In the spirit of the “In Memoriam” segment found in the upcoming, well-known Hollywood awards show, the WDW Radio Blog will be honoring Walt Disney World attractions and/or locations we have loved and lost over the years.
What is a trip to Walt Disney World without grabbing some curb and enjoying a parade? It’s a wonderful ritual that offers an opportunity for guest to relax, snack on some popcorn, and be awestruck by the music and pageantry that is a Walt Disney World parade.
I did some research to calculate the number of themed parades there have been at Walt Disney World over the years, and came to a conservative, and very educated guess of “somewhere around 50.”
Some of the parades that I have enjoyed no longer exist, such as the Epcot Tapestry of Dreams, the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Jammin’ Jungle Parade, and Spectromagic at the Magic Kingdom Park. But a few weeks ago, I was sorting through photographs from past Walt Disney World visits and found a few parades to share with you. Long gone, but never forgotten, here is my tribute to some Walt Disney World Parades to Remember.
2001 – 20016: Magic Kingdom Share a Dream Come True Parade
With over 100 cast members performing in the parade, Share a Dream Come True was possibly one of Walt Disney World‘s biggest parade productions to date. The parade featured favorite characters moving from Frontierland to Main Street, U.S.A in large, acrylic snow globe floats. This was my first Magic Kingdom parade after a long Walt Disney World dry spell and recall it was the music, recorded by the London Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, that overwhelmed and impressed me.
2006 – 2009: Magic Kingdom Dreams Come True Parade
With a revitalized soundtrack that was imported from Tokyo Disneyland, the Dreams Come True Parade was an updated version of the Share a Dream Come True Parade. The snow globes were replaced by themed floats that depicted the history of Disney animation and included vignettes of Walt Disney seated at his drawing board.
2008 – 2011: Hollywood Studios Block Party Bash
Featuring high energy acrobats and pulsating retro tunes, the Block Party Bash was an interactive street party. The parade stopped at “party zones” where Cast Members performed on trampolines, jump ropes, electric scooters, and jumping stilts. And it featured many favorite Pixar characters, such as the Green Army Men and Mike and Sully. In January of 2011, Block Party Bash was replaced with the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun.
2001 – 2008: Hollywood Studios Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade
Many of the characters appearing in the Stars and Motor Cars parade changed over the years to coincide and promote the release of new Disney films. The core group of cars were themed, and transported popular Disney characters such as Mary Poppins, the Muppets, Playhouse Disney, Mulan, Toy Story, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse, of course. I happened to catch the parade in 2006 when Lightning McQueen and Mater made their debut in Stars and Motor Cars to coincide with the release of Cars.
Do you have a favorite Walt Disney World parade that you remember? Let us know in the comments section on Facebook!
If you are interested in past parades at Walt Disney World, there are many videos of the various parade that can be viewed online. It’s the next best thing to being there!
Photos from the author’s personal collection.)
Looking for Magic is Kathy @ Two Roads Photo. As a librarian, walker of many miles, and Paper Bag Princess, Kathy dreams of having coffee with Belle at the castle and co-administering a fantasy book discussion group. Her love of Walt Disney World goes back to the Talent Roundup days from the original Mickey Mouse Club. Aside from the vintage memories, she visits Walt Disney World as often as possible to participate in race weekends, the annual festivals, and always to take photographs. Kathy is honored to be a member of the WDW Radio Blog team and looks forward to sharing everything Disney with you! She can be contacted at imtxag85@aol.com.
The post In Memoriam: Walt Disney World Parades to Remember appeared first on WDW Radio.