Every five years, like clockwork, Tokyo Disneyland replaces its daytime parade with a new one, which coincides with the anniversaries of the Resort. We’re coming up on the 40th anniversary of Tokyo Disney Resort on April 15, 2023, which means the new replacement, “Disney Harmony in Color” is on the horizon.

With a new parade, that means the end of the whimsical “Dreaming Up!” on April 9, 2023. While sad to see the parade end, I’m ready for what’s next.

Here’s why.

Its current version is different.

“Dreaming Up!” debuted in 2018 with its 35th anniversary. The parade was coming on its second anniversary when Tokyo Disney Resort shut down the parks in February 2020 because of the pandemic. It wasn’t until 2021 that the parade returned.

Sadly, it wasn’t the same.

The current version is scaled back with no dancers and other notable changes. The biggest being no more Peter and Wendy doing their iconic finale with flying through the air. Knowing what the parade once was has made it tough to watch, even though it’s still gorgeous, and the music is quintessential Tokyo Disney.

As we move forward from 2020, seeing this alternate version of the parade reminds me how much has changed in the last few years.

The current version is part of why I’m looking forward to what’s next with “Harmony in Color,” but the following is the biggest.

I’m ready to move forward.

Content Trigger Warning: This next section talks about grief.

If you’re a long-time follower, you may have seen when my world shattered in 2019 with the sudden and unexpected passing of my late partner, John. We were fortunate to watch “Dreaming Up” together in January 2019. At the time, I had no idea this would be the final parade we’d watch together.

John and I would always make a point of watching the parades together. That was our main thing. So, any parade we saw together holds a special in my heart.

Every time I see the current version of the parade, I’m saddened to know what was and how things have changed. It makes me feel, lack of a better explanation, stuck.

It’s been four years since John’s passing. In my heart, I’ll always grieve for him in some capacity. However, I’m ready to continue with life and look forward to what’s next. John would want that for me. I want that for me.

While it’s easy to say, “It’s just a parade,” for me, it’s more than that.

It was a time when we could “get lost above the clouds.”

Thank you for the memories, and I’m excited about what’s next.

We Continue Forward

This was something I wanted to write for myself. For clarity’s sake, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll continue to bring you travel content about Tokyo Disney Resort and other theme parks around Japan and Asia on our website and YouTube channel.

This rattled around in my head for a while, and I wanted to get it down somewhere. So, I tried to keep the tradition going by reflecting on the previous parade. I wrote a piece about Happiness is Here when it ended back in 2018.

If you want to read more about John, I did a write-up back in 2019. Also, you can watch what the parade used to look like on our YouTube channel.

“Hold on tight, I’m right beside you.”