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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 |
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Do you remember the part of the movie Aladdin when the title character uses his first wish? “Genie, I wish for you to make me a prince!” Thanks to the Genie’s power, Aladdin becomes Prince Ali Ababwa. Abu, the diminutive monkey sidekick, becomes a mighty elephant, still recognizable because of the unruly auburn hair on the top of his head. |
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But that’s not all. The Genie creates an extravagant royal procession. Prince Ali’s entrance is meant to impress Princess Jasmine. Perhaps you remember some of the lyrics from the song.
He’s got seventy-five golden camels, Ah, to see such a grand parade! |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Main Street, U.S.A. |
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Think of Main Street, U.S.A. as the main street of Agrabah. The cymbals crash! Aladdin’s Royal Caravan approaches. To the tune of “Prince Ali,” you’re treated to a very clever spectacle as the disguised “street rat” Aladdin and his royal entourage make their grand entrance. It’s not a literal duplication of the movie sequence. The folks who designed this parade have their own magic, different from the Genie’s. There’s the blurring of real parade performers with puppets and Disney’s first use of lightweight, inflatable costumes. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 32-foot Genie |
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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 Entering Town Square |
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Maybe this should be called the Genie Parade. He’s everywhere. There’s bathtub Genie, split-in-two Genie, and 32-foot tall Genie, to name a few. There’s a whole cast of colorful characters including harem dancers, a snake charmer, and used lamp salesmen. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Macy’s-style balloon ape with Genie in a treasure chest |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Bathtub Genie |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Sitting on a bed of Nails |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Spitting camels |
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Watch out! That camel is turning toward you and spitting! Your face is now all wet. Don’t worry, it’s just water… not real camel spit. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Dancing camels |
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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 Incredible riches |
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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 Split-in-two Genie |
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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 Elephant Abu with Aladdin |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Elephant Abu with Aladdin and Jasmine |
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For some reason, Jasmine sometimes rides on Elephant Abu with Aladdin. That’s not how it was in the movie, but it makes for a better Disney theme park parade. |
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Photo by Mike McKiernan, 1993 Street sweeper Jafar |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1993 Genie is “outta here”—but not Jafar |
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Jafar is relegated to being a street sweeper at the end of the parade. Iago’s grating voice emerges from inside the wheeled refuse bucket. Iago is not happy. But the audience is very happy. They just watched a terrific parade. |
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Aladdin’s Royal Caravan premiered at Disneyland on April 2, 1993, almost a half year after the U.S. release of Disney’s animated feature, Aladdin on November 25, 1992. It was the first parade at any Disney park based on a single movie. In June 1994, Disneyland guests saw the royal procession for the last time as Prince Ali and Princess Jasmine made way for different royalty—the July 1994 debut of The Lion King Celebration. |
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Photo by Peter Dutton, 1995, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Aladdin’s Royal Caravan at Disney-MGM Studios |
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The parade delighted guests not only at Disneyland, but also at Walt Disney World, where the parade made its way down Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Compared to its California run of just over a year, the parade’s Florida run was much longer—from December 21, 1992 (about a month after the movie opened) to August 27, 1995. |
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© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated May 26, 2023 |
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