The Incredibles’ 20 years of wacky, unhinged superheroics in Disney theme parks
The Incredibles’ Disney theme park appearances have been eclectic, to say the least; let’s take a look for the film’s 20th anniversary.
“The Incredibles” debuted in theaters Nov. 5, 2004. The film was Pixar Animation Studios’ sixth feature film, and its first to be directed by Brad Bird, who also wrote the movie and voiced Edna Mode. Bird would go on to direct “Ratatouille” and “Incredibles 2” for Pixar, as well as Disney’s live-action “Tomorrowland” movie. “The Incredibles” took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature of 2004.
Over the past two decades, the family of supers has had their fair share of wacky exploits throughout Disney theme parks and extended media. Here are a just a few of them.
Disney On Ice’s wild ‘Incredibles’ show
Rather than adapting the story of “The Incredibles” movie verbatim, Disney On Ice instead created something … different. “The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure” (sometimes also called “Disneyland Adventure”) was a Disney On Ice production that debuted in 2005 and involved the super hero family saving Disneyland from Maleficent.
Among the show’s more odd moments was a scene in which Elastigirl stretched her body along with the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion.
Here’s a clip of the show’s finale, posted on YouTube by user LittleBritain2006:
Jack-Jack on fire in the parade
“Pixar Play Parade” performed on-and-off over the years at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. The parade’s “Incredibles” float featured a robotic Jack-Jack figure atop the Omnidroid; the baby’s head lit in real flames along the parade route.
Disney’s fake ‘Incredibles’ convention at Magic Kingdom
As a synergy tie-in with the release of “Incredibles 2” in 2018, Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. held a campaign called Incredible Summer. Part of the festivities was a temporary transformation of Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. The land hosted the Incredible Tomorrowland Expo, complete with multi-layered lore that gave the backstory of DinoLand, U.S.A. a run for its money.
In a narrative that largely went over the heads of many guests, Tomorrowland was hosting a super hero convention. Since many conventions invite fans to attend in costume, Disney introduced new streetmosphere characters in Tomorrowland who were supposed to be “fans” of the super hero convention’s stars, roaming the area in their cosplay.
The conceit gets an “A” for effort, but was admittedly high-concept. For starters, there was no actual convention to speak of (aside from brief moments of fanfare on the Rockettower Plaza Stage). Additionally, upon seeing the cosplayer characters’ “homemade” costumes, many guests likely didn’t understand the lore and simply assumed Disney had cheaped out on these characters’ wardrobe.
Nonetheless, Incredible Summer came and went, and with it the Incredible Tomorrowland Expo.
Incredicoaster at California Adventure
Arguably the most significant use of “The Incredibles” in a Disney theme park to date arrived in summer 2018 at Disney California Adventure with the opening of Incredicoaster. The re-do of the former California Screamin’ roller coaster added a new soundtrack featuring Michael Giacchino’s score from “The Incredibles,” along with an audio storyline of Jack-Jack escaping (“The baby is gone!” “Edna!”) and lightly themed show scenes along the coaster track.
Incredicoaster opened at the same time as Pixar Pier, a retheme of California Adventure’s Paradise Pier. Take a ride in our POV video!
The Edna Mode Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Edna Mode is so extra, and we all love her for it. Not one to settle for a simple meet & greet at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the fashion icon commands The Edna Mode Experience, which is … yeah, it’s basically a meet & greet, but in true Edna style, the signage and queue are comically over-the-top. It opened in 2019.
Edna Mode’s Airbnb house
Speaking of Edna, her not-so-humble abode became an Airbnb Icons rental property earlier this year. Take a look inside:
The Incredibles as face characters on the Disney Fantasy
As part of Pixar Day at Sea on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship, the “Celebrate the Supers” show debuted in 2023. With it, “face character” versions of “The Incredibles” characters were reintroduced, coming full-circle from Disney On Ice nearly two decades ago.
The Incredibles’ residence in Disney’s neighborhood near Palm Springs
Looking ahead, the Parrs’ home will serve as inspiration for a community clubhouse in Cotino, a neighborhood designed by Disney currently under construction near Palm Springs, Calif.
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