The much anticipated return of a nighttime parade at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is almost here. Disney has announced the debut for the Disney Starlight Parade is July 20, 2025.
It’s been a while since the Magic Kingdom has had a nighttime parade, so this is a welcome addition for many longtime fans of the park. The floats for this parade use LED panels to add light to these dreamscapes, as the Imagineers call them. The floats that have the lights in the video below look really pretty and the finished product is going to look so nice going up Main Street U.S.A.
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The parade will have two performance times, 9 pm and 11pm, and will begin on Main Street U.S.A. and travel towards Frontierland. This is a change from past parades, which always ended at the end of Main Street U.S.A. The change was made to help with the guest flow of traffic at the end of the night, which makes sense.
The parade tells the stories of the different Disney characters featured on the floats. Featured throughout the parade is the Blue Fairy and her magic, as she helps dreams and wishes come true. Imagineers who have worked on past parades used inspiration from them (Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic) to inspire some aspects of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away.
Characters in the Parade:
- The Blue Fairy
- Peter Pan & Wendy
- Asha
- La Familia Madrigal (Mirabel, Isabela, Bruno)
- Elsa
- Aurora and Prince Philip, Tiana and Prince Naveen, Belle and the Beast, and Cinderella and Prince Charming
- Miguel and Pepita
- Moana
- Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, Snow White and Dopey, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Aladdin and Jasmine, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
Disney had previously released posters with picture of the floats and the characters. One float they held back from showing is the grand finale float that carries Goofy and friends, with Mickey and Minnie closing out the parade. Take a look at the picture below, the grand finale float is sure to be a beautiful and sparkly way to end the parade.
In addition to the beautiful floats for this new parade, there will also be new music. Disney had an original theme written specifically for this parade. While the score may be new, there will also be some familiar sounds from Disney Parks woven into the music, so make sure to listen for those.
Keep in mind that this parade is an outdoor parade, so it is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather. In addition, Disney Starlight will not be available on nights when Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is taking place.
Are you excited for this new nighttime parade?
Thanks for reading!
Liz
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Liz
I love all things Disney, but my main love is for Disney World and I'm always planning for the next trip. Before becoming a Disney blogger, I was a radio DJ, so I guess I'm just continuing in the communication industry, just in a different form. I love talking Disney and I could talk about Disney all day. That's why I started blogging and created the Facebook group. The Disney community is full of friendly, helpful, and happy people...and I love being a part of it! If there is any Disney subject you would like to see covered just let me know! Need help planning your Disney vacation. Feel free to contact myself or Melissa at Never Stop Dreaming Travel Co. We love helping people plan their trips! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out our Countdown to Disney app! Feel free to email me with suggestions of things you would like to see in the app :-)
We miss the electrical parade so much.
We do too! This new parade looks like it’s going to be good though and I’m so glad MK is getting a nighttime parade back.
We will be planning a trip for march. (I’ll get with you later about that). Looking forward to it. Haven’t seen one since 2015 on my daughter’s first trip (4 years old)
I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a nighttime parade there, I can’t remember a year I just remember it feeling like forever ago. It’s going to be so nice to have a parade back!