Disney’s America on Parade

America on Parade Memories

One of the most exciting things I’d done at that point in my young life was working as a Pole Carrier on the Showboat float in Disney’s Bicentennial celebration “America on Parade.” 

America on Parade (AOP) ran from June 7, 1975 until September 6, 1976 at Walt Disney World. It also ran from June 14, 1975 until September 12, 1976 at Disneyland. It was the first time Disney produced and ran the same show simultaneously at both Walt Disney World and at Disneyland.

Casting

In the spring of 1975 there were announcements at our school, Lakeview High School in Winter Garden, that Disney was seeking people to march in the upcoming bicentennial parade at the Magic Kingdom. There were to be two parades every day during the summer: one in the afternoon at 3 p.m. and the other at 9 p.m. at night. 

Our school was recruited for the afternoon parade. You had to be at least 15 years old to be hired, and at 15 you also needed a worker’s permit signed by your parents. It also helped if you were within certain height requirements. How lucky I was to meet all those conditions! 

If selected, I would be marching with the older kids as none of my immediate friends were 15. At the time Lakeview High School included grades 7-12. It was a little intimidating, but I was up for the challenge. I would be a Disney employee – if only for the summer! 

Auditions

A group from Disney came to the school for auditions. They called groups of us onto the auditorium stage, and we did a few basic dance moves. Although disco music was all the rage then, I was definitely not a dancer. Somehow, I squeaked through the steps and managed to pass the audition. Walt Disney World here I come! 

The Disney folks returned later to have us rehearse our routines. They brought some of the assemblies that were used in the floats. As a pole carrier my job was to push one side of an arch down the street while keeping it in line with the other side, which was pushed by another pole carrier. While we marched, Disney cast members would be dancing and twirling between the two “poles” so it was important to keep them even. We practiced going around our high school track one afternoon after school. It was great fun! 

High Schools

We were not the only school participating. Most of the area’s high schools were also on the schedule. Lakeview started the summer by marching 3 days during the week. Another school marched on the days we weren’t scheduled. Later in the summer, we switched as they rotated us to the remaining 4 days. Buses picked us up at school each day. They took us to a backstage wardrobe building where we changed into our costumes. 

Costumes

There was a locker room where we changed into shorts and t-shirts, and then a larger room that had racks of padding and costumes on hangers. During rehearsals we had suspenders that the fiberglass necks strapped onto to stabilize the weight of the costume head. We looked out through an opening in the fiberglass neck.  Before the actual parades, the suspenders were replaced with a metal back brace. We strapped the brace on and it was a big improvement – it relieved the pressure of the character head from your own head and neck. 

We then put on padding and outer garments. The padding filled out the oversized chest and raised our shoulders up to the correct level for the heads. Once we suited up, we went outside where wardrobe cast members placed the heads over our fiberglass necks. The costumes were very top heavy – if you leaned over to far gravity could pull you to the ground. Not only was my character head big, but it also had a top hat, making it even heavier. 

Once costumed, we lined up in formation in front of the wardrobe building. We then marched down an access road and around a little hill and out into the park. That little hill eventually became Splash Mountain. Disney World had only been open for 4 years, so the landscaping was not as mature as it is today. The little hill had mostly grass and a few saplings.  

Parade Route

The afternoon parade marched on a reverse route through the park: coming through Frontierland, past Cinderella’s Castle, up Main Street, and exiting behind the Fire Station. We were greeted by wardrobe cast members as soon as we were behind the wall by the Fire Station. They took our character heads and offered us water. It was very hot in the costumes, and the water was always welcomed. We then walked back to the wardrobe building on a behind-the-scenes access road. The floats remained behind the Fire Station. The night parades began from the Fire Station and progressed down Main Street, toward the Castle, and exited through Frontierland. The floats were stored overnight back at the wardrobe building. 

First Parade

Our school was scheduled to march in the first scheduled performance of America on Parade (there had been earlier previews). The parade at Disney World started a week before Disneyland’s parade. However, the buses showed up late that day, and we were told that a bigger school would take our place for that one parade only. They still took us to Disney, escorted us down the access road and gave us a space next to the little hill to watch as spectators. Although we were not marching, we were among the first to see the official parade debut as it came around the little hill in all its glory. It was amazing!  

Marching

Being a pole carrier was not as easy as it appeared. The parade kicked off in June, in the summer heat, and our costumes had massive amounts of padding with no internal fans. The theme park streets had a variety of surfaces as well as the trolley tracks on Main Street. It was easy to get the wheels of the arch stuck in the pavement. We had to make sure the wheels did not get jammed, and maintain awareness of our partner’s position, while having limited visibility from the costume. We had to keep both sides of the arch even so as not to interfere with the movement of the showboat dancers.

Music

The music was created by using vintage mechanical band organ recordings along with modern electronic Moog synthesizers. The Sherman Brothers wrote the parade theme song “The Glorious Fourth.” Each float assembly had different music which blended together with the theme. I can still remember ours after all these years: it was a very upbeat, catchy tune. I thought the Showboat float was the best in the parade. It was featured in pictures and articles from all across the country. I was so proud to be part of it! You can hear selections of music from the parade as well as watch a restored Super 8mm video of the parade (with sound) on YouTube.

Showboat Memories

 I unofficially named my character “George.” He had black hair and blue eyes. Our costumes were yellow with white stripes on the jacket. The kid who pushed the other side of my arch was named Charles. Once while walking down Main Street a little spectator jumped off the curb and grabbed onto my pants leg – luckily his mother pulled him off quickly. Disney had spotters along the parade route, so if you were in distress or had a costume malfunction, they were there to help. They also warned us not to get sunburned. I wish I had listened to that advice. It was very hard marching under all that padding in the heat when your skin was blistered. I found that out firsthand. Twice. 

Inclement Weather

The day that really stands out in my mind is the day it rained so hard our parade was (eventually) cancelled. We had arrived and suited up in the padding but were unable to leave the wardrobe building due to the storm. As we waited for the rain to stop, some of the cast members started playing music. That led them to try and teach us high schoolers how to do “The Hustle,” a popular dance at the time. Since I was aware of my dancing limitations, I sat by the wall and watched as a large group of people, in their padding and metal braces, tried to disco dance. It was very awkward at first – people bumping into each other and trying to see out of the necks. I laughed until I cried. Eventually they figured it out, and it was truly a sight to behold. There were a lot of really talented people in our parade group! 

Epilogue

Walt Disney World hosted the last performance of America on Parade on September 6, 1976.

The parade was seen by over 25 million people. It was a huge success. The book “Disney’s America on Parade: A History of the U.S.A. in a Dazzling, Fun-Filled Pageant” by David Jacobs was published in 1975 featuring pictures from the parade. The Showboat float appeared on the cover of both Walt Disney World’s and Disneyland’s Vacationland magazine with America on Parade as the featured article. Disney also produced a Bicentennial TV special hosted by comedian Red Skelton.

Upon EPCOT Center’s opening in 1982, some of the characters were redesigned to greet guests at the World Showcase. I remember they were also used in a small parade at American Adventure but I can find no record of its existence.

For anyone looking for more information, the Orlando Public Library houses The Disney Collection which includes materials that range from books, press clippings, and internal Disney newsletters. There are many materials on America on Parade which are accessible to the public.

For those of us who participated in the parade, it was a life-changing experience. It was all the Disney magic rolled up into one magnificent parade. And we were there every step of the way!