ANAHEIM, Calif. — The message seemed fitting coming from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
As he stood in front of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, where visitors often make wishes in the nearby wishing well, he had one piece of advice for the kids in the crowd:
“Follow your dreams,” said Mahomes in front of a media scrum and hordes of fans at Disneyland. “You can achieve anything you want if you work hard, follow your dreams and make sure you do that every single day.”
Sleep-deprived but running high on adrenaline after leading the Chiefs to a 38-35 Super Bowl win against the Philadelphia Eagles a day earlier, Mahomes stood on top of a float with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on Monday, waving at thousands of fans, many dressed in Chiefs red and yellow, on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland.
Dancers waved puffy red and yellow pom-poms. Fans chanted, “MVP, MVP” as his float rode by.
And Mahomes could be seen basking underneath red and yellow confetti as it rained down from the buildings on Main Street, U.S.A., along the parade route.
Mahomes spent the day at Disneyland with his wife and two kids, enjoying the new Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway ride and other attractions.
As is customary after a Super Bowl win, the most valuable player or star in Disney’s “I’m going to Disneyland or Disney World” commercial is invited for a VIP trip and parade to the theme park.
Monday’s parade at Disneyland is the second time Mahomes has led a cavalcade at a Disney theme park. In 2020, Disney celebrated Mahomes at Walt Disney World after the quarterback led the Chiefs to a win against the San Francisco 49ers.
After his second win, Mahomes jokingly told reporters that Disney would need to build more theme parks as he continues winning Super Bowls.
“I would like to travel to them all at some point,” he said. “So I’ll have to get to work and win more Super Bowls.”
For Mahomes, his NFL career seems like a book from a Disney fairy tale.
At 27 years old, he’s played in three Super Bowls, winning two. He’s won two NFL MVPs. And his name is being mentioned along with the great and recently retired Tom Brady. Brady played in 10 Super Bowls, winning seven.
Mahomes shrugs off the talk.
“I’ve got a long way to go,” said Mahomes regarding Brady’s success. “Obviously, I’ve had a great start to my career. I’ve been blessed to be part of a great organization and a great team. What made Brady so great was how consistently great [he was] for a very long time, and I’m still 27 years old. I have a lot of years left ahead of me, so all I can do is focus on today and try to get better [and] bring [home] as many rings as I can.”
The Disneyland parade will kick off a week-long celebration for the Chiefs in Kansas City, which will host its parade celebrating the team on Wednesday.