With the end of the Main Street Electrical Parade on October 9, 2016 and no replacement in the works, we may be seeing an at least temporary end to the tradition of a nightly parade at the Magic Kingdom. Throughout most of the park’s existence, a light parade of some sort has been offered, whether it be the Main Street Electrical Parade, the gone but certainly not forgotten Spectromagic, or even the Electrical Water Pageant, which actually takes place outside of the theme parks. But have you ever stopped to think why Walt Disney World first introduced this tradition to begin with?
One of the most prominent goals in designing Walt Disney World was to make the destination more of a resort than a park that could be done in a single day trip. The proposed “Vacation Kingdom of the World,” would indeed need a lot more than a single theme park to keep paying guests onsite for an entire vacation rather than straying towards everything else that Florida has to offer..
Though we like to think of anything the Walt Disney Company does as simple magic and pixie dust, it is important to understand that the Walt Disney World Resort is still a major part of a business operation. As much as Disney executives love to see guests happy and enjoying the parks, they also love to see them spending money, as with any other basic business model a profit is needed to accomplish anything productive.
One way to keep guests onsite, particularly in the 1970s before EPCOT Center opened, was to offer increased entertainment at the resorts. Of course, close proximity to the Magic Kingdom was a major incentive for guests to plan a Disney-exclusive vacation in Florida, however that might not have been enough on its own to occupy most if not all rooms at the resorts. Which is where the very first electric light parade comes in…
A bright beginning
Image: Disney
Introduced in 1971, an electrical parade of a different sort was introduced, the Electrical Water Pageant. This parade, which travels through both the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake, can be seen from the Magic Kingdom area resorts–meaning that guests without a park ticket can actually experience this performance. Rather than having full-fledged three-dimensional floats, the water pageant’s floats are actually lights representing different shapes against flat boards.
It would not be far-fetched to believe that the success of the Electrical Water Pageant inspired many aspects of the light parades that we have since seen in the parks. In 1971, the water pageant was even more popular among guests than it is today. When Walt Disney World first opened, if guests were not at the Magic Kingdom, they were at their hotels which were in full view of the water pageant. This parade may be more of a hidden gem among less-seasoned guests today, but at the time this was a main event for guests staying at the resort. It was even televised as a hit attraction on the Wonderful World of Disney’s Grand Opening of Walt Disney World special on October 29, 1971.
The water pageant also harkens back to a much simpler time, when portions of guests’ vacation would be spent together at their resort as a family. Many casual visitors to Walt Disney World today are not even aware that the Electrical Water Pageant is performed nightly. In fact, it would not be surprising if more of the audience who watches this parade today is made up of guests who visit the parks often– annual passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, as well as cast members and their families.
The primary touring style of guests visiting the parks today on a “once in a lifetime” trip is to rush from ride to ride, attempting to accomplish everything they want to do within the short window of time that they’ll actually be in Orlando. The Electrical Water Pageant was (and still is to some extent) beneficial in slowing down this mindset and allowing guests to simply relax and enjoy the moment.
While the Electrical Water Pageant has undergone a number of changes over the years, from simply becoming more of a hidden gem than a headlining resort attraction, to the music and the occasional float change, it really is a classic part of the Walt Disney World experience that has left a lasting legacy on resort guests.
The Main Street Electrical Parade bursts on the scene in 1977
The Main Street Electrical Parade first came to Walt Disney World in 1977 and brought with it timeless floats such as the steam train bearing the parade’s title, as well as floats featuring characters from Alice in Wonderland, Pete’s Dragon, Pinnocchio and more. The parade changed several times in those early yeas, but 1979 brought a perhaps the most notable addition to this parade in the form of a new finale float known as “To Honor America,”. This particular float has become a classic among Disney fans with its massive flag, oversized eagle and dancers in tri-corn hats.
Aside from the obvious floats and performers, the next most memorable part of the Main Street Electrical Parade is probably the musical score. The “Baroque Hoedown,” will likely never be forgotten among Disney fann and while parade might have officially ended its run in the park, that catchy little tune will exist not only in our heads, but probably on official park CDs, and our iTunes and Spotify accounts for years to come.
SpectroMagic charms fans, but meets an unfortunate end
Image: Disney
Though the Main Street Electric Parade came from Disneyland and ran for over a decade from June 11, 1977 to September 14, 1991, Walt Disney World finally introduced its own light parade in 1992: SpectroMagic. This new parade served as a feature part of Walt Disney World’s 20th anniversary celebrations and was quite different from its predecessor as it had more of a storyline. Where the Main Street Electrical Parade starts off in a very classic Disney setting (the Blue Fairy or Tinkerbell leading the way for Mickey to come through on a steam train), SpectroMagic’s story followed Mickey and the SpectroMagic Spectromen taking guests through all of the different parade floats.
Unfortunately, in 2010 SpectroMagic was retired. Rumors swirled around whether or not the parade could return someday, as the Main Street Electrical Parade had at Disneyland over the years. However, in 2013 it was confirmed that this parade was never going to return, likely due to poor storage conditions backstage as some Cast Members reported that elements of the parade were left outside in the elements and had begun to deteriorate.
Image: Disney
SpectroMagic provides an important example as the Main Street Electrical Parade has now made its final run in Walt Disney World, as it would be unfortunate for this parade (which has much more historical significance than SpectroMagic) to follow the same fate. Due to its longer history with the park, or rather with multiple parks, we’re really hoping that the Main Street Electrical Parade will not end up rotting outside of Disneyland to eventually be permanently disabled, but of course we never know what will happen in the future and if it can happen to SpectroMagic, it can happen here.
The comeback kid gets a budgeted legacy
Image: Disney
The Main Street Electrical Parade has hopped between Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort since its debut in Disneyland Park in 1972, and its most recent return was in 2010 after the aforementioned retirement of SpectroMagic. Interestingly, the LED effects guests have seen in the final run of the parade were added during a 2009 refurbishment. Where the original incarnation of the parade was led by the Blue Fairy from Pinnocchio, the last version of this parade had Tinkerbell leading the parade through to its final stroll down Main Street in October 2016.
Image: Brittany DiCologero
As early as the beginning to mid-2016, the Main Street Electrical Parade saw shortened hours in the Magic Kingdom, with the rumored reason being budget cuts caused by the high cost of getting Shanghai Disneyland up and running. Unfortunately, this caused some fans to speculate that the end was indeed near for this attraction, as once a Disney attraction begins to operate under limited hours or seasonally, it typically means the end is in sight. And unfortunately in this case, this trend turned out to be true as it was confirmed in fall 2016 that the parade would be leaving the Magic Kingdom forever before the end of the year, and then run a special “farewell tour” at Disneyland park before being retired forever.
The Main Street Electrical Parade has many adoring fans from around the globe, as evidenced by the number of guests who actually planned a trip to the parks at the last minute once they found out that the parade was going to be leaving the Magic Kingdom for good. Even with so many adoring fans, many do also believe that the parade has run its course and it’s time for something new. But that’s just the problem that so many fans are conflicted with when any Disney attraction ultimately comes to an end.
Image: Disney
There’s no denying that the dynamic of spending an evening in the Magic Kingdom will be visibly different now that there is no nighttime parade at this park. Not only will guests miss out on an additional evening offering at this park, but Cast Members will also have to deal with increasing traffic out of the park after Wishes, as guests won’t have a reason to stick aorund after the park’s nightly fireworks display anymore.
For fans of the parade, the end of the final Walt Disney World run certainly means a lot more than the logistical nightmare of exiting the park post-Wishes. The parade may be gone, but the guests who have visited Walt Disney World during one of its runs will always have the treasured memories of seeing those “thousands of sparkling lights” shine in the Main Street Electrical Parade.
