Celebrate! A Street Party is the new Disneyland ‘parade’ that debuted this summer. This is not your typical Disneyland parade. It carries on the tradition of show stops like Parade of Dreams, but while it was important to be near a parade stop for the Parade of Dreams but not a necessity, it is absolutely critical that if you wish to enjoy Celebrate!, you are within the celebration zones.
The zones for Celebrate! A Street Party are Main Street, the Hub and Small World. Verify before you stake out your spot that you will be able to see the show. Talk to any Cast Member for help with that. And while you may stake out your spot well ahead of the parade, be advised that you will be required to stand up once the show starts. While initially upset about this I found myself thoroughly enjoying the show once I was on my feet, and forgot about the pain we all have after days of walking. One problem with standing though is that may parents think it is appropriate to push their children in front of you. As a parent myself, I take the time to stake out a front row seat so my son can enjoy the parades. My plea to parents: please take the time to find that good seat instead of pushing in front of those who waited more than an hour for the prime location.
Before seeing this parade I had heard from others that it wasn’t worth seeing. I am glad I took the time to see Celebrate! I am a big fan of Block Party Bash, and this show is very similar as it gets you up, dancing and just having fun. If you prefer sitting and watching a parade go by, this may not be your cup of tea, but if you are a fan of Block Party Bash or the Pixar Play Parade, you will probably like this show/parade. If you like dance music, classic rock or Latin music, then you will enjoy the show.
As the ‘parade’ rolls into view you will hear Pumping Up the Party (made famous by Miley Cyrus. Once all the floats are in place you will have a selection of music including: I Love Rock ‘n Roll, the Twist, Jump, Jive and Wail (with some beautiful swing dancing to accompany the song), Cup of Life, and a selection of familiar Disney music such as the Tiki Room song, Under the Sea and others. Rounding out the music and the show is a familiar song from Hairspray (Can’t Stop the Beat) and finally the original song Celebrate You.
Celebrate! A Street Party is approximately 16 minutes long from start to finish. During the party you will see dancing from an incredibly skilled group of Cast Members. The dancers are simply amazing, and if you think about the fact that they are dancing in three consecutive shows, their skill, talent, and smile become even more amazing. The dancers never seem to tire, and the smiles they share never falter.
Over the course of these 16 minutes you will see the dancers, an incredible amount of characters, from the well-known to the lesser-known, stilt walkers, a congo line, hand held drums with children as the drummers. There are even bicycle chariots (no horses in this parade) to carry some of the characters throughout the whole parade zone so those you didn’t have in front of you can be seen.
During the show you can expect to see the main characters like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto. You will also see Mary Poppins and Bert, Alice and Mad Hatter, Pinocchio and Geppetto, and a few Princesses. What really thrilled me was the appearance of Clarabelle the Cow who is usually at the Santa’s Reindeer Roundup but otherwise very hard to find. The big one though was Clarice, Chip and Dale’s romantic interest in an animated short. I never in my life expected to see her at Disneyland so this was incredible!
In addition to the costumed characters there are also a few character balloons featuring the likeness of everyone’s favorite Mouse and a few of his friends. (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald are the four balloons on the floats).
During the parade/show the cast not only tries to get you singing and clapping, they also try to get you to join the show. There is a conga line that is primarily children, but a few adults joined. Anyone is welcome. The cast also chooses several kids and hands them each a drum. This is a handheld plastic drum that you use your hand on, similar to a bongo. Each drum has a different character on the face.
This parade is very upbeat and full of energy. The characters are plentiful, the dancers beautiful, and I must admit it was a pleasant surprise. Alex, who was six at the time, absolutely loved it. Of course he did both the conga line and the drum (his drum had Donald). We liked it enough we saw it twice. The second time Alex was also chosen to drum and again he got the Donald drum.
Disney calls this parade Celebrate! A Street Party and the title is perfect. This is not the parade of old, but a high energy street party.