Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Here’s a theme park concert to respect: Aretha Franklin is singing this weekend at Universal Studios Orlando.

The Queen of Soul performs March 13 as part of Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras celebration, which runs Saturdays through April 17. Mardi Gras means Cajun cuisine, authentic New Orleans music, concerts, and, of course, a parade with plenty of bead throwing.

The Mardi Gras parade starts at 8 p.m. Saturday night, and Aretha’s concert will begin at 8:30 p.m.

The concert lineup for the rest of the Mardi Gras season includes:

• March 20: Miranda Lambert
• March 27: 3 Doors Down
• April 3: Beach Boys
• April 9: Sheryl Crow
• April 10: Flo Rida
• April 17: Chicago

Universal is running a special hotel package in conjunction with Mardi Gras this spring: Book 3 nights and get 2 more free. You can still book this package online through the end of March.

Walt Disney World has announced that its Summer Nightastic! entertainment will run from June 6 through Aug. 14, 2010.

The part of Summer Nightastic! many Disney fans are most excited about is the return of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade in the Magic Kingdom.

There will also be a new Magic Kingdom fireworks show, as well as a new drop sequence and special lighting effects at the Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Walt Disney World will introduce new nighttime entertainment and attractions this summer as part of “Summer Nightastic!”

“After the sun goes down, our Walt Disney World parks will light up the night,” said Meg Crofton, Walt Disney World resort president.

The after-dark activities include:

• The return of the Main Street Electrical Parade to the Magic Kingdom for the first time since 2001. The classic Disney parade will have new floats for Tinker Bell, Pinocchio and Snow White.
• A new fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. Walt Disney World says the show will have vivid colors and special effects.
• New lighting effects and an additional drop sequence at the Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
• The Sounds Like Summer concert series at EPCOT.
• Extended evening hours several times a week at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Many of the Summer Nightastic! events will begin in early June. Exact schedules have yet to be announced.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls
Disney proudly presents…
Our spectacular festival nighttime pageant of magic and imagination,
In thousands of sparkling lights
And electro, syntho-magnetic musical sounds.
Disney’s Electrical Parade

It has been nearly a decade since those words have been heard on Walt Disney World’s Main Street U.S.A. But this summer the Main Street Electrical Parade will come back to Central Florida.

Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton announced that the cherished parade will come back to the Magic Kingdom this summer for a limited time as part of “Summer Nightastic,” a series of special events at Disney’s Florida parks.

I have very fond memories of watching the Main Street Electrical Parade as an elementary school child, during my family’s regular spring break trips to Walt Disney World. I would lean in to catch Cinderella’s eye as she rode by in her glittering pumpkin coach, and I would cower when Captain Hook went by in his pirate ship.

Crofton said three new floats will debut in the 2010 version of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Tinkerbell will lead the nighttime parade on a new balloon float, and Snow White and Pinocchio will also get their own floats in the update.

The Main Street Electrical Parade will start in June at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. In the meantime, here’s a look at the parade’s sights and sounds from Disney’s California Adventure: