What’s in a parade

On this date in 1992, Aladdin's Royal Caravan parade made its debut at the Disney-MGM Studios and while that parade wasn't the pinnacle of Disney parades, it was part of a trend that separated parades in the Studios from the parades in the other DIsney parks.  

On this date in 1992, Aladdin's Royal Caravan parade made its debut at the Disney-MGM Studios and while that parade wasn't the pinnacle of Disney parades, it was part of a trend that separated parades in the Studios from the parades in the other DIsney parks.  


Thanks to FlickRiver for this old photo

Aladdin's Royal Caravan was a parade that coincided with the theatrical release of the film Aladdin, which opened in theaters a few weeks earlier on November 25, 1992.  The timing of the parade, however, was no coincidence. The parade was really an extension of the marketing plan for the film and it made perfect sense to promote new films in the Disney-MGM Studios because it was where showbiz is.

Aladdin's Royal Caravan was popular and ended up running until August of 1995, but it was part of a larger overall plan for parades.  Unlike, say the Magic Kingdom, parades in the Studios were about the latest and greatest Disney projects.  And in the 1990s, we saw quite a number of them. Following Aladdin, the Toy Story parade premiered in 1995, which was followed up by the Hercules – Zero to Hero Victory Parade from 1997 to 1998, followed by the Mulan parade from 1998 to 2001.

For almost 10 years, parades in the Studios changed out quickly to reflect what the Walt Disney Company was producing and offered guests a way to experience their favorite new films live in the parks.  Today, the parades in Disney's Hollywood Studios have changed to celebrate a wider range of Disney films, but they still focus on Disney films in the recent past and the next parade to come to the Studios, Pixar Pals Countdown To Fun!, will continue to showcase recent Disney hits along with newer favorites.