We were able to see the Parade of Dreams twice during our June 2005 trip to the Disneyland Resort. I really wanted to see the final float… the one with the Princesses, Mickey and Minnie, and the other characters that are so familiar to me. Since we have always watched Disneyland parades from Town Square, I really wanted to remain in my favorite spot, or as close to it as possible. I spent about one hour trying to find a cast member that could tell me where the float I wanted to see would be for the first show stop on the 7:00 Parade of Dreams.
Finally, I remembered that for every parade I have watched the Coke cart was always across from City Hall. I went to ask the Cast Member at the Coke cart and sure enough, he was able to answer my question to my satisfaction. I found out that the last float would have a show stop in front of Mad Hatter.
The first night I sat in the circle so that I was not facing the sun and happily awaited my first look at the Parade of Dreams. What I heard when it started was the voice of Julie Andrews. Since I have always liked her, this made me smile, and I eagerly awaited the beginning.
The music started and the first float came out; preceded by the person who leads many of the Disney parades. The Blue Fairy was walking with other fairies in front of the opening float. I was in awe to see Tinker Bell and later to see Jiminy Cricket. To see Simba soaring above the crowd and the huge Ursula was fantastic. Yes, I loved this parade.
When the parade did stop, the float was right where the Cast Member had said it would be… but I neglected to ask the right question. What I should have asked him was if anything happens in front of the float. The answer is yes. In fact, on this particular float during the show stop, all of the action is in front of the float.
Friday night, our last night at the Disneyland Resort, I was determined to watch the parade again, and to sit in a better spot, so that I could see the action during the show stop. This time, I sat on a bench facing the center of Town Square and to the right of the stairs up to Main Street Station. This turned out to be the perfect spot. I had a great view of the Princesses dancing and the other characters playing. My only regret is that I waited until the second to the last night of our vacation to take the time to watch. If I had watched earlier, I could have done the same thing I did with the Block Party Bash, and taken the time to see each float on its show stop. This is a fantastic parade, be sure to take the time to see it on your trip to Disneyland.