What happened to the Electric Light Parade?

[snoodledoo]

Hi! I'm new to the board, so please pardon me if this is very basic info, but what happened to the Electric Light Parade? We are going next month and I don't see it on the schedule. Thanks!

 

[crazymomof 4]

They are closing it for about 9 months for what they call "scaling back," I have also heard it may run for the Holiday break. Either way it is very dissapointing.

 

[gssmks]

Hi! I am also new to this board, and I have acquired a lot of information. Unfortunately, I keep finding out about more and more attraction closing for the time that I will be there. I am planning a five day stay at Disneyland Hotel beginning March 9, 2005. I have found out that the Snow White show will be closed, Pirates of the Carribean and the Monorail will not be running and now this. Does anyone know of any other closings? I will probably be rescheduling my trip, because in addition to this closing, I am also told that Fantasmic will only showing on weekends, and I am not scheduled to be there on any weekend nights. I can't believe that so many shows and attractions would be down during the big 50th Anniversary Party.

 

[gssmks]

Hi again! can you believe that the very first thread that I viewed after my last post here was discussing the fact that California Screaming is closeed right now also. It's closed indefinitely due to an accident that happened in July. There is a possibility that it will still be closed during my trip. I am so disappointed.

 

[snoodledoo]

That's too bad! We only get to go every 4 years, so hopefully my favorite ride won't be closed. As of now, it is not scheduled.

 

[brenda1966]

I'm SO disappointed as well. HAve been waiting years to see this parade again. A little bit of salt in the wound: in my latest Happy Meal they have 3-D cards with Disney scenes -- I got one what was the Electric Parade. How frustrating that they are issuing cards for entertainment that is currently mothballed.

I encourage everyone to write an email to Disney. I did and it took them a long time to respond. Here's what they said:

Thank you for your e-mail to the Disneyland Resort.

Even without Disney's Electrical Parade, we offer more than sixty attractions and an ongoing list of
live entertainment. Guest demand mandates the amount of entertainment available on a given day. This
guideline is used here at the Disneyland Resort, as well as Walt Disney World. Please be assured
that it is not our intention to inconvenience our Guests.

Around the time of your upcoming visit, we will be offering "Remember ... Dreams Come True"
Fireworks Spectacular on Fridays and Saturdays, Fantasmic! on Fridays through Sundays, Walt Disney's
Parade of Dreams daily, Block Party Bash on Fridays through Tuesdays, Disney's Aladdin - A Musical
Spectacular on Wednesdays through Sundays, and Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage! daily. While these
are the major entertainment offerings, we also offer many other smaller shows and productions that
you may enjoy. We feel that during your stay there will be a good variety of entertainment offerings
for you to view. We will share your feedback with the necessary leaders for their review.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. We hope your upcoming visit will be magical in every
way.

Sincerely,

 

[Brina78]

Oh, so it is coming back? I heard from my family that the Electrical Parade was moved to Hong Kong permanently! I guess I should email The Disneyland Co. if I really want to know info!

 

[dletz]

There are 2 sets of electrical parade floats. The original set is at DCA, with the other set in Hong Kong. Snow white will be coming back next summer, the date of june 9th sticks in my head but I could be wrong about that. Electric parade has gone seasonal and should be showing near xmas. Fantasmic and Fireworks are weekends only off season.

Donna

 

[snoodledoo]

I got the same card, which is what got me thinking about it!

 

[HydroGuy]

Rumors are that the DEP at DCA will be back up Dec 16 for a few weeks, and then down again indefinitely.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi! I am also new to this board, and I have acquired a lot of information. Unfortunately, I keep finding out about more and more attraction closing for the time that I will be there. I am planning a five day stay at Disneyland Hotel beginning March 9, 2005. I have found out that the Snow White show will be closed, Pirates of the Carribean and the Monorail will not be running and now this. Does anyone know of any other closings? I will probably be rescheduling my trip, because in addition to this closing, I am also told that Fantasmic will only showing on weekends, and I am not scheduled to be there on any weekend nights. I can't believe that so many shows and attractions would be down during the big 50th Anniversary Party.

Sorry to sound harsh, but if you want to visit DL when all (or most) of the rides and shows are running, you should plan for summer. If you want to go when the lines are shorter, plan for off-season. If you do not have schedule flexibility, you have to live with what's available.

DLR works year round to make sure all rides and shows are running in the summer high season. If for no other reason, this helps disburse the crowds across more attractions and keeps lines as short as possible.

Many folks say to stay away from DL during summer, but for the benefit of others here let me say why I think summer is the best time to visit.

1. All or most of the rides and shows are running. Shows run every day. Fantasmic runs twice each night. The Parade of Dreams ran twice each day this summer.

2. Park hours are long. For DL, 8AM-midnight. For DCA, 10AM-10PM this past summer.

3. The weather is generally agreeable. While hot (occasional 100 degree highs, frequent highs in the low 90's), it almost never rains and you can and should wear shorts and tee-shirts from morning until midnight. And getting wet on Splash Mountain or Grizzly River Run is a welcome relief, not an annoyance.

Summer trips work best if you stay at a hotel within easy walking distance, and take a break in the afternoon for a swim and nap when the lines are longest and the temperature highest.

 

[All Aboard]

Hydroguy, I'll play the other side of the argument and not try to sound too harsh. This isn't just any other off-season. It's still part of the 50th anniversary celebration. For Disney to take this much down and reduce fireworks and Fantasmic as much as they did really came as a shock to me. Any other year, ok. But this one?

 

[HydroGuy]

Hydroguy, I'll play the other side of the argument and not try to sound too harsh. This isn't just any other off-season. It's still part of the 50th anniversary celebration. For Disney to take this much down and reduce fireworks and Fantasmic as much as they did really came as a shock to me. Any other year, ok. But this one?

Well, they do need to take some rides down now and then (it's hard to have everything up for 18 months straight). And there are many fewer rides planned to be down than normal during the off-season. Only POTC and possibly Monorail. As for the shows and fireworks, I think DL has issues with fireworks noise year round with residents, and that may limit them. The one area where it is easier to agree with you is parades and Fantasmic. I would think they would try harder to have these going every day/night during off-season for the 50th anniversary.

 

[gssmks]

Thank you gcurling. You expressed my feeling exactly. It is not the 50th Anniversary of Disney or even of Walt Disney World. It is the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. I thought that Disney would put forth every effort to keep everything up and running for this special event. From what I have found, there will be more attractions down at the two parks in California during this winter season than there will be in all four of the Florida parks during the same period of time. I just expected the focus to be on Disneyland. I normally go to WDW. We planned this trip to Disneyland just to be a part of the celebration. Unfortunately, our dates are not flexible. This is my daughter's spring break, and we have a Disney Cruise booked for September so I would not be able to take the additional time off work. I am strongly considering just going on back to WDW.

 

[brenda1966]

gssmks, I encourage you to write to Disneyland (you can get their email from their web site) and let them know how you feel, especially if you change your vacation to WDW. They need to hear this!

I've felt very discouraged to see commercials for WDW on TV about the "50th anniversay". Hello, it's Disneyland's 50th! Not WDW. I live in a state closer to DL but the ads seem geared to WDW.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thank you gcurling. You expressed my feeling exactly. It is not the 50th Anniversary of Disney or even of Walt Disney World. It is the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. I thought that Disney would put forth every effort to keep everything up and running for this special event. From what I have found, there will be more attractions down at the two parks in California during this winter season than there will be in all four of the Florida parks during the same period of time. I just expected the focus to be on Disneyland. I normally go to WDW. We planned this trip to Disneyland just to be a part of the celebration. Unfortunately, our dates are not flexible. This is my daughter's spring break, and we have a Disney Cruise booked for September so I would not be able to take the additional time off work. I am strongly considering just going on back to WDW.

In years past when I have gone to DL in off-season, they have had 4-6 rides down for refurb. Now we are talking about two. POTC and Monorail. Are there others? Monorail is going down to support the Nemo Submarine ride in 2007. If they do not do that, it will thus affect Nemo.

And no rides in DCA will be down for refurb, except for possibly California Screamin. So that is two rides for the two parks, and that only for three months while POTC is down. The other months thru the end of the 50th it will be one ride down (Monorail).

It sounds to me like they are doing everything to have as many rides up as possible for the 50th. Does WDW operate all four parks all off-season with only a maximum of one ride down among them at a time? I have never been there, so I do not know. But that sounds very difficult.

 

[gssmks]

Hello brenda1966!

I think I will e-mail Disneyland. The advertisements are geared toward WDW. In fact, when we first started planning this trip, my secretary argued with me over whether or not it was DL's or WDW's anniversary. Her argument was that all the commercials say WDW. I had to sign on the internet to prove to her that it was in fact DL who is celebrating. A friend of mine is planning a trip to WDW in early Summer 2006. I tried to get them to go to DL with us because of the celebration. They wouldn't change their plans. They said according to the advertisements, most of the special events are taking place at WDW and you can buy golden mouse ears at either park. To me, the whole point is to be at the park where it all began. Maybe I'm making more of it than I should. It's just that we got so excited about it and now it seems that we are more excited about it than Disney is.