Main Street Electrical Parade: January Return

The beloved Disneyland procession's Florida run is through; next up, Anaheim.

No Disneyland devotee would truly and seriously pit two iconic park-based attractions against each other in The Battle of Best. But over a churro or Dole whip? It can be fun to lightly ponder such matters.

Which has the eekier drops: Pirates of the Caribbean or Space Mountain? Which ride gives the best castle vantage point, Dumbo the Flying Elephant or the Astro Orbiter?

And is the theme to It's a Small World or the Main Street Electrical Parade more likely to stick in your noggin for a full week?

You're about to put this final question to the test, once again, dear Mickey mavens: The beloved nighttime, bulb-bright parade is wending its way back into the park starting on Jan. 20, 2017.

If you recall seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade when it first opened 'round about the early '70s, you're correct: The sparkly, on-the-move show became a favorite at the Anaheim theme park soon after its debut in the summer of '72.

And, you're also right if you remember seeing it elsewhere in the vicinity: It was at Disney California Adventure for a time, though that run wrapped in 2010.

Disneyland revealed in August that the parade's Magic Kingdom engagement was wrapping up, and the Main Street Electrical Parade would soon return to Disneyland "for a limited time."

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For fans, this announcement was as major as scoring the front seat on the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

That limited time begins on Jan. 20, it was revealed on Dec. 5, 2016, so let the calendars be thusly marked. And the closing date? It's June 18, which happens to be 45 years to the day the Main Street Electrical Parade first debuted.

That means you have about five months to find some curb for the merry after-dark parade, so dally not.

Sweetening the nostalgic-sweet deal for longtime fans is the fact that "special merchandise and food offerings inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade" will be available during the event's much-anticipated return.

A ticketed kick-off event is slated for Jan. 19, with annual passholders getting a first crack at tickets on Dec. 6 (general public tickets will be available on Dec. 13).

Do you have the Main Street Electrical Parade theme song in your head now? Have you never stopped having it in your head, since you first saw the parade in 1977 or 1989 or 1992?

Did you know its name is "Baroque Hoedown," or that's the ditty that inspired it?

Of course you do. Disneyland fans do charmingly obsess over their historical references, and when a major, from-the-past happening blooms again in the middle of Main Street, bet those same fans shall pay a visit to see what is surely the best-known after-dark parade in theme park history.

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