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scanned image © 2000 Disney About the parade, from “Tokyo Disneyland Today,“ October 14-31, 2000 |
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It’s between April 15, 2000 and January 21, 2003 at Tokyo Yesterland. If the only Disney parks you’ve visited have been in the United States, this might be the best Disney parade you’ve never seen. Its name is Disney on Parade: 100 Years of Magic. The second part of the name refers to the 100 years since the birth of Walt Disney on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. Sadly, Walt was only around for 65 of those years, but the creative people at the company that bears his name continued to entertain the world. |
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The parade begins with the Good Old Days. The official Tokyo Disneyland website of the year 2000 describes what to expect: Century Dancers and a unit marking 100 Years of Magic kick off the parade in grand style. The early film creations that brought Mickey and Disney animation to the world take the stage here, showing an era in transition from black-and-white to color. There’s lots to cheer about in this creative salute to the good ol’ Saturday afternoon shorts with Donald, Goofy and barnyard favorites. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Tokyo Disneyland Marching Band, after the title float |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Dale displaying Mickey Mouse animation by hand-cranking a whimsical mutoscope mechanism |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 A float celebrating Walt Disney’s Hyperion Studio, where Mickey Mouse was born… |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 …and the transition from black & white Mickey Mouse cartoons to colorful Silly Symphony cartoons |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 One of the film reel dancers in the parade |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 The houses and pigs from The Three Little Pigs, along with anthropomorphic flowers and bugs |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Dancing chickens, in the style of Silly Symphony cartoons |
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The next part of the parade is the Golden Age. Once again, the official website describes it: The middle units of the parade, based on the most popular Disney films from the 1930s and ’40s, come into view amid splendor with a showcase of Disney Princes and Princesses. Dancers wearing elegant costumes relive the wonderfully romantic atmosphere of the classic films. Look for Mary Poppins, Bert, and dancers in candy dresses to recreate the feel of a lively Broadway musical. It’s not clear how Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964) qualifies as one of “the most popular Disney films from the 1930s and ’40s,” but the movie definitely deserves to be honored in this parade. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Minnie’s Drive-In parade float, with Roger Rabbit |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 Carhops on roller skates |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 And Tigger too |
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The third major part of the parade is Happy Days. The official website describes it: Disney characters introduce the vibrant spirit of youth found in fashion and music since the 1950s. Alice and her friends dazzle in colorful costumes on a fantasy-filled unit reminiscent of the ‘60s. Dancin’ Bugs make their first appearance at Tokyo Disneyland, while stars of popular ‘80s and ‘90s Disney films accompany Mickey in introducing Disney entertainment for the coming 100 years. The “Dancin’ Bugs” are from the recent Disney-Pixar movie A Bug’s Life (1998). The parade wouldn’t be complete without Belle and Beast from Beauty and the Beast (1991). Jessie, Woody, and Buzz from Toy Story 2 (1999) share the final float with Mickey Mouse, who is high atop the float. The parade has a soundtrack built around the catchy Disney song, “100 Years of Magic,” in English and Japanese, with other music woven in throughout. Good show! |
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Tokyo Disneyland ran Disney on Parade: 100 Years of Magic from April 15, 2000 to January 21, 2003. The parade was never moved to, or duplicated for, parks in California, Florida, or France, but some of the floats were reused for the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland (2005). The Walt Disney Company also used the phrase “100 Years of Magic” at its other parks from Oct. 1, 2001 to Feb. 28, 2003. The 17-month-long marketing “Celebration” was supposed to honor the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth and the ten decades since then. Unlike the parade in Tokyo, the new and updated parades at Disney parks in the United States made no effort to tell that story. The parade at the Magic Kingdom was Share a Dream Come True. At Epcot, Tapestry of Nations was reworked into Tapestry of Dreams. Disney’s Animal Kingdom had Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle. Disney-MGM Studios (as the park was then called) had Disney Stars and Motor Cars. In addition to the parade, Disney-MGM Studios added the 122-foot-tall Sorcerer Mickey Hat, the icon for “100 Years of Magic.” The park also added an excellent Disney history attraction, Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, for “100 Years of Magic.” Mercifully, the Hat is gone. The history attraction endures as Walt Disney Presents, with updates over the years. |
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scanned image © 2000 Disney Parade route at Tokyo Disneyland, 2000 |
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You might expect the parade route at all Disney “castle” parks to include Main Street U.S.A. That’s how it is in California, Florida, France, and Hong Kong. Not at Tokyo Disneyland. The parade route begins adjacent to the Haunted Mansion in Fantasyland, heads to the central hub by way of Westernland, circles most of the hub, follows the border between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland into Toontown, where the parade route ends. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2000 World Bazaar from the central hub |
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Where other Disney “castle parks” (except Shanghai Disneyland) have Main Street U.S.A., Tokyo Disneyland also has a street of American storefronts, circa 1900, but it’s called World Bazaar and is covered by an old-fashioned protective glass canopy. Parades don’t go there. |
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© 2024 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated March 1, 2024 |
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