Spoiler Alert: This is my favorite parade so far!!!
Magic Happens
On February 27th, 2020 the new parade Magic Happens at Disneyland premiered. I wasn't able to see it until February 28th. This is the first new parade for Disneyland in 9 years!!
Before I saw the parade, I was able to see some behind the scenes videos that Disney posted for promotion. I was very impressed with what I saw. The one video that had me in awe the most was one about the fabrics used to make the costumes. They focused on how they thought outside the box and incorporated new technologies and methods.
When I first saw the concept art I wondered if the Sleeping Beauty float was going to have characters on it or if they were going to be statues. The art showed the dress changing pink to blue. It wasn't until I saw the fabric video that where they showed a peak of a duo-chrome metallic fabric that was both pink and blue. It was stunning! At that moment, I knew they were going to be real characters and I became extremely excited.
The Review
I have to say I was very impressed with the parade after I first watched it. Since then I have seen it twice more and I still love it. I can already sense that I will be watching this parade many more times in the future.
There are a few reasons why I love this parade so much:
1-The music
2-The mix of old and new movies
3-The costumes and characters
4-The heart and soul of it all
We will go over all of these items in further detail.
Magic Happens Overview
The parade begins with the titular song. It's modern, catchy, upbeat and I love the lyrics. The first performers have some really awesome costumes.
If you get the chance to watch the parade yourself, look closely at the white dresses. You will see the lyrics of the song have been printed on the fabric. Also the metallic gold accents are printed on laminate and then adhered to the fabric.
The dancing is also modern and the you can see how much fun these performers are having. I truly enjoy watching them.
After the dancers, there's a float with sorcerer Mickey and his hat and robes have been upgraded just for the parade! I have to say I love the new look for him. After Mickey goes by we see the gang in new costumes too! They also have some fun choreography.
Next we have the Moana portion of the parade. The music transitions to updated music from the movie which has me ecstatic. I dislike when a parade has the same song on repeat for the entire parade. As much as I absolutely love the new song, I prefer diversity in the soundtrack. (A great example is the Holiday parade. The same song is played at least 4 times throughout the parade. I can only watch it once per season.)
Dancers head the new portion of the parade, then we have Moana on her boat with a wave towering above her with Grandma Tala's Stingray form at the crest. Along the wave and on the sides there are some screens that show life underwater. (It's even more impressive at night!!
Following Moana we have the Kakamora chasing Heihei. This portion of the parade always makes me extremely happy. I love how engaged the cast members are and committed to their characters. You can see it in the photo I have on the right. Rounding out the Moana portion is a float with Maui and Pua. At night the float has glowing symbols on the side. (I can't emphasize enough how beautiful the parade is at night.)
Now we move on to the Coco portion of the parade. It starts with more dancers and a gorgeous float with Miguel at the helm playing his guitar. We have the bridge to the Land of the Dead where Hector and Mama Ismelda are. In between we see Dante occasionally in the Alebrije form. Following the float we have some more performers-this time in fun Alebrije outfits followed by Pepita.
The last large float in the trio is of course Frozen 2. I am so glad they went with the second movie, we have seen more than enough from the first. They are led by some beautiful wind spirit dancers. Of the dancers/performers these are the only ones performing as couples. I again love the choreography here. On the float we see the Nokk with Anna and Elsa and of course Olaf and Sven.
Following behind them Kristoff is pushing a wheelbarrow constantly trying to keep up. I must say, I have been impressed with Kristoff every time I have seen the parade. He takes time to interact with some children along the parade route. Though he does more than just give them a hug and high five. He will spend about a minute and sometimes will bring out his instrument and sing a quick song. Occasionally you can see him running to catch up and I heard they purposely made his shoes a little slippery so it looks like he's running on ice. It's a really cool touch (literally!).
Transitioning from the large floats to the smaller ones we have a few walking characters. We have Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Pinocchio and The Blue Fairy, and Aladdin and the Genie. At different points, each pair has a moment in the choreography. There's also time for the characters to go out and interact with the crowd. It's a lot of fun to watch and I have to say the Blue Fairy's outfit is my favorite.
Next we have small floats of Cinderella in a pumpkin carriage, Arthur and Merlin, and Tiana and Prince Naveen. Cinderella's dress is absolutely gorgeous and again redesigned for the parade. It truly sparkles. Arthur and Merlin are so much fun to watch, especially Merlin. He does some funky dances and truly encapsulates the spirit and quirkyness of the character. Tiana and Prince Naveen are dancing on a beautiful spinning float with beautiful flowers in the bayou with sparkling lights like lightning bugs.
The grand finale of the whole parade is a large colorful float for Sleeping Beauty. We see the three fairies on pedestals that spin and move up and down so you can see all three. Finally we have Aurora and Prince Phillip dancing and waving. Aurora's dress is truly remarkable and unlike anything we have ever seen her in before. As I mentioned earlier the fabric is stunning. I love the pink/blue shift. I also love the fact that they are incorporating blue into the dress as we almost always see Aurora in her pink dress.
Now let's go back to the reasons I love the parade so much in a little further detail.
The music
Magic Happens was written by Todrick Hall. I absolutely love the song and wish I could add it to my Spotify playlist. What I also appreciate about the parade is that the music for the first three large floats changes to updated music from the movies. The songs are changed a little to fit in with Magic Happens. As I mentioned earlier it's a pet peeve of mine to have one song on repeat for a parade. So I am grateful they switch things up as much as I love the song. (I hate repetition more.)
The Mix of Disney Properties
I love the fact that we have a good mix of properties in the parade. Could there be more? Yes, obviously. I know I would have loved to see Tangled, Alice in Wonderland, Hercules or Hunchback of Notre Dame...the list goes on.
However, I feel that we have a good representation in the parade. I especially love the fact that The Sword in the Stone is getting some love as it is often a movie that's overlooked. (It's not only represented but extremely well done.)
The costumes and characters
As I mentioned before, the costumes are all extremely well done and many are unique to the parade. I highly recommend watching Disney's video about some of the costumes and the fabric as it's enlightening. It also shows how much planning and love went into this parade. You truly can feel it.
The heart and soul of it all
I was dying from anticipation for this parade and I am so happy it did not disappoint for me. So much time and effort went into every little detail. I watched the parade a few times and each time I noticed something I didn't see before. I also love the spirit of the parade that comes through in the lyrics of the song as well.
I hope you get the chance to see the parade in person. What's your favorite part of the parade? Also if you have seen it I would love to hear your thoughts.
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