Five Things to Know About The Electrical Water Pageant

The Electrical Water Pageant offers guests a touch of nostalgia and a delightful way to cap off a day of touring. To learn more, read on, but to skip to the nuts and bolts, here’s your shortcut.

1. At Disney World, water and electricity do mix!

The Electrical Water Pageant is a water parade that takes place nightly at Walt Disney World. Barring bad weather, this fun procession makes its way around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. One thousand feet long, it’s comprised of two strings of seven barges: each barge lights up with images on 25-foot tall screens. Different musical selections play as it proceeds, each tune matching the imagery created by the lights on the screens.

The Electrical Water Pageant is visible from the Magic Kingdom dock area and the Magic Kingdom area resorts. And if you’re making your way back to your car from the Magic Kingdom, you might also see it from the windows on the monorail.

2. It lights up the night with colorful imagery, music, and Disney magic.

If you expect remarkable digital imagery and contemporary renditions of musical selections, you’re in for a disappointment. The Electrical Water Pageant is old-school Disney magic from start to finish. The technology is far from modern, but that’s part of what makes this show so charming.

The parade is essentially divided into two parts: a lot of water creatures on parade, followed by a patriotic salute. The order of tunes and barges is below.

• “Fanfare” from The Little Mermaid heralds the arrival of the first float
• “Boo Bop Bopbop Bop (I Love You Too)” from Pete’s Dragon plays as four barges display a sea serpent.
• “Whale of a Tale” from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea accompanies a whale on the fifth barge, then the sixth barge lights up with a turtle
• “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid accompanies barge seven with an octopus, followed by three dolphins who appear to jump between the next three floats.
• A giant brachiosaurus follows to “Walk the Dinosaur.” All this is making sense, right?
• “Never Smile at a Crocodile” from Peter Pan is the tune for a crocodile barge.
• The “Fanfare” and “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid play as four seahorses light up followed by King Triton (or is it King Neptune?).

As the grand finale, all the barges display flags or stars to three patriotic songs: “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, “Yankee Doodle”, & “America the Beautiful.” Then the barges go dark and sail on to the next performance.

3. A lot of thought – and light bulbs – went into its creation.

Opening on October 25, 1971, The Electrical Water Pageant is one of the few remaining original shows at Walt Disney World that are still running. When Imagineers were thinking about concepts for Disney World, one idea that kept popping up was how to entertain guests after the Magic Kingdom shut down for the evening.

Marc Davis (who created character concepts for Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, and many other attractions) was assigned the project. According to the Disney Parks Blog, Disney Legend Bob Jani helped bring this concept to life. “The Walt Disney World property was so vast that we had no horizon lights, or any city lights, which meant we had perfect black, and I just started fantasizing about what we could do with that,” Bob said.

What they eventually came up with was a floating show on two barges, totaling 456 feet. Each pulls seven 40-foot-long floats with 25-foot-tall screens.  The sound system played music recorded on synthesizers by Gershon Kingsley and Jean-Jacques Perrey which, at the time, was quite an avant-garde choice. Sources disagree on whether the first performance was October 24, 25, or 26 in 1971. Regardless, the show proved so popular that it inspired the creation of the Main Street Electrical Parade for Disneyland.

4. The Pageant keeps a few secrets in the dark.

⭐ Believe it or not, only 5 people are required to put on the show. There are two pilots – one in the lead float of each barge – two co-pilots in the last float of each, and one safety boat operator. The co-pilots are responsible for manually flipping the appropriate light switch at the correct musical cue!

⭐ From nose to tail, the screens on the barges are made up of more than 50,000 light bulbs. Hundreds of those bulbs have to be replaced every week. (On a personal note, I wish that much attention was paid to replacing bulbs along the roofline of the Grand Floridian…)

⭐ Several of the floats are still in use from 1971. The whale, turtle, dolphins, seahorses, and King Neptune (or is it King Triton now?) have been delighting guests for more than 50 years.

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

The Electrical Water Pageant can be viewed along the shores of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. There is no fee or ticket required. Because it’s an outdoor attraction, it can be canceled for inclement weather.

The total run time of the show is between 8-10 minutes. Check the My Disney Experience app or check with your resort’s front desk to verify showtimes. Generally, the first show is at 9 p.m. and takes place at the Polynesian Village Resort. If the Magic Kingdom has 9 p.m. fireworks, the Pageant can be delayed some ten to twenty minutes.

People agree on these best viewing spots (listed in order of the Pageant’s route):

• The Poly boat dock and beach
• Narcoossee’s patio and boat dock at the Grand Floridian
• Geyser Point Bar and Grill at Wilderness Lodge
• The boat dock and beach at Fort Wilderness
• The Contemporary Resort’s boat dock.
• If the Magic Kingdom has extended hours, the Pageant can be viewed along the shore.

(Personally, we recommend sitting in a beach chair along the shore of the Polynesian with a refreshing beverage.)

The Bottom Line.

The story goes that the Electrical Water Pageant was intended to be “a goodnight kiss” after the parks closed for the day. We think it fills the bill. It’s a lot of fun and a nice way to cap off a day of touring in the parks. And it brings a smile to the faces of those who still appreciate the old-timey approach to creating Disney magic.

Have you seen the Electrical Water Pageant? Does it put a smile on your face? Let us know in the comments!