Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade makes a nostalgic return

It starts with a familiar robotic voice booming from Disneyland’s speakers.

Fans shuffle onto the sidewalk by the Matterhorn Bobsleds where the parade begins, around the Walt Disney and Mickey statue in front of the Cinderella Castle, and down Main Street.

Suddenly, a glittering steam engine float emblazoned with the words “Main Street Electrical Parade” approaches the crowd and the catchy techno-inspired “Baroque Hoedown” plays.

For adults, the sight of 600,000 sparkling lights and “electro-synth-magnetic musical sounds” are nostalgic. The parade that first stepped off at Disneyland in 1972 hasn’t been on Main Street since November 1996.

For children, however, the spectacle of glowing floats led by Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Peter Pan is yet another example of Disneyland’s magic.

Some of the more impressive scenes are the 16-foot-tall Elliot, from “Pete’s Dragon,” who disappears when the crowd screams “razzle dazzle” and the 118-foot-long red, white and blue float that closes the parade.

“A great number of people are anxious to see it again,” said John McClintock, a Disneyland spokesman. “The older generation wants to see it again, and it’s a chance for the younger generation to see something new.”

The Main Street Electrical Parade will make nightly performances in the park through June 18.

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.