Festival of Fantasy Parade: Opening Princess float

I’m still going through all the photos I took yesterday and I’ll post them a little at a time until I get through them all.  Of course, I’ll probably go back again this weekend and get some more shots.  I was standing directly across from the Fire Station, which was a great place to see it from, but a terrible place to shoot photos or video because the sun was behind the floats and characters most of the time.  I live an learn huh?

The new parade begins with an all new Prince and Princess float.  I’m happy to see the old mirror thing finally be eliminated from the daytime parade.  The new one is unique, because it rotates in some of the sections to allow guests to see all the characters on the float rather than have to watch twice to see each side.

There was great fanfare and the excitement for the parade was palpable.  People lined up for the perfect spot several hours in advance.  The crowd cheered each time a new float would pass.   The Lords and Ladies in Waiting set the stage for the first new float.

The first characters you’ll see will be Belle and Beast on the front of the float. The center section of the float is a terrific version of Cinderella’s dress that was spoiled by her step-sisters in the film.  This section will rotate around to show you Cinderella and her Prince.  I liked how the mice were actively at work on the dress.

You can see the section rotating

And tada…true love!

The final section of the float rotates and it contains Naveen and Tiana as well as Anna and Elsa.  I only caught a brief glimpse of Naveen and Tiana on this day.

Every time Anna and Elsa would appear on a side of the parade, the crowd would scream.  Frozen is popular beyond belief.  My brother told me when it released it wouldn’t become another Beauty and the Beast or Lion King.  Looks like it’s become even bigger with more than $1 Billion at the box office and people waiting FIVE hours to meet them at Epcot.

People around us said, “Look, they are wearing their coronation dresses.”  Well, sorta.  Anna is wearing the dress that she wore for Elsa’s coronation.  Elsa is wearing the dress that she crafted herself.  Elsa’s coronation dress was dark green with a purple train.  Either way, it is nice to see them outside that tiny room in Epcot.

That’s all for the first float section.  Back to choosing photos for the next section!