Preamble
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
So as another component to their 20th anniversary celebration, Disneyland Paris added in a new/updated parade and “Disney’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Train.”
This was something I hadn’t seen before: The train, containing a number of characters, starts off down Main St. like a traditional parade, circles around the hub, and then stops. At this point, I thought maybe they would all put on a show or something.
Turns out, not so much. The characters get off the train and then the CMs escort each one straight out into the mob of guests, and at some point in the morass of humanity, just stop…and that’s where their meet n’greet takes place. The density of people around them was pretty impressive, and I was constantly surprised at the lack of bloodshed.
Their new parade however, Disney Magic on Parade! is a little more substantial.
The floats reminded me a little of the old Parade of Dreams from Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, although perhaps a little less elaborate, with fewer moving parts. Magic on Parade apparently is an updated version of the parade they had been running for awhile, with a few additions and new segments.
Travel Tip #4: Consider a tour.
One of the activities I enjoyed towards the end of my trip was taking one of the guided tours of the park. I’ll give a little more detail about it later, but one of the perks of taking it was getting reserved viewing of the parade. Because it was my last day and I had already planned some different activities for the rest of the afternoon (and I had already seen the parade a couple times,) I actually didn’t get to take advantage of that, but it’s something I would definitely consider doing earlier in my trip next time.
The music is catchy enough, but I might wish for the song to be a tad longer, as it did seem as though you heard the refrain quite a few times by the end of the parade.
In any case, it’s a perfectly respectable parade without any of the show stops or dance parties that so many of Disney’s contemporary parades seem to find essential. I am thumbs up on it.
Next time: Special Events with the Disneyana Fan Club.
Hello! Thanks for your DLP articles. We are going in June. Where do I find information about tours at DLP? Thanks!
Jeanine: There’s a lot of information at http://www.dlrpmagic.com/planning/services/guided-tours/ . I basically just discovered them by accident, reading a brochure I picked up in City Hall. If you want to make sure you get a specific language tour (like English,) you may want to make reservations in advance, as they only do a couple in each language a day. If you speak French, there’s also one that looks fascinating that was just about the Tower of Terror…but only was offered in French. Have a great trip!
I’ve enjoyed your Disneyland Paris blogs, Jeanine! And yes,you were missed when we didn’t hear from you for a while. 🙂
Two thoughts on the parade video…
1. I’m surprised the song is in English and not French…??
2. It’s not magic that’s everywhere- it’s the Disney Secret Service that’s everywhere! What is going on with all the security? I don’t recall seeing that in America. Just wondering if you had any thoughts or insight into that. I was kind of surprised that you didn’t mention it.
In any case…I enjoyed seeing the parade…thank you for the great job!
Jeanine: I have never had any good way of figuring out when things will be sung in English, and when they’ll be sung in a different language in the international parks. I did think that, in general, there was more English portrayed in Paris than in Tokyo.
The parade video is great, but I can’t take credit for it–it’s from the great DLRPMagic.com website which is a terrific resource for planning trips to Disneyland Paris. I believe this was taken at the parade’s premier performance, which was probably a little media-and-security heavy.
Thanks for reading!