Greetings from Anaheim, California. Where I am right in the thick of the Disneyland Resort's Soundsational Summer media event.
The Mouse has really pulled out the stops for this one, folks. Not only were Jodi Benson (i.e. the voice of Ariel for "The Little Mermaid" animated feature) and Sherie Rene Scott (i.e. the actress who played Ursula the Sea Witch in the Broadway stage version of "The Little Mermaid") on hand to entertain the crowds for the opening ceremony of "The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure" ...
Photo by Shelly Valladolid
... but Pat Carroll (i.e. the stage veteran who originally voiced Ursula for Disney's 1989 animated feature) was also in the audience. The picture below shows Pat after the ceremony, where she seems delighted to see one Guest's Stitch plush that's been made up to look like the Sea Witch.
As for "The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure" ride ... I was actually on hand to catch Disney Legend Marty Sklar's impressions of this new DCA ride as he climbed out of his omnimover. "That was great," said Marty to Larry Nikolai, Principal Concept and Show Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering. Who seemed genuinely pleased that his old boss would give Larry's latest project such a big thumbs up.
From there, it was time to head over to Disneyland Park. Where senior show director John Addis tried to make some introductory remarks ahead of the premiere of Mickey's Soundsational Parade ...
... only to then be interrupted by a flash mob of Disneyland Resort cast members.
Which actually set the stage -- in a fun sort of way -- for the high energy & constantly surprising parade that followed.
Which did a brilliant job of taking characters, films and stories that Disney fans already love ...
... and showcasing them in fun new ways.
What makes Mickey's Soundsational particularly successful, the sort of parade that you can watch again & again, is the clever design & detail work that's been done on these floats ...
... as well as the way that this parade's design team was always finding fun ways to mix the old in ...
... with the new.
It seemed like every way you looked in Mickey's Soundsational Parade, there was some fun new detail to catch your eye.
And then -- when you factored in this parade's "Mary Poppins" -themed finale sequence, with a street full of dancing chimney sweeps ...
... and oversized fox hunter float (which featured a live Pearlie Band playing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") ...
Disney theme park parades honestly don't get much better than this. Which is why -- to celebrate -- the members of the media then headed over to the Disneyland Hotel. Where -- in addition to being able to check this resort's new pool area as well as its Tiki-themed restaurant and bar complex, Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam's -- we also got the chance to the Hotel's new Big Thunder ...
... and Adventureland-themed suites.
You'll be hearing lots more about these beautifully detailed & decorated rooms in future JHM articles. But given that I have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow so that I can then cover an event that's happening in a galaxy far, far away ...
... I really need to close here and go get some sleep.
Anyway ... That's just a taste of what the last 8 hours have been like here at the Disneyland Resort. And tomorrow (which will supposedly feature a visit inside of the construction fence that currently surrounds DCA's Cars Land project) promises to be just as exciting & informative. So look for a more in-depth story about Friday's media events sometime in the coming week.Your thoughts?
It's all very exciting! I'm happy to see everything Disney has been up too...
I saw a video of the parade on a different page and LOVED it! So excited to see a decent parade that looks as though it appeals to every age group and HOLDS their attention. I'm dying to see what the Little Mermaid ride looks like now...
It could just be the angle of the picture, but the Sebastion puppet looks weird with that shell behind him.
Disney is a very wonderful place, good people and a very enjoyable place to be.