A new addition arrives in Magic Kingdom in just a few days, and trust us when we say that it’s going to be WILDLY popular.

The new Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away nighttime parade is expected to draw in massive crowds, and we’re looking forward to it just as much as everyone else. While we’re excited to see the larger-than-life floats and characters, we just learned some new details about this parade — you’re going to need to look CLOSELY to see all the secret elements!
We recently got to sit in on a Q&A with Tara Anderson, a Show Director for Disney Live Entertainment, and Katie Marks, a Producer for Disney Live Entertainment, to hear them talk about the new parade. We learned SO much about what to expect. With so many incredible details and easter eggs, this is shaping up to be a parade that REAL Disney Adults will appreciate the most.

The team told us that there are nods to LOTS of former Disney parades, because inspiration was taken from all the prior nighttime spectaculars, including SpectroMagic and Wishes! For all your O.G. Disney Adults, look out for nostalgic throwbacks in the new parade.

There are just over 60 dancers and characters in this parade, but Disney explained it’s not about the number of characters — they just wanted to have as many people as needed to tell the story!

We can’t wait to meet Whimsy, the new character (a magical train) that runs on starlight, just like the parade itself, and Disney’s team said they hope audiences fall in love with him just as much as they have. They also discussed the decision to incorporate floats and characters from newer films, as Disney wanted to ensure that the stories were integrated with the identity of the Starlight parade. That’s why you’ll see the character Star From Wish, as well as friends from Coco, since the Land of the Dead is under starlight.

Disney looked for stories to add to the parade that were about putting a wish into the world, going after a dream, and watching dreams come true.
As you watch the parade floats pass by, look carefully at the details! Technology has come such a long way, and one of the biggest challenges was “incorporating technologies that feel new and relevant and feel contemporary, but not losing out on the nostalgia.”

The parade arrives in Magic Kingdom in just a few days on July 20th, and you can bet we’ll be there on night one to bring you all our thoughts, so stay tuned to AllEars!
If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!
JUST REVEALED: Close-Up Look at the NEW Disney Starlight Parade Coming to Magic Kingdom
Are you looking forward to this new parade? Tell us in the comments!
Disclosure: We were invited by Disney to attend a media preview of Disney Starlight. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.
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