Over the past few months, there have been a LOT of announcements about what we’ll see coming to Disney World in the coming years.
Magic Kingdom
We know that a new Villains land is coming in the area behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and that a new Cars-themed land is coming to Frontierland (replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat), a new Villains show is replacing Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the park is also getting a whole new Monsters Inc. land, DinoLand U.S.A. is officially becoming the Tropical Americas, and so much more. And don’t get us wrong, all of that is exciting, but there’s something coming that NO ONE is talking about and we need to change that — did all of us forget that we’re getting a new nighttime parade?!
During D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event back in August, it was announced that Magic Kingdom would be getting a new nighttime parade in the Summer of 2025. The parade will be called Disney Starlight, and Disney mentioned that they’ll be “using the latest technology to tell new stories about the characters you love.”
©Disney
It’s been a while since we’ve last had a nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom. The first was the Main Street Electrical Parade, which ran from 1977-1991, then 1999-2001, and then again from 2010-2016. SpectroMagic, the second nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom, ran from 1991 to 1999, then again from 2001 to 2010.
©Disney | Spectromagic Parade in the Magic Kingdom
Disney Starlight will be following in the footsteps of these iconic parades, with Josh D’Amaro saying the the parade “will add to that legacy.” We don’t know too much about this parade just yet, but we do know it’ll be brought to life by the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, and guests will see scenes from Walt Disney Animation Studios films like Encanto, Peter Pan, and Frozen.
@Disney
Looking for more of the exciting news that came out of D23 this year? Check out our posts below!
More News from D23!
Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney World news!
7 Things Disney World Is Doing For the First Time in 2025
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The thing I miss most about the “old Magic Kingdom” is the “Main Street Electrical Parade”. So many happy memories being with family members as they saw it for the first time.
But it seems that they have a way of ripping your heart out by making everything an exclusive
extra-charge$$ event. I haven’t seen the beloved Christmas Parade in years even though I’ve been an AP for over 20’years.
SPECTROMAGIC was the best, followed by the WISHES Fireworks display. I hope Starlight will build on elements of both.
I’m so excited for this. Magic Kingdom has needed a nighttime parade! Spectromagic was our favorite!
The reason nobody has been talking about it (including blogs), is because the parade isn’t controversial and people aren’t mad about it. Everyone seems to prefer to gripe about things which has resulted in the other announcements being the focus because of the impacts on existing park areas and attractions. Sadly people would prefer to put energy towards complaining rather than just being excited.
Losing the Liberty Square Riverboat is just another stupid decision like taking away fast pass, the original dining plans and all the over charging that has made WDW a not so magical place! I’m not sure bring back Mr. Iger was really the best idea. Seems he’s not much different than the person he replaced. I think Mr. Disney would not have approved of all these changes!
I didn’t forget!! One of my favorites memories of WDW as a kid was the Main St Electrical Parade and Spectromagic!
I’ve missed having them around and I’m really excited to have a nightime parade return! Our next trip is planned for this spring (April) so we’ll probably be a little too early to catch it, which is a bummer, but hey, always a good excuse to go back sooner 😂
@Judy — You can see the Christmas parade during the daytime without any extra charge in the week after the Christmas party ends.