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Yesterday saw the premier of the brand new day parade at Disneyland Park in California. Soundsational is the much anticipated replacement for the former beloved Parade of Dreams.
A Magic Kingdom park without a regular day parade appeared to be a new low in standards at the Resort, and fans have waited a full two years for their wishes to be realised.
Although we have three weeks until we see the parade in person, I have studied multiple videos taken from different angles, and a lot of close up photos that have been posted online since last night.
Here are a couple of videos to get you started:
I have to say that overall I like the parade. I like the music – it’s very upbeat – and I like a lot of the new outfits. I think that there are some different characters which are very welcomed – such as Panchito and Jose, and I like the fact that it was built brand new and not revamped from a tired old parade (mentioning no names *cough* Magic Kingdom…) but there are a few things that are a bit of a let-down.
The most obvious thing to me was the size of the floats and their lack of dimension. I cannot argue that they are not well themed and detailed, but they really seem to be very “thin”, for the want of a better word. Maybe I will prove myself wrong next month when I see it, but I guess I am used to seeing Paris’s parade so many times a year that I just get used to the size and grandeur of their floats. But like I said, they are detailed and colourful, so that is good.
The next thing that struck me (and I had to re-watch the videos, counting as it played) is the lack of characters. I counted just 27, plus a lot of performers. In comparison, the Magic Kingdom’s (albeit god-awful) parade features 45 plus performers, Tokyo has 42 plus performers, and Disneyland Paris trumps them all with a massive 46 plus performers. Hong Kong as far as I know features just 25 plus performers, but I’ll come onto my thoughts on that in a moment.
It seemed to lack some real key characters, such as the Pooh friends, the PIXARs’ and some older classics such as Pinocchio and Alice. Throwing in the Brer’s or some Villains would have been nice, too.
I did like the new Princess outfits; I loved the new subtler tone of Belle’s dress, and the more pale blue colour of Cinderella’s. I wish the Princes had been put with the Princesses though.
The new look Panchito and Jose are going to take some getting used to – especially Panchito.
I was disappointed that all Donald got was a new hat.
I love the fact that Mickey is now a talking head Mickey – the first time this has ever happened in a regular day parade – but it is peculiar seeing him speak, and on the same float having Minnie who does not!
And then we come to the “finale”, or lack of! The parades usually finish up by having a float with some of the more popular Disney pals waving as they leave, but this one has Mary and Bert on horses, then a great big float full of musicians. Then that was it. It just lost it for me; there was no rounding up of the parade. No grand finale, waving goodbye to the classic furry friends. I think that as a finale, this float should be switched around with the princess or Tiana one. At least they looked better! (Speaking of which, I loved the way the designers made the paddlewheel on Tiana’s boat a tambourine!)
Compared to what Disneyland has been used to - which was no parade at all, and for a time, the worst thing to ever hit the streets of a Disney Park – Celebrate! A Street Party – then this parade stands out head and shoulders above that. Jon pointed out that if Disneyland had gone straight from the Parade of Dreams to this, then people may be disappointed, but after two years with no parade/Celebrate!, then it is a massive improvement for sure!
Let's take a look at how Soundsational holds up against the other parades of the world.
Since 2007 Disneyland Paris has featured the beautiful Once Upon a Dream Parade.
With eight floats and a lot of varied characters, nearly all classics, with just a few PIXARs’ and recent princesses thrown in, the parade has enjoyed massive success since day one. Replacing the much loved, but very well worn Wonderful World of Disney Parade, Once Upon a Dream really was a dream come true for the European Park. It sets the bar high for all the other parks, and is a hard act to follow.
Earlier this year Hong Kong Disneyland received a brand new parade for its 5th anniversary. We have not seen this parade, but here a video from YouTube that shows just how wonderful it is.
I said above that it also lacked characters – featuring less than Soundsational – but it makes up for it in its amazing detail and design. I love the airship/Mickey float and the Tinker Bell one. I want one of those airships!!
The floats are really colourful and pretty, and the character costumes are lovely.
Tokyo Disneyland has had Jubilation for three years. Jubilation probably has some of the most extravagant floats from any Disney parade ever! The Mickey and Pinocchio floats are especially amazing.
Then we have the Magic Kingdom's parade. Celebrate a Dream Come True has had more incarnations than one cares to recall. Their crystal castle float is as old as I am – and there is photographic proof of that! The Magic Kingdom parade is the worst parade currently on offer at and Magic Kingdom style park.
I don’t want to criticise Soundsational before it has even begun, but as you can see, it could have been better – but it could have been a lot worse too! I think that Disneyland will very rapidly forget the Celebrate! days, and hopefully will continue on its course of having fresh new parades that are colourful and different. I also hope that this leads the Magic Kingdom to get their act together and finally get a new parade – not one that is just renamed and rescored.
So, welcome Soundsational to the world of Disney, and long may this trend in new and upbeat parades continue!
Let me know what your thoughts are, and if you agree or disagree with me by hitting the Discuss button at the bottom of this post! There is also a poll about your favourite parade!
Dan. |