Main Street Electrical Parade far exceeded my expectations

[mushu4ever]

To be honest I had low expectations for the MSEP, but I decided to catch the second showing on Friday 8/5 before I left the park because I could walk right up to a front row spot just before it started. It turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip!

The twinkling lights are really beautiful and there were heaps more floats than I expected. The snails/turtles actually made me laugh out loud with delight because I had no idea they could spin super fast and that they made such ridiculous noises! The sound track was also kind of fun and matched the vintage vibe.

I was lucky enough to interact with most of the characters and floats, perhaps because it was late and I wasn't filming the whole time. In response to my greetings of various kinds, some of the snails zoomed right up to me and gave me little head bobs, Cinderella asked me to twirl for her and I got curtseys, waves, blown kisses etc. It felt really special even as an adult and was such a lovely way to finish off my Disneyland vacation.

I know the MSEP isn't on for much longer, but I would highly recommend it for a bit of vintage magic.

 

[Pluto468]

It really is a wonderful parade! We were on our way out on our second day and we happened to be on Main St. for the second showing. We were right on the curb and had an amazing view. My kids loved it so much we watched it 4 more times over the course of our trip. I saw it years ago but kind of forgot how fun it is. Too bad it's leaving so soon!

 

[GenGen22]

It's one of my favorites. I've even made last minute weekend trip to go see it when they bring it for a special period of time. I absolutely love the turtles and snails and the music that goes along with it. It's just so special imo. I'm glad you gave it a chance and enjoyed it.

 

[Curiousporpoise]

We absolutely loved the MSEP and watched it 4 of the 5 nights we were there. My kids could not get enough of it, it was such a joy to see their little faces light up with Disney magic. We watched the late shows from the Small World side, and it was worth staying up for!

 

[longboard55]

The new princess float is pretty good

 

[soniam]

I know it's old and can't hold a candle to Paint the Night. However, it's still my sentimental favorite as it was the first nighttime parade I had ever seen when I was a kid. It was really amazing at the time.

 

[AustinTink]

We've been lucky to see it many times over the years. I'm so happy we will see it again before it leaves. Nighttime parades are my favorite part of Disney trips.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I am so happy to see this thread. We saw it on Friday night (I live-streamed it on FB DIS Unplugged), and one of the snails came up to me and kept bobbing. I had to laugh. I was 12 when it debuted, and am still delighted whenever I see it. My kids remember it from their youth, too, so it's pretty special to us.

 

[Genie+]

If the music doesn’t make you happy I hate to say it, but you were born without soul.

 

[AquaDame]

My very first memory of Disneyland was watching this with my babysitter. I'm certain there was more to the vacation than that, but I was young and this is what stood out the most I guess.

I'll always have a soft spot for this parade, I loved it then, loved it as a teenager and still love it as an adult. Very sad it is going away (again) before we're there for the Expo!

 

[GeneralTso]

Agree! it is absolutely delightful. So much nostalgia in this parade. I love it so much.
The updates and new floats are fantastic. I'm glad they didn't change/remove the gems from Snow White, that's my favorite.

We watched both shows. The first one from kind of far away and then sat on the curb for the second one. That first row, unobstructed view can not be topped.

 

[longboard55]

If you can last, it is much better to do the second. The first show gets way too crowded

 

[PirateBrigade]

Still my favorite parade, give me MSEP over the that other overly loud, brash, Owl City mini concert parade any day!

 

[mushu4ever]

It is so nice to hear everyone's thoughts on the parade and how for many of you it's a favourite childhood memory! As is probably obvious from my post, I had never seen it before though I hope to get a chance to do so again in the future.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I watched the Main Street Electrical Parade on Youtube this week and I can honestly say that Disneyland has turned a classic parade into a fine mess and they should've made some improvements to it. For one thing the iconic theme song is gone and replaced with a remix that sounds like music from The Sims and they should've brought the Baroque Hoedown original theme back and that would've made the parade better. Second I'm sure when you watched the parade you noticed this but I noticed this odd thing when I saw it on Youtube. It seems that they gave the characters voices through an ampilfied microphone and the characters lip sync what is said through the microphone as the float goes by. But Tinker Bell's float is so wonderful and it's nice to see Tinker Bell herself in the Main Street Electrical Parade on her own float. The last thing I have is WHY did Elliott get moved to the back of the parade and since he's the star of the Main Street Electrical Parade Elliott should've been the very first character float in the parade but I can say the inclusion of Encanto was a good choice to end the parade
If and when Disneyland plans to have Main Street Electrical Parade next year or in the future they should work on improvement to make the parade better
Dodger

 

[DodgerGirl]

This morning my mother got to see the Main Street Electrical Parade with me on Youtube again this morning and my mom was very disappointed with Main Street Electrical Parade and what she told me is that they put too many lights and the one thing my mom disliked is that the lights are so bright you couldn't even see the characters perform and my mom was disappointed with was the way they did the parade with Cinderella and when we watched the parade on Youtube my mother was shocked that you cannot even see Cinderella waving to the crowd and all that we could see was a shadow and the only visible thing was Cinderella's light-up gown. But my mom enjoyed the Tinker Bell float but just like Cinderella you never see Tinker Bell's face and her outfit is visible too. But my mom fell in love with the Elliott float and thought it was cute. The only princess you could see and they did a job well done on was Snow White and my mom was amazed at her float. Why Disneyland decided to bring back Main Street Electrical Parade i'll never understand because my mom was very disappointed with it also because it was too short and they should've made it longer. Now I understand why Main Street Electrical Parade was only at Disneyland for a short time last year and why people were disappointed with it when it came back
But as for me I'd grade it a C
Dodger

 

[DharmaLou]

I'm not sure what you were watching but Elliot has always been near the back. I thought what they did to spruce it up last year was perfect. Watching it on video does not compare to seeing it in person. I think it's perfect as it is, but someone will always complain

 

[starry_solo]

There have always been a lot of lights on the floats for MSEP in Disneyland. I remember when they sold the lights after closing the parade down and saying it was done here in DLR.

 

[Minuet888]

I the MSEP still there ???

 

[BrianL]

I the MSEP still there ???

It is not currently running. It was brought back for a special engagement last year. The made some changges and refurbishments though so it may come back. Later this month they will bring back the Magic Happens parade which had debuted just before the closure due to COVID and hd not returned.