By Keith Mahne

Before there was Disney On Ice there was Disney On Parade. This traveling show, which ran from 1969 to 1973, took scores of the characters Walt Disney created and literally made them "come to life" right in your home town. As Walt Disney once said, "We're interested in doing things that are fun...in bringing pleasure and especially laughter to people." It was in this spirit – in this great tradition – that Disney On Parade was created. Join us today as we travel back to the early 1970s and revisit the cast of Disney On Parade with this rare, high-definition footage you are going to love...








Walt Disney Archives founder and former chief archivist David Smith, who I had the pleasure of interviewing for the Disney Avenue Podcast which you can listen to HERE, once shared his memories of the show, "Disney On Parade was affectionately known around the company as "Disney On Wood," to differentiate it from the later "Disney On Ice." I recall attending a preview performance in Long Beach, California, shortly before I turned in my proposal for the Walt Disney Archives. The show, with lavish production numbers reminiscent of an ice show, was presented in sports arenas all around the country, beginning in Chicago on December 19, 1969. There were four versions of the show, with the last in 1973."









The video you are about to see offers a remarkably rare view of what Disney's magical traveling show was like in the early 1970s. It begins at a press event with Disney On Parade characters Snow White, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto who are joined by sculptor Machu Picchu. The sculptor Picchu has created a large Mickey Mouse head out of cheese and the Disney On Parade cast use the occasion to publicize their upcoming show in New York. We then cut to a exterior shot of Madison Square Garden which then breaks away to a special pre-show appearance as children get to meet with some of the Disney characters. After the meet and greet, we then see some clips of the actual Disney On Parade performance. This truly is a wonderful look at what the Disney On Parade traveling show was and how it brought the magic of Disney straight to your front door. Enjoy friends...

(For your viewing pleasure, be sure to pause the Disney Avenue Music Player at the top, left-hand corner of the page prior to playing the video below if you are on a desktop computer.)















Keith Michael Mahne is the owner and editor of Disney Avenue and the host of the Disney Avenue Podcast. He has made countless trips to the Walt Disney World resort since his first trip in 1989 at the age of four. Keith has a strong passion and respect for Walt Disney, the parks and resorts, and the men and women who help create them. He started Disney Avenue as a way to inform and entertain readers and to repay all those who make dreams come true every day.

You can find all of Keith's articles here.