Two Disney Classics Return to Walt Disney World This Summer

If you're planning a summer vacation to Walt Disney World you're in for some extra Disney magic. Two Disney classics return to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Returning to Epcot is the Michael Jackson 3D film Captain EO while the Magic Kingdom welcomes back The Main Street Electrical Parade for a limited summer engagement.

Captain EO made its debut at EPCOT Center (now just called Epcot) in September, 1986... and it was fantastic! At 17 minutes long and a cost of 30 million dollars, Captain EO was, at the time, the most expensive movie per minute ever made. I remember seeing it for the first time the weekend it opened way back in 1986 and thinking it was the coolest movie I'd ever seen. (Okay, I was in junior high at the time but it is a very cool movie!).

Producer by George Lucas, Captain EO tells the story of a mission by Captain EO (Michael Jackson) and his crew to deliver by a gift to the Supreme Leader (played by Angelica Houston) of another planet that is dark and rotting. Upon arriving to deliver the message, Captain EO and his crew are captured and taken before the Supreme Leader. Upon hearing that Captain EO has brought her a gift, she demands to see it. But when she learns the gift is the gift of music, she orders her troops to seize Captain EO and his crew and have them taken to the dungeon. Before that can happen, Captain EO is able to deliver his gift of song, We Are Here to Change the World, which in turn unlocks the beauty he saw within the Supreme Leader. The movie talents of George Lucas coupled with the musical talents of Michael Jackson makes Captain EO truly a must see film.

And over at the Magic Kingdom, The Main Street Electrical Parade is again lighting up the night but only for a limited time. The parade debuted at Walt Disney World in 1977 (and at Disneyland in 1972) and ran through 1991. It returned for two years in 1999 and will run this time only until August 14, 2010. The parade has also played at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland in the past. Growing up in Orlando, and visiting Walt Disney World frequently, The Main Street Electrical Parade was always the way I remember a day at the Magic Kingdom ending. From the fantastic twinkling floats to the familiar synthesized music of the Baroque Hoedown, The Main Street Electrical Parade was, and still is, a wonderful Disney experience. While the nighttime parade that replaced it, SpectoMagic, is great in its own right, it's the simplicity of, and decidedly low-tech (at least compared to SpectoMagic) Main Street Electrical Parade that truly brings the Magic Kingdom to life each evening with wonder and imagination.

If you have never seen Captain EO or The Main Street Electrical Parade I highly suggest you take this opportunity to see them both before they're gone (and who knows if or when they'll ever return!). And if you can't make it to Walt Disney World in Orlando, you can still catch Captain EO this summer as its also returning to Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and to Disneyland Paris. However, you can only catch The Main Street Electrical Parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and only until August 14th!

If you do decide to plan a trip to Walt Disney World this summer, here's a link to another article I wrote with some essential tips, Planning Your Summer Vacation at Walt Disney World. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1523045/planning_your_summer_vacation_at_walt.html