How Will Happily Ever After Change When It Returns to Disney World?

We’re back from a whirlwind few days at the 2022 D23 Expo, and we’ve got a lot of info (and luggage) to unpack!

From Walt Disney Studios movie and series news to the latest Disney parks project updates, it seems like Disney had no shortage of announcements to share. So, when we learned that the Happily Ever After fireworks show would be returning to Magic Kingdom, we were thrilled — but, is the show really coming back to Disney World? Here’s what we know.

There’s nothing quite like a Magic Kingdom fireworks show, and when Disney announced that Enchantment would be replacing Happily Ever After as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration, many Disney fans were hesitant.

So when Disney announced at the 2022 D23 Expo that Happily Ever After would be RETURNING to Magic Kingdom, it seemed like our dreams were finally coming true. But, what did Disney actually announce, and what does that mean for your future Magic Kingdom visits?

Jordan Fisher kicks off today’s panel with Happily Ever After! #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/yutG6tMWsu

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) September 11, 2022

Josh D’Amaro (Chairperson of the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products) announced at the D23 Expo that Happily Ever After will be returning as part of an “updated spectacular” in Magic Kingdom.

However, there was a very important caveat — D’Amaro announced that the Happily Ever After theme song is actually what will be returning as part of this updated spectacular.

Popular anthem “Happily Ever After” will play again when an updated nighttime spectacular returns in 2023 to light up the skies over Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom park. via Disney

What the rest of the updated spectacular will look like when it comes to Disney World remains to be seen. Not only that, but Disney failed to share an official opening date for when we can expect to hear the Happily Ever After theme song in Magic Kingdom once again.

Disney hasn’t announced officially when the fireworks change will happen (other than sometime next year), but it will likely be after the 50th Anniversary celebrations end in the spring of 2023.

For now, it looks like Happily Ever After will be returning to Magic Kingdom in a new way, as part of this “updated spectacular” which we can’t wait to see. But, we’ll be missing the full Happily Ever After show in the meantime.

One thing is for certain, though, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any more updates or news we get about the return of Happily Ever After (at least in part) to Disney World.

UPDATE: Disney has announced that Happily Ever After is coming back to Magic Kingdom April 3rd, 2023.