BREAKING NEWS Disney Starlight Parade Soft Opening Tonight at Magic Kingdom

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Resorts

The newest Magic Kingdom nighttime parade, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, will be soft opening for the first time in front of guests on July 18.

Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away is a new nighttime parade set to officially debut in Magic Kingdom on July 20. It will be the first nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom in nearly 10 years. The name of that older parade? The Main Street Electrical Parade, which debuted at Disneyland in 1972 and was beloved worldwide.

Full disclosure, I worked in the character department at The Magic Kingdom during my college years. I spent days sweating up a storm in a smothering character costume and nights dancing as either a dwarf or the minuet with a 25-pound lighted wig balanced precariously on my head. This was back in the early 1980s, and I can still hear the opening music to my favorite parade. Good times.

The Disney Starlight parade will feature floats inspired by Encanto, your everyday Disney Princesses and Princes, Moana, Coco, Wish, Peter Pan, Jiminy Cricket, and Frozen.

According to a recent official release, Disney Starlight will be soft opening tonight, July 18, at 9 p.m. in the Magic Kingdom. The announcement describes the soft opening as a dress rehearsal with an audience, and it is expected to be a full version of the parade with all floats and performers. The parade is expected to run along its already-announced route, beginning at the front of Main Street, U.S.A. and ending in Frontierland. 

I have to admit I am curious and even a bit excited to get a glimpse, even though I still miss The Main Street Electrical Parade. Are you excited for Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away?