Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade Anaheim, California USA THEAClassic Award Overview
The Main Street Electrical Parade, created by Master Robert Jani and Project Director Ron Miziker, made its debut on June 17th, 1972. Fifty years ago this year! Like something out of a bizarre but wonderful dream, the parade features floats and live performers, covered in over 60,000 hand dipped colored lights and employs a first of its kind, synchronized soundtrack, triggered by radio control, along key zones on the Parade Route. This much adored parade originated in Disneyland California, but different versions have made long running appearances in California Adventure, Florida’s Magic Kingdom, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong Disneylands. Much to the thrill of The Disneyland Fans, it returns continually to its birthplace in California with both technical and theme updates, including its latest Finale float celebrating the Children around the World, featuring a selection of the most recent Disney Stars, like Mulan, Coco, Tiana, Moana and Raya
What sets this attraction apart? Consider these amazing statistics:
5o YEARS of performances, from June 1972 to June 2022. And still counting!
80-100 performers per show
90+ different float designs
50+ songs and melodies
300,000,000 estimated viewers
And Countless number of Fans who know the song and can hum that synth sound! Although there have been many attempts made, there has never been any Parade quite as Fantastical as this! How long did the project take to complete?
In development for less than a year, the original Main Street Electrical Parade debuted at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, in June 1972. The parade has seen updates and additions over the past 50 years, making it relevant for contemporary audiences while retaining its classic charm.
Behind the Scenes
Over the past five decades, generations of guests have gathered to bask in the magical glow of the Main Street Electrical Parade. In honor of the parade’s 50th anniversary in 2022, this beloved spectacular returned to Disneyland Park with an all-new, enchanted finale celebrating the theme of togetherness. This universal theme was reflected in the creative concept of the grand finale sequence. Inspired by both, the original design of classic Main Street Electrical Parade floats and Disney Legend Mary Blair’s iconic art style on “it’s a small world,” the new grand finale brought together moments from more than a dozen Disney and Pixar stories. These stylized scenes – interpreted in thousands of sparkling lights and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sound, with unique representations of beloved characters as animated dolls – brought to light classic and contemporary favorites such as “Encanto,” “The Jungle Book,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Aladdin,” “Coco,” “Mulan,” “Brave,” “The Princess and the Frog,” and more. For five decades, Main Street Electrical Parade has brought families together to delight in its many whimsical stories and featured characters, and now that enchantment continues for a whole new generation of dreamers.
