Disney has announced that the new Festival of Fantasy Parade will debut at the Magic Kingdom on March 9th!
That means we are less than 2 weeks away from the premiere! Who’s excited?
WDWNT Reporters Joe Hogarty, Dirk Wallen, and Nick LoCicero were all on the scene for the debut of Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom yesterday and have nearly 300 photos of the parade to share with us of this new daily spectacle:
Needless to say, the parade was stunning. We’ll have a full review of the parade on this week’s WDW News Today Podcast and talk all about it in depth, including the cool details you should look for when you see it.
Full parade video will be shared this afternoon once we get it uploaded.
Thanks to our own John Corigliano for this fantastic video of the premiere performance of the Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom yesterday:
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Yesterday, the Magic Kingdom presented the final performance of the long-running “Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade” as they prepare to debut the new Festival of Fantasy Parade starting in March. While not one of the most beloved parades ever (as it was the 2nd overlay of a parade that debuted in 2001), the performers, guests who loved the parade, and many cast members who were both on-and-off duty had an emotional farewell as the procession pulled through the gates on Main Street for the last time yesterday afternoon. We were camped at the very end of the parade route to capture the historic moment in video for you. Our apologies as the video is a little shaky at times, but there was so much going on with many characters and performers saying goodbye to the parade. Regardless, we hope you enjoy:
When the new Festival of Fantasy Parade debuts at the Magic Kingdom in March, guests will be greeted by a 26 foot tall, steampunk version of Maleficent as a Dragon from Sleeping Beauty. The 35 foot long float was designed along with Michael Curry who also worked with Disney on the Tapestry of Nations parade at Epcot and Finding Nemo: The Musical at Animal Kingdom.
The story behind the parade is that the residents of Fantasyland have crafted their own parade floats in their own style, thus, this is a dragon built of parts “available” to the characters.
Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade will debut this Spring at the Magic Kingdom, with rumors pointing towards March 16th. This however is not official yet.
Disney shared some new details of the new Festival of Fantasy Parade that is headed to the Magic Kingdom this spring. Be sure to watch the video below to get an actual peak at several of the new floats including Peter Pan’s, Ariel’s, Merida’s, and Rapunzel:
Among the most spectacular aspects of the upcoming “Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade” are the incredibly detailed floats, each bringing a classic Fantasyland story to the streets of Magic Kingdom Park.
Today, Managing Producer Kris Bunnell brings us a special behind-the-scenes look at the development of those floats with Parade Designer Richard Improta and Creative Director Steven Davison:
Disney recently posted a video of the floats for the new Festival of Fantasy parade finally arriving at the Magic Kingdom:
This video offers our first full-blown look at many of the floats in the parade and I must say, they look pretty amazing. Disney also confirmed that the parade will debut formally in March, but no exact date has been given. Rumors still indicate the date might be March 16th, but we’ll have to wait to find out.
Stay tuned for more information on Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade!
So, what do you think of the floats?
This March, Walt Disney World Resort guests will feast their eyes on some of the most extravagant and elaborate costume designs in Disney Parks history when the cast of Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade dance through the streets of Magic Kingdom. A new daytime parade, Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade is a celebration of New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom.
The parade will bring beloved characters found in this enchanting land to Main Street, U.S.A. with innovative parade floats; a new soundtrack featuring classic favorites from Disney films and an original theme song; and an impressive array of stunning costumes. From first sketch to final stitch, the production process took almost a year to complete. The creations transpired in 10 different costume houses across eight cities and two countries, with the Creative Costuming facilities in both Florida and California among the mix.
Costume designer Mirena Rada is no stranger to Disney Parks, as her body of work includes design projects for Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. But when she was brought on to create costumes for Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, Rada reached a new milestone – designing for a Walt Disney World Resort theme park.
“This was a personal first and it turned out to be a very different experience from other projects,” said Rada. “Everything here at Magic Kingdom is done on a considerably bigger scale and the resources are aplenty. I took every opportunity to avail myself of these specialties.”
An innovative 3D printing technology brought to life even Rada’s most intricate concepts, with the hauntingly elegant beaks of the Ravens in the “Sleeping Beauty” unit being a prime example. Using a 3D origami program, a paper beak was created and placed on a performer’s head to obtain the initial scale and shape. A digital sculptor then worked on the filigree beak design, which was printed, fitted and refined to produce the final shape. Each piece was base coated, bronzed, lacquered and gilded with fiery Swarovski stones to complete the finished look.
The Finale unit’s Cha Cha Girl is the queen of head-to-toe ensemble with her big top inspired fit and flare dress, bolero jacket embellished with sequins, star spangled tights and hair reminiscent of pulled taffy exuding the essence of Storybook Circus in New Fantasyland.
“The Little Mermaid” unit’s expansive Lion Fish provides a sneak peek at her new costume, featuring a fiery bodice, spotted wings, a spiny headdress and yellow eyelashes. The elaborate costume is one of 39 intricate looks created by designer Mirena Rada and Disney’s Creative Costuming team for the cast of 91 performers.
Set to waltz down the streets of Magic Kingdom this March in Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, a member of the regal Swan Court offers a sneak peek at her new costume, a soft yellow ball gown accented with an elegant feather headpiece and touches of sparkle.
Putting a modern spin on classic elements is a theme that resonates throughout Rada’s designs. From the swan neck collar and iridescent feathers on the Princess Garden unit’s Swan Court ball gowns to the sculpted conch shell headpiece and shimmering pastel dress that comprise “The Little Mermaid” unit’s Seashell Girl, the old and new are blended seamlessly – a trend that is ever present in today’s fashion world.
From the Swing Thugs aboard the “Tangled” unit’s massive longship to the troupe of Scottish dancers announcing Merida’s arrival in the “Brave” unit, Rada carefully planned and executed the detail of each piece. Visual cues such as color and texture choices were taken from each float and incorporated in the costume designs. Additionally, she closely studied the style guide of each film for whimsical details and fabric patterns to capture the essence of each story.
The “Tangled” unit’s Floral Maidens offer a sneak peek at their new costumes featuring soft lace details, colorful woven ribbons, bright flowers and lace-up shoes with floral touches.
A crew of Lost Boys offers a sneak peek at their new costumes featuring snazzy socks, furry plaids and tweed stripes and caps that pay homage to beloved woodland creatures.
Since 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort has delighted guests with many memorable parades. Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park is the quintessential home for these theatrical shows which incorporate beloved Disney characters and movies. There have been little-known daytime parades in the past such as the Surprise Celebration, and widely-known night-time parades such as SpectroMagic; each had the responsibility of entertaining Magic Kingdom visitors for their respective periods of time. Now that the most recently running daytime parade, Celebrate a Dream Come True, has ended, its long-anticipated replacement, Festival of Fantasy Parade, is set to make its debut next month.
Spectro Magic Parade
Many devoted fans of Walt Disney World will argue that the greatest Disney parade of all time was SpectroMagic. This show encompassed all that typically comes to mind when the word “Disney” is mentioned. Full of excitement, sparkling lights, Disney characters, and an enchanting musical score, this adored parade seemed to fit its role perfectly.
Main Street Electrical Parade
Leaving the Magic Kingdom in 2010 to be replaced by the currently active Main Street Electrical Parade, Disney stated that SpectroMagic would eventually make its return. In the summer of 2013, Disney extinguished any hopes for this parade to once again be a part of the experience of the Magic Kingdom, which shocked its fans. Although the ‘Electrical Parade’ is still greatly loved by guests, it has been unable to reach the extremely high level of success that SpectroMagic attained with guests. Now with the Festival of Fantasy Parade on its way to the Magic Kingdom, one can only wonder if the void left by SpectroMagic will soon be filled.
Festival of Fantasy will be a daytime spectacular with visually stunning and elaborate floats. Through images and the above video released by Disney, we know that the float designs will include the movies Brave, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio. To the delight of the many Frozen fans, characters Anna and Elsa have been announced to be on the “Princess Garden” float.
Given that the Festival of Fantasy Parade is themed according to New Fantasyland, there is limitless creativity to be incorporated in the design of the costumes. New techniques used by the creative costuming team, such as 3D printing and 3D origami, give a unique overall appearance to the performers’ costumes. In comparison to costumes seen in other Walt Disney World parades, the remarkably innovative styles seen in the Festival of Fantasy are unprecedented. This modern look that appears throughout the entertainers’ attire and the floats is similar in style to that of Tokyo Disneyland’s Happiness is Here Parade. The modernization of both parades shows a growing trend in Disney productions to radiate contemporary feelings while simultaneously satisfying audiences by the use of cutting-edge technology and designs.
What has been your favorite Disney parade? What are you looking forward to seeing in the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade?
Here is a sneak peak that Disney shared with us on the upcoming parade:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AW9w0o7kAM]
In memory of a fellow Disney fan and friend, Monique Tartt (1995-2014)
Walt Disney World announced a new daytime parade for the Magic Kingdom several months ago, but today they are previewing two more floats from the parade:
Ariel will sit on a large music box float to the tunes of Under the Sea
Merida from Brave and her bear-brothers will travel with a troupe of Scottish dancers and this giant bagpipe
Also announced for the parade thus far is a Princess Royal Court Garden Float, the previously previewed Mickey and Minnie hot-air balloon, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider on a longship, and the Nerverland unit with Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. The Sleeping Beauty, Dumbo, and Pinocchio units in the parade have still not been previewed to date. Festival of Fantasy is scheduled to debut at the Magic Kingdom in early 2014.
Also announced is that the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade will return after Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade for 4 final performances January 1st-4th, 2014. Until Festival of Fantasy premieres a few weeks later, there will be no 3PM parade at the Magic Kingdom, just the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party and Main Street Electrical Parade.
