Spectromagic vs. Main Street Electrical Parade?

Main Street Electrical Parade or Spectromagic as your favorite?

  • Main Street Electrical Parade

    Votes: 97 48.0%

  • Spectromagic

    Votes: 105 52.0%
  • Total voters
    202
DiPSU224

DiPSU224

Member
For some reason I have such an emotional attachment to Spectro. I have only seen MSEP once, and while it was nice to see, I still prefer Spectro. The music always gets me and I tear up at least once with each performance.
 
Since1976

Since1976

Well-Known Member
I heard the audio from SpectroMagic long before I experienced the actual parade, and I lamented the loss of MSEP. However, once I finally saw SpectroMagic, my grief over MSEP was swept away. The orchestral score of SpM blasted down Main Street sent shivers of joy down my spine, and I could not wait to go and see it again.

MSEP was great, don't get me wrong, but I think its replacement was more than worthy.
 
Disneysue

Disneysue

Member
In the Parks
No
I didnt get to see SpectroMagic on my very first trip ever to WDW :cry: Is it only from Memorial Day to Labor Day? I was there this past February. Was I a tard :hammer: and missed it :eek: ? I like MSEP cause it ties me to DL as kid EVERYTIME I hear the Electro-syntho-magnetic :lookaroun musical sound! The MAIN STREET ELECTRICAL PARAAAADE!
 
Hoop Raeb

Hoop Raeb

Formerly known as...
It depends on what you grew up with. Some of the younger posters here never saw MSEP so they can't say. I'm an old fart (relatively) and remember MSEP as a kid. I love it.

Put MSEP and Spectromagic soundtrack next to each other and MSEP will win anyday of the week.

Spectromagic sucks!
 
Nicole220

Nicole220

Well-Known Member
ThumperDude said:
I loved MSEP but Spectro blew me away. I almost passed out when, like a wave comming down the route, all the colored lights turned to white lights. Awesome!! Then they turned back to color. Looking forward to seeing it again this summer. And always the 2nd show after the little kiddy go home.
BTW-I've heard different things about the old MSEP floats. One was that they dismantled them. Another was they are now floating them around the lagoon at night. Even another was they used some of them on different Disney tour shows. Personally, I hope they're in storage waiting for the day they can return for us. So whats the real story?
Click to expand...
The MSEP is at DCA sometimes throughout the year.
 
Disneysue

Disneysue

Member
In the Parks
No
ThumperDude said:
I loved MSEP but Spectro blew me away. I almost passed out when, like a wave comming down the route, all the colored lights turned to white lights. Awesome!! Then they turned back to color. Looking forward to seeing it again this summer. And always the 2nd show after the little kiddy go home.
BTW-I've heard different things about the old MSEP floats. One was that they dismantled them. Another was they are now floating them around the lagoon at night. Even another was they used some of them on different Disney tour shows. Personally, I hope they're in storage waiting for the day they can return for us. So whats the real story?
Click to expand...



MSEP has a permanent home in Disneys California Adventure. They did NOT dismantle the floats completely. THey did sell off the original lights used in the original parade when it left for a few years. In order to gain more attendance at DCA, they brought the MSEP back with some minor changes (the big drum that used to say Disneys Main Street Electrical parade now says Disneys Electrical Parade since its not on Main Street anymore.) You will be able to see it daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day in DCA, and throughout the year on weekends as weather permits.:wave:
 
disney9752

disney9752

Member
Nicole220 said:
The MSEP is at DCA sometimes throughout the year.
Click to expand...


AS I recall, the wdw version or most of it went to paris in 91 for their opening in 92. some floats did not go such as the small world floats. the parade that came to wdw was the disneyland version that in 96 had its farewell & they sold the light bulbs for charity. thankfully they did not dismantle the floats, they were used for the hercules premiere in nyc in 97, then back to anaheim. then in late 97 or 98 someone decided to bring it back to wdw for a while. now if anyone knows what dlp paris did with their parade when it went away & fantillusion came please let us know. maybe they can send it back along with some of the floats from tokyo they got, & MAYBE we could get our small world floats back for a better version of msep.:D
 
Figment82

Figment82

Well-Known Member
MSEP hands down!! Watching that parade and seeing all of those light is one of the earliest memories I have as a child. I was able to see its original run in WDW, when it returned in the mid-90's, in Paris in 2000, and then DCA in 2005 and it never fails to amaze me. You just can't beat Don Dorsey's wonderful synthesized soundtrack, and Pete and Elliot are in it :) I even bought one of the bulbs from DLR.

I do not care much for Spectro at all and wouldn't miss it if it left.
 
GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
ThumperDude said:
I loved MSEP but Spectro blew me away. I almost passed out when, like a wave comming down the route, all the colored lights turned to white lights. Awesome!! Then they turned back to color. Looking forward to seeing it again this summer. And always the 2nd show after the little kiddy go home.
BTW-I've heard different things about the old MSEP floats. One was that they dismantled them. Another was they are now floating them around the lagoon at night. Even another was they used some of them on different Disney tour shows. Personally, I hope they're in storage waiting for the day they can return for us. So whats the real story?
Click to expand...

The MSEPs have a varied and long history. For example, Disneyland's MSEP left DL in 1996, performed in NYC for the Hercules premiere in 1997, and then played WDW's MK during the millennium celebration. In 2001 it returned to DLR where it has been underwhelming guests at DCA ever since.

WDW's MSEP departed to make room for SpectroMagic. It was shipped to DLRP where it played for several years, replaced in 2002 by a smaller version of TDL's old Fantillusion parade. It is now in storage backstage at HKDL, where it awaits its eventual Chinese premiere.

TDL is the only park to actually build their own EP back in the eighties, replace it with an all-new parade in 1995 (Fantillusion) and then build an entirely new version of the EP (Dreamlights) in 2001. Dreamlights is immensely successful and rightfully so. There's a reason why DLR crowds don't flock to DCA at night to see EP. It doesn't hold a candle to Fantasmic or Remember...Dreams Come True, both of which use modern special effects to wow guests. EP is the same tired thing it was in 1977. Been there, done that.

All this to say, I prefer SpectroMagic. A real musical score with real musical instruments and gorgeous floats with a really beautiful and sweeping finale. Quite a step up in my mind from MSEP.
 
RobotWolf

RobotWolf

Well-Known Member
While I love them both, I'll always side with MSEP when asked.

But it would be awesome if MK could get Dreamlights! If you haven't already, I recommend downloading Martin's tribute video. The music is incredible and fans of MSEP will be delighted to know that Dreamlights' music, like its predecessor, is based on that same old tune, Baroque Hoedown.

Don Dorsey is the fellow who created the music for the MSEP. He had this to say about the musical roots of MSEP:

Most people who know the roots of the parade music know that it was all built upon a recording called "Baroque Hoedown" that was originally recorded in the late 60's by Jean Jacques Perrey (still alive) and Gershon Kingsley (not). We took their original recording (which contained the 7-count), spliced it into a 1-minute-3-second loop and added layers on top of it. That original recording is mixed in with all the overdubs on every parade unit.


And this about Dreamlights:

Then, of course, there is the "all new" music for Tokyo Disneyland "Dreamlights" (the new Electrical Parade). It's based on the same tune, but does not use the original recording. And after 30 years of complaining by choreographers, someone finally did something about the 7-count. My good friend Greg Smith did the arrangements and synth work and did an amazing job. You can find the CD of "Dreamlights" online and it also contains the original MSEP soundtrack (but a special digital stereo mix from the original master tapes that I did for a TDL souvenir CD). Photos of the parade are easy to find by Googling.


Don has also created many, many other things for the Walt Disney company. Most notably, the pyro effects for both Fantasmic and Illuminations as well as the giant video globe.
 

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