Spectromagic!

[honeybear]

Are they EVER going to bring Spectromagic back to the Magic Kingdom Park! I really miss it!

[DizneyFreak2002]

Are they EVER going to bring Spectromagic back to the Magic Kingdom Park! I really miss it!
No... it is gone...

[Basket Mommy]

I thought I read somewhere that a lot of the floats were damaged in a storm? Am I remembering that correctly?

[DizneyFreak2002]

I thought I read somewhere that a lot of the floats were damaged in a storm? Am I remembering that correctly?
Floats were reportedly not stored right for the Florida weather... Some say the floats (at least some) were damaged by termites, some were rotted... Some were saved and still in good condition, and come out every once in a while...

The parade is gone though... A new night time fireworks show is in the planning stages, so maybe a new night time parade is too...

[honeybear]

I am so sad! It was my Favorite! you tube it is!

[Main Street Jim]

Floats were reportedly not stored right for the Florida weather... Some say the floats (at least some) were damaged by termites, some were rotted... Some were saved and still in good condition, and come out every once in a while...

The parade is gone though... A new night time fireworks show is in the planning stages, so maybe a new night time parade is too...They were in pretty rough shape as far back as 2001-2, when I first started working Parades on Main Street. As a Parade Audience Control (PAC) trainer, one of our "things" was to go back to Parade Storage (behind Pirates/Splash) and allow our trainees to actually sit in the floats and see what the driver sees from the "cockpit". It's not a very good view, which was why we stressed that our PAC Cast must do good at their job of keeping guests out of the streets/crosswalks.

The floats are mostly wood - which explains the termites and rot.

[DizneyFreak2002]

They were in pretty rough shape as far back as 2001-2, when I first started working Parades on Main Street. As a Parade Audience Control (PAC) trainer, one of our "things" was to go back to Parade Storage (behind Pirates/Splash) and allow our trainees to actually sit in the floats and see what the driver sees from the "cockpit". It's not a very good view, which was why we stressed that our PAC Cast must do good at their job of keeping guests out of the streets/crosswalks.

The floats are mostly wood - which explains the termites and rot.
I can only imagine the condition of the floats in Main Street Electrical Parade... Someone told me they aren't in good, never mind great, shape and have major issues as well...

[AgentC]

I can only imagine the condition of the floats in Main Street Electrical Parade... Someone told me they aren't in good, never mind great, shape and have major issues as well...

It's remarkable any of them still work after all these years no matter how well they store them. Florida heat and humidity is brutal. I've lost several things because my husband moved them out of their storage place. And if we leave out Christmas lights in the garage off season (even properly packed) , at least 50% won't work when it is time to put them up. :eek:

[11290]

They were in pretty rough shape as far back as 2001-2, when I first started working Parades on Main Street. As a Parade Audience Control (PAC) trainer, one of our "things" was to go back to Parade Storage (behind Pirates/Splash) and allow our trainees to actually sit in the floats and see what the driver sees from the "cockpit". It's not a very good view, which was why we stressed that our PAC Cast must do good at their job of keeping guests out of the streets/crosswalks.

The floats are mostly wood - which explains the termites and rot.

Sadly, this is not done in PAC training anymore. The Backstage #1 & 2 positions are now staffed by Parade Entertainment CM's so PAC training does not even go back to the PC anymore at all.

Spectro floats got completely dismantled a few years ago. A lot of the drive components were "robbed" when MSEP came back in 2010 to overhaul some of those floats.

The last time I went back to the PC, about a year ago, there were no signs of any of the old Spectro floats and I walked back thru both buildings and around back by the waterway.

[Cinderelley]

They were in pretty rough shape as far back as 2001-2, when I first started working Parades on Main Street. As a Parade Audience Control (PAC) trainer, one of our "things" was to go back to Parade Storage (behind Pirates/Splash) and allow our trainees to actually sit in the floats and see what the driver sees from the "cockpit". It's not a very good view, which was why we stressed that our PAC Cast must do good at their job of keeping guests out of the streets/crosswalks.

The floats are mostly wood - which explains the termites and rot.

I saw a CM in action on my last trip. Saved a small child. I'm sure it is a thankless job but very important nonetheless.

[DizneyFreak2002]

It's remarkable any of them still work after all these years no matter how well they store them. Florida heat and humidity is brutal. I've lost several things because my husband moved them out of their storage place. And if we leave out Christmas lights in the garage off season (even properly packed) , at least 50% won't work when it is time to put them up. :eek:
I was actually amazed the parade looked good in 2013...

[11290]

I was actually amazed the parade looked good in 2013...

Were you referring to MSEP? Spectro ended in June of 2010. Most of the MSEP floats are constructed very differently than the Spectro floats were and really aren't subject to the same environmental issues.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Were you referring to MSEP? Spectro ended in June of 2010. Most of the MSEP floats are constructed very differently than the Spectro floats were and really aren't subject to the same environmental issues.
Yes that was in reference to MSEP...

I said I was amazed at how good they looked because I had heard from several people that the floats were in really really bad shape and they feared half of them would never make the full parade route on any given night... Then I saw the parade in 2013 and the floats looked pretty good to me... But that is just with the naked eye... I have no knowledge of the true condition of the MSEP floats... Just what I've been told...

[11290]

Yes that was in reference to MSEP...

I said I was amazed at how good they looked because I had heard from several people that the floats were in really really bad shape and they feared half of them would never make the full parade route on any given night... Then I saw the parade in 2013 and the floats looked pretty good to me... But that is just with the naked eye... I have no knowledge of the true condition of the MSEP floats... Just what I've been told...

Physically, they looked in good shape when they came in early 2010 but mechanically, not very good, at least so I was told by some of the parade mechanics. The first month or so the Dopey float could hardly make it up Main St., tires were not up to par to make the grade when it got to the Trolley track steel plates (DLR is very flat).

[tiggerbuddy]

I hope those CREEPY white masks were destroyed !!!:ack:

[DizneyFreak2002]

Physically, they looked in good shape when they came in early 2010 but mechanically, not very good, at least so I was told by some of the parade mechanics. The first month or so the Dopey float could hardly make it up Main St., tires were not up to par to make the grade when it got to the Trolley track steel plates (DLR is very flat).

Eek... so what I have been told and heard is true then huh? I almost didn't believe it when I was told they are in rough shape cause I thought they were just fine in 2013... But alas, as you said, to the eye they look good, but the mechanics are another story...

Let's hope they do design a new night time parade...

[Melanie]

I hope those CREEPY white masks were destroyed !!!:ack:

THIS!!!! :thumbsup:

It's time for new everything - nighttime parade, fireworks! Give me a reason to stay late in the parks again.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I hope those CREEPY white masks were destroyed !!!:ack:

They were on big reason that the parade was retired. Disney received a lot of complaints about them to the point that they tried to fix the issue by removing the masks and going with lit faces in white face makeup. They were still creepy. People really liked the floats but hated the Spectromen and that took away from the overall enjoyment of the parade.

[11290]

Eek... so what I have been told and heard is true then huh? I almost didn't believe it when I was told they are in rough shape cause I thought they were just fine in 2013... But alas, as you said, to the eye they look good, but the mechanics are another story...

Let's hope they do design a new night time parade...

Almost every float currently in use has had "refurbishment work" done to it in some form since the parade came to the MK. It seems to be in pretty good shape right now but still have some technical glitches some nights that can keep some sections out, sometimes mechanical and sometimes cast specific issues.

As far as a new night parade, from what I have heard, don't hold your breath for anything very soon. Never know though as things at Disney can (and sometimes do) change in a heartbeat.

[DonaldDuck1117]

I was a huge fan of Spectro, not so much for MEP. It's like a time capsule. Everything from the lights to the music. I was able to watch the new Disneyland night parade on webcams they had set up for the 24 hour summer event. Holy cow!! It was amazing. Totally brought the nighttime parade into the 21st century. It was spectacular.

They did such a great job with the new 3 o'clock parade for MK, time to do the same for the night parade.

[i'm grumpy]

THIS!!!! :thumbsup:

It's time for new everything - nighttime parade, fireworks! Give me a reason to stay late in the parks again.

Those guys were so creepy. :eek2::eek:

[Maddie]

This is probably why they are beginning to do short parades with small floats and mostly cast members walking and dancing. During the Disney Half Marathon we ran in the back of splash mountain the past few years, I have seen the number of floats shrink. The only ones left are the electrical light parade and a pirate ship float they take out.

[11290]

This is probably why they are beginning to do short parades with small floats and mostly cast members walking and dancing. During the Disney Half Marathon we ran in the back of splash mountain the past few years, I have seen the number of floats shrink. The only ones left are the electrical light parade and a pirate ship float they take out.

There are a LOT more than that back there.

[Lizzy]

I didn't realize spectro was gone for good. I wish I got to see it one last time.

I am over MSEP, my kids still love it. I hope a new night parade will be soon.

[11290]

I didn't realize spectro was gone for good. I wish I got to see it one last time.

I am over MSEP, my kids still love it. I hope a new night parade will be soon.

Spectro went away in June of 2010. As to being over MSEP, so are most of the CM's that work it.

[Goes4FastPass]

Spectromagic is gone but for Pet's Dragon sake, MSEP is more old and creaky than classic. I'm hoping WDW will soon give us a nighttime parade with state of the art technology and lots of heart.

[Main Street Jim]

Here's something most people probably don't realize.

When MSEP came back in the summer of 2010, that was the "only" time it was announced that it would run - for the three-month-long "Summer Night-Tastic" promotion they ran that year (from June-September 2010), while the "SpectroMagic floats were scheduled to be refurbished".

Here it's been *five years* now since the "limited time" run of MSEP was brought back (for a third time) to the Magic Kingdom.

I have sentimental ties to both nighttime parades. I grew up *watching* MSEP as a kid through the late '70s up until I left Florida in 1990.

Spectro showed up while I was stationed in Virginia in the Navy, and it "disappointed" me when I took my kids for their first visit in 1995 that MSEP was gone. By that time, MSEP had already made a 14-year run (1977-1991). Spectro ran from 1991-1999, when MSEP came back for the Millennium Celebration through the spring of 2001. In October of 2000, I applied with the company to work in the parks, and *desperately* wanted to work with MSEP. But it said its "goodbyes" in March of 2001, and I was hired as a Main Street USA Cast Member just three short months later. I was trained on PAC - that's "Parade Audience Control" for the unitiated; basically the "crowd control" Cast that you see on the streets for parades - working the "Share a Dream Come True" parade and SpectroMagic. I became a PAC trainer after I went full-time in May of 2004 on Main Street, and got to do some *amazing* things with my "kids", as I called 'em. Got to sit in the driver's seat of a float. Got to watch "Wishes" - and see Tinker Bell fly from the Castle - from the roof of Casey's and the Ice Cream Parlor - all while *training* my Cast. Spectro was also the first night parade that my granddaughter got to see.

So, both parades still hold a special place for me, although, MSEP will *always* be my ALL-TIME favorite.