Main Street Electrical Parade

[Tinkwings]

On my first trip, and I did not go til an adult with a young child in tow...I saw MSEP. I really liked it and so did my baby. But every return trip with my children they saw Spectromagic....and I loved that too....we did get to see MSEP again and it was nostalgic to me and both tunes get stuck in my brain. But yes, I don't want to see it more than once a trip anyhow....and using that time to ride BTM consecutive times in a row IS THE BEST!!!! Only thing better is riding it during the fireworks.....one can hear the music, and see the fireworks while riding some of the rides, multitasking at it's best! Have not seen the new parade yet....but from all I have read here on it...that it is lacking something... sure will be hoping for a better themed memorable melody NEW night time parade in the future.

 

[Kman101]

Thank God! That thing was a sad, creaking relic, and incredibly hokey to boot.

I just watched Paint The Night with my college aged neices and nephews at DCA a few weeks ago. They were dancing and singing and Instagramming through the whole parade along with the rest of the crowd around us; which is a mass-cultural scene I never once saw with the MSEP once the initial nostalgic opening applause died down.

It's a very fun parade, PTN. I'd still argue MSEP was better (and Dreamlights and I'd say the dead and buried Spectro was also better). And I'm fairly young. To each their own, of course

But it's a solid modern parade.

No doubt MSEP far outlived (an understatement!) it's shelf life. It also suffered from a lack of true updates.

For me I genuinely enjoyed it. Nostalgia probably played a small role.

Of course a parade designed in the time it was would be considered 'hokey'. We weren't being given the best version it could have been.

Dreamlights would get the same reaction from guests.

I feel like Paint The Night is good but it's a bit overpraised. The floats are impressive, the music is nice. But it lacks for me in terms of depth and the amount of floats and characters. It's just a personal preference, no one needs to defend PTN to me

I think it's far more suited for DCA than it ever was for Disneyland. In fact I think it's perfect for DCA. And that's meant to be a compliment.

 

[brb1006]

The primary theme behind Paint the night is obviously based on a tune in Wreck it Ralph, with other tunes mixed in on top for each float, but it's worth acknowledging that the writers paid homage to the MSEP theme quite frequently throughout the parade. Listen carefully as some of the floats transition in and out and you'll hear those familiar notes, perhaps played a little faster than we recall, but no doubt they're there.

I remember older promotional material for the parade had an extended remix of the MSEP theme.

 

[Kman101]

A worthy successor that they moved to DCA. Oh that Disney.

It belonged at DCA. Not Disneyland. It was the right choice.

 

[Kman101]

I tend to find whether one prefers MSEP or Spectro is often dependent on which one was running during your first trip to MK, especially if you were a kid on said trip. My first trip was '93 so I'm bias towards Spectro; didn't see MSEP until I was an adult. That said, honestly, I liked them both.

True. I'm biased towards MSEP as it's what I remember the most from the MK, I never had the attachement to Spectro, but that could have also been my age, I loved it as an adult, but as a kid it didn't appeal to me like MSEP did, again, each their own and all.

I definitely don't look at it with nostalgia glasses on. It's long been time to retire it. But I wish they had maintained it better and truly updated it. Like Tokyo does for Dreamlights. But I understand the music isn't for everyone and the style is 'old' now. I just see heaps of praise for Paint the Night and I think it's a nice parade but I don't get the overpraise for it. Just not what I would want rolling down a castle park walkway. It's great for DCA. Again though, it's all down to personal preference in taste. I don't overly love PTN but it's not awful. I just think it lacks when compared to other night parades. Disneylanders should want something better and not just accept it because it's fun. Like Guardians. I know it's "fun and bouncy". Let's see how these all hold up over the years.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

What ever did happen to the WDW Electric Parade? Last I heard it was sent to Hong Kong and never was seen again.

 

[jrhwdw]

If MSEP is still intact behind DL, there's NO REASON why it can't be used somewhere!

 

[geekza]

If MSEP is still intact behind DL, there's NO REASON why it can't be used somewhere!

Honestly, as much as I love the MSEP, there are valid excuses: old floats that need work, wiring that has to be kept up to code, newer bulbs to take the place of the incandescent ones, lack of newer characters, people used to more-advanced parade elements. Now, I don't have any kind of actual knowledge that most of those issues exist, but there are always reasons why something is mothballed. That parade had a longer life than I could have imagined!

 

[HauntedPirate]

I think PTN would be perfect for DHS. 50th anyone?

No.

TL : DR - No.

If MSEP is still intact behind DL, there's NO REASON why it can't be used somewhere!

I believe someone already been mentioned that some of the floats have been taken apart and pieces used elsewhere.

 

[note2001]

Why don't you like the idea of PTN coming to DHS? It would be a nice addition to that park, and it would fit the atmosphere better than a castle park.

Growing up watching Disney on Sunday nights, starting with her flying over the castle, my opinion is that Tinkerbell belongs only in DL/MK.
The rest of the parade could fit DHS fairly nicely and add a much needed energy to that park. There is a glitch though: the bulk of the rides current and planned for DHS do not go well with the parade theme.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Is there any scuttlebutt on a new nighttime parade for MK? I feel like throughout a lot of the rumors regarding new and upcoming projects that a new nighttime parade seems to be absent from discussion. Anything on the horizon? Any whispers?

 

[FigmentFan82]

Nothing is planned until the 50th anniversary. Whether or not anything happens at all is up for debate as well.

Thanks for the reply! With so many rumors constantly flying around it can sometime be hard to keep track of everything and not have something fall thru the cracks. It's seemed so odd that there hasn't been much of any news regarding a new nighttime parade for MK, but I guess they do have quite a few pokers in the fire at the moment. Can't do everything at once I suppose.

 

[brb1006]

Honestly, as much as I love the MSEP, there are valid excuses: old floats that need work, wiring that has to be kept up to code, newer bulbs to take the place of the incandescent ones, lack of newer characters, people used to more-advanced parade elements. Now, I don't have any kind of actual knowledge that most of those issues exist, but there are always reasons why something is mothballed. That parade had a longer life than I could have imagined!

You can tell the parade's showing it age when the newest character is Elliot and Pete from Pete's Dragon (Which was added in 1977).

 

[note2001]

You can tell the parade's showing it age when the newest character is Elliot and Pete from Pete's Dragon (Which was added in 1977).

At least Elliot held up better than his younger, hotter coworker

 

[brb1006]

Why don't you like the idea of PTN coming to DHS? It would be a nice addition to that park, and it would fit the atmosphere better than a castle park.

I'm tired of clones, more original parades exclusive to WDW (Specromagic and Share A Dream Come True Parade for example) not a hand me down.

 

[Kman101]

I think PTN would be perfect for DHS. 50th anyone?

It would give the resort a night parade, and DHS a parade again, period. I wouldn't hate it if that's what it comes down to. I still dream of a brand new parade rolling down Main Street but I know that's probably slim so ... DHS isn't the worst idea! I've thought of that before.

I mean, if we do sadly end up with a clone of PTN, best case is putting it at DHS. But I'd rather a new night parade for the Magic Kingdom. I know lots of people complain about the crowding when there's a night parade and fireworks (first world problems!).

 

[HauntedPirate]

Why don't you like the idea of PTN coming to DHS? It would be a nice addition to that park, and it would fit the atmosphere better than a castle park.

PTN belongs in California, and it fits quite well in its new home. And I'm of the opinion that WDW these days needs original parades, not more borrowed-from-DL parades. MSEP was fine for it's first MK run, and that should have been it.

 

[brb1006]

PTN belongs in California, and it fits quite well in its new home. And I'm of the opinion that WDW these days needs original parades, not more borrowed-from-DL parades. MSEP was fine for it's first MK run, and that should have been it.

PTN itself is also a clone of the Hong Kong version that came a year earlier.

 

[TTA94]

Hopefully around fall of 2021 we can all sit along MKs parade route at night waiting for the new parade and think back of the past 4 or so years of debating what, when and if a nighttime parade will be coming back to the MK. Hopefully the wait will be worth it!

 

[geekza]

Just playing Devil's Advocate here. I hear a lot of folks saying they don't want clones in WDW, but why not? If a parade is good, why not clone it? Sure, there are folks who go to multiple parks, but I don't imagine that the vast majority of people visit more than one park in their lives. The folks on this board are pretty hardcore Disney Parks fans and aren't really representative of the public at large.