Source: iCollector
March 1988 – June 1989
LOCATION
Main Street USA – The Blast to the Past Celebration was primarily a parade, taking the usual route along Main Street. The only non-parade event was the hula hoop challenge, which took place at the hub, overlooking Sleeping Beauty Castle.
BACKGROUND
To quote the Netflix show Bojack Horseman, “nothing was bigger in the 80s than 50s nostalgia.” And Disneyland was no exception. From 1988 to 1989, Disneyland cranked dup the 50s nostalgia to the max with the daily Blast to the Past Celebration on Main Street. And to maximize the nostalgia, Disney also taped the celebration, airing it as a syndicated television special.
EXPERIENCE
Source: Reddit
The Blast to the Past parade featured tons of dancers, 50s and 60s car floats, and a show within the parade called the Main Street Hop. During the Main Street Hop, performers brought out juke boxes, hula hoops, scooters…and Elvis himself made an appearance! Original cast members from the 50s and 60s joined the Hop for its finale, along with confetti shooting along the street.
And finally, Disneyland hosted a special event during one parade: the Super Duper Hooper. This event was an attempt to break the record for most hula hoopers performing in one location, and they hosted the challenge in front of the castle. In the end, they successfully set a new record – 1,527 hula hoopers!
CLOSURE
This event was never designed to last for long; in fact, it was a little bit of a surprise that it came back for a second year. Blast to the Past ran for two spring seasons, before leaving the park in 1989.
TRIVIA
If you’re interested in watching clips from the parade, you can find some decent ones on YouTube.
During the parade, Mickey and Minnie donned special outfits: Mickey had a letterman jacket and Minnie wore a poodle skirt.
In the evenings, Videopolis joined in on the fun with 50s themed dance parties.
Source: GeoCities
Everyone of us from that generation really thoroughly appreciated & enjoyed all of blast to the past & hoped that it would go on for a 3rd year !
Only wish Disney kept having themed events like Blast, Circus Fantasy & State fair! Those were great Disney times.
They also had big name 50’s & 60’s bands at least 2x a week @ videopolis & also Classic Cars displays thru-out the park, a Beach party, trivia games & so much more than a parade !