Jim Hill
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So what was it like to get to see the parade that night? Well, if you’ve ever seen the original Disneyland version of the Main Street Electrical Parade - with its 29 floats covered with 566,000 hand-dyed bulbs - you have some sort of idea of what I experienced that evening.
Of course, in honor of “Hercules” ‘s imminent release, the parade featured several new, appropriately themed floats. First up was a small Greek Temple on which stood the dozen or so Olympic athletes who had been honored at the ceremony Eisner & Guiliani had held at the New Amsterdam Theatre earlier in the day. This unit was followed by a live actor portraying Hercules who was riding on the back of a mechanical Pegasus (the hero’s flying horse). This Hercules / flying horse unit was followed by a small temple-like float, on which stood a female face performer portraying Meg. That was followed by a giant mechanical version of Hades. (What was cool about this particular float is that the enormous hand that the Lord of the Underworld held out in front of him cradled a real, live ball of flame. No lie, folks. This was a very cool effect.)
After that … Well, I wish I could tell you that the Manhattan debut of Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade .. Er .. Hercules Electrical Parade was a smashing success. Unfortunately, tech problems dogged many of the units. Eg: The “Pinocchio” float rolled along the entire parade route without a single light blazing. Evidently, the unit’s electrical system shorted out just after launch and there was no time and/or room to remove the “Pinocchio” unit from the line-up.
Disney tried to get as much ink and/or coverage as possible out of “Hercules” ‘s NYC debut. That’s why the company decided to allow E! Television to do a two-hour special on the film’s launch as well as the Electrical Parade.
Me? I didn’t watch the thing on TV. I was there. Live and in person on 42nd Street with Nancy, Jeff, Flo & Roddy. Thank’s to Roddy’s connections to the police (I could tell you want he does for a job, but then I’d have to kill you). We ended up with a primo view of the event. (For a couple of minutes, we were actually standing under the camera boom for E! Entertainment Television. Which meant that we often had a better view of the parade than the folks watching at home.)
So that’s why I can’t make myself get too upset about the Electrical Parade beginning performances at DCA next week. Having seen for myself how successful the MSEP was when it performed in this venue makes me think that Disney’s Electrical Parade won’t have any problems winning over Disney’s California Adventure visitors.
It’s just too bad that you stateside folks won’t ever get to see those cool “Hercules” MSEP parade floats in person. From what I understand, immediately following that Saturday, June 14th performance, the “Hercules” units were packed and shipped over to France - where they began making regular appearances at the MSEP that ran until recently at Disneyland Paris.
What happens to Hercules, Meg & Hades now? I hear that Disney has plans to put the Disneyland Paris version of the “Main Street Electrical Parade” (which is due to be replaced sometime soon by Tokyo Disneyland’s “Fantaillusion”) in mothballs for a while. After that, this constantly traveling version of the MSEP is expected to head to Lantua Island - where this show is expected to play a big part in the grand opening celebration for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Where the Main Street Electrical Parade goes after this engagement, no one can say right now. This night-time entertainment spectacular could be heading off the Orient sometime soon and/or end up back across the plaza from DCA, inside Disneyland, where it could probably entertain guests for many years to come.
What happens to the MSEP / DEP and/or DCA next depends quite a bit on the public’s reaction to this new California Adventure show. You want to make a Mouse happy and/or keep MSEP / DEP from “Glowing away” for good this time? Then make a point of dropping by DCA sometime this summer to see the Electrical Parade.
Otherwise, it’ll be lights out for good for this Disneyland / New York City / Walt Disney World / DCA favorite. Which is a subject that I really could get all self righteous about.
Your thoughts?
Discuss It
-- Jim Hill
Jim Hill can be reached using the Talkback form below or by emailing him at [email protected].
Jim Hill is this guy who lives 'way out in the woods of New Hampshire. (Hey, it's not like he wants to live there. But the Witness Protection Program has got rules, you know.) He has one beautiful daughter and three obnoxious cats. When he's not looking for real work, Jim writes about the Walt Disney Company and related matters for LaughingPlace.com, AmusementPark.com, "Orlando Weekly" and Digital Media FX.
The opinions expressed by Jim Hill, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the past decisions and future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted June 28, 2001