show.
The camera angle wasn't ideal, but it was still pretty exciting. There also was no sound, but when the lights switched off for the parade, it didn't really matter. I was transported there instantly.
My first Disney park experience was back in 2001. nuinre invited me along to a wedding in the US, and we finished up our stay with a week of amusement park adventures in Florida. Magic Kingdom was our pick amongst the Disney parks, and I remember having a great time - Main Street Electrical Parade was one of the many things that absolutely blew my mind, it was an amazing experience - so I was very curious to see whether the parade had changed at all.
Honestly I'm not sure it had, but I remember there being a lot more interesting floats back then - which is a little strange. I especially remember a Fantasia themed one that was rather scary! That float was nowhere to be seen in yesterday's livestream. I also thought it was strange that they had main characters like Snow White just walk around without a proper float (Snow White has an amazing float in the Tokyo Disneyland's version). She had a dress that lit up, but still! I found that very strange.
I was generally very fascinated with the differences compared to the Tokyo Disneyland version of what is essentially supposed to be the same parade.
The general quality of the parade just seemed... lacking. Let me give you an example.
Pete's Dragon (which is one of those films I guess kids today aren't really familiar with) has a float in the Electrical Parade.
This is what it looks like in the Tokyo Disneyland version:
(click for huge)
Notice that the float has a Pete riding the dragon (ignore the Christmas wraith, we happened to be at the park around Christmas time)
... and this is the US version of the same float:
There is no rider, and just.. the general presentation of that whole float. The clearly visible lightbulbs, the garish colours. It looks like a home made version of the Tokyo one! It's rather strange, my only guess is that the US park is still using its original floats from the 80s? Maybe? It would explain a lot.
There was another very noticeable difference, the main Alice in Wonderland float.
In the Tokyo Disneyland version, Alice rides on top of a huge Cheshire cat (this is my favourite float):
(click for huge)
Yet in the US version, she rides on a rather simple yellow mushroom. The Cheshire cat wasn't featured at all (as far as I could tell from the angle I got with the live stream).
I have seen people on the internet say that Electrical Parade is their least favourite parade and that they wish Disney would replace it. I am starting to see why people say that.
The Electrical Parade at Tokyo Disneyland still add new floats to their parade. There's always been something new every time we've taken the time to watch the full parade. They have a couple of Stitch floats (very popular), Monsters Inc. is featured, they have the scary Fantasia float, and the last time I watched the parade, they had added in a mind blowingly amazing Genie float. I won't even try explaining its awesomeness. Here is a youtube video that just straight out shows you how awesome it is: Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade - Genie Float.
So yes, the Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom was a rather sad affaire. Especially since I know the US parks can do amazing light effects - they seem to have put a lot of effort into their castle projection shows which is something the Tokyo parks don't do (as far as I am aware at any rate). There was a castle projection show before the fireworks, it was parts pretty and parts confusing. I also thought the show went on for too long, my favourite sequence was the Wreck It Ralph one. But yeah, the projections seem a little cheap to me. The fireworks were amazing, and worth the wait. Even though, again, the camera angle was less than ideal.
Watching the fireworks was exactly how I ended my visit to the park back in 2001 - it's one of those lingering magic memories that just stays with you. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings thinking back on that point in time.
The livestream was a great idea, I wish they could have a permanent livestream of the park. With the crappy angle, they can't really claim that people are getting away with visiting the park without paying, because, come on. There's not even any sound! I think it's something they should seriously consider, I think a lot of fans would have appreciated it. When that Disney longing gets a little too much, it would be nice to have mirror access to the magic.