Tips for Seeing the New Magic Kingdom Nighttime Parade – Disney Starlight

It’s finally here! Disney Starlight, the new nighttime parade for the Magic Kingdom has officially debuted and we were able to catch it during its opening week! It’s truly a beautiful parade with incredible lighting effects, great new floats, and fun characters.

About Disney Starlight

The parade features 10 floats, which are the opening float, which features The Blue Fairy, featuring Pinocchio characters, a Wish Float, an Encanto float, a Frozen float, a Disney Princess float, a Coco float, a Moana float, a Peter Pan float, and the finale float, featuring a brand new character named Whimsy. (He’s the train!). Plus there’s a special small float at the end where you’ll want to be on the lookout for Jimminy Cricket!

The parade currently takes place twice a night at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. So, it sandwiches the fireworks, which are at 10. The 9 p.m. parade is great for families and very easy to pair with fireworks . However, the 11 p.m. options is better for experiencing shorter lines for attractions while the 9 p.m. parade is going on, as well as fewer crowds wanting to see the second parade.

Something else that’s new for Disney Starlight is that this parade runs the opposite direction from normal. It actually starts on Main Street and ends in Frontierland. All other Magic Kingdom parades start in Frontierland and end on Main Street. It’s a nice change, especially if you want to leave the Magic Kingdom quickly after the parade.

These floats for Disney Starlight are HUGE! And you can see them well from anywhere along the route. Of course, most people will want that Main Street/Castle hub view. So if you want that view too, you’ll want to camp out for a while. (We camped out in the town square area for well over an hour.)

However, if you want to experience it with lower crowds, you’ll want to head towards Frontierland. There will be some great places to see it there. And it will be easier to get a spot kind of “last minute.”

How Does The Parade Stack Up?

Overall, Disney Starlight is fantastic. It’s more of that classic Disney parade. Meaning it’s definitely more traditional, in its presentation. It’s not as fun as say a Paint the Night or Mickey’s Boo to You Halloween Parade. I prefer a more fun and peppy parade, personally, but it’s certainly a solid nighttime parade. And the more I’ve seen from it, the more I like it.

One minor thing is that the music isn’t as catchy as I was hoping. I didn’t leave the parade humming it, like I have with other parades. (I’m looking at you Boo to You.) I’ve definitely listened to the soundtrack a few times though and after listening on repeat, it is a great piece. There’s also a nice nod to the Main Street Electrical Parade, at the end with Whimsy. It’s a great addition!

Another thing that’s great are the characters. There’s a nice mix of newer characters and older classic ones. I love seeing Coco mixed with Peter Pan in a parade.

Oh and the floats are stunning! The lights are ridiculous! You have to seem them in person. Video doesn’t do it justice. And I love how they change color just suddenly. The floats can be vibrant one moment and the next, they have changed over to that Disney Starlight blue and white motif.

Take Home Disney Starlight!

Want to take something home to remember the show? You can pick up a special bubble glow wand that interacts with the show. There’s also special snacks. There’s an exclusive popcorn bucket, as well as a special popcorn mix and themed treats at the Confectionary.

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