“Fifty years ago a magical place was born; a place of Enchantment and Adventure, Laughter and Imagination, where new worlds of joy and wonder just waited to be discovered and in this marvelous kingdom there lived many delightful friends who made our dreams come true. Today we invite you to celebrate fifty years of magical memories with your Disney family as we proudly present Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams, we dedicate it to dreamers around the world and to that special dream that first began when Walt Disney proclaimed To All Who Come to This Happy Place, Welcome.” – Julie Andrews at the Begining of Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams
15 years ago this month Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams made its debut performance at the Disneyland Resort. Within moments of the music beginning, it was a classic. The parade ran from May 5, 2015, through November 11, 2018. While the parade is long gone, the magic and the memories that happened during its run continue to live on.
For the 15th anniversary of the opening of the parade, many former Parade of Dreams Cast Members came together to recreate the parade as they continue to “shelter in place” due to COVID-19. The resulting video was almost (maybe more in some ways) magical as the original parade itself. Watch below this recreation of Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams and enjoy the magic that continues to live on.
Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams 15th Anniversary Reunion Video
The Parade of Dreams included 7 units representing different dreams from Disney stories that were all intertwined with Welcome from Disney’s Brother Bear.
Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams Units
- Gateway to Dreams/Opening Unit – Tinker Bell and Peter Pan were joined by the Blue Fairy, Fairy Godmother, and the three good fairies from Sleeping Beauty. At times Merlin would make an appearance in this unit as well.
- Dream of Enchantment/Beauty and the Beast Unit – Both Belle and the Beast were joined by Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere, and a host of dancing dishes as they invited guests to “be our guest!”
- Dream of Laughter/Pinocchio Unit – Pinocchio is joined by toys from Geppetto’s workshop (and a giant puppeteer Geppetto). They were joined by Foulfellow, Gideon, Jiminy Cricket along with Cleo in a goldfish bowl.
- Dream of Another World/The Little Mermaid Unit – Ariel dreams of being a part of your world as she glides down the parade route surrounded by dancers and joined by Sebastian and Flounder.
- Dream of Imagination/Alice in Wonderland Unit – Alice, the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, White Rabbit, the Royal Marching Cards, dancing flowers, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum make up this zany unit that jumps all over the place.
- Dream of Adventure/The Lion King Unit – High atop Pride Rock Simba stands as animal dancers lead the way. He is joined by Nala, Zazu, Rafiki, Pumbaa, and Timon. Birds also did some incredible acrobats during the show stops.
- Dreams Come True/Finale Unit – The Royal Court leads the way as Mickey and Minnie ride high above in a castle tower at the end of the parade. They were joined by Princess Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella who are accompanied by their princes. Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and the Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs are on and around this float as well which is followed by two rope attendants at the back of the parade.
Here is a recording DAPS MAGIC did of the original run of Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams.
