Cavalcades are a step toward return of parades
The return of parade floats along Main Street, U.S.A. is another sign that Disneyland is slowly but surely beginning to reintroduce more live entertainment sidelined by the extended coronavirus closure of the Anaheim theme park.
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have started offering three mini parades in preparation for the return of a full parade in September tied to the kickoff of the Halloween season.
The mini parades — known as cavalcades — include a snow- and icicle-covered “Frozen” float with Anna and Elsa at Disneyland and a “Toy Story” procession at California Adventure with Woody, Jessie and Sarge driving an Army Jeep filled with oversize toys.
Disneyland also boasts a Mickey and Friends cavalcade with a rotating cast of characters that can include the Fab Five, Chip and Dale, Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook and Disney princesses traveling on Main Street, U.S.A. vehicles or walking behind them. MiceChat has published photos of all three cavalcades.
The Frightfully Fun Parade will be part of California Adventure’s Oogie Boogie Bash, running some nights starting Sept. 9. In years past, the nighttime parade has featured the Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow along with “Nightmare Before Christmas,” Haunted Mansion, Dr. Facilier and Disney villains parade floats.
The cavalcades are part of the continuing evolution of Disneyland entertainment in the coronavirus era — with the park developing new ways for visitors to see the characters while maintaining at least 6 feet of social distance. Disneyland and California Adventure have experimented with clever ways of having Disney, Pixar, Marvel and “Star Wars” characters pose for traditional meet-and-greet photos without coming in direct contact with visitors during the phased reopening of the parks.
The cavalcades expand on those meet-and-greet experiments as the parks slowly work toward a full-fledged parade during the limited-attendance special event Oogie Boogie Bash.
Disneyland brought back the “Mickey Mix Magic” fireworks show in time for the Fourth of July as visitors continue to become more comfortable with increased crowd levels after more than a year of social distancing.
The Disneyland marching band and live atmosphere music, like Five & Dime and the Pearly Band, have returned as well.
The next step will be to bring back the “Magic Happens” parade that ran for only a few weeks before the March 2020 coronavirus closure of Disneyland.
After that, expect to see the eventual return of the “Fantasmic” and “World of Color” nighttime spectaculars that draw massive crowds along the waterways of Disneyland and California Adventure.
The final pieces of the returning entertainment lineup are expected to be smaller indoor shows like “Disney Junior Dance Party” in Hollywood Land and the Royal Theatre stage performances in Fantasyland, followed by larger productions to replace California Adventure’s “Frozen Live” and Disneyland’s “Mickey and the Magical Map.”