Walt Disney World fans enthusiastically greeted the roll-out of a new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom on Sunday. It’s the first regularly scheduled after-dark parade at the theme park in nearly a decade.
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away is now scheduled for two appearances nightly.
The parade is built to shine in the cloak of darkness, with an untold number of lighting effects. The floats strobe, flicker, dramatically change colors, reveal tucked-away details and spotlight an entourage of Disney film characters. It’s a mix of old-guard favorites — from the Blue Fairy to Mickey Mouse — and more modern releases such as “Encanto” and “Wish.”
“I was not expecting to cry, but I knew there was a chance,” said Chelsea Onstott, a Disney World annual passholder from Orlando, who watched both the 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. runs of Starlight on opening night.
“It wasn’t until Tink (Tinkerbell) came out, and I was not expecting her to be on the ground and going up to kids. And I think that just, like, got me,” she said.
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She watched from the flag pole area near the Magic Kingdom entrance, where the parade steps off, with friends, including Charlie Fandre.
“As soon as the music started and you see the Blue Fairy exit the gate, that brought a whole wave of emotions,” he said.
“Once it ended, we watched it go down Main Street, and you just see the castle all lit up with the spotlights behind it, and the lights going down Main Street … And I started crying, because it was true Disney magic.”
The parade route for Starlight goes up Main Street, makes a three-fourths of a circle counterclockwise turn in front of Cinderella Castle before traveling to Liberty Square and the length of Frontierland. It’s the opposite direction of the daytime parade, Festival of Fantasy, which continues its daily schedule.
Disney Starlight incorporates elements of its predecessors SpectroMagic and the Main Street Electrical Parade, which was last seen at Magic Kingdom in 2016. The new parade ends with an image of Jiminy Cricket, just like in SpectroMagic. And the earwormy music from Main Street Electrical Parade is incorporated into the finale float, and spectators clapped along, urged on by a collection of passing characters including Goofy, Dopey, Rapunzel, Aladdin and Minnie Mouse.
Starlight includes new music that strings together classics through zoned speakers. The action swirls seamlessly from “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from 1950’s “Cinderella” to “Remember Me,” an Oscar-winning song from 2018’s “Coco.”
There are visual tricks as well. Curved screens provide more characters that are animated. The pyrotechnics behind the “Coco” float morph into sugar skulls. In a “surprise and delight” move, Pinocchio and Geppetto appear in the trail of the Blue Fairy.
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The Starlight debut came on the hottest day, thus far, of 2025, but some fans claimed sunny spots several hours before the parade began. Joel Bass, who lives in Windermere, and six friends were settled in at the park’s hub near Cinderella Castle by 6 p.m. Bass was armed with a Starlight-themed bubble wand (it lights up, too) and a Starlight-themed blanket that he purchased Sunday to protect from the heat of the sidewalk.
“For me, it’s the first new piece of entertainment they’ve released in a hot minute, especially when it comes to parades,” Bass said. “I’ve never seen a nighttime parade before except in Disneyland.”
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Mickey Mouse and Aladdin are among the characters aboard the Disney Starlight’s final float, which is train-inspired. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Peter Pan and Wendy are in the skies above London in the Disney Starlight parade, which debuted at Magic Kingdom on Sunday evening. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
A float representing the Disney film ‘Moana’ flows through Magic Kingdom during the debut performance of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade Sunday. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
The Blue Fairy leads off the new Disney Starlight parade, which is now on the nightly schedule at Magic Kingdom. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
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Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park officially debuts the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away parade, Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)
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Bass was in for the long haul, with a plan to maintain their seating spot through both parades and the “Happily Ever After” fireworks that went up above the castle in between.
“You’re getting a front-row seat,” he said before the first parade. “I have a feeling this will be just packed.”
He’s not alone. As of Sunday, annual passholders’ allotment of the required park reservations for Magic Kingdom was taken through Wednesday. (More became available for Monday evening on Monday morning.) In anticipation of great demand, Disney has temporarily suspended passholder park-hopping powers into the Magic Kingdom. The parade will not be performed on nights of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, which begins Aug. 15, or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. For a complete schedule, go to disneyworld.com.
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Originally Published: July 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT
