Tag Archives: Parades

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DISNEY ON PARADE Pop Up Promotional Booklet

Disney On Parade was not a parade, nor was it on ice, but on a stage. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were the hosts and main stars of the show, with many Disney characters joining in on the fun.

Capital Artists Limited produced the booklet above and sold it as a souvenir at each show for HK $5.00 each. This leads me to believe that this particular engagement was performed in China, as no American price is included.

The introduction of the booklet says “Disney On Parade really began once upon a time, more than 30 years ago… it was 1937.” More than ’30 years ago’ would place the year of this show later than 1968. However, the first annual Disney On Parade show started in 1970, with a second show in 1971. This is the cover of the souvenir booklet for that show:

The three characters on this cover are in the same exact poses as the ones in the pop-up booklet of 1970.

Let’s look at the 1970 booklet. It measures approx 8″ by 11 3/4″, has a stapled binding and approximately 36 pages(not counting the cover). The cover is a light weight cardboard, the pages are a good quality gloss-paper. It is printed in full color.

A very nice pop-up variation

The book has text both in English and Chinese. The back cover is the same as the front, but entirely in Chinese. This is presumably because Chinese is read from back to front, the opposite of English. This is apparently not the case now since the advent of computers.

Here are some of the pages, featuring the acts:

The booklet concludes with a great behind the scenes section:

This two-page spread gives the lyrics for the songs used in the show. With this souvenir booklet in hand, each guest could sing along!

The lyrics were also published in the booklet in Chinese as well. Cast and crew credits are also included.

This is a great piece of Disney history, remembering a time when costumes weren’t the best, but the fun was still second to none!

Attractions, Ephemera, Parades, Promotions
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ABBA the Movie featuring… Mickey Mouse?

As many of my readers know, I have varied tastes. But I’m always on the lookout for that elusive Disney tie-in in whatever I’m watching! And just recently I was watching ABBA – The Movie and found a familiar Disney star waving to the camera.

But before we get to that, here is the aforementioned movie:

I’ve always enjoyed ABBA’s music, so I knew I would enjoy this movie! But the Disney fan in me just couldn’t help but geek out when I saw this:

The Moomba Festival Parade, Melbourne, Australia (1977)

In the movie, ABBA comes out onto the balcony of the Mayor’s office to overlook the parade and the crowds. In an interview segment on the disc, I learned that the vast majority of the people were there, not to see ABBA on the balcony, but because of the parade! OH fame, how fickle thou art!

But Mickey wasn’t the only Disney character to ride past the four Swedes:

Cinderella riding a Fairy Godmother float

Moomba’s musical performers have included international acts such as ABBA, Neil Diamond and AC/DC as well as a number of smaller local acts.

You owe it to yourself to follow the link above to the Wikipedia site about the Moomba Festival. The word ‘Moomba’ is supposed to mean “let’s get together and have fun!” But… it is based on an Aboriginal word that actually (may) mean “Up Your Butt Hole!” Again, follow the link above if you want a good laugh!

Hmmm… it’s hard to believe Mickey Mouse would attend such a festival…

Music, Parades
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Parades: Disney’s Hollywood Studios Block Party Bash

By the time this parade started, we had been walking all day and my feet were very tired! I have to admit that I wasn’t in the best of moods as the first float went by. But that changed quickly as the fun began, because everyone loves parades!

 

Acrobats and Heimlich

  Bo Peep and Gypsy

I really appreciate how much the costumed Cast Members put into their performances. Even when it’s hot or inclement they are out there doing everything they can to entertain the guests! So I was very disappointed to see that many were throwing balls (that were shot out of floats for everyone to have) at Gypsy, seeing if they could hit her wings. The mentality escapes me!

Sulley having a monster of a time!

    

Mrs. Incredible shakes her booty, and we try to look half as good!

Obviously, I’m out-of-shape Bob!

Whenever the music would stop or transition into another segment, a shower of foam balls would shoot out of the float in question and people would scramble to pick them up. We missed them but a nice little girl gave us one, as she had managed to scrounge about half a dozen. Thank you anonymous Disney girl!

Remember: Balls are for keeping, not for throwing at costumed characters!

Did anyone else get a chance to see this fun street-party style parade? Did you get a souvenir ball? What color was yours? Let me know how you rate this parade in the comments section.

Parades, Reviews
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Where Have All the Disney Princes Gone After the Movie?

The camera pans to a large leather-bound book. It has gold leaf edges complete with a hand-painted scene on the cover. It depicts a beautiful maiden in the arms of a handsome Prince. The music swells as the cover of the book is opened to reveal the immortal fairy tale words: ‘Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far, far, away, lived…’

You know the rest. Snow White; Sleeping Beauty (above); Cinderella; they all got their start this way. Along with just about every other cartoon soon-to-be Princess! But this storybook opening isn’t the only constant to be found in feature-length animated fairy tales.

The other constant is the minimal role of the Prince himself. Usually he is a handsome young man (unmarried, this is very important) who just wants to find true love. He happens upon a peasant girl who sings beautifully, talks to animals, and is drop-dead gorgeous! Oh, and some very powerful person hates her and is bent on destroying her. If I was a Prince looking for my lady fair, I’d want to know this going in, but that’s just me.

Next comes the duet (how do they both know the words?) the loss, the chase, the harm/death sequence, all concluding with a kiss. Oh, and a marriage with the obligatory ‘Happily ever after’ tagline! But this entire plot manages to take place with the Prince getting about 10 minutes or less of screen time. When all is said and done, the Princess is in our hearts and the Prince is all but forgotten.

Until Disney decides to include the Princess in a parade or stage show in the Parks. Then she needs some eye-candy on her arm and our Prince is resurrected for a brief cameo. When a new Princess appears, her Prince fairs a little better. He gets to stick around for the Meet-and-Greet, but only for the first few months. Then he is ‘fired’ and sent back to the pages of the storybook he came from.

          Enjoy it while you can, boys!

Why does Disney DO this?!?

I first started to ponder on this when I heard about the ‘firing’ of Flynn Rider from the Rapunzel meet-and-greet. When that happened, I tried to remember if there were any real Prince meet-and-greets. Answer: None. Nada. Zip. Not even one.

Well, Aladdin manages to hang on over at EPCOT, but usually on the arm of Jasmine. So we’ll call him Mr. Exception for now (but that’s still Prince Ali A Bu Bu whatever-whatever to you).

Aladdin was posing alone at Disneyland in 2013

With the popularity of the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique and it’s propensity for pumping out little Princesses by the carriage-load, am I the only one who sees the marketing and photo-op potential of a Prince meet-and-greet right next to the exit? And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe that a few of the little Princesses’ mommies would get a kick out of snuggling up to Prince Eric or Prince Charming themselves = Girls Day Out at the Prince Meet-and-Greet!

Come on Disney! Give the old Princes a new lease on life. Let them have their day in the sun. After all, some of them had to fight long and hard to get their lady fair (albeit, mostly off-screen), so the least you could do is give them some face time! OK, it’s true the ladies can find some beefcake to pose with while running the Princess Half Marathon, but making women run for miles until they’re hot and sweaty before you let them pose with gorgeous men might not be as appreciated as you think!

Of course, I’ve never heard a Prince complain about this. Maybe they’re at home in their Man Cave in the basement of the castle enjoying Pay-Per-View wrestling events and drinking mead. Maybe they’re laughing at how their Princess is out there getting mauled by long lineups of strangers for nothing but a ‘Thank You’. Maybe they’re thinking to themselves: “It’s good to be the Prince!

Humor
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Top 5 Cast Members to Talk To at a Disney Park

Of course, we all talk to hundreds of Cast Members during our trips. But I don’t mean ‘talking’ as in asking where the bathrooms are or “Excuse me, is this the FastPass line?” I’m talking about the Top Five Cast Members to actually have a conversation with.

But let’s qualify this a bit more: By conversation, I don’t mean a sit-down one-hour share-your-life-story talk. Cast Members are busy people. However, some of them are available for some brief Guest interaction, and would love to chat it up with you.

         Erin, from DCA

So with that in mind, here are the Top Five Cast Members to talk to during your next trip:

Chat No. 5

Cleaning staff. Very much a thankless job, these CM’s aren’t just there to sweep up and empty garbage cans. Most of them know the Park better than anyone and can give accurate directions to anywhere from anywhere! And I’ve never met one yet who wouldn’t give you the time of day. In my experience, they will even approach you if you look the least bit lost. Taking a few minutes to interact with these great people could just make their day, and yours!

Try asking them: Where would you go in the Park right now if you could?

Chat No. 4

Parade Route wranglers. Before any parade starts, there’s usually a lot of standing around. Many of the Cast Members who are there to keep you behind the ropes will also have time for a brief chat. They may even be wearing a Pin Trading lanyard, which is an indication they want Guest interaction. But these CM’s are busy, so make it quick. Hey, can you spot the Cast Member in the picture below?

  

Find out who their favorite character is in the Parade, and why.

Chat No. 3

Attraction staff. These are the poor unfortunate souls you see standing in front of a ride that is not operating, or the person who operates the same thing over and over, like the Monorail Pilot below. They may get to stand for hours telling disgruntled Guests they can’t ride their favorite attraction today, or just push the same button. Sound like fun? Not much, so they could use a little interaction!

     You can still talk to Monorail Pilots at DLR, but not WDW

Try asking for a piece of unknown trivia about the attraction itself.

Chat No. 2

Merchandise Cart staff. CM’s in stores are usually pretty busy and get lots of Guest interaction throughout the day. But the poor guys and gals stuck on some of the merchandise carts are all but ignored. For example, the ones outside the EPCOT main entrance, or any cart stuck in a deserted corner of a Park. These people are bored, to say the least!

If you really want to make their day, buy something during your conversation!

Chat No. 1

World Showcase staff. This is in the number one spot because it’s the no-brainer of the list. Each Pavilion has CM’s who are from that actual country. So if you’ve ever wanted to meet someone from Morocco or Canada (and who hasn’t fantasized about meeting a Canadian???) then that person is only a few steps away! Again, make sure they’re not too busy first, but then approach them for some nice conversation.

      Nanni, from Norway, loading the Maelstrom (now Frozen Ever After)

Topics: What city are you from? How long have you been here? What’s your favorite Pavilion, and why?

Any Cast Member who is standing around and looking bored is fair game! And part of their job is to interact with you anyway, so why not take advantage of that and have some great conversations. You can learn something new about the Park or Resort you’re visiting, and they can enjoy a Guest experience to make their job more worthwhile.

That’s what they call Win-Win?

Bonus Round

Who might be too busy to talk to you? How about:

     Lightning McQueen Wrangler

Lists
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