‘Disney Starlight’ parade times, route in Magic Kingdom set

[Disney4me]

Walt Disney World has confirmed fresh details about the new nighttime parade coming to Magic Kingdom theme park. “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away” steps off for the first time on July 20.

Parade times will be 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., and it will start on Main Street then travel back to Frontierland, a reversal of the usual course for Magic Kingdom parades. This will “allow for better guest flow at the end of the night,” according to the official Disney Parks Blog.  Not only will it be near the park’s closing time, some Disney fans have a habit of strolling behind the final float of parades, so the directional change may separate that throng from the folks leaving Magic Kingdom for the night.

Disney also said that “Starlight” won’t happen on event nights for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, an after-hours, extra-ticket gathering that has its own parade. Not-So-Scary is held on select nights between Aug. 15 and Oct. 31.

Disney dates: When Epcot’s Test Track reopens but the Boneyard bows out

The company has released parade facts in dribs and drabs since it was announced at D23 Expo in August.  The parade will have the Blue Fairy as a through line and guiding light, and the final float will feature Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Among the other characters seen in “Starlight” will be Peter Pan, Wendy, Asha, Mirabel, Isabela, Bruno, Elsa, Aurora, Tiana, Cinderella, Jasmine, Rapuznel, Belle, Beast, Prince Phillip, Prince Naveen, Prince Charming, Aladdin, Miguel, Moana and more.

Social media posts indicate that work was done on parade floats in New York and California, new music was recorded in London and performer rehearsals have started in Florida.

“Starlight” will be the first nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom since 2016, when the Main Street Electrial Parade rolled out for the last time.  Anticipated demand for the new parade caused Disney World to alter the passholder reservation requirements. As of July 20, annual passholders must have park-specific reservations for Magic Kingdom every day. This is for a limited time, Disney says, and passholders will be able to go to Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom any day after 2 p.m. without park reservations.

Disney: New GoofyCore brings Cool Kid energy, dance party to Epcot

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.

View the full article