The 25th Anniversary Parade Challenge

Sean Gordon – The Kingdom of Enchantment Parade

The concept of the parade is that each float will be representing a different land of DLP and basically be a celebration of the whole resort and 25 years of magic. I also came up with the idea of projecting moving images onto the floats in a similar way to what they do in the Disneyland forever fireworks in California. These projections would bring the parade to life like never before. I thought it was a cool idea even though I’m not sure how possible it would be to do. Anyway, here is the details of each of the floats in the parade:

Float 1 would represent Main Street and be themed around the turn of the century. The float would feature characters such as Clarabelle, Daisy and Donald dressed in Victorian style clothing. The float would also feature Mary Poppins and Bert as I think they fit the theme.

Float 2 would represent Frontierland and be themed around one of the mines of big thunder mountain. Chip and Dale will feature on the float trying to steal some gold from the mine behind the back of Goofy who is
in his sheriff outfit. The float will also feature a crashed mine train and a box full of explosives.

Float 3 would represent Adventureland and the float will be themed to the black pearl from the pirates of the Caribbean movies. It would feature captain Jack steering the ship and Peter Pan and captain Hook fighting up on the ships masts.

Float 4 would represent Discoveryland and the float will be designed like the zeppelin from Café Hyperion with everyone’s favourite star wars characters C3PO, R2D2 and Darth Vader flying it.

Float 5 will be themed around Walt Disney Studios Park and represent 5 star attractions such as Armageddon and Motor’s Action. Only Joking!!! It would really be based around 1930’s Hollywood which Walt Disney experienced.

Float 6 will represent fantasyland. One half of the float will showcase the Disney princesses such as Cinderella , Sleeping beauty and Anna and Elsa whist the other half will be for the villains such as Maleficent, Evil Queen and Dr Facilier. The float will be medieval themed.

Float 7 will be the final float in the parade and will feature Mickey and Minnie standing infront of a giant illuminated “25”.

The Parade will be called “The Kingdom of Enchantment Parade”.

Nicolai Andersen – Disney’s Elemental Parade

A parade centred around nature and an organic mix of classic and new films including some much loved Pixar characters. In between each float dancers and characters will create a natural flow from one float to another.

The parade will be performed twice daily with the first running going from it’s a small world to Town Square and the second running being in reverse order in the opposite showcasing the organic flow of this magical state-of-the-art parade.

Elemental Elegance

This impressive float features a sign with the parades name in the front spelled with rocks, clouds, water drops, fireballs and leaves. The main body of the float will be made up of a magical surface in various materials and colours showing the magic of nature. Soaring high, seemingly flying over the float is Baymax and Hiro from Disney’s Big Hero 6! Below them, standing on pedestals made up of colourful DNA-resembling patterns you will find some of the most beloved inventors! Look closely and you might even find signs of Dreamfinder on the floats magical surface, which shifts colour thanks to LED-lighting within the material.

Characters on the float:

Merlin (Sword in the Stone)
Hiro Hamada and Baymax (Big Hero 6)
Ludwig von Drake
Dreamfinder
Edna Mode (The Incredibles)

Marvellous Mountains

After walking rocks and characters such as the abominable snowman from Monsters Inc. the parade route now sees the technical masterpiece of the parade – the 30ft tall Mountain of Wonders. The four sides of the mountains seamlessly blend in with the characters surrounding it. The truly spectacular thing is when the mountain gradually switches its appearance completely as the characters circle around it on a giant turntable. During the time it takes for the float to pass by you you will on one side witness Elsa standing in front of snowy mountain on which you should look out for Marshmallow, and Carl from Up holding his balloons while water runs out of the mountain and the colours of the Paradise falls gradually replace the icy white of Elsa’s castle. From the other side you will first be greeted by the spectacular, colourful south american rocks of the Emperor’s New Groove as Kuzco and Pacha discuss how to climb the mountain before it is turned into an amazing Canadian mountain full of pines as Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear comes in your direction.

Characters on the float:

Elsa (Frozen)
Carl Frederickson (Up)
Kuzco & Pacha (Emperor’s New Groove)
Koda and Kenai (Brother Bear)

Wondrous Water

As Kronk, Russell/Dug and Olaf are running after the Marvellous Mountains float, you can see Flounder up ahead as giant bubbles fill the parade route. You are now in the magical world of the sea. The first part of the float is under the sea with bubbles coming up everywhere. In the centre of float you’ll see a big, rotating shell which hosts the beautiful Ariel! In front of her you’ll find Sebastian orchestrating the music as well as Marley and Nemo who seems to be looking for something. Can you find Dory? Behind the shell the float completely changes and we are now on top of the water where – on one side – Remy is paddling his way through the roaring waves and on the other side Stitch is having the surf of his lifetime! It really is an Hawaiian rollercoaster ride!

Characters on the float:

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
Marley, Nemo and Dory (Finding Nemo) – puppets as in the musical version!
Remy (Ratatouille)
Stitch (Lilo & Stitch)

Roaring Rivers

The waves continue as Bruce, Anchor and Chum as well as characters from Disney’s Atlantis connect the Wondrous Water float to the Roaring Rivers float. Here the waves are wild as water splash off the edges of the float – look out, you might get wet! On top of the giant moving waves you’ll find Pocahontas in her canoe, Mowgli on top of the floating Baloo and Peter Pan and the Darling children flying over the waves. At the end of the float the waves reach the sumpy shore at which Tiana and Naveen are celebrating their wedding with Ray and Louis in triumphant celebrations as Mama Odie perform the ceremony!

Characters on the float:
Pocahontas (Pocahontas)
Tiana, Naveen and Mama Odie (Princess and the Frog)
Mewgli (Jungle Book) – Baloo would be a major animatronic
Peter Pan, Wendy, Michael and John (Peter Pan)

Fierce Fire

Looking at the wedding in dismay, Dr. Facilier follows straight after the float and summons his friends from the other side causing the parade route to erupt in fire in a mysterious, breathtaking float featuring fire illusions and real fire geysers. Look out! Scar comes flying out of the fire as Hades and Judge Claude Frollo are following right behind on each side of the major fire ball from which Scar jumps out! Phew! As the float is about to leave you see that Quasimodo is coming out of the back of the float with Esmeralda in his arms! “Sanctuary” is echoed all the way down the parade route!

Dr. Facilier (Princess and the Frog)
Hades (Hercules)
Scar (The Lion King)
Judge Frollo, Quasimodo & Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Lush Leaves

What’s that? Parrots are squeaking, rivers are flowing and life is buzzing! You are now in the middle of the jungle as the Lush Leaves float passes by. Featuring more than 100 unique, handprinted 5ft tall leaves the main asset of this float is the 20ft tall water fall on the top of which Timon & Pumba gets ready to take the plunge! In front of them in the ‘forest of leaves’ you might be lucky to see Flik, Tinkerbell or perhaps even Thumber or Flower the skunk from Bambi! On the other side of the waterfall we have big tournament going on as Robin Hood and Merida face each other in a thrilling, live game of archery! Don’t worry, they are the best in the world!

Characters on the float:

Timon & Pumba (The Lion King)
Flik (A Bug’s Life)
Thumper & Flower (Bambi)
Merida (Brave)
Robin Hood (Robin Hood)
Tinkerbell (Peter Pan)

Soaring Skies

With this towering float you are all of a sudden high up in the skies. The main ‘attraction’ of the float is the huge, lifelike Pegasus animatronic featuring Hercules on its back! On the surrounding clouds you might be able to get a wave from Sadness, whose cloud actually rains, the happy cloud from Pixar’s Partly Cloudy or perhaps even Aladdin and Jasmine on their magic carpet. Finally, on the back of the float Aurora will be dancing through the clouds with her prince.

Characters on the float:

Sadness (Inside Out)
Pegasus & Hercules (Hercules)
Partly Cloudy
Aladdin & Jasmine (Aladdin)
Aurora & Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty)

Magnificent Magic

The final float will feature no other than the fab five of course. Mickey will be on a towering rotating cloud with gold sparkles coming out of it. Each corner of the float features the rest of the gang: Pluto enjoying the covers of majestic leaves, Goofy trying his best at surfing, Donald Duck in his mountain climbing gear and Minnie Mouse sitting in a giant flower. The back of the float features a sign with the title for the parade making it easy to reverse it for the second daily running.

Characters on the float:

Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Donald Duck
Pluto
Goofy

Cian – The Spectacle of Disney Parade

1. The first float has Mickey and Minnie on the raised platform in the middle of an oval shaped float. There are four platforms at the edge for Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto. Chip, Dale Clarice, Clarabell, Horrice Horsecollar and Duffy will be in the middle part. Dancers similar to the wizards in Magic on Parade will go before the float. The float is gold and covered in sparkles.
2. This float has the Robin Hood characters: Robin Hood, Little John, The Prince, The Sherriff of Nottingham and Friar Tuck. There are two tall trees to one side of the float. Dancers will be wearing ‘lost boy inspired’ costumes.
3. Using similar technology to the sleds in the christmas cavalcade, Winnie the Pooh and two of his friends can drive along in their own honey pots. Each will be a different colour.
4. The Avengers float has a tall Stark Tower on the back with Captain America and Iron Man on it. Below on the Helicarrier is Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Ant Man or any other Marvel character you can think of. The dancers in front of this float will be dressed in black and blue ‘Tron style’ outfits.
5. Jedis and stormtroopers will lead the Star Wars float battling to a choreographed fight. On the float there is an old jedi temple with Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, C3PO and R2-D2. Flying above is the Millennium Falcon.
6. Jack Sparrow, Barbossa, Will Turner, Blackbeard and Angelica are on the Black Pearl sailing across the ocean. Cannons stick out either side and there is the occasional blast of smoke. Of course Will and Jack will argue over who gets to steer. The dancers would be the pirates from the Peter Pan section of Magic on Parade.
7. The next section isn’t really a float. It is a huge boulder chasing after Indiana Jones.
8. The princess float comes next. It has eight sections with themed backdrops for Belle & Adam, Rapunzel & Flynn, Mulan & Li Shang, Pocahontas & John Smith, Tiana & Naveen, Aurora & Philip and Ariel and Eric. Female dancers will wear beautiful white ballgowns with different coloured bows, male dancers will wear tuxedos with corresponding dickie bows to the woman that they are dancing with.
9. The final float is the float to end all floats. It begins with a scale model of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle followed by a huge pink float with multi coloured polka-dots. It is jam packed with random characters that didn’t make it into the parade. It could be different everyday. Here’s a few suggestions: Woody and Buzz, Seven dwarves, the genie, Peter Pan and Wendy, Mary Poppins with Bert and his penguins, Alice, Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit just to name a few…

Click here to see the concept art for the floats. The top left picture is a birds eye view, the top right is a straight on view and the bottom left is a view from the side.

Luke Breen – Disney’s Beauty of Wonder Parade

Before deciding on a name for the parade, it’s first important to look at the importance of the parade regarding when it will debut. This will be the park’s main entertainment piece of the 25th anniversary, a chance to show off what the resort’s entertainment has to offer in what is arguably the most important year ever for Disneyland Paris. Since will be ultimately known as the “25th anniversary parade” despite being a general Disney parade, it must be able to showcase everything DLP wants from the celebration and the resort. Disneyland Paris is most famous from Disney fans across the world as being the most beautiful park in the world, and to some extent the most creative for its clever use of re-imagining classics such as the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain and creating it’s own unique experiences like the Main Street arcades and Ratatouille to name just a few. With all of this in consideration, I think it’s obvious that the parade’s certain focus should be celebrating beauty and imagination that Disney and Disneyland Paris have both created in the last 25 years and beyond. The name of the parade shall be called Disney’s Beauty of Wonders Parade.

Part of the reason the name “Beauty of Wonders” was chosen for the parade was for the marketability of the name within the Disney fan community. The parade will eventually be shortened by fans as the “BoW parade” much like how Disney Magic on Parade was shortened to MoP and Festival of Fantasy in Walt Disney World was shortened to FoF. As a result, the parade will be known within fans (especially US fans who the majority will see the parade debut online) as the “Bow Parade”, a quick, catchy and still appealing name that should already spark a positive image into fans and average guests who hear it. Afterall, the bow parade sounds a lot better than the mop parade, doesn’t it?

The theming behind each parade float was decided upon after making a short list of all major Disney movies, financially success Disney movies in recent time and those who have a very large fan following and have become classics. This list was then condensed after eliminating movies which already had a large presence in Disney parades especially Magic on Parade (eg. Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan). The floats from Festival of Fantasy were also taken into consideration as since this parade will no doubt be compared to it, it’s very important BoW isn’t considered a rip-off of Festival of Fantasy and instead its own, creative spectacle.

There will be 8 floats in total, slightly more than what was seen in both Magic on Parade and Festival of Fantasy. Each float will be given an official name which will be used in marketing and promo material; a custom for Disney parades.

Float 1 – Snow White – The Wonder of Kindness

Disneyland Paris obviously wouldn’t exist without The Walt Disney Company, so where better to start than with their first feature film and first huge success story in Snow White. The float will use the basic structure of the current final float that appears in Magic on Parade (currently occupied by Mickey, Minnie and etc) in an attempt to save costs in production but also to give the parade a large start physically. The float will be themed around a grassy woods area much like where the majority of Snow White is set. The first half of the float will be rethemed from it’s current gazebo to resemble the dwarves’ cottage where several of the dwarves will be present. The bridge on the float will be rethemed to a more wooden, traditional bridge where Snow White and the Prince will reside. The back of the float will shy away slightly from the woodland theme of the float and more to the rocky mountainous area seen in the movie’s ending. The next character spot will be the home to the remaining dwarves not present in the cottage section of the float. The top area – the current spot for Mickey – will be used by the Evil Queen in her “Old Hag” form. The float will be dotted all around with woodland creatures and birds along the sides of the float as additional theming with an animatronic vulture replacing the Tinkerbell spot at the rear end of the float.

Float 2 – Princesses – The Wonder of Dreams

There’s no surprise that a big part of the character scene for Disney and Disneyland Paris are the princess characters. Given there sheer number of princesses in the roster now (with more to come in the form of Moana), it’s only logical to let the those without their own dedicated float get some limelight too with this princess float. The float will take inspiration of the princess float from Paint The Night which is broken up into several sections connected together giving each princess their own little area. The major difference however will be each princess section will be more themed to that princess and the corresponding movie. Each mini float section will be circular and have a waist high railing all around. Although 8 princess platforms will be created for this float, they will be designed in such a way that they can be easily connected and disconnected (like a toe hitch). As a result only 3 princesses will ever be present on this float during parade. This will help with repeated viewings of the parade as – much like the current Magic on Parade and their carriages – the princesses that are represented will be different every time.

Rapunzel will have her section themed around her tower with wall themed railing covered by her paintings and sketches as seen in Tangled. The wall will also have Rapunzel’s “hair” wrapping around it before reaching up to the character herself. This effect is most popularly found in the Festival of Fantasy parade during the Tangled float. Pascal will also be present on the railing of Rapunzel’s mini float section.

Cinderella will have her platform themed around the pumpkin carriage, making her’s the only one that is actually covered. It will be mostly made of glass with four very wide openings making it easy for guests to see her, the supports will be finished with a gold paint.

Belle’s platform will be themed around the ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast. The railing support around the section will be painted gold with small pillars similar to what is seen in the movie. At the front end of the platform is where the enchanted rose will be found, glowing with thanks to LED lightning technology.

Ariel’s, as can be guessed, will have her platform themed around a clam with the rim of which coming up to the railing support. At either end of the clam is where you will find Sebastian and Flounder, one at either side of the platform

Merida’s platform will be themed to give the appearance of a wooden structure with stone walls in order to fit with her medieval Scottish setting. At one end of the platform her trusty bow will be found hanging while the other end will see simply animatronics of her three brothers in bear form. Nothing too major in terms of animatronic technology, just a simply shake of the head of one of the brothers.

Jasmine’s platform will once again give the appearance of a stone structure but be themed more to the balcony of her palace as seen in Aladdin. At one end of the platform the Magic Carpet will be seen leaning over it with Abu accompanying Jasmine on the other end.

Tiana’s platform will be themed in the same vein as the swamp portions of Princess and the Frog, particularly the ending. Green and brown vines will create the railing support for this section with critters and other creatures will be seen dotted around it such as Mama Odie’s snake. “Flowers” will also be present around the float to give it some more colour and help it look visually appealing as well as several bright lights to represent the fireflies that accompany Tiana in the movie.

Aurora’s platform will take heavy inspiration from the Sleepy Beauty castle in DLP, since it’s her castle afterall. The entire platform will be themed to look like part of the castle’s walls, with one half being the pink we see on the castle and the other a blue in the same vein of her blue dress. The top of the railing support on the platform will be gold. Aurora’s 3 fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather will be found “flying” around the platform in a circle, each having a little but bright light emitting from their wands.

Float 3 – Frozen – The Wonder of Love

The deadest cert in the history of dead certs. There literally no reason for their not to be a Frozen float in Disneyland Paris’ next parade due to not only the enormous popularity with the movie but also the fact Anna, Elsa and co – in my opinion at least – aren’t being used to their full potential at all in the resort. The float will be lead first by a large, puppet controlled Marshmellow (the giant snowman character Elsa creates) to walk around. This would be done in the same vein as the Genie and other puppet characters in the Paint The Night parade in Hong Kong and Disneyland. Dancers dressed in traditional Norweign inspired clothing will then accompany Olaf as they walk around for guest interaction before flowing to the actual float. The float itself will be split into two similar to the majority of floats seen in Magic on Parade. If we were to take one as a reference to be re-used I would suggest the Buzz/Winnie float as that’s the rough size I’m envisioning. The first half will be themed to the Arendelle castle, or at least the upper sections of it. The certain piece of this half would be of the castle’s balcony, where Kristof and Sven will be found. The other half of the float will be the main attraction; a recreation of Elsa’s ice palace in the same fashion of what we see on the front of the float. As expected, its balcony will be occupied by Anna and Elsa while also projecting some fake snow periodically. The float will be filled with LED technology so that, again sporadically, both the Ice Palace and Arendelle kingdom will turn to a dark shade of blue, covering both in “ice”.

Float 4 – The Lion King – The Wonder of Life

I was hesitant at first in including a Lion King float into the parade, as the movie already has a very large presence both in Disney Dreams! and before in Magic on Parade. I eventually decided upon it simply due to the huge popularity the movie has. Being as it’s the second most successful animated Disney movie, and still gets a cheer from guests when Circle of Life starts up in Dreams!, it’s a no brainer to include it. The float is probably the most simplistic of the parade, as it is a recreation of Pride Rock from the movie. The float will be shaped exactly like the rock formation is in the movie, with Rafiki situated atop holding the infant Simba. Behind him will sit Mustafa and Sarabi. The parade will be lead by a number of Lion King themed dancers (think costumes similar to the Lion King stage show) and Timon to allow guest interaction. The back end of the float will feature Scar looking menacingly at the crowd. This could possibly be taken from the current Scar used in the old villains float that was revived in 2014 for the Villains Promenade during Halloween.

Float 5 – Big Hero 6 – The Wonder of Teamwork

Big Hero 6 is the sleeping giant in terms of Disneyland Paris. A critically acclaimed success for Disney on the back of Frozen and the third highest grossing for Walt Disney Animation after the afore mentioned Frozen and Lion King. Once again, it’s a no brainer to give it its own float for the new parade, which will also mean Disneyland Paris being the first Disney park to include a float fully dedicated to the movie if I’m not mistaken? Much like how The Lion King’s float will feature a number of dancers and characters interacting with it, this will be more of the same as all 6 members of the team will be walk-about for the parade. The characters will be accompanied by some kabuki masked dancers to ‘confront’ the Big Hero 6 throughout the show. The float itself will be a short but tall structure themed to a nanobot structure (so a black float but very heavily textured to give the appearance of thousands of nanobots) supporting Yokai; Big Hero 6’s villain. The structure will have short nanobot “tentacles” as seen in the movie sprouting out of it which will be able to move around with thanks to animatronics built inside the theming. This should give the float a bit more character and appear more dynamic and interesting than just a big black recentangle. At the front of the float, more “nanobot tentacles” will sprout out (this time static) creating a support for what will be the reconstructed portal device as seen in the movie itself. The main inspiration for how this will look will be from the scene in Big Hero 6 where the portal is rebuilt using the nanobots. The back of the float will also have the back half of Wasabi’s car sunk into the nanobot structure; a nod to the car chase scene from the movie and to make the back section of the float a bit more interested than just textured black.

Float 6 – Pixar – The Wonder of Friendship

Instead of going for a single movie from the Pixar roster, the Beauty of Wonder parade will instead celebrate all Pixar classics on this float. The float will start with Mr and Mrs Incredibles on their hoverboards which have been seen several times now in both the Christmas cavalcade and in Walt Disney Studios occassionally (why let a perfectly good prop go to waste?) as well as Lightning McQueen driving behind – another character occasionally used in the Studios. This would of course take him out of the Stunt Show but since that show is probably on its last legs anyway, I don’t think this would be much of a loss. As for the float itself, it will use the core structure and mechanics from the opening float of Magic on Parade (the one with the Blue Fairy, Merlin, Fairy Godmother) only heavily rethemed. Instead of being on a giant book, characters will stand on a giant film reel, with the Luxo Jr. lamp standing at the front, looking out into guests. The film reels will be angled in such a way so that they can easily be viewed by both sides of the crowd. Each “frame” from the reel will actually be a monitor showing a few seconds of clips from Pixar movies such as A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Brave, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur. Pixar films that haven’t been included on the monitors will be represented in the form of characters on the float itself, namely Buzz, Woody, Sully, Dug, Remy and Emile. The back of the float will also be an interesting spectacle and feature a giant, spinning Luxo ball slightly taller and wider than the rest of the float. The ball will spin in a fashion so that it appears to be rolling with the float along the parade route.

Float 7 – Disneyland Paris – The Wonder of Imagination

The set piece float that will appear in the majority of marketing for the parade (a noteable example of this would be the steampunk Maleficient float in Festival of Fantasy, which is clearly their set piece float) will be a fully unique float dedicated to Disneyland Paris. The float will be of a rounded egg shape and is themed around an exaggerated version of the Disneyland Park map, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park. The float is presented the same way the park itself is only in a much more simplified version.

Main Street, appearing at the front of the float, will begin at the very tip of the vehicle with miniature versions of the turn of the century buildings and iconic street, progressing uphill so that it can be easily seen by guests. At the start of the float section – where Main Street station is located – will be a spot for a Main Street Mayor character; welcoming guests to Disneyland Paris (or ushering in the 25th Anniversary during 2017). As part of the scaled down Main Street station will also be a model railway with a moving train, which will circle around the entire float in a clockwise motion much like the actual Disneyland Railroad.

To the left of Main Street will be the zone dedicated to Frontierland. The area will be themed as expected similar to the land itself with a yellows and oranges as the base colour, populated with rocks, cacti and western buildings. A simplified, scale model of Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor will also be present, with the former boasting some smoke effects to represent the recently added improved explosion scene that came with the current refurbishment. To the right of the Phantom Manor building will be home a the Phantom character himself. This is most likely be a recreation of the Phantom character who could be found in the early 90s in the Phantom Manor queue. This will most probably be the centre talking point for fans throughout the Disney community all over the world, an actual Disney Parks original character appearing in a parade and one of such significance to Disneyland Paris and its boastful achievements in originality.

The next land represented, Adventureland will obvious be populated with greenary, a large scale model of the newly refurbished Robinson Treehouse will be located to the far right of the section (hugging the ending potions of Frontierland) which will then flow to water and more fake trees before leading to a rocking model of Captain Hook’s ship with Skull Rock. Behind these models Captain Jack Sparrow will stand waving to guests – another nod to the park’s recent additions with the character’s addition to Pirates of the Caribbean.

The next land moving on is Fantasyland, which of course is technically the home of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. This will be located in the very center of the float and, for reference, will be the same size as the current castle model featured on the fairies and wizard float seen in Magic on Parade. During DLP’s 25th anniversary – and no doubt 2018 when the celebration is extended – the castle part of the float will be painted a bright, sparkly silver to symbolise the resort’s silver anniversary. After the celebration however, so from 2019 til 2026, the castle will be the normal colour scheme as seen on the real castle. The rest of the land will be populated with moving representations of the land’s attractions. Tea cups will be spinning, it’s a small world boats circulating around a scaled model of the World fountain, and several Dumbos flying around the Queen of Hearts’ castle; which will also be slotted in beside a simplified representation of the labyrinth. The character appearing in the Fantasyland section of the float will be Tinkerbell, “flying” over the entire land via the same animatronic arm used in the Paint The Night parade. This one however will be shorter and painted a sky blue to help camouflage it.

The fifth and final land is of course Discoveryland. As expected, the main piece will be a scale model of Space Mountain, complete with flashing lights and a smoke effect shooting out of the Columbiad cannon at an angle. To the right of this you will find a Hyperion ship hugging the barrier between Discoveryland and Fantasyland and a model Starspeeder 1000; joined by none other than BB-8 moving his head around to the music. The “character” for this section of the float will actually be an animatronic Timekeeper from Le Visionnairum of Discoveryland’s past. Although not a character now featured in the park, his return in the form of this parade would not only spark hardcore Disney fans around the world in excitement, general guests will accept that a generic robot man is a good representation for the land. Indeed, it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility that if the Timekeeper was well received, he could find his way back into the park in the form of a meet and greet or an easter egg within Discoveryland.

Float 8 – Finale – The Wonder of Magic

The final float in the parade, hoping to end the show with a bang, will of course featuring all of the VIP character (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Chip and Dale) and will obviously be the longest float as to fit all of the characters onboard. Instead of going for a generic magic theme, the float will be heavily themed to one of the most iconic Disney scenes, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. As a result and in an unusual twist, all of the VIP characters will be dressed in sorcerer apprentice robes and hats – another Disney first if I’m not mistaken? The float itself will mostly be blue and textured to look like flowing water, with bucket carrying brooms populated all around it, some carrying water, some pouring actual water into cleverly hidden areas as to create a fountain. The back of the float will have a large, grey staircase where Mickey and Yensid will be found at the top of, the stairs themselves will too be populated with more brooms. Throughout different sections of the float, small water jets will be strategically placed and hidden so that water can be “lifted” into the sky by any of the characters on board. At the very back of the float – hidden away from the rest much like Tinkerbell is in the current finale float of Magic on Parade – will have an opening where Oswald will appear. This will be the one last surprise the Beauty of Wonders parade will have to offer as well as bringing the entire show full circle, bringing the latest in Disney entertainment together with the first character created by Walt.

The future of the parade – Since this is a brand new full parade and not just a 25th anniversary parade, upkeep will need to be maintained to ensure the parade is always interesting, fresh and engaging for audiences for the next 10 years. While this will obviously be done by regularly maintenance of the floats every year when required, improvements will also be made with the addition of 3 brand new floats in 2022 for the park’s 30th. By gauging fan feedback and guest satisfaction of the parade through surveys and general word of mouth mentioned online, 3 existing floats currently used will be eliminated to make way for the new floats, as to ensure a respectable runtime for the parade is maintained for easy and safe guest flow. If I were to guess however in this hypothetical scenario, The Lion King, Snow White and Big Hero 6 floats would face the axe unless one of those properties received a big push in public awareness; such as a Big Hero 6 sequel or a Snow White live action announced. The replacement floats again are hard to predict but they would almost certainly be taking Disney’s future movies into consideration. Depending on how well it fares later this year, a Moana float could definitely be considered especially in replacing Snow White princess, for princess. Classic movies such as Dumbo, 101 Dalmations, Mulan, Winnie the Pooh, Pinnochio and Aladdin could all be considered too as they are all expected future live action movies; probably to be released between 2016 and 2022, or at the very least before 2027. Additionally, the Pixar float is perfect for expansion with its monitor “film reels”. Scenes from Coco will be added as well as any more original stories created and released by Pixar. This would also be the case if any sequels were to do exceptionally well despite all IPs already be represented.
In addition to new floats for the 30th anniversary, decoration to the castle on the Wonder of Magic float will also be changed. As the 30th anniversary is known as a pearl anniversary, the castle here will be painted and decorated in such a way to give the impression it is made out of a cluster of pearls organised into the shape of the castle. Like the silver painted castle of 2017, this will be done for the entirety of the 2022 and possible 2023 if the 30th anniversary is extended.

Where the Once Upon A Dream parade was given an entirely new name when updated into the Magic on Parade in 2012, a name change won’t be as major in 2022 with the Beauty of Wonders parade. Acknowledging that at its core it is still the same parade, from the 30th anniversary onwards the parade will be known as “Disney’s Beauty of Wonders and Imagination Parade”, allowing it to still be differentiated from the original version. New music will also be wrote for this updated version of the parade.

Sven Popelier – Disney Around The World Parade

It’s called the Disney Around The World Parade and these are the featured floats! The theme would be as it says, all the different continents of the world with Disney characters. A simple concept but a unique aspect would be that almost every float would have a little interactive element.

Float 1: The Globe
A float with a giant globe. There are 6 stars that refer to the 6 parks around the world, similar to the World of Disney Store globe. The general theme of the float is traveling and there would be a large airplane on top with Chip & Dale, a train in front with Goofy and a steamboat at the back with Donald.
Float 2: Europe – Part 1: France
Carnival dancers would introduce the next float. A small version of Paris with the Eiffel tower in front with Remy and Emile waving at guests and the Notre Dame at the back, with Quasimodo and the three stone gargoyle animatronics. The Eiffel Tower would be able to light up and sparkle.
Float 3: Europe – Part 2: UK
This float would actually be the same float as in the Magic On Parade, featuring Peter Pan and Mary Poppins. Knowing how Disneyland Paris likes to recycle, it would do perfectly well in this parade.
Float 4: Africa
A float introduced by African dancers. Similar to the previous recycled float, I would take the float from Magic on Parade featuring the Lion King jungle. However, I would change the Junglebook side into a Tarzan setting, featuring Tarzan and Terk in the camp of Jane. Maybe even Jane, if the budget would allow it. The decoration of the camp would every so often make musical sounds, similar to the song ‘Trashin’ the Camp’.
Float 5: Asia
This float would be led by a smaller peacock float and Arabian dancers. On one side, it would feature the palace of Agrabah with Aladdin en Jasmine standing in front in an Arabian garden. The backside would be a bamboo forest with Mulan as Ping and Mushu. At the back, ninja like dancers would follow. Every so often, a little bang would appear, similar to fireworks next to Mushu.
Float 6: North America
The front side would be Lightning McQueen in a Radiotor Springs setting, meaning a mountain like area. On the back side, the tree Grandmother Willow of Pocahontas would be featured with a canoe in which Pocahontas and Meeko reside. Indian dancers would follow at the back. Grandmother Willow her face now and then to greet the guests.
Float 7: South America
At the front, a deep jungle would be the setting with a real waterfall coming down. In front, you’d see Carl Fredrikson, Russell, an animatronic Kevin and Dug. At the back, a Mayan like temple would be visible with Emperor Kuzco sitting on it’s throne. Imperial guards of Kuzco would follow at the back. Dug would often freeze and call “Squirrel!”
Float 8: Oceania
The Sydney Opera house would be featured and bellow, a nice reef full of Finding Nemo characters would move along the scene. Nemo and Dory would obviously be clearly visible. Bubbles would appear every so often along side the float. Dory would oftenly start singing: “Just keep swimming”.
Float 9: Antarctica
An icy mountain float featuring Marshmallow at the back would represent Antartica. Of course, Elsa would be standing at the top and she would be able to move her hands and at the same time, ‘ice’ (steam) would erupt out of the sides.
Float 10: It’s A Small World
Introduced by dancers dressed in traditional clothing from all over the world, a float in the style of the it’s A small world building would appear at the end. The top tower would have a little court featuring Mickey and Minnie. At the bottom, a large circle would spin around the building on which several with several princess would wave at guests such as Aurora, Belle, Tiana, Cinderella, Snow White or Rapunzel. This could change every day and at least four would be waving at guests.

An important part would of course be the music. There would be a general song, which would be slightly adapted at every float, similar to the music of the Soundsational Parade. I know a lot of fans love just one general song, but I personally like that they use the songs from the movies as well. To me it’s more immersive when every float passes by.

Mitchell Pinder – Mitchell Pinder

The parade is called ‘The Favourites Parade’ and its based on Disney classics and Disneyland Paris historical moments and as Disney like to say ‘Starring all your favourite Disney characters!’

The parade starts out with a huge float dedicated to Duffy, its a float with lots of love heart related scenery, including Duffy’s friend Gelatoni dressed as cupid.

Shellie May will also join him on the float.

Then you will be transformed into the world of John Carter, where all your favourite characters from John Carter (We all love at least 5 don’t we? You’re not a true Disney fan if you can’t say your top 5!) dressed as modern day Star Wars characters (After all John Carter was billed as this generations Star Wars!) including Dejah dressed as a Primark version of C3PO, certainly not one to be missed! You may be thinking “What does this float look like?”, as this is a modern day Star Wars, we don’t feel that the Millenium Falcon fits in with 2017, so John and friends will be driving around in a Ford KA (Other reasonably priced cars are also available)

The third float celebrates the ever so successful Lego Store in Disney Village and the run up to its opening, Wreck It Ralph will feature on the float dressed as one of the builders, there will be a massive calendar and a bin on the float, which will have an Animagique styled effect with the bin fastly filling up with calendar pages, the roof on the float will collapse in show stops.

The fourth float will rewind guests back to 2014 as we remember Tiger gate, the float will be a huge grass patch, with Tigger occasionally bouncing up, but blink and you’ll miss it!

After this float its time for the princesses! Join Aurora as she sleeps through the entirity of the Armageddon ride!

Join us for our sixth float which celebrates the scrums! Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit and Geppetto will all be dressed in their rugby kits as they try and get a Princess Pavilion ticket.

The penultimate float will celebrate the lovely guests of Disneyland Paris, set in a minature version of Main Street USA, Daisy Duck is taking a selfie with her 17 foot selfie stick, Huey, Dewey and Louie are having a picnic on a grass verge, whilst Pinocchio and Lampwick recreate the famous smoking scene from their film, Robin Hood will also be on the float trying to steal some rolls from the breakfast buffet.

Last, but certainly not least, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Pluto and the Chipmunks will be waving to guests, although sadly guests will not be able to see them due to the green fences in the way.

Mark Turner

A 7 float parade themed to areas of the park. Main St USA would lead with Mickey and Minnie in their appropriate costumes. Dancers in Edwardian dress. The float is in 2 sections, food and music.

The 2nd float is Frontierland, Cowboys and Native Americans lead. The float is 2 sections, pioneer and thunder Mesa. Canoe, chip n Dale, Cowboy goofy, cancan,

3rd is adventure, Aladdin and Jasmine, Jack

4th is fantasyland, Peter Pan and Wendy. Princesses

5th is Discoveryland, steam punk inventions. Treasure Planet characters

6th is family, Donald and nephews playing

7th is holiday, lilo and stitch