Magic Kingdom's first daily parade!
The Walt Daily
The Character Parade
Hi everyone! A day at Magic Kingdom wouldn't be complete without the daily afternoon parade. And the first daily parade at the Magic Kingdom was the character parade. If you know Disney, you know that Grand Parades, full of large floats, dancing cast members, and a special soundtrack is just a regular part of your magical day. But you might be surprised to find out that the first Magic Kingdom parade wasn't brimming with the showmanship that we expect from Disney parades today. The character parade is what the first Walt Disney World Daily Parade was called. This parade only ran opening year at Magic Kingdom from October 1st to December 9th, 1971, and was shown twice a day at 1230 and 530. Fittingly, Mickey Mouse was the character who kicked off the character parade. With Mickey acting as the drum major, following him was a live marching band. The dwarfs of Snow White, followed by Minnie Mouse riding in an antique car with everyone's favorite barbershop quartet, the dapper dance, were next. Other characters appearing included the Big Bad Wolf and Three Little Pigs, Thumper and Flower from Bambi, Jacques and Gus from Cinderella, Baloo and King Louis from the Jungle Book, and several other classic fan favorites. The big elaborate floats that we've come used to were noticeably missing from the parade, along with cast members performing and dancing alongside the characters, making the character parade simply a parade of characters. But nonetheless, with your own heartbeat marching to the beat of the marching band, watching all of your favorite Disney characters walk by, it was still a daily must-see. [Music] [MUSIC PLAYING]