Walt Disney World has revealed new particulars concerning the Magic Kingdom nighttime parade, Starlight: Dream the Evening Away. This shares new float idea artwork and the parade poster, plus a number of recent particulars concerning the upcoming leisure spectacular. Plus, extra hype for Most important Avenue’s first evening parade in virtually a decade, and first new evening parade since I used to be a child within the Nineteen Nineties. (Up to date March 28, 2025.)
For many who are unfamiliar with Disney Starlight: Dream the Evening Away Parade, it’s the religious successor to SpectroMagic and Most important Avenue Electrical Parade and is slated to debut someday in Summer time 2025. It was first introduced throughout final 12 months’s D23 Expo, and particulars have slowly trickled out since then, most just lately over the vacation season with the total title and extra reveals of floats.
Disney Starlight will use the most recent expertise to inform new tales concerning the characters you like, in accordance with Walt Disney World. All of this is delivered to life by the magic of the Blue Fairy, along with beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios movies “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen,” and extra. We now take a look at most of those floats by way of idea artwork and the parade poster…
In line with Walt Disney World, we’re just some months away from the debut of “Disney Starlight: Dream the Evening Away,” an all-new nighttime parade that can gentle up the streets of Magic Kingdom in Summer time 2025! To prepare for the large day, the Disney Dwell Leisure workforce has been busy designing and choreographing in Florida, recording music in London and checking in on float development throughout america.
Let’s kick issues off with a take a look at the most recent float, which was revealed on March 28, 2025:
I’m actually slightly stunned to see Want getting its personal float, because the film was a field workplace flop and hasn’t actually gained any momentum by way of streaming. Greater than something, this in all probability speaks to how excessive expectations have been internally for this movie (it’s an understatement to say Want’s underperformance caught the corporate without warning) and simply how way back improvement on Starlight began.
Setting the recognition or creative deserves of Want apart…this appears to be like like an excellent float! I’m an enormous believer that even weak IPs can kind the muse of nice theme park choices (see Pandora, Splash Mountain, and TRON Lightcycle Run), and the identical may show true right here. So maybe it’s an excellent factor that Walt Disney World began improvement of this parade earlier than Want bombed. It’s additionally good to get selection in leisure, and it’s one movie that isn’t represented a lot elsewhere.
The opposite large factor with this reveal is that Walt Disney World has not gone radio silent about Starlight Evening Parade. As mentioned in Is Walt Disney World’s Starlight Evening Parade Delayed?, that was considered one of our fears. The summer time advertising marketing campaign kicked off this week and Starlight was absent from the promotional push. The apparent conclusion from that’s Starlight has been delayed–or at the very least received’t debut round Memorial Day.
Releasing this idea artwork solely a few days later is reassuring to the extent that it’s not an indefinite delay as a consequence of unknown points. Nothing is “unsuitable” with the parade, it’s simply delayed. I’m nonetheless hoping we get a Starlight opening date quickly, however my intestine says that we’re wanting on the second half of June 2025, or maybe within the week main as much as Independence Day. I nonetheless would maintain off on reserving summer time journeys simply but, until you’re visiting in August, which must be “protected.”
What follows is the earlier float reveals for Disney Starlight: Dream the Evening Away…
Above is a primary take a look at the official parade poster for “Disney Starlight.”
This design, which is able to take its place amongst the enduring paintings under the Most important Avenue, U.S.A. Prepare Station, captures the inventive imaginative and prescient for the parade by showcasing each fashionable tales and acquainted nostalgia.
Should you’ve been following Starlight updates intently, you could discover some pals on the poster who haven’t been revealed simply but.
“Disney Starlight” will get un poco loco with a brand new Coco float at Magic Kingdom!
In a celebration of the Pixar Animation Studios movie, sounds of Mariachi music will announce the arrival of a larger-than-life Pepita, wings unfold above the parade route. Under, Miguel will strum his guitar on the foot of a marigold bridge to the Land of the Useless, full with sugar cranium fireworks.
This Coco float appears to be like unbelievable. Coco having a presence in Disney Starlight is unsurprising, because it’s been a staple of nighttime spectaculars for the final a number of years. And for good motive. The music of Coco is energetic and emotional, so even when there aren’t any accompanying visuals, it’s all the time an asset to the nighttime spectaculars. To not get too carried away, however Coco was virtually sufficient to redeem Harmonious. Virtually.
Within the case of Starlight, it’ll clearly be a mixture of music and visuals, and the vibrance of Coco must be good for an evening parade. My hope is that the marigold bridge is 1000’s of factors of sunshine, and that Pepita and Dante are likewise vibrantly illuminated. Pepita chickening out could be superior. Once more, I don’t wish to get too carried away, however this might be the spotlight of Starlight.
The very first float units the tone for our star-kissed constellation of Disney goals, all delivered to life by the magic of the Blue Fairy.
See that glowing star on the finish of the Blue Fairy’s wand? To paraphrase a fan-favorite Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular, that’s truly the “first star you’ll see tonight.” You’ll be invited to want upon this very vivid star to kick off Disney Starlight Evening Parade.
Preserve an eye fixed out for Peter Pan, Wendy and Elsa on their very own floats too! (For these protecting rating at residence, this brings the full float depend to 4: Coco, Blue Fairy, Peter Pan & Wendy, and Elsa.)
Not pictured on the poster artwork is the Encanto unit (#5), however this was the second float revealed again at D23.
Isabela makes her Magic Kingdom debut alongside her fellow Madrigal members of the family within the Encanto portion of “Disney Starlight.” In true Isabela style, she’ll swing on floral vines identical to she does within the movie.
Most important Avenue, U.S.A. may also “make manner” for a Moana float (#6), full with attractive, luminescent waves.
Whereas Moana takes middle stage, for those who look intently, you’ll discover Pua, HeiHei, and even a manta ray representing Gramma Tala becoming a member of her journey.
The princess float (#7) had its personal comparable first look, which additionally revealed that Disney Starlight Parade Will Supply ‘Nod to Previous’ Magic Kingdom Evening Parades, in addition to the affect of Disney Legend and artist Mary Blair on the unit’s design.
This float will characteristic beloved princes and princesses like Aurora and Prince Phillip, Tiana and Prince Naveen, Belle and the Beast, and Cinderella and Prince Charming.
What you do not see within the idea artwork are the royal courtroom dancers who will bookend this princess phase – considered one of many references to the traditional “Most important Avenue Electrical Parade.”
Lastly, Walt Disney World ended with this tease: “waltzing princesses aren’t the one royalty you’ll see in Disney Starlight, however that’s sufficient for at this time!”
Turning to commentary and hypothesis, my assumption is that the ‘different royalty’ in Disney Starlight might be Minnie & Mickey Mouse (and possibly Goofy?). Casey Jr. pulling Mickey Mouse’s drum float is the iconic visible for Disney evening parades. Reprising this after such a protracted hiatus for Magic Kingdom is a slam-dunk, no-brainer determination for which followers of all ages will go wild. This could carry the float depend to eight.
My hope is that Disney goes this route with the Casey Jr. and drum float within the opening, and one other finale float (#9) with a medley of different fan-favorite characters. That’s the system from Dreamlights, which is Disney’s #1 evening parade. They may additionally comply with the lead of Paint the Evening (and loads of different parades), with Minnie and Mickey Mouse within the finale. However my guess is that the ‘not the one royalty’ tease is referring to Minnie and Mickey Mouse, probably in royal apparel (however not essentially–they’re “Disney royalty” even when not a correct princess and prince).
In any other case, our guess is that that is in all probability it by way of the floats in Disney Starlight Evening Parade. To be clear, this announcement indicated that the entire floats on the poster have now been revealed, not the entire whole floats. So there might be much more. We’d be ecstatic if the full quantity is 10 or increased. We’re skeptical of that, as Starlight is already Paint the Evening size simply primarily based on what we all know. Though it’s nonetheless a lot shorter than Dreamlights, it’s exhausting to think about that Walt Disney World goes to foot the invoice for a Dreamlights-duration parade.
That’s not criticism, it’s simply recognizing the fact of leisure at Walt Disney World vs. Tokyo Disneyland. If Disney Starlight: Dream the Evening Away is even half nearly as good as Dreamlights, it will likely be arguably one of the best nighttime parade to ever roll down Most important Avenue in Magic Kingdom. The music, floats, and costuming are equal elements expertise, creativity and coronary heart. If Starlight has all three, it will likely be an emotional tour de drive.
There’s a motive this was the #1 announcement from D23 Expo for us. We can’t wait to look at it with our fellow followers, and kind new ‘core recollections’ of a Magic Kingdom evening parade with our daughter throughout her youth. Hyped is an understatement. Now the large query is: when will Starlight debut? With Memorial Day dominated out and the primary half of June wanting unlikely, right here’s hoping it arrives earlier than Independence Day.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on the Want float or parade poster artwork? What do you consider the Disney Starlight: Dream the Evening Away reveals so far? Wanting ahead to Walt Disney World’s first brand-new evening parade in a long time? Any floats, franchises, characters, or different nods to SpectroMagic or Magic Avenue Electrical Parade, and many others., that you just’re hoping to see out of the brand new Disney Starlight evening parade? Every other questions or remark? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!