Walt Disney World has began to drag again the curtain on the upcoming Magic Kingdom nighttime parade, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away. This shares new idea artwork, recent particulars in regards to the upcoming leisure spectacular, artistic costuming…and greater than just a bit hype for Primary Avenue’s first night time parade in virtually a decade, and first new night time parade since I used to be a child. (And I’m not younger!)
For many who are unfamiliar with Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away Parade, it’s the religious successor to SpectroMagic and Primary Avenue Electrical Parade and is slated to debut in Summer season 2025. It was first introduced throughout final 12 months’s D23 Expo, and particulars have slowly trickled out since then, most lately over the vacation season with the complete identify and a recent piece of idea artwork.
Disney Starlight will use the most recent know-how to inform new tales in regards to the characters you like, in accordance with Walt Disney World. All of this is dropped at life by the magic of the Blue Fairy, along with beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios movies “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen,” and extra. Nonetheless, we didn’t know a complete lot about Starlight till late January 2025, when Walt Disney World actually began revealing Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away Parade.
Let’s not bury the lede, and as an alternative begin with the tidbit that has us most excited. For the reason that announcement, which was made throughout a nostalgia-laden presentation, Walt Disney World has insinuated that Starlight can be a love letter to previous parades. Sturdy emphasis on insinuated. The phrases “religious successor” and “love letter” are ours–Disney has by no means straight acknowledged as a lot.
Till in the present day. Walt Disney World is describing the parade as “a nod to the previous with our eyes firmly set on the longer term” and saying that this has develop into “a motto for the artistic group bringing ‘Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away’ to life.”
Because the artistic group prepares this all-new nighttime parade for its debut in Summer season 2025, they’re “drawing inspiration from not solely the wealthy historical past of nighttime parades at Magic Kingdom…but additionally a few of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ earliest animated options.” Disney can be indicating that there are “quite a lot of” easter eggs for parade lovers.
This reverence for the previous will likely be on full show in Disney Starlight Parade’s princess unit. Right here’s a have a look at the newly-revealed princess float idea artwork:
The princess parade unit pays homage to Disney Legend and artist Mary Blair’s authentic idea paintings for Disney Animation’s “Cinderella.” Anchored by a gleaming fountain of sunshine that overflows to light up a cosmic ballroom, the float is only one piece of the constellation of basic and up to date tales that make up this new parade.
We love this. If Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro need to curry favor with followers, they need to institute a “Mary Blair Mandate” alongside their one for extra IP. Blair’s trademark visuals are Distinctly Disney, and are actually timeless. In every single place they’ve been utilized in recent times, they’ve enhanced. If the entire Up to date reimagining had been completed pursuant to the Mary Blair Mandate, it could be the most effective resort at Walt Disney World proper now, as an alternative of a incoherent mess. However I digress.
Level being, we love that the artistic group is being impressed by Mary Blairy, and in addition previous night time parades at Magic Kingdom. That is a straightforward and apparent win, as Walt Disney World diehards largely love night time parades. Magic Kingdom has by no means had a dangerous night time parade–each Primary Avenue Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic are beloved by generations of followers. Even those that by no means noticed them carried out stay, and have solely discovered about them via the magic of YouTube.
Although I’ve skilled a number of different night time parades, SpectroMagic was the formative one in my fandom–the one one I keep in mind experiencing as each a child and fledgling Disney Grownup.
SpectroMagic was operating the primary a number of years Sarah and I visited Walt Disney World collectively. It was one of many main contributing elements to our falling in love with Disney yet again collectively that ultimately led to this weblog. So you possibly can both thank or curse SpectroMagic for that, because the case could also be.
We watched SpectroMagic each single night time we had been at Magic Kingdom, and there was simply one thing particular in regards to the anticipation that constructed when Jiminy Cricket’s voice began coming over the loudspeakers. He was the voice for a era of Walt Disney World followers, and made these evenings thrilling. There are solely a handful of extinct experiences at Walt Disney World that I miss greater than SpectroMagic.
With that mentioned, I’m not merely hoping for Starlight to be SpectroMagic 2.0. Expertise has improved by leaps and bounds, and different night time parades show that the idea can–and may–evolve. “A nod to the previous with our eyes firmly set on the longer term” is the right artistic mission assertion for Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away.
Few issues profit from legacy like night time parades. The very best ones have drawn liberal inspiration from their predecessors, and I hope that’s true of Starlight, too. Nothing would please me greater than for it to innovate and iterate on the idea whereas additionally being an amalgamation of previous Disney night time parades.
Previous and new . That might be the most effective recipe for tugging on the sentimental heartstrings of old-timers like me, whereas creating new-nostalgia for a complete era of followers (together with me, once more) and forging new lifelong followers within the course of. However we’re getting forward of ourselves.
Throughout this Starlight sneak peek, Walt Disney World additionally gave a glimpse contained in the Disney Dwell Leisure Costuming workshop. The group there was exhausting at work designing a complete fleet of glimmering clothes for Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away.
Utilizing a mix of progressive lighting methods and kooky custom-fabrics, the group is developing every look to be “kissed by starlight.”
The picture beneath reveals one of many prototype costume items for the parade, and Disney means that followers think about it swirling down the parade route, layers of shimmering material choosing up the glow of the encompassing floats, every mild twinkling in good synchronization with the music.
Whereas the picture doesn’t reveal an excessive amount of, it’s a superb reminder of the significance of parade know-how evolving.
Some followers have wished that Primary Avenue Electrical Parade would return as an alternative of Magic Kingdom getting a brand-new night time parade. I can recognize the sentiment, which is seemingly a mixture of sentimentality and concern of the unknown. Longtime followers know that they love Primary Avenue Electrical Parade, which has develop into iconic and had a 50-year legacy for good purpose.
We’ve watched Primary Avenue Electrical Parade every now and then throughout its returns to Disneyland within the final decade. Once you want an evening parade repair, it does the trick. Nevertheless, having seen newer and extra technically-impressive night time parades, it’s exhausting to return. Dreamlights, particularly, is a grasp class in taking the whole lot particular about Primary Avenue Electrical Parade, modernizing and bettering upon it. (The excellent news is that Starlight is in all probability getting Tokyo’s hand-me-downs from a few totally different parades, which might be an enormous win for Walt Disney world followers.)
If Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away is even half nearly as good as Dreamlights, it will likely be the most effective nighttime parade to ever roll down Primary Avenue in Magic Kingdom. The music, floats, and costuming (talking of which, that picture above jogs my memory of the Cinderella ball robe from Dreamlights–and that’s the outdated model of the gown, from a pair many years in the past) are equal components know-how, creativity and coronary heart. If Starlight has all three, it will likely be an emotional tour de drive.
There’s a purpose this was the #1 announcement from D23 Expo for us. We can not wait to observe it with our fellow followers, and type new ‘core reminiscences’ of a Magic Kingdom night time parade with our daughter throughout her early life. Hyped is an understatement. Now the massive query on each fan’s thoughts: When Will Starlight Night time Parade Debut at Walt Disney World?
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider the Disney Starlight: Dream the Night time Away reveals so far? Trying ahead to Walt Disney World’s first brand-new night time parade in many years? Any floats, franchises, characters, or different nods to SpectroMagic or Magic Avenue Electrical Parade, and many others., that you simply’re hoping to see out of the brand new Disney Starlight night time parade? Some other questions or remark? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
