‘Magic Happens’ - Disneyland’s newest daytime parade

Category: Activities, Performances, & Events
Category: Travel

It has been 10 years since Disneyland produced a new daytime parade. “Magic Happens” is now running daily at the Disneyland Park and is filled with color, music, characters, and amazing floats.

The floats are sure to wow adults and the characters are definitely going to entertain kids. The Disney/Pixar stories represented in the parade are “The Sword in the Stone,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty, “Frozen 2,” “Moana,” “Coco,” “Moana,” and “The Princess and the Frog.” 

Merlin and young Arthur ride upon “The Sword in the Stone” float where the young lad easily removes the famous sword from the stone to the cheers of the crowd. Tiana and Prince Naveen share a dance and a kiss on their beautifully designed “The Princess and the Frog” float. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather appear atop the “Sleeping Beauty” float along with Princess Aurora in her gown with shades of blue and pink.The “Cinderella” float has both Cinderella in her grand pumpkin coach and the Fairy Godmother who is always eager to interact with the guests on the parade route. 

“Moana” is represented with three floats. First comes Moana in her life-size canoe followed by Maui’s float with Pua riding front and center. Then, to the joy of both young and old, a remote controlled HeiHei travels from one side of the street to the other, spinning and entertaining all the guests. The Moana float is a giant leap forward in the world of technology, utilizing a curved LED screen wave with images of the ocean (look closely for some fun Easter Eggs in the ocean scenery), and along the side of this magnificently carved Koa wood float are other LED screens immersing the crowd in underwater life.


The beautiful “Frozen 2” float has Elsa, Anna, and Olaf in the magic forest, while Sven stands on the back, followed closely by Kristoff. There is magic on this float combining the live characters with animated ones. After all, a live snowman and reindeer would be difficult to keep on a float even for the folks at Disney!

The “Coco” float tells the story of the Land of the Living and the Land of the dead. Miguel strums his guitar on the front of the float with Dante jumping from the land of the living to the land of the dead, bringing the story to the land of the dead with Miguel’s family in the afterlife. And for an added treat, the back of the float has 12 Chihuahua skeletons greeting the parade watchers.

There is so much more to this parade than the floats. There are dancers accompanying the floats adding more to the stories they tell. The dancers accompanying the “Moana” float carry Kakamora characters. Let’s face it, the folks at Disney always add just a little extra to everything they do!

“We’ve designed the ‘Magic Happens’ floats to that characters, scenes, and surprises are revealed a little at a time, making each float a journey of discovery,” said David Duffy, creative director for Disney Live Entertainment.” And every time guests see the floats they will discover something new and exciting because there is so much to see in each float.

There are over 90 performers in this grand parade with two new original songs – “Magic Happens” and a Grand Finale song that will leave everyone with a big smile as the parade completes its run through the park. And the brightly colored costumes along with the music are impressive for both young and old.

“Magic Happens” is a fun, new, colorful, whimsical parade that will definitely become a favorite among Disneyland guests. Magic is always happening at Disneyland, The Happiest Place on Earth, and this new parade adds even more magic.

(Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. Follow her on Twitter.