Chapter 33 – Magic Kingdom – Parades 2010’s                      posted 3/22/20

Magic Kingdom Parades
The 2010 decade has seen some of the most exotic, colorful and elaborate parades so far. Themes, Costumes, Choreography, Pyrotechnics, Music, and Mechanics were rolled into the parades of the 2010’s. Let’s explore these Magic Kingdom’s Parades and visualize the fabulous Disney entertainment presented by the Imagineers.
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Parade Route for the mid-day Parades
List of Parades of the Magic Kingdom:
 
In Chapter 29 – we presented Magic Kingdom Parades that started in the 1970’s
  • Grand Opening Day Parade October 25, 1971
  • Character Parade October 1971 - December 1971
  • Christmas Parade 1971 - present
  • Character Parade (Pooh for President)1972
  • Happy Easter Parade Easter only 1972 – 1998
  • Character Parade 1973-1974
  • Character Cavalcades1974-1975, 1977-1978
  • America on Parade June 1975 - September 1976
  • Mickey Mouse Club Parade September 1976 - June 1977
  • Main Street Electrical Parade (evening parade) 1977–1991, 1999–2001, 2010–2016
  • Mickey's 50th Birthday Parade November 1978 - December 1978
  • Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade/ Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade Christmas only 1978 – present
  • Dumbo's Circus Parade January 1979 - December 1979
 
In the previous Chapter 30 – we viewed Magic Kingdom parades that started in the 1980’s
  • Pinocchio Parade January 1980 - June 1980
  • Tencennial Parade October 1981 - September 1982
  • Mickey Mouse Character Parade October 1982 - May 1984
  • Donald's 50th Birthday Parade May 1984 - December 1984
  • Mickey's Street Party January 1985 - November 1986
  • 15 Years of Magic October 1986 - September 1987
  • Spirit of America September 1987 - November 1988
  • Mickey's All-American Birthday Parade November 1988 - November 1989
  • Disney Character Hit Parade October 1989 - September 1991
 
In Chapter 31 - Magic Kingdom parades that started in the 1990’s 
  • 20th Anniversary Surprise Celebration Parade September 1991 - December 1992
  • Surprise Celebration Parade January 1993 – June 1994
  • SpectroMagic (evening parade)1991 - 1999, 2001 - 2010
  • Mickey's Christmas Cavalcade 1993/1994 – 2006
  • Mickey Mania June 1994 - September 1996
  • Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary "Remember the Magic" Parade October 1996 – January 1998
  • Magical Moments Parade February 1998 - September 2001
  • Mickey's Boo to You Parade(during the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party) 1996- present
 
In Chapter 32 - we followed the Magic Kingdom parades that started in the 2000’s
  • Share a Dream Come True Parade October 2001 - August 2006
  • Main Street Trolley Parade (morning event) February 2003 – present
  • Disney Dreams Come True Parade August 2006 - January 2009
  • Disney's Enchanted Adventures 2007-2009
 
Chapter 33 - Magic Kingdom parades that represented the 2010’s (current chapter)
  • Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade January 2009 - January 2014
  • Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party February 2009 – October 23, 2014
  • Festival of Fantasy Parade March 2014 - present
  • Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play it! Street Party October 24, 2014 – December 1, 2018
  • Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party January 18, 2019 - Present
  • Rainy Day Character Cavalcade
 
Then in Chapter 34 – the `Magic Kingdom Christmas Parades from 1971 to present will be toured. (plans are complete this Chapter toward the end of this year)
  • Christmas Parades in the Magic Kingdom 1971-present
We left off in the previous Chapter with the Share a Dream Come True Parade in 2001 and Disney Dreams Come True Parade in 2006 were the daytime parades at the Magic Kingdom, both of these Parades were very similar. In 2009 and through the first half of 2010’s, the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade was presented which was a continuation of the Dreams Come True theme.  In the 2010's the Magic Kingdom added a Party atmosphere to the Parades by presenting the Street Parties.
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade January 2009 - January 2014

Let;s get into the parade mode with the sound track from the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade.
 
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade included the What Will You Celebrate? Theme.
 
Note:  The “What Will You Celebrate?” Promotion 2009
This promotion was launched in 2009 where Guests could receive free admission to one of the Walt Disney World on their birthday or other Birthday surprises during the Celebration. 
Float Units

Opening Float
The Celebrate parade started with an opening banner and a grand marshal float.
It Was All Started by a Mouse Float
In the Celebrate parade, Mickey's float appeared as a present. Minnie Mouse joined him and Chip, Dale, and Pluto surrounded the floats.
Wish Upon a Star Float
Pinocchio stood atop the platform with Jiminy Cricket beneath him. On the back of the float was Snow White and Dopey. Foulfellow, Gideon and Geppetto followed along.
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A Hundred Thousand Dreams to See Float
Aladdin sits on top of the float, sitting on the Magic Carpet, with Genie right beside him.
Preceding the float were Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger with balloons and kites. Bernard and Bianca from The Rescuers rest on the Genie's Lamp. Dumbo and Mr. Stork on the float. On the back of the float is Mary Poppins on the rooftops of London with Bert.
Genie, Jafar, and Abu were part of the characters that walked with the float.
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As Long as There is Imagination Left in the World Float
Peter Pan rode on this float with some friends, Wendy, Alice and The Mad Hatter. The White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were part of the street characters around the float.
On top of the float was a snow globe containing a crystal castle with a carousel of Disney characters.
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Happily Ever After Float
The multi-tiered float featured Cinderella, Prince Charming, and Fairy Godmother on the first float, Belle and Beast on the second, and Ariel and Prince Eric on the third. Each float had a piece of scenery that matched images of the movies.
 Perla and Suzy along with Lady Tremaine, Anastasia Tremaine, and Drizella Tremaine were street characters.
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Celebrate Today Float
This float was decorated in clouds and castles.
Baloo and King Louie from the Jungle Book were on the front of the float with Goofy, and Donald residing on the middle and back of the float.
The Three Good Fairies, Woody, Jessie, Lilo and Stitch were added as street characters.
 Over the course of the Celebrate Parade 2009 – 2014 there were many changes with the floats and placement of the characters. See the differences between the beginning and the last parade performance on the following videos.
2009 Version                                                                                                                                         2013 Version
Reference:
Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party February 2009 – October 2014
 
In 2009 the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party was added to the daily lineup of entertainment events at the Magic Kingdom theme park. It’s more of a Parade that breaks into a Party and it performed three times a day. 
The Party consisted of caravan of floats, characters, dancers and stilt walkers.
The street party began on Town Square by the Firehouse and paraded up Main Street before stopping around the plaza at the foot of Cinderella Castle.

The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party had it's own upbeat dance music.
The five floats that made up the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party were decked out as gift-wrapped packages.
Atop the lead float was a Host who explains how to Party: “We're all here to mark this special occasion."
The Host also introduces characters that rise above the other four floats: Aladdin's Genie, Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, Sebastian (the crab from The Little Mermaid) and Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, Woody, Jesse and lots more! And of course Mickey, and Minnie!
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When the parade stops in the hub, that’s where the fun began. Characters got off the floats and took to the streets for a dance party with Disney guests. They led guests through several bits of choreography and kept things hopping. The performers and characters interacted with the crowds. It was really a high energy show.

Then the street party would rolls back down Main St.
 
Note: There were Hidden Mickeys in the dancer costumes.

References:
Festival of Fantasy Parade March 2014 – present

The Festival of Fantasy Parade started in the Magic Kingdom in 2014.
 
The theme for this breathtaking parade was to celebrate the New Fantasyland expansion and showcase favorite characters in creative and magical ways! The floats in this parade are state of the art and interactive.
 
Characters that you will see staring in this parade are Elsa, Anna, Cinderella, Belle and many, many more. The floats showcase characters such as Ariel, Peter Pan, Merida, Rapunzel and many more.
The centerpiece of this parade is Maleficent present as a real size, fire breathing clockwork dragon!
 
This parade is a must see for people at the Magic Kingdom. This is an incredible parade.
The parade has a new original soundtrack that will feature beloved songs from favorite Disney films, plus a parade theme song. Mark Hammond, whose previous work includes Disney California Adventure’s World of Color and Hong Kong Disneyland’s Flights of Fantasy Parade, composed the musical score for the Festival of Fantasy Parade.
The Festival of Fantasy parade at the Magic Kingdom is one of the most impressive parades ever presented by Walt Disney.  It takes lots of cast members to run this parade. It took well over 100 cast members.  9 floats makes up this parade. 
Disney's Festival of Fantasy Parade presents stories through a spectacle fleet of fantastical floats and most elaborate costume creations.
Parade Floats
Princess Garden: The Princess Garden Float is an impressive 50+ feet long garden of topiaries with woodland creatures, birds, and more. This pageantry celebrates Disney royalty.  On this float guests will see Belle and Beast, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Anna and Elsa, and Princess Tiana and Naveen. 
 
Cinderella’s dress playfully twirls like a turntable, while Swan Court couples lead float.
The is constructed to rotate, this way guests can see each of the Princesses.
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Tangled Unit: is based on the 2010 animated film. A massive long ship on the high seas presents Flynn Rider and Rapunzel in search of adventure. Rapunzel’s iconic tresses weave throughout this 36-foot-long float. The float was also decked out with swaying pendulums carrying dastardly thugs.

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The Little Mermaid Unit: is based on the 1989 animated film. Ariel and her friends sit atop a colorfully seashell music box that boasts an enchanting musical celebration. Under the Sea float has conga dancing fish kicking up their fins and bubbles galore. Glittering fabrics and intricately designed costumes for the Lion Fish, Coral Fish, Seashell, and Sea Horse performers.
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Peter Pan Unit: Straight from Neverland came Peter Pan and Wendy Darling soaring high aboard the famous Jolly Roger pirate ship complete with smoke effects and special surprises. A rainbow arch shines over Skull Rock and Tinker Bell nestled among giant flowers, Captain Hook takes center stage on a swinging anchor. The Lost Boys kicking up with high-energy choreography, with Tick-Tock the Crocodile from Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade (Chapter 31) in pursuit.
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Brave Unit: Celtic couples and a vessel shaped like an enormous bagpipe, is based on the 2012 Disney and Pixar film, announcing the arrival of Merida perched high on her majestic crown. Scottish dancers step to melodies of the Great Highlands in celebration.
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Sleeping Beauty Unit: On this float guests see heroic Prince Phillip battles a steampunk-inspired Maleficent in her dragon form. This impressive float stretches 53 feet in length and 26 feet tall with a prickly spinning wheel dead center of the float. With fiery eyes and glowing effects the spectacular dragon was built on an articulating chassis allowing the float to bend and flex as it moves along the parade route. This is a first for Disney parades.
Disney imagineers partnered with a Tony Award-winning designer, Michael Curry, to help with the design that was used to develop this steampunk rendition of Maleficent as a dragon. The dragon is a fire-breathing dragon, for a perfect effect to bring the magic to life.
Thorn-inspired stilt performers, dramatic raven dancers, and the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, glide along the parade route. The Maleficent dragon float is one of the most remarkable and most talked about floats.
click on photo to enlarge
Walking behind were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice, The White Rabbit and The Mad Hatter, and Jiminy Cricket.
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Finale & Mickey’s Airship Floats: The parade culminates with a 90-foot-long magical caravan of characters featuring Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Alice in Wonderland, Pluto and more characters and cast members in splashy carnival of color.
The long Finale float is led off by Pinocchio riding on top of Monstro the whale.
The second part of this long float consists of Pegasus horses, Ostriches, Hippos, Elephants, and Alligators from Fantasia.
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Following were Goofy and the sassy Bubble Girls with cotton-candy-like hair celebrating Storybook Circus in New Fantasyland.
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In the last Float, sporting colorful new costumes, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse sit sky high in Mickey’s Airship — a giant hot air balloon that rounds out. Mickey’s Airship float is the tallest float in the parade. The float towers over the crowd with the top of the float reaching 32 feet high.  It is designed to look like a huge hot air balloon with characters from Fantasia sculpted around the base. Mickey and Minnie ride in the basket under the balloon and greet all of the guests along the streets.
Disney Imagineering created each and every one of the elaborate costume creations that were worn in the parade by the characters and by the various dancers with extensive detail.  They even had custom fabrics designed and created exclusively for these costumes.  For most of the dancers, it took as much as 30 yards of fabric just to make one costume.  Minnie’s dress and hat, has 95 dots on it which were cut out, individually decorated and bedazzled, and then each one was then sewn on individually.  What detail.
 
This parade is so mesmerizing that you may miss the attention to detail that the Disney Imagineers had painstakingly taken in everything from the characters to their floats.
 
Note: The parade design is the creative work of Parade Designer Richard Improta, Creative Director Steven Davison and Managing Producer Kris Bunner. Steven is Lead Creative Executive of Parades and Spectaculars for Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, and is responsible for the overall creative direction of daytime parades, firework displays, and nighttime spectaculars at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. Mark Hammond, whose previous work includes Disney California Adventure’s World of Color and Hong Kong Disneyland’s Flights of Fantasy Parade, designed the musical score.
Music
  • Theme song: "Festival of Fantasy"
Other songs featured during the Parade:
  • PRINCESSES UNIT
    • "Beauty and the Beast" / "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" / "For the First Time in Forever" & "Let It Go" (replaced "Once Upon a Dream" since May 1, 2014)
  • TANGLED UNIT
    • "I've Got a Dream" / "When Will My Life Begin"
  • THE LITTLE MERMAID UNIT
    • "Kiss the Girl" / "Part of Your World" / "Under the Sea"
  • PETER PAN UNIT
    • "A Pirate's Life" / "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" / "The Elegant Captain Hook" / "The Second Star to the Right" / "Following the Leader"
  • BRAVE UNIT
    • "Remember to Smile" / "Fate and Destiny" / "Touch the Sky"
  • SLEEPING BEAUTY UNIT
    • "A Cottage in the Woods"  / "Battle With the Forces of Evil" / "Hail to the Princess Aurora" / "Once Upon a Dream"
  • FINALE UNIT
    • "Mickey Mouse Club March" / "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" / "When You Wish Upon a Star" / "I've Got No Strings" / "Whistle While You Work" / "When I See an Elephant Fly"
Parade Script:
Source:
Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play it! Street Party October 2014 – December 2018
In the Fall of 2014 the former Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party was renamed the Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play it! Street Party.

As its predecessor it wasn’t just a parade, but also a street party, with characters dressed in late 90s costumes, dancing to current music, encouraging crowd interaction, and riding on top of what looks like huge birthday presents.
 
The new Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party Parade and includes new floats, more Disney characters than ever before and some new interactive elements.
During the party, guests could get to see characters that are from different animated Disney and Pixar movies.  Characters that might be seen included: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Woody (Toy Story), Jessie (Toy Story), Chip & Dale, Judy Hopps (Zootopia), Nick Wilde (Zootopia), Baloo (Jungle Book), King Louie (Jungle Book) and Phineas, Ferb, Donald Duck, the Genie (Aladdin), Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles), Frozone (The Incredibles), Stitch (Lilo & Stitch), Goofy, The Mad Hatter (Alice and Wonderland), Lumiere (Beauty and the Beast), Sebastian (The Little Mermaid) and more. 
The characters change at times or include other characters that guests might not see elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom to meet and greet.
Picture
Phineas
Several of the floats had video display screen. The screens flashed sayings like, “Can you move it like this?” to get the audience involved and dancing.
Many of the Disney characters, like Stitch, Phineas and Ferb would bolt into the streets to show off their moves to get the crowd moving and grooving during the fun.
 
As the previous parade, Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It!, it also stopped right in the middle of the plaza in front of Cinderella Castle, and a fun-filled dance party complete with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and other Disney favorites would follow.
 
The best part of the new Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! was the interactive elements that allowed guests to actually pick the songs played in the parade. Parade followers were given a choice of 3 songs.
 
The song with the loudest applause won and would be the next song played.
The video screens would provide the lyrics to the songs so that guests could sing along, if guests didn't know the words.
 
Guests were encouraged to take selfies while at the parade and share them on Instagram using the #MoveItShakeItPics. During the finale song guests photos would be chosen and seen on the video screens.
 
The “Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It!” Street Party parade could be seen several times daily at Magic Kingdom.
 
References:
Kobo Inc.
Move It! Shake It! MouseKeDance It! Street Party January 2019 - Present
 
Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party premiered in 2009 which began a new Magic Kingdom tradition, to be redesigned and revised as the years progressed. In 2014, the production changed into Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It!, allowing Guests to choose which pop song would play in the show’s finale. Now in 2019 we have a new Street Party Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Move It!. Shake It! MousekeDance It! Party was debuted as part of Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration, a celebration of Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday with a park-wide event that took place in Magic Kingdom through September 2019.
The street party called Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! featured Mickey and Minnie in their all-new birthday attire.
Mouseketeers of the surprise celebration are paraded up Main St. USA, in a colorful musical procession, with a host of rare characters following behind them.
Disney characters featured in the parade included Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Clarabelle Cow and on the bottom of the floats are José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles (Donald's Float), Horace Horsecollar and Clarice (Clarabelle‘s Float) Chip and Dale (Daisy's float) and Pluto and Max Goof (Goofy's float).
Picture
Clarabelle Cow
This new version of the Celebration parade, Mickey and Minnie’s float parks right in front of Cinderella's Castle, where the two dance to the celebration’s new songs.
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Additionally, the rest of the parade’s cast member and characters all have brand new birthday attire to match with Mickey and Minnie.
Guests were invited into the street to dance and sing with all of the Disney characters.
 The Street Party that has had guests dancing in front of Cinderella’s Castle since 2009. For Mickey’s 90th celebration there were a few new changes. These changes included the hosts keeping guests hopping along while they boogie to the new, original song “It’s a Good Time” and the soundtrack with remixed versions of Mickey Mouse songs.
 According to Choreographer Cindy Wilson, “The ‘Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It!’ Street Party was a throwback to the Mickey Mouse Club, with wonderful music that everybody’s going to want to get up and dance to, and it’s contemporary at the same time.
Magic Kingdom Park – Mickey & Minnie’s Surprise Celebration!
If seeing Mickey and Minnie in a parade isn’t enough, visitors could get close and personal view with the pair at their meet and greet in Town Square Theater. This is where guests can meet and greet with the famous lovebirds and pose for pictures, all while seeing the iconic duo in their new birthday attire.
 
Mickey & Minnie’s Surprise Celebration honors those true originals, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, with new entertainment, merchandise, and specialty food and beverages.
The party starts at Celebration Central, located inside Town Square Theater on Main Street, U.S.A., where you can sign the Celebration Guest Book and pick up a fun checklist of ten ways to celebrate Mickey and Minnie during your day in the park.
Also at Town Square Theater, the world’s most famous couple preparing for a big show invited guests to head backstage for a Meet & Greet.
The celebration was in high gear several times daily with the “Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It!” Street Party rolling into the Central Plaza in front of Cinderella's Castle.
 
Also, a part of the celebration,
 
All along Main Street, U.S.A., the Dapper Dans, the Casey’s Corner piano player, the Main Street Philharmonic and the Citizens of Main Street got into the fun with more performances of extraordinary musical moments that honored Mickey and Minnie’s surprise celebration from January to September 2019.
Special characters stopped by the Magic Kingdom each day, like Phineas and Ferb, Robin Hood and Little John, Nick and Judy from “Zootopia,” and more.
Rainy Day Character Cavalcade
Florida weather is very unpredictable, but there can be some really heavy rainfall. When it rains around parade-time the Magic Kingdom replaces the normal parade with a 'Rainy Day Cavalcade'. A slightly shorter parade with all your favorite Disney characters and lots of rainy day cheer.
 
This parade isn’t one that guests get the opportunity to see every day. The music is great and the characters are all piled up into Main Street, U.S.A. vehicles.
Cast Members accompany the vehicles and characters and don their rainy day gear: bright yellow slickers and black galoshes!
 
The gazebo carries several terrific friends, including Woody, Jessie, Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde!
This fun parade of characters doesn’t have the grandeur of regular parades, but in a way, this is a special experience all on its own.

Research:
Well we've reached the end of the 2010 decade of parades. Yes, the Magic Kingdom and Parade Imagineers out did themselves in some of the most imaginative performances. Now as we enter a new decade, we'll wait and see where where the parade entertainment will go.
Afterword:
WDWMousing.com is designed to be a tour of Walt Disney World through photos. We have been to Walt Disney World countless times over the past 25 years and accumulated a magnitude of photos in that time. This website is an intention to combine two of our favorite pastimes, Walt Disney World and photography, and provide an insightful pictorial tour.
While doing so, we've done an extensive research of the internet and literary sources for background information on each area and attraction. The information is available, but most bits and pieces are scattered all over. WDWMousing doesn't intend to rewrite the stories, legends or data, but to try and collect it into one location with references and links to the original articles and authors, giving rightful credit. We've stumbled through quite a bit of misinformation, most of which came to life by fans because the origins were lost, forgotten or no one seems to remember. Over the past 25 years we've also lost most of the great Imagineers that helped develop, design and build the original concepts of Walt Disney World. So we believe it's extremely important to make sure that their efforts, intentions, details and creativity in making this Happiest Place on Earth isn't lost.
So we ask for feedback, insights, and suggestions.

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WDWMousing

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