Chapter 31
Pink Elephants on Parade

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By about halfway down Main Street, I could certainly understand what Brick meant about your arms getting tired. I must have switched waving hands no fewer than ten times along the route because it’s a little exhausting. My face also definitely started to hurt but I couldn’t have kept the smile off even if I tried.

Our Photopass photographers kept reappearing on different sides of the street and in different places along the route. It was a little bit like Where’s Waldo?

This picture just gives you an idea how cool it is to be at the front of everything with the whole parade behind.

We learned quickly that being at the front of the parade meant that we heard the beginning of the parade music about once every two minutes and never heard the rest of it. The way the music is timed out for the parades fascinates me. It all sounds seamless when you are watching as the different floats go by, but each music loop is actually perfectly timed to follow each individual float.

There are several different opportunities to feel like a “celebrity” in Disney for just a few minutes, whether by being chosen for an audience interaction portion of a show, participating in something like the Flag Retreat ceremony, or being able to do something like this. I think it’s great how Disney can make so many people feel a little extra special every day. Therefore, it was fun for us to return the favor and make little kids smile as we made eye contact with them and waved, singling out people along the side of the route.

Going around the hub, right past Cinderella Castle was one of the best parts of the whole parade experience. It all feels so magical.

As we went over the bridge to Liberty Square, there was a man who kept yelling something at us along the sidelines. None of us could figure out what the heck he was saying, and we wondered honestly if he had Tourette’s. Then right after we passed by, Tracy figured out that he was saying “New York? New York? New York?” I guess he was from New York as well and was wondering which of our families was too since they had announced our hometowns at the start of the parade. We missed our chance to acknowledge him, but oh well…

Once we got into Liberty Square, it sadly started to sink in that our experience was almost drawing to a close. We made sure to soak it up for as long as possible.

Tracy had been told by one of the cast members as we entered the park that day that she was probably the only one in the whole place wearing Duffy ears. Apparently they’re not very popular, though they’re really nice and soft. We thought he must be right after seeing everyone along the parade route, but then in Liberty Square we spotted one other woman wearing them.

I love how the treads of the tires on this car are Hidden Mickeys.

Suddenly, we reached the end of the route, and it was time for us to get out of the car. There was Brick (in the pink shirt) to greet us and help us out.

He asked whether our arms were tired and our faces hurt, and when we said yes he told us we had done it right! Then he led us to our roped off section to experience the rest of the parade that was going by right behind us. We still had that to enjoy, but our portion was officially over. It was truly an experience that I’m sure is on most people’s Disney bucket lists and one that so few people ever get to have. Like so many other special Disney experiences, it’s not something you can expect or plan for, but when it happens they go all out to make it so incredible. It was a once in a lifetime joy that we’ll never forget.

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