Disney Symphony of Colors, the new drone and projection show at Disneyland Paris, will be inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade, as seen in new concept art.
Disney Symphony of Colors
The new concept art features Captain Hook’s pirate ship, the Jolly Roger, made up of points of light soaring around Sleeping Beauty Castle. Peter Pan, a projection that flies across the castle, along with the silhouettes of Wendy, John, and Michael, who appear to be fountain projections. Captain Hook’s silhouette is behind them and they are surrounded by larger circles of light.
Disney Symphony of Colors will debut on January 8, 2024. When first announced, Disneyland Paris described it as “a dazzling journey featuring a magical combination of fountains, lights, video projections, and synchronized drones that will draw animated floats in the air as a nod to an iconic experience that once lit up the night at Disneyland Paris.”
The Main Street Electrical Parade was performed at Disneyland Paris from April 1992 to March 2003.
Main Street Electrical Parade History
The Main Street Electrical Parade was only meant to run for the summer of 1972 at Disneyland. However, in what would turn out to be a repeated theme, the parade was extended through the busy summer and holiday months in 1974.
The Main Street Electrical Parade returned to Disneyland in 1977.
At the same time, a second version of the parade debuted at Walt Disney World on June 11, 1977. The Magic Kingdom floats were wider, built in three dimensions, and powered by battery motors, accompanied by a reworked score by Don Dorsey.
It was replaced at Walt Disney World in 1991 with SpectroMagic, and the floats were sent to Euro Disney (now known as Disneyland Paris).
The Disneyland version of the parade bid “farewell” in 1996 and the floats were sent to the Magic Kingdom for its farewell tour there from 1999 to 2001. After its “final” performance, the parade was sent to Disney California Adventure. There it stayed until 2009. It returned for a “limited time” to Magic Kingdom in 2010.
That limited time went on for six years, until Disney announced the parade would be “glowing away” following a short run at Disneyland in 2017. It didn’t perform again until 2022 when it returned to Disneyland to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
A new finale float made its debut during the parade’s run last summer. It replaced the “To Honor America” float and is designed as an homage to Mary Blair and “it’s a small world.”
The new float features a medley of Disney songs set to the famous “it’s a small world” song. We caught “Bare Necessities,” “How Far I’ll Go,” “A Whole New World,” “Give a Little Whistle,” “The Family Madrigal,” “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” “Touch the Sky,” and “Go the Distance.”
Watch our video of the 2022 edition of the Main Street Electrical Parade below.
It’s worth noting that this time, Disney did not say the Main Street Electrical Parade was gone for good. It ended its “limited time run” on September 1, 2022. It’s rumored to return to Walt Disney World next year.
For a full history and exploration of the Main Street Electrical Parade, check out our interview with nighttime spectacular designer Don Dorsey.
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