Parade, September 1985

Everybody loves a parade! Especially JG, who would never use the opportunity to hit some rides with shorter lines during the spectacle. NEVER, do you hear? 

Meanwhile, Sue B. has scanned more slides taken by her dad, Lou Perry - these are from Disneyland's 30th Birthday Parade. These are sort of random views of the parade and of Main Street area; it's a lot for one post (10 images), but they felt as if they belonged together, rather than split up.

I would imagine that dancing on top of a moving parade float takes some getting used to. And what if the float slams on its brakes because a deer runs across the street?? I'll bet it happens more often than you imagine. I've read that these dancers are trained to "tuck and roll", so that they incur no damage more serious than some mussed hair (but not too mussed).

The Queen of Hearts from "Alice in Wonderland" is mercurial, temperamental, and pusillanimous. Well, OK, she's not pusillanimous, I just wanted to use a big word to impress you all. Did it work?

A Poppins Penguin has hopped out of a chalk painting and into our hearts. "Mr. Pepperidge, after studying the X-ray, we've determined that you have a penguin in your left ventricle, and we'll have to operate ASAP". "Jeepers!". The Tweedles are nearby. 

Hey! It's the Queen of Hearts again! Holding a bouquet of balloons, purchased at Party City. The Queen knows that balloons are the international symbol of friendship. There is a character in a blue dress behind the balloons, but we will never be able to identify her, and it is a fool's errand to even try.

I would expect the Town Square flagpole area to be packed with guests during a parade, and yet there is room to swing at least two mid-sized cats, much to my surprise. Since this was September, perhaps the crowds were a bit less than they would have been in July or August, since kids would be back in school (except for the lucky few whose parents were willing to pull them out of class for a day at the park). 

Whoa, what's in those shopping bags? Something bulky, and hopefully expensive. The lady in the pink ensemble looks like she walked off the set of "Miami Vice" (she played Sonny Crockett's love interest, Belinda Bikini, a forensics scientist & fashion model). 

It looks like this was the tail-end of the parade, you can see the Rope of Sadness being deployed by cast members. Don't be sad that the parade is over, be grateful that we had it to begin with. Bogdan and Alexei Tweedle, the Queen of Hearts, more Poppins Penguiins, and even Winnie The Pooh can be seen.

Other than the balloons, this corner of Town Square looks pretty "normal". I like that two Skyway gondolas are visible! 

Lou had a good view of the Opera House, which featured Wagner's most famous opera, The Walt Disney Story. If you have 9 hours, you can watch the entire thing. In the end, Walt drives a magic sword into an evil (and smelly) ogre named Fronk. SPOILER ALERT.

And finally, here's a kind of neat look up Main Street as the final float heads toward the Castle. It's fun to see it with everyone milling in the street. Look closely, you can see Mary Poppins' hat at the base of the float.

MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue!!