Disney parks boss on diversity, preventing division and Disneyland's Electrical Parade return

Disneyland, a rite of passage for many Southern Californians, celebrated its second proper grand opening a year ago this week on April 30. After a pandemic-induced closure of just over 13 months, a park that since 1955 has put forth the argument that there is a better, more triumphant version of reality unlocked its turnstiles to teary-eyed, COVID-weary fans.

For Disneyland, what followed the reopening in a time of global uncertainty was great change inside and outside the parks.

Just last week, as Disneyland brought back a number of evening shows — including the charming Main Street Electrical Parade, reimagined with a new finale that champions the we're-all-in-this-together mantra of "It's a Small World" — the company found itself thrown into the center of our country's cultural wars.

Disney's public response — and initial lack of one — to anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida led to debates within and without the company and now has blown up to see Florida's Republican leadership take retaliatory moves to dismantle long-held operational privileges given to Walt Disney World.

Inside the original Anaheim park, the reemergence of the Electrical Parade, World of Color and an evening fireworks show — plus this (on shuttle buses) — demonstrate that the Disneyland Resort is inching closer to operating at prepandemic levels, estimated to be approximately 19 million guests on a yearly basis. To those faithful, tweaks to line-shortening programs, such as the evolution of the free Fastpass system and the paid Genie+ initiatives, are matters of great debate, as Disneyland remains a memory-shaping experience as paramount to California culture as Dodger Stadium or Griffith Park. Any change is subject to grand discussions on social media and theme-park-focused news sites.