Disney World has made a big change to its entertainment schedule in November, suggesting something big could be happening right as the holiday season at Disney World begins! We look forward to this every year — and we know a lot of our readers do, too.

If you take a look ahead at the entertainment schedule at Magic Kingdom, you’ll see that the Festival of Fantasy Parade is now missing from the schedule on November 8th and 9th. This could mean Disney is planning to film Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade for its annual holiday TV special– so let’s take a look at the details!
Disney has not publicly confirmed its filming schedule yet, but we have a strong feeling that the removal of the Festival of Fantasy Parade on November 8th and 9th means that Disney has plans to film “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade” as part of ABC’s 2025 Disney Parks Holiday Specials.

In the past, Disney production crews have used early November dates to record segments for holiday specials that air on ABC annually, as well as on Disney-owned platforms during Thanksgiving and Christmas week.

We have even more reason to believe this would be the case, as filming has already started at Disney World for some of the holiday specials. Filming took place earlier this week at the Tree of Life in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it featured a performance by Mariah the Scientist.

If you’re hoping to get a peek at the Christmas parade during filming, the best bet is to look at how it’s worked in the past. In previous years, Magic Kingdom would have two performances of the Christmas parade for filming. One would usually be at 11 AM and one at 2 PM. Guests at the park were able to see the parade live, but just be aware that filming often requires crowd control and periodic pauses along the route. Remember, the parade would be going on to get the right shots for TV, not for a live audience. Last year, regular Magic Kingdom visitors were not allowed to watch the parade on Main Street, U.S.A., as the area was reserved for Cast Members.

We also want to remind you that Disney has not yet confirmed anything about the filming or if this year’s filming will be open to regular park guests. However, the fact that the Festival of Fantasy Parade will not be happening on the two dates in November strongly hints at production taking place. The Festival of Fantasy Parade will resume its usual daily performances on November 10th.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade officially debuts to guests on November 7th, 2025, during the first day of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It’s getting closer and closer every day, and we’re super excited for the Christmas season to hit Disney World!

Speaking of upcoming Disney events, 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!
To make sure you’re staying up to date on all the latest Disney news and updates, be sure to follow us at AllEars!
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Are you looking forward to the Christmas season at Disney World? Let us know in the comments!


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