On Saturday evening, I returned from a break of a couple of days in Disneyland Paris. This was my second trip to Disneyland Paris after my first ever visit approximately twelve years ago. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the theme park in Europe. And no, I've never been to the ones in the U.S.A., unfortunately. Oh, and I had plans to go and had the dates booked just over ten years ago, but that's another story for another time.
There's so much to see and do in Disneyland Paris, but this post is about the 25th Anniversary Parade. Of course, there is a daily parade at Disneyland at 5:00 in the afternoon with characters and floats that parade down Main Street. I've watched the parade at both ends of Main Street now. On my first visit, I viewed it on the castle end, and during the 25th anniversary, the characters actually performed a little bit on a stage made here in front of the castle. This year, I watched from the opposite end.
The parade started with a car dressed up with the 25th anniversary theme, and this was followed by some of the traditional and newer characters from the cartoons, films, and television shows.
This was followed by the float with the original Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. These characters are seen all around the park to greet visitors in different places. The characters were dressed in special outfits to commemorate 25 years.
The following floats then came by, and these were primarily newer films such as the Finding Nemo franchise films, Toy Story films, and The Huntsman.
I actually found Jesse and Woody to be a bit creepy -- especially Jesse.
The Lion King and Peter Pan were additional floats.
One of the most popular parts of the parade were the Disney princesses. Some of them arrived by foot, walking and dancing. The others were pulled in a horse and carriage. If you or your kids are really into Disney princesses, this is probably the best opportunity to see them as I did not see the princesses out giving signatures and greeting guests in the main park. There is a "Princess Pavilion" and special meeting/greeting throughout certain times of the day, but these were nearly always over an hour to wait, and I am sure that the meeting and greeting only lasted a few minutes because of the large number of people.
The last float was dedicated to "Frozen" and had all of the popular characters.
Most of the parade's floats paid tribute to newer Disney animations over the older ones, which is what I have a preference toward. (There are a few of the newer Disney animations that I actually do not care for at all.)
I've included some tips to watch the parade at Disneyland Paris below.
1) Arrive early. The parade starts at 5:00 in the evening, so aim to get to Main Street at least half an hour before to grab a decent viewing point. My favourite viewing point was the roundabout at the castle end. If you are on the roundabouts on either end, make sure you stand in the correct direction in order to see the floats arriving. They approach to the left when looking down Main Street toward the castle, and they approach in the opposite direction (to the right) when looking down Main Street with the castle behind you.
2) After the parade, it seemed like most people aim to go back into the main park, so it may be worth going into the Walt Disney Studios instead as it should be a bit quieter.
3) Keep clear of the pavements during the parade. There are staff to ensure that the areas are kept clear so that no one gets hurt.
4) Make sure you have your camera ready and that it is charged and ready to go. This is certainly one of the events that you do not want to miss and that you want to take photographs of.
5) Remember to have fun.
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