The Main Street Electrical Parade Returns

After 21 years away from Disneyland Park, the Main Street Electrical Parade has come home for one final run now until Sunday, June 18th.  This classic beloved spectacular has dazzled Disneyland guests for generations, ever since its debut way back in 1972.  It laid the foundation for incredible nighttime parades that continues today with pieces like Tokyo Disneyland's Dreamlights and the Paint the Night Electrical Parade.  And though the Main Street Electrical Parade may look a little dated in comparison, watching those floats glide and whirl and bobble up and down Main Street really rekindles that magic of seeing this wonder as a child. 

Here is a slew (80, to be precise!) of photos of the Main Street Electrical Parade, taken last Saturday.  It might only be running for a few months, but its nice to have this nostalgic classic back home.

The familiar Casey Jr. Train rolls at the start of the Main Street Electrical Parade.

Goofy's the conductor.

No blue fairy, unfortunately.

But the classic drum is back, with Mickey and Minnie helming the float.

Also around, the adorable little spinning animal floats.

Twirling!!

Moving into an Alice in Wonderland motif...

Oh, it's Mr. Snail!

And Mr. Bee.

Such a happy buzzer.

Alice sits atop a toadstool.

There's the White Rabbit in front of her.

And the Cheshire Cat below her.

More bugs.

A green centipede.

And another snail!

The spinning turtle rocks.

It's so freaking cute.

Especially with the electro-synthomagnetic warbles.

Then again, they all make those sounds.

Cinderella comes next, with her rodent pals in front.

They sure look fancy!

Cinderella's carriage.

Cinderella is inside, her Fairy Godmother is outside.

Interacting with the crowd.

Dance of the royal court.

Those dresses are incredibly dated, but they're still charming.

Close-up of a dancer.

Speaking of Charming, here's Prince so-and-such.

On the other end of the float, Anastasia (and Drizella).

Afterwards comes Peter Pan. Here's Big Ben as its own float.

The Chicken of the Sea pirate ship comes down in battle.

The battle is on board, though.

Peter and Hook engage in a duel.

"Blast this hook!"

Smee paddles frantically behind his captain.

You never know when he'll have to save Cappy from Tick Tock!

After this comes the Tinker Bell float.

I snapped a ton of photos because I loved all of her expressions.

They were super cute.

She's so excited!!!

Love the smile.

"Why do people love me? I dunno."

*sheepish grin*

The float itself is pretty fantastic too.  Quite colorful!

A pure expression of excitement.

After Peter Pan comes Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Dwarf #1: Dopey.

He's got the long mine cart of jewels.

Just rolling, Dopey! Rolling!

That's gotta be a lot of bling.

Quite a lot.

Snow White, captured in a moment of bokeh.

The other dwarves are behind.

Don't fall asleep!

Hi Ho!

Rounding out the old Disney classics is the Pinocchio segment.

Pinocchio revels along with his trouble-making friends.

They dance along all through Main Street (and the parade route).

And there's always the Pleasure Island float.

Scarring children with its creepy smile since 1972.

He's... a little unnerving.

As we near the end, we come upon the float most associate with this beloved parade.

It's Pete's Dragon!

There's Pete.

The dragon is Elliott.

He's quite luminous!

"Say 'hello,' Elliott!"

I think that's his hello.

"Elliott, you're silly!"

Elliott's got a nice lantern at his tail too.

Nearly full side profile.

Last but not least, the float to celebrate the country.

The red white and blue float.

This one's very long.

It's a big, billow flag.

Or bacon, depending on how you look at it.

The dancers are great.

And though this float definitely shows its age in technology, it's still a dazzling display!