Disney Brings Back Popular Nighttime Fan Favorites
Walt Disney (DIS) – Get Walt Disney Company Report theme parks have traditionally brightened the night before closing time with spectacular fireworks and light shows to conclude a guest’s visit.
Disney World in Florida kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration on Oct. 1 with a seemingly endless list of events to mark the milestone. To cap off each night, Magic Kingdom Park unveiled Disney Enchantment, a 15-minute fireworks spectacular to celebrate the anniversary. Epcot also debuted Harmonious, a 20-minute nighttime show that features floating screens, moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers on the World Showcase Lagoon.
The two other theme parks at the Disney World Resort usually have nighttime shows as well. However, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at Hollywood Studios and Tree of Life Awakenings at Animal Kingdom are temporarily unavailable. Magic Kingdom’s Once Upon A Time show Cinderella Castle is also temporarily unavailable. These shows are likely to return after the 18-month anniversary celebration concludes, some maybe sooner.
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Disney Popular Parade Returns
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim launched a 50th anniversary of its own on April 22 as the Main Street Electrical Parade made its third return to the theme park.
Another nighttime fan favorite, the Disneyland Forever fireworks spectacular, also made its return to the park April 22 after debuting in 2015 for the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration at Disneyland. The fireworks show includes two original songs, “Live the Magic” and “Kiss Goodnight” written by Disney legend Richard M. Sherman.
The Anaheim Resort’s California Adventure also on April 22 launched the World of Color water, color, and light spectacular in that park’s Paradise Bay.
Disneyland will unveil at least one more nighttime show this year when Fantasmic returns for its 30th anniversary celebration on May 28.
The Main Street Electrical Parade debuted at Disneyland on June 17, 1972, and continued until 1996. It made two return runs at Disneyland in 2017 and 2019. A version of the parade was introduced at Disney World on June 11, 1977, and continued through 1991. The parade has also made appearances at other Disney parks over the years, including California Adventure.
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The Main Street Electrical Parade features floats decorated with thousands of sparkling lights accompanied by an electronic musical score based on “Baroque Hoedown” by Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley.
This year’s Main Street Electrical Parade will feature a grand finale that celebrates the theme of togetherness in an all-new float. The seven-segment float is 118 feet long and will include depictions of more than a dozen Disney and Pixar animated films.
The updated parade will feature stylized scenes from classic and contemporary stories, including “Encanto”, “Jungle Book”, “Raya and the Last Dragon”, “Aladdin”, “Coco”, “Mulan”, “Brave”, “Princess and the Frog” and others. The grand finale float will feature the Blue Fairy character from “Pinocchio” and a 19-foot tall replica of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
For fans of electrical parades in Florida, Disney World Guests can watch Disney World’s Electrical Water Pageant. The iconic electrical parade on water, featuring lighted floating creatures on the resort’s Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake each night, is older than Disneyland’s Electrical Parade. The Electrical Water Pageant debuted on Disney World’s Dedication Day on Oct. 25, 1971, and is still floating along today.
The Electrical Water Pageant can be viewed by Disney World Resort guests from Polynesian Village, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Disney’s Contemporary Resort and the Magic Kingdom main entrance.
