Our very own Shawn Hutchison paid a quick visit to Disneyland today to catch the 10am victory parade with Kobe Bryant in honor of the LA Laker’s NBC championship win. Let’s get to his photos:

Lots of people and film crews waiting to see Kobe

Purple and gold Mickey balloons, the Laker’s colors

The screaming is about to start

Here he comes!

Nice to see all the Disney characters leading the procession

Kobe Bryant himself

Then behind the Disney characters you had Cast Members dressed up as Lakers

Looks like they used the regular parade float used for special events

What a surprise… Confetti!

That’s a lot of confetti!

And there’s your source of the confetti ;)

It certainly left a mess on the ground!

You can see everyone was decked out in their Lakers gear

Everyone going crazy as Kobe was walking through the crowd

Disneyland News Today has now reached paparazzi status :)

Looks like there was some sort of event going on involving the Lakers afterwards

And here is a press release and some Disneyland press photos just released from Kobe’s adventures around Disneyland:

Celebrating the best in basketball, Disneyland Resort saluted the 2009 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday with a victory parade down Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland park.  Kobe Bryant, MVP of the recent NBA Finals, smiled and waved to fans as he rode on a float to represent the Lakers in the special, celebration parade.

Some favorite Disney characters joined the magical parade as Disneyland guests cheered for the Lakers and their 15th NBA championship.  The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic to win the title in a “Fairytale Series” that matched up teams located near Disneyland Resort in Anaheim and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

“It’s like a dream come true to be here and celebrate at Disneyland, coming down Main Street, U.S.A. with all the fans cheering,” Bryant said after the parade.  “It’s a tremendous honor to represent my team.”

The presidents of the two resorts, Ed Grier at Disneyland and Meg Crofton at Walt Disney World, made a friendly wager on the NBA Finals. On Thursday, Crofton fulfilled her pledge by donning a pair of Lakers’ purple and gold Mickey Mouse ears and walking down Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.

Each of the resorts also turned the lights of their respective castles to the team colors of the Lakers and the Magic in celebration of the historic pairing.  Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland park was glowing with Lakers purple and gold during the NBA Finals and will stay that way through Thursday night.

“I heard there was a little competition with Disneyland and Disney World and we won,” Kobe Bryant said, “so our colors are staying up a little bit longer.”

Two of the many Lakers fans at Disneyland on Thursday were selected to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds with Bryant after the parade.  David Guerrero and his son Jonathan, 4, of Pomona, are Annual Passport holders and they came to Disneyland in their team jerseys to celebrate the Lakers’ World Championship.

“They just picked us out of the crowd and said, ‘Do you want to ride the Matterhorn with Kobe?’  I’m shaking, this is so exciting,” David Guerrero said as Jonathan jumped up and down.  “In Southern California, being a Disney fan and a Lakers fan, it just goes together and that’s why we wanted to be here today.”

Thanks for the report Shawn!