Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl Victory Parade at Disneyland
Former Detroit Lion Matthew Stafford, plus Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams celebrated their Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals with a parade and photo ops at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. This post will share photos and thoughts from the festivities.
If you missed the Big Game…you probably don’t care what happened. And if you caught it, you probably don’t need a recap. But I’ll offer one anyway. Super Bowl LVI was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California near Los Angeles (you fly over it while landing at LAX) making it a home game for the LA Rams.
Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp had the drive of his life, as the triple crown-winning wide receiver caught several clutch passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford during the Rams’ game winning possession. This is Stafford’s calling card–Detroit didn’t have much success in the decade-plus with him at the helm, but he did orchestrate an impressive number of come from behind wins in the fourth quarter.
Immediately after Super Bowl 56 ended, amid the celebrations at SoFi Stadium, Kupp, Donald and Stafford along with their spouses and kids, turned to the TV cameras and shouted those words that NFL players dream of saying after winning the Super Bowl: “We’re all going to Disneyland!’’
Here’s Disney’s other iconic commercial from Super Bowl LVI (in addition to the GOAT one):
As a lifelong fan of the lowly Lions, I’ve gotta admit that it was a pretty magical moment for me, too. Don’t get me wrong–it’s absolutely not the same as if the Lions won–but it was nice to see a truly good guy who gave it his all for Detroit finally find success.
I realize this is a Disney blog, so you probably don’t care to read a treatise on my complicated feelings about Stafford, the Rams, and Lions. Fortunately, the Wall Street Journal has a piece that encapsulates my thoughts–literally. (Also, I can empathize with the Bengals fans out there who are still crushed by that ending.)
Anyway, we headed out to Disneyland today to see Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald in the Super Bowl victory parade at Disneyland.
Upon stepping foot on Main Street, we had a strong sense of deja vu all over again.
The last time we did this was February 2020 at Magic Kingdom, when the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV and MVP Patrick Mahomes headlined the celebratory parade, which was attended by a ton of Chief fans.
I remember that being crowded, but I had forgotten just how bad it was. (Remember, the parks closed about a month later, and a lot of what happened in the lead-up to that is a blur.)
In our post about the Chiefs Super Bowl parade, I wrote that attending was “one of my 5 worst ideas of the year. I know it’s only February, but I churn out some colossally bad ideas with regularity. It’s a talent, really. This being among the top/bottom five is really saying something.”
“Suffice to say, I won’t be doing this again until the Detroit Lions win the Super Bowl. The upside is that by the year 2085, I’ll have a hoverboard to get above the crowds.”
This is the first public Super Bowl parade since that one (last year’s photo ops for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Walt Disney World weren’t held in guest view), so I guess I didn’t learn from my mistake. Even knowing that the Super Bowl parade always causes a spike in crowds and that the Los Angeles Rams were playing a home game, I didn’t expect it to be that bad.
For one thing, the Rams aren’t nearly as popular in Southern California as the Dodgers or Lakers. For another, there’s Disneyland After Dark: Sweethearts’ Nite this evening, so the park closes at 7 pm. I figured that would keep some of the crowds down. Wrong on both counts.
I’ve never seen anything like this. The parade route was among the most packed I’ve ever seen it–worse than peak season holiday dates, and busier than the debut of Paint the Night or the return of Main Street Electrical Parade.
Last time we did this two years ago, I called it unpleasantly uncrowded. (Ah, if I only knew then what I know now–and how the world would change only a few weeks later.)
The crowds at Disneyland were even worse and, honestly, I didn’t mind it one bit.
After the last couple of years, it was fun to be part of the communal energy of so many excited fans. After a couple false starts, it’s nice to see things getting back to normal.
I missed the focus pretty badly on the above photo (conditions were far from ideal for photography), but I love Aaron Donald’s pose here. Same way he finished out the game.
Here are a few more photos of the festivities, fun, and aftermath:
Ultimately, even though I’m not a fan of the team, seeing Stafford and the other two Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl victory parade at Disneyland was a really fun experience. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see this again (until the Detroit Lions win in 2085, as mentioned above), but I wouldn’t actively avoid it, either.
Aside from congestion in the front half of the park, gridlock on Main Street, and crowds in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the rest of Disneyland hasn’t been that bad. Headliners are predictably posting long wait times, but Fantasyland dark rides are relatively short, and the park is more than manageable–that’s the big difference as compared to Magic Kingdom two years ago–or even this winter.Â
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Did you attend the Super Bowl parade or watch the live stream? What’d you think of the Big Game? Any other Detroit Lions fans enjoy Stafford’s bittersweet victory? Heartbroken Bengals diehards? Do you agree or disagree with our thoughts here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Detroit native over here and, yep, we were absolutely rooting for Stafford. It definitely was bittersweet but there was like this sense of being proud of him like he was my kid or something (even though I’m only 34 lol). That said, my husband says we’ll join you for that 2085 parade 😉
Were you just talking about crowds at the parade or overall? It was packed for the parade but it felt pretty light otherwise. But I don’t have much to compare since I haven’t been in years.
So happy for the Stafford family. Lions fans still miss him, and his community support is also missed. At age 73, it was time to switch from the Lions to the Bucs and we finally celebrated a win last year. It was glorious.
I’m in MI and always knew Stafford was capable of great things! Would love to see more pics of him in the parade if you have them.
We were there yesterday too and hustled down Main St. mere *minutes* before the crowds descended. As we walked past the small signs near City Hall announcing that filming would be happening that day, my fiancé and I looked at each other and huffed it back to Pooh Corner asap for cake pops!
Does this mean you’re back in California long term for more DL focused content?
Leading off a WSJ article — that’s awesome! (But it’s a tragedy they didn’t use your hoverboard quote.) And we’re with you on the crowds. After what everyone has been put through the last couple of years, it’s going to be a long time before crowds bother us.
Too bad Jalen Ramsey couldn’t be there. Besides being their 4th best player (guess they couldn’t handle one more person in the park?) I have special admiration for any player whose last name includes his team’s name. Bonus points for also being usable as an adjective: “The way they pulled out that game was so Rams-ey”.
Congrats to the Rams and all the fans. More festivities coming up this coming Wednesday in Los Angeles. We really needed in boost in our city’s energy!
Wow !!!! We have a lot of the same pictures you have of the parade.
It was crowded today and it took all of (maybe) 5 minutes for the Ram players to go pass us. When we booked the reservations we didn’t think anything about the victory parade………..we believe Disneyland opened up the gates to anyone willing to buy a ticket……… hasn’t been this crowded for quite a while.
Holy cow, all this time reading the blog and just NOW I find out you’re a fellow Lions fan.
Whodda thunk it? #DetroitVsEverybody
Fun article.
Nice WSJ feature! Have to start calling you Big Time Bricker or something…
Oh wow you weren’t kidding about that WSJ article–it’s LITERALLY quoting you! That’s such a neat shoutout though, and I can tell through the lens of your camera that this was the kind of energy that makes the difference between bad crowds and good ones. As a St. Louis native, my feelings about the Rams are also complicated, but since I largely ignore football…it’s neat to see it summarized here where I’d be reading anyway. Thanks for the recap, it strangely put a smile on my face when I needed one…
I am wondering if the Browns or Lions will get there by 2085!! We are big Ram and Brown fans, so I feel some of your pain Tom! Here is to a Lions and Browns Super Bowl! I will meet you on my flying board as well!
Holding my breath for you on a Lions Superbowl victory
congrats to Stafford and the rams. as bears fans, seeing him languish his talent the past decade was tough, so we were happy to see him successful this postseason!