On July 15, 2017, at D23 Expo, it was officially announced that the Paint the Night and the Pixar Play parades would be on the move, but a moving date was not announced!
The Paint the Night Parade is moving from Disneyland to Disney California Adventure. The Paint the Night parade is patterned after the processional that debuted at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2014 (with a few new additions). The parade started as a part of Disneyland’s Diamond Anniversary entertainment offerings in 2015.
Inspired in part by the original Main Street Electrical Parade, these brand-new floats are covered in 1.5 million LEDs. Each float represents a classic Disney or Pixar film, as scenes from Monsters, Inc.; Cars; Toy Story; Beauty and the Beast; The Little Mermaid; and (wait for it . . . ) Frozen are brought to life by a cast of more than 75 performers, who bounce down the route to the upbeat soundtrack of Wreck-It Ralph’s “When Can I See You Again?” by pop artist Owl City (your kids will know who that is).
Keep an ear out for musical nods to “Baroque Hoedown,” the old Electrical Parade’s theme song. These super-bright displays go far beyond earlier nighttime pageants and include character puppets with digitally animated faces, a tractor-trailer full of floating 3-D designs, and a kinetic Sorcerer’s Apprentice sculpture whose twisting motion defies description. In our opinion, Paint the Night is one of Disney’s best nighttime parades ever—not to be missed, no matter in which park it is shown.
The Pixar Play Parade Switches Over to Disneyland
The parade features six floats and dozens of Pixar characters, along with high-energy music and dancing. The parade starts off with the stars of Monsters, Inc., including Roz, who leads the parade by twirling her baton. Sully can be seen riding in front of a giant stylized drum that has been decorated with the Play Parade logo. An impressive animatronic version of Mike is located on the back of the float. The parade continues, with floats dedicated to The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story, and Cars.
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