Gabrielle Russon
Millennial Clint Gamache was obsessed with “Ghostbusters” during his childhood. He collected action figures and ran around the house with his proton pack, pretending to capture ghosts.
Now 40, Gamache is feeling the nostalgia coming back at Universal Studios during the park’s Universal Mega Movie Parade, which features 13 floats and more than 100 performers.
“I was like a kid in a candy store,” said Gamache, who writes about his love of theme parks and pop culture for ThrillGeek. “It’s easily the best daytime parade Universal Orlando has put on. I was blown away by the detail on the floats.”
The parade, which runs on select days through Nov. 14, features plenty of Easter eggs like young people performing stunts on bikes alongside the “E.T.” float to the giant 16-foot marshmallow man from “Ghostbusters” or a Huey Lewis and the News cover playing for the “Back to the Future” float.
“These films hold such an important role in our history, and we are thrilled we get to share these films with our guests in this spectacular way,” said Michelle Alagna, a Show Director at Universal Orlando Resort.
For the littlest theme park fans, there are dancing minions and troll floats in homage to the PG-rated films.
The grand finale is a realistic T-Rex with roaring jaws from “Jurassic World.”
Behind the scenes, Universal took about 2.5 years to conceptualize and design the parade.
“I think most people are surprised at just how many people it takes to create an entertainment offering of this scale,” Alagna said. “Costume designers, costume fabrication specialists, puppet fabricators, scenic designers, engineers, welders, sculptors, painters, composers, musicians, sound designers, programmers, technical directors, legal administrators, IP stakeholders, video editors, safety partners, production managers, show directors and more work together to bring all of the elements you see to life.
“We also interviewed and auditioned several choreographers before selecting our incredible choreographers who created all of the movement and blocking for each of our unique units. We then completed a workshop with a cast of multitalented dancers to help shape and block the choreography before we brought each unit’s cast onboard. Several daytime and overnight rehearsals occurred with our parade techs, float drivers, parade escorts, management, and performers leading up to our opening day.”
The parade comes as Universal Studios has recently opened more family-friendly attractions, including a new nighttime lagoon show and renovated splash pad and play area based on DreamWorks IP.
“They needed something like this,” Gamache said of the parade after he watched it with his kids. “It wasn’t a new fancy roller coaster or a new high-tech ride, but it was great to see some really fantastic entertainment options added to Universal Studios Florida this year.”
