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Seventeen floats, two different names and
hundreds of costumes all add up to create a parade with more than a few
interesting back-stories. The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade was a
true mélange of Disney classics, experiencing more changes than almost any
other Disney parade over its 9 year life.
The stories of many of the floats began
well before the 30th March 1998 premiere of the parade, however. Some
of the more classic designs date from the opening of the park itself, and
the very first daytime parade - Disney Classics Parade. Others were
created in the years between 1992 and 1998 for mini-festivals and events
celebrating the cinema release of their films.
This page celebrates the ever-changing
face of the parade and its long list of long-serving floats...
Floats
Hear those opening drum beats of "Dancin'
(A Catchy Rhythm)" in your head? The parade is on its way! Watch
in wonder as every float of this timeline of Disney
Classics passes before your eyes, from the first floats to the final additions...
Pre-Parade: Toon Time Van
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
A brightly-coloured red, blue and yellow
van opened the parade in its early years, travelling along the parade route
a few minutes before show time featuring Donald, Goofy, Chip n Dale
and Pluto, who helped to announce that the parade was about to begin.
The van later reappeared at Walt Disney
Studios Park in 2003, with new black and silver colours and a movie-themed
overlay, serving as the introduction to
Disney Cinema Parade and carrying the latest Disney film stars.
Steamboat Willie
30th March 1998 to 11th May 2003;
August 2003 onwards
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
The key icon of the whole parade, and
perhaps the only time a Walt Disney short cartoon has been honoured with its
own float in a modern Disney parade, Steamboat Willie has become a legendary
and unmistakable piece of Disneyland Resort Paris history. Riding high
up on the ship, Mickey and Minnie wore special black and white costumes
inspired by their old-fashioned character designs of 1928, whilst after the
loss of the Toon Time Van (above), the ship was often joined by the rest of
the Disney VIPs either on the ground or on-deck.
The huge ship rocked back and forth as it
travelling along the parade route, and the float is perhaps also unique
since the designers were required to transfer the original, black and white
animated Steamboat Willie to a full-colour design.
Since the original theme of the parade
was that guests were being invited to step into a timeline of Disney
Classics and take part in the scenes, a 1920s/30s cameraman and film crew
preceded Steamboat Willie and filmed the action. This disappeared from
the parade for its early 2000s return, likely due to the impending
inauguration of Walt Disney Studios Park. The band of sailor dancers
were also cut from around 2003, though this influence could be seen right to the parade's
finale with the unusual exposed float driver, sitting in a life ring in the
waves at the front of the ship.
Princesses Staircase
30th March 1998 to Late 1999
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
One of the most fabled and commonly
discussed parade floats of all time, the Princesses Staircase was a simply
huge creation, measuring over twenty metres end-to-end and spread over three
articulated sections. For the very first time, the three classic
Disney princesses were featured on the same float - Snow White, Cinderella
and Sleeping Beauty, with ornate gold decorations covering the staircases
and elaborate portraits adorning the sides. Golden, flowering arches
and glistening candelabras and chandeliers added to the decorations.
The dancers later seen in front of
Cinderella's float actually danced on-board the
staircase, with the three princesses together at the very end. The
float was created especially for The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade,
though unfortunately its life was shorter than expected. According to
common belief and/or rumour, the size of the float caused an accident with a
dancer backstage, causing it to be cut immediately from the parade in late
1999 and replaced with the Cinderella and
Sleeping Beauty floats from the old Disney
Classics Parade.
Pinocchio
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
A float retained from the Disney Classics
Parade, this featured Pinocchio dancing on strings with Gepetto standing
over him. A collection of other marionettes and toys were featured
around the edges of this very classical "wooden" float, which featured its
own puppet theatre at the front and several mechanical toy props.
Dumbo
30th March 1998 to 11th May 2003;
January 2004 to 13th July 2006
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
Dumbo's Casey Jr float is perhaps the
second key icon to be remembered from the parade after Steamboat Willie.
Also designed exclusively for The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade in 1998,
the float consists of five separate, articulated sections forming Casey Jr's
train, with Dumbo perched on the roof of the driver's cab. Since no
actual characters from the film could be featured, a large group of clowns
in bright yellow raincoats travelled with the float. This lack of any
real characters accompanying the float was likely its downfall though, and
the float later served to simply close the parade.
The float was lost with the May 2003
relaunch of the parade as "The Princess Parade", only to reappear again in
January 2004 to provide a much-needed eighth float. It was finally
retired in mid-July 2006, when the parade was once again rebranded as
"Disney Princess Parade". In early 2007, the reason for this became
clear - Casey Jr lives on! The float has been remodelled and repainted
to form the train of
Disney
Characters' Express for the 15th
Anniversary Celebration.
Peter Pan
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
Peter Pan's unit was created especially
for The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade, despite a pirate ship float
already existing since the Disney Classics Parade of 1992 onwards. The
new unit was more articulate and interactive, however, with Captain Hook
standing on a small row boat being crunched up by his Crocodile foe and
Peter Pan instead running (or "flying") around it. Accompanying this
were a fleet of small, miniaturised pirate ships, replacing dancers for this
float.
Inspired by similar miniature floats from
a Magic Kingdom Florida Peter Pan unit, each was driven by its own pirate
and chased after Pan for the duration of the parade. Peter Pan was
therefore constantly on the move between this fleet of pirate ships,
interacting with the audience as he "flew" away..
Mary Poppins
30th March 1998 to 11th May 2003;
January 2005 onwards
Created 1998 for The Wonderful World Of
Disney Parade
The only live-action film to be featured
in the line-up, Mary Poppins' popular rooftop float was a new creation for
the parade, carrying Mary amongst its smoking chimneys and twirling
weathervanes, with the driver disguised as Admiral Boom. A merry band
of male and female chimneysweeps preceded the float.
The Jungle Book
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
A remnant from the Disney Classics
Parade, The Jungle Book float luckily slotted perfectly into The Wonderful
World Of Disney Parade's original line-up, themed to the crumbling temple
ruins of King Louie. Baloo and King Louie took turns on the throne,
whilst several other generic monkeys hung around on the float and scampered
ahead to interact with guests. Kaa the snake was featured in statue
form at the front of the float, whilst all of the characters wore special
necklaces of bananas and leaves. During show stops, children were
invited to wear similar necklaces and dance with the characters.
The Little Mermaid
Entire run
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
One of only three floats which lived
through the entire run of the parade, The Little Mermaid's colourful "under
the sea" unit featured evil Ursula being tied down by a large collection of
undersea life, whilst a statue King Triton sat on his throne next to Ariel
in a clamshell. The shark and other creatures moved side-to-side, and
bubbles often spurted out of crevices in the float. It was originally
preceded by not only its iconic seashell dancers but also a couple of large
clamshell props, similar to the fleet of Peter Pan pirate ships.
At its inauguration with the Disney
Classics Parade in 1992, the float featured a different design to its
Wonderful World Of Disney Parade years. Instead of a large clamshell,
a small rowing boat floated high up in the air to depict the "Kiss the Girl"
scene of the film, with the undersea life therefore hiding below an
invisible water line. The boat moved side-to-side as the clamshell
later did, and featured Ariel in human form with Prince Eric by her side.
The modifications allowed Ariel to be seen in her more popular mermaid form.
Beauty and the Beast
Entire run
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
Another piece retained from the Disney
Classics Parade, the "Be Our Guest" musical number was the theme for Beauty
and the Beast's float. Belle stood high on a giant cake, with forks
and teapots dancing around her. The Beast was featured in a massively
increased size, holding his rose in one hand and reaching out to Belle with
the other. Mrs Potts, Chip, Babette, Lumière and Cogsworth were all
featured below the Beast on a beautiful base decorated with stained
glass-effect designs.
The float was usually preceded with
dancers dressed as chefs in candy-coloured white, gold and pink costumes.
During the early years of The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade, these also
pushed along stoves and other large props. At the show stops, children
were dressed in matching aprons and chefs hats.
Aladdin
Entire run
Created 1993 for La Parade d'Aladdin
This float was produced in 1993 as the basis of
the 1993/94 La Parade d'Aladdin, with extra Arabian dancers and props
surrounding it. It then joined the Disney Classics parade before
becoming a part of The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade at its launch.
The scene depicted Aladdin and Jasmine
flying on their magic carpet above the rooftops of Agrabah, with a
slithering serpent sliding over the moon behind them, and Jafar featured at
the front of the float in a similar style to Ursula for The Little Mermaid.
The serpent breathed fire at select moments, and the magic carpet turned
from side to side and moved up and down. Some of the domes of
Agrabah's skyline even rotated!
The Lion King
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1994 for The Lion King Festival
Created for The Lion King Festival in
1994, the Lion King float featured no live characters from the film and
instead was simply a large decorative sculpt of animals, roughly based on a
cross between the "Circle of Life" and "I Just Can't Wait To Be King"
scenes. Amongst the animals was Timon holding a bug (right at the
front), Pumbaa (at the centre) and Rafiki holding a young Simba at the top
of the pile. The float was brought to life with dancers dressed as
animals such as giraffes, zebra and gazelle. During the 1994 festival,
it was joined by extra floats and props such as a fully-grown Simba atop
Pride Rock.
Hercules
30th March 1998 to Late December 1999
Created 1997 for the Hercules Happening
As with the Aladdin and The Lion King
floats, the Hercules unit was also originally created for a mini-parade
celebrating the release of the film. It's construction just one year
before the launch of the new parade and very self-contained design perhaps
shows signs that it was produced with the new parade in mind, being the most
recent of the Disney Classics to be featured in the timeline.
In the Hercules Happening it was joined
by a Greek temple and staircase float, gospel singers, dancers and more.
Cinderella
Late 1999 onwards
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
Cinderella's pumpkin coach provides the
basis for a classic parade float, with pink, purple and gold-dressed
ballrooms dancers preceding its assortment of trusty steeds. The Fairy
Godmother usually stood on the clouds at the rear of the carriage, which was
created in 1992 for the Disney Classics Parade.
The float, particularly its pumpkin
carriage, is arguably one of the most detailed and intricate floats seen in
Paris or perhaps any resort. Amongst its ornate sculpting
(particularly its beautiful large green wheels) and leafy finish it features
gold leaf colouring and a sumptuous red fabric interior, truly creating a
real-life version of the Fairy Godmother's famous creation. The float
has been confirmed to be one of the few kept in working condition after the
parade's finale.
Sleeping Beauty
Late 1999 onwards
Created 1992 for Disney Classics Parade
The final float to be taken from the old
Disney Classics Parade line-up, Sleeping Beauty was seen with her Prince on
the edge of a rocky outcrop, with a moving (and steaming) Maleficent Dragon
behind them. The float was drafted back into service at the same time
as Cinderella above, to provide new homes for these two princesses after
their Princesses Staircase float was
pulled from service.
10th Birthday Cake
14th March to 29th September 2002
Created 2002 for The Wonderful
World Of Disney Parade 10th Anniversary Edition
Especially for the 10th Anniversary of
the park, The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade enjoyed a special "10th
Anniversary Edition", with an added show stop using the song "10 Years of
Magic" and a brand new float leading the parade. This giant birthday
cake, featuring ten candles and Mickey Mouse symbols showing the number,
featured a gang of chef dancers who handed out sweets to children.
Several honoured children also got the chance to ride on the float itself,
similar to the final scene of the 10th Anniversary show "Minnie's Birthday
Surprise".
The 10th Anniversary was a very muted
affair, with attention being given instead to the newly-opened Walt Disney
Studios Park. The scroll showing the number "10" on the Castle lasted
little more than a month.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
From 12th May 2003 onwards
Created ???? for Christmas Carollers
and other uses, transformed in 2003 to form Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
float
Originally used as a float to carry
Christmas Carollers on rotating turntables during the park's seasonal
celebrations, this float was remodelled in 2003 to finally allow Snow White
to rejoin the parade. A wishing well was added as the centrepiece,
with flowers, woodland creatures and an apple covering the unique
wood-effect finish of the float, which always stood out from the rest of the
line-up. Not least because it served several purposes - during
Halloween, it first became a home for the Pumpkinmen and their orange
painting, before hosting Stitch and the Disney VIPs in a similar orange
overlay. For Christmas, it featured glittering Christmas Trees and all
of the Disney VIPs in festive red and green costumes.
It has been confirmed that this float is
being kept in a working condition after the parade's finale, since it can be
interchanged for special events so easily.
Parade
Line-Ups
The parade was originally envisaged as a
"3D Timeline" of Disney Classics, from Steamboat Willie (1928) right up the
newest Disney feature of the time, Hercules (1997). The show stops
allowed guests to be selected to "step into the magic" and become a part of
the scene with the Disney characters.
Each and every major revision of the
parade, listed in chronological order...
Line-ups show the floats used since each change in the parade's composition,
not necessarily in the order given above. It is possible some floats
may have taken breaks or been absent for short periods. The parade was
never performed during Christmas season, and no longer during Halloween from
2003 onwards. Some of the floats were used during Christmas for
Mickey's Nutcracker Parade, whilst during
Halloween and Christmas seasons from 2003 onwards, most of the line-up was
reused to form
Disney Villain Parade and
The Christmas Parade.
For the full story of the parade's
ever-changing line-up, see our History
Timeline.
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