There’s nothing like a Disney parade. In pure and simple terms, nobody does it better, and it is one of THE highlights of any day at a Walt Disney World theme park (or Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disney Tokyo or Shanghai Disney, come to that!).
Even more magical is any Disney evening parade – and we are now only a few months away from one of the most highly-anticipated new night-time events in the Magic Kingdom catalogue of great live entertainment spectaculars. Disney Starlight: Dream The Night Away is the cavalcade in focus, and we were especially thrilled this week to see the latest artist renderings for what promises to be a major boost to the park’s array of magical attractions, starting this summer.
We still believe that the long-running night-time extravaganza of the Main Street Electrical Parade, which had three runs at the Magic Kingdom (1977-91, 1999-2001 and 2010-2016), is one of the most memorable and captivating performances of all time, in Disney terms, while its successor, SpectroMagic, was also outstanding.
That means the newcomer – and the first Magic Kingdom evening parade since September 2016 – will have a lot to live up to, but we have every reason to think it will again be a true park highlight. It has certainly had plenty of advance mystery and hype. Disney first announced it at the big D23 fan convention in Anaheim in August last year, merely teasing with a single image, but also revealing it would feature characters from Peter Pan, Encanto and Frozen.
More excitement was generated at another Disney fan event in Brazil three months later when its full name was revealed, adding the ‘Dream The Night Away’ title, alongside the unveiling of images for a Moana-themed float, featuring Moana herself along with the supporting cast of Pua, Heihei and Gramma Tala.
Disney’s executive producer Michael Hundgen insisted: “There’s something so special about a night-time show inside a Disney park. It’s a tradition that goes back more than 50 years to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Disney Starlight will add to that legacy. It uses the latest technology to tell all-new stories with the characters that everybody absolutely loves.”
Then, in January this year, the company followed up by revealing a Princess-themed float dedicated to Disney animated royalty. Regal couples Aurora and Philip, Tiana and Naveen, Cinderella and Prince Charming, as well as Belle and the Beast are all depicted dancing together in a “cosmic ballroom” with a fountain in the centre, which Disney says is designed as a tribute to famed Imagineer Mary Blair’s original concept artwork for the original 1950 film, Cinderella. The float will also be accompanied by “royal court dancers.”
Now, in the past few days we have had more exciting details and artist’s renderings added to this growing picture of parade perfection, with the release of the “official poster” for the parade, featuring nine characters, including Elsa from Frozen, Cinderella with her Prince Charming, Miguel and the winged Pepita from Coco, Moana, and then Peter Pan and Wendy alongside the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. This design will shortly take its place among the traditional poster-style artwork below the Main Street USA train station as you enter the park.
The Blue Fairy has been announced as the lead of the parade, and her star-tipped wand will represent an animated thread of magic right through the procession. The Disney Parks blog also added that it’s the “first star you’ll see tonight,” which harks back nicely to the beginning of the now-retired Wishes fireworks spectacular, which was featured at the Magic Kingdom from 2003 to 2017.
Of the floats themselves, we can now see that the brightly-coloured Coco float will have guitar-strumming Miguel (plus his pet, Dante) at the marigold bridge to the Land of the Dead, as well as a larger-than-life Pepita and Mariachi music. The new rendering for the Encanto float highlights butterflies, plus an enormous candle and characters Mirabel, Bruno and Isabel, who will, according to Disney, “swing on floral vines just like she does in the film.” The regular line-up of Princesses could well change from time to time, while Disney also says the Princesses float will include “royal court dancers.”
Additional news included some more insider information, including that the actual float construction was currently happening across the United States, that the design of the floats and the choreography were all being done in Florida, while the music is being recorded in London. The latest images also included two photos of different Imagineers working on the project.
The actual debut of Disney Starlight remains unknown (at least, outside the Imagineers’ offices!), with the official date still insisting it is just “summer 2025,” and, while there is now an official Disney page for the attraction, it currently shows as “no performance today.” So, stay tuned for the big debut announcement. The park’s daytime parade, Festival of Fantasy, continues to run on a daily basis, usually at noon and 3pm.
Starlight isn’t the only new Walt Disney World attraction set to take a bow this summer, of course. We will also be looking forward to the completely revamped Little Mermaid attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure will be an all-new stage show featuring puppets, live performers and some eye-catching visuals. Also at the Studios park will be the Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After show, replacing the former Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. And, over at EPCOT, we will be eagerly awaiting the third different version of the Test Track ride.
Roll on this summer, hey…?!
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