I love Disneyland, I mean I have said it plenty of times so I’m sure y’all already know this very well by now.
I love the rides. I love the atmosphere. I love the shows. I love the parades.
Disneyland’s Paint the Night Electrical Parade was definitely one of my favorites so far. And I recently found out that it will be returning to California Adventures in April 2018
If you have learned anything about me by now though it’s that waiting is not my speciality and that I avoid waiting in lines at all costs. I know the tricks to riding certain rides at certain times to avoid the wait times and I know when to eat so that you are fighting the crowds. So waiting for a parade is not my most favorite thing to do. However, there are some parades worth waiting for. Since Braddoc has Autism we usually get pretty lucky and can get a spot in the Handicap area which is way less crowded and much less stressful for him to sit and wait for the parade.
Braddoc used to stay in the stroller and about half the time he would put the top up to avoid the parade lights all together only the past trip when we went to Disney World in 2016 did he actually watch most of the shows and parades.
Disney Spares no expense when it comes to parades. I attended a Universal Studios parade in 2017 and was very disappointed in comparison to Disney. I’ve learned that not many (or any) parks can compare to Disney when it comes to the tiny details. They really put out all of their best work and don’t forget ANYTHING. Even watching the parades more than one time is worth it because you can never possibly catch everything the first time.
My kids favorite is of course when the Mickey Mouse gang is all there. We wondered for years why there was no Daisy and we learned she only lives at Disney World. I am not sure why though. We sure would love her to be at Disneyland, but Minnie mouse is just as good.
I love how close the characters are to you during the parades. You literally could reach out and touch them sometimes, and in some parades they come right up to you.
Of course my Frozen loving girl was so happy when the cast of Frozen joined the party. As much as I love Frozen I am not overly thrilled with how much of Disneyland is being changed to fit the Frozen theme.
I loved how many lights there were at Disneyland’s Paint the Night Electrical Parade. It really was like the whole sky was lit up. Unfortunately this parade was replaced with another parade because Disney is constantly changing and updating, but since I actually recently found out that this parade will be returning to Disneyland at California Adventure in April 2018 I figured it was the perfect time to show you the magic of it all. (with my less than stellar pictures. But you get the point.)
Toy Story never gets old and my kids always love to see the characters. One of our families favorite rides is Buzz lightyear Astro blasters. When we visited Disney World I was disappointed in the difference between the two rides, I definitely like Disneyland’s better. We compared a lot of the rides and decided which ones were better at Disneyland (Thunder Mountain Railroad, Astro Blasters and Pirates) and Disney World (Space Mountain and Tower of Terror).
I love that Pixar Pier is becoming a real thing and that this parade has featured and will feature many of our beloved Pixar Characters.
Aowyn was wearing her Belle outfit when we saw the parade so she was super excited when she saw Belle. Belle even saw her in her outfit and waved at her and then blew her a kiss. Again… I LOVE how personal the Disney experience is.
Aowyns (and of course my) favorite Princess is Ariel so we were both thrilled when the Ariel float came by. I was blown away at all of the details that went into the Ariel Float (and all the other floats as well). I LOVE the Ariel ride and was over the moon when they built it. The line is never long for it (at Disneyland, the line was insane at Disney World) and so we can ride it over and over again. Its a nice air conditioned ride so its a perfect place to relax and cool off, and their is no height requirement so its perfect for the whole family.
Waving to Ariel. Seeing Braddocs hand at the corner of the picture really melts my heart because he was so excited to see Ariel too. I really love this crew of mine and I love doing vacations with them.
Carsland has been one of our favorite addition to Disneyland. Radiator springs racers is one of the best rides (in my opinion). I have loved seeing the new rides come out at both Disney parks…. the rides of the future and they are pretty amazing. I love the old classic rides too but the new stuff adds a fun flair. I love the differences in the old and new and seeing how technology is changing. Every time we go to the parks Tayton tells me that he wants to grow up and build roller coasters. That would be a pretty sweet gig, one that mom is fully on board with.
We will be going all the way back across the country to California to see our best friends get hitched in the Fall, so we of course are hitting up Disneyland and can’t wait to ride the new updated Cars rides. And of course to check out all the fun at Pixar Pier. Is is October yet?
Monsters Inc never falls to impress either. I love all the details with the doors and holographic effects. One year we rode the Monsters Inc ride and at the end of the ride Roz talks to you. I thought it was just a computer program (and it might be sometimes) but she said to my boys, “Hey you two, in the matching blue Mickey shirts. Are you twins? And you, the boy and the girl in the back? Are you twins?” (we get asked that a lot). We told her No and she said. “No way!!! You must be.” Then as we started to move she said. “I’m always watching.” Lol Noah and I quote that all the time and that little encounter is still one of my favorite Disney memories to this day. The kids were so excited that she was talking to them. Its those kinds of things that make the park so insanely magical, no matter how old you are.
Disneyland has since gotten the Electric Parade from Disney World (which makes me sad because they moved it when we moved across country and now Disney World is our closest park and we missed the parade all together.) So there are a ton of incredible parades to see. I am not the crazy lady who recommends waiting hours in advance for seats…. but I do recommend scouting out the parades starting point because usually thats the least packed area. People usually crowd around the main streets for the parades so Ive found that if I go to the starting point (‘it’s a small world’ area at Disneyland) about 10 minutes before the parades actually starts that you can find some good spots. You can even send someone ahead of time to wait while the rest of the party rides some rides. This is where grandparents are amazing!!!
I highly recommend waiting for some of the parades. My kids love the interaction and the nice little sit down break. We usually eat our lunch, have a snack and dehydrate during the parades. It’s a nice little break from the rushing back and forth to rides, and it gives Mom and Dad a chance to have a brief rest before the herding of cats begins again.
Disneyland’s Paint the Night Electrical Parade will be returning to the Disneyland parks at California Adventure in April 2018 and will have all our friends plus even more Pixar magic. To see a full list of Disneyland’s Parades you can go here.
You can find the new parade route here for the Paint the Night parade.
Whats your favorite Disney Parade?
