It's been years since Disney World's Magic Kingdom has had a nighttime parade, but that's about to change in 2025. Announced earlier this year, Magic Kingdom will be getting a new nighttime parade in Summer 2025.
When first announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event back in August, a few details were shared about the upcoming parade, now officially called Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. Here's everything we currently know about the highly anticipated parade.
What is Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away?
Inspired by the legacy of the Main Street Electrical Parade, the new Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away focuses brings the magic of the Blue Fairy to live with the "latest technology to tell new stories about the characters you love."
Disney has already confirmed appearances of beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios like Peter Pan, Encanto, Frozen, Moana and more. These characters will be seen in a "whole new light... literally" as the parade's vibrant lights "will dance in the dark, transforming the night into a mesmerizing canvas of glowing colors."
Each float and character costume in the parade will be illuminated with the Blue Fairy's transformative magic of starlight
✨ BREAKING✨ “Disney Starlight” an all-new nighttime parade is coming to Magic Kingdom in 2025 at @WaltDisneyWorld! https://t.co/geM6oHaOdq #D23 #Horizons pic.twitter.com/9Ws23TnM4j
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) August 11, 2024
When is Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away premiering?
We don't have an exact date, but Disney has confirmed that Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away will make its debut at the Magic Kingdom in summer 2025! It gets darker later in the summer, so expect this to be somewhat late at night.
Is the Festival of Fantasy daytime parade ending in 2025?
As of right now, there are no plans to end the Festival of Fantasy parade which runs during the daytime at Magic Kingdom. This means we will be getting two parades in a single day at Magic Kingdom!
Will Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away replace the Happily Ever After fireworks spectacular at Magic Kingdom?
Disney didn't mention ending Happily Ever After, and it would be a major mistake to do so as it's one of the most popular events at the Magic kingdom. So we can assume that Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away will run in tandem with Happily Ever After. If you recall, Magic Kingdom used to have both a nighttime parade followed by the fireworks show, so this could be a return to form for the theme park.
I don't know if it will be an 11 p.m. parade like the good ol' days, but the fact that we're getting a nigthtime parade is exciting enough!