. . . but Executives Have Seen the Light

At least Disney ranks tops with 18 area kids’ causes that so far have netted $720,000 from the sale of lightbulbs from Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade, which finally flickered out Nov. 25 after 25 seasons.

Disney execs got the bright idea to sell the bulbs from the parade floats for $10 a pop to raise money for charities benefiting children. So far the park has sold about 100,000 of the little collectors’ items, and orders keep coming in, says Disneyland spokesman Bill Ross.

(For you math majors out there, the difference between the $1 million raised through the sale of 100,000 bulbs and the $720,000 actually given away so far is Disney’s cut to cover postage, packaging and other expenses, Ross said.)

Ross said the most unusual request came from a parade lover who wanted to purchase 100 bulbs--all in one blinking strand.

The average order has been for three bulbs. The largest was from a travel company that purchased 6,000 bulbs to give away to clients, Ross said.

*

Marla Dickerson covers tourism for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5670 and at marla.dickerson@latimes.com