Disney Starlight, the new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom, officially debuted July 20. With the parade winding up as popular as expected, guests have been eagerly following the schedule to plan for their visits. Well, we’ve got a new update…
Aug 20 Update: Showtimes Through September 6
Disney has revealed the showtimes through September 6 for Disney Starlight. Keeping in mind the parade does not run on nights Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is held, the current schedule is:
Through August 30: 9PM and 11PM
August 31 through September 6: 8:30PM and 10:30PM
September 7 Onward: To Be Announced
Note that Magic Kingdom is still slated to be open until 11PM on non-party days through September 6. This change brings the second parade within park hours, rather than running it after the park is otherwise closed.
July 28 Update: Passholder Restrictions End
The restriction on passholder hopping to Magic Kingdom has ended.
Update: Disney Starlight Soft Premiers July 18 and 19
Disney Starlight soft premiered on July 18, running once through Magic Kingdom at 9PM and again at 9PM and 11PM on July 19.
Passholders Face Restrictions, Limited Reservations
Disney has reminded passholders that beginning July 20, for a limited time, “Passholders visiting Magic Kingdom park at any time of day (including after 2:00 PM) must have a theme park reservation.” This means passholders will not be able to hop to Magic Kingdom via a reservation for a different park.
Typically, annual passholders at Disney World have the same hopping privileges as anyone holding a park hopper ticket, subject to one wrinkle—passholders usually need a park reservation to start their day, and they can only hop once they’ve “checked in” to that reservation by showing up at the park. Additionally, passholders can, with limited exceptions, visit the parks after 2PM without a reservation.
To control crowds during the debut of Disney Starlight, Disney is restricting passholder hopping to Magic Kingdom, as noted above. The announcement also limits the “after 2PM” access. So, bottom line, as the announcement says—beginning July 20, until further notice, passholders need a reservation to visit Magic Kingdom.
And now, as you’d expect, Magic Kingdom reservations are now fully booked for passholders on July 20, 21, and 22.
My personal hope is that this restriction doesn’t last long. We’re two days out from the parade debut, and Magic Kingdom still has availability on July 23. Once Magic Kingdom has consistent reservation availability, the restriction is more or less moot.
Were the restriction to persist once Magic Kingdom has availability, it would really only be stifling passholders who had legitimate reasons to be in the other parks to start their days, rather than people just planning to hop to Magic Kingdom. That would be a real bummer, especially as I’m going to be one of those people sooner rather than later—no one wants to see legitimate park hopping strategy on a family vacation stymied by some unnecessary restriction.
Update: Parade Times, Route Revealed
Disney has provided a new update on the Disney Starlight parade (emphasis added):
When Disney Starlight debuts on July 20, the new nighttime parade will be available at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. The parade will begin on Main Street U.S.A. and travel along the parade route towards Frontierland to allow for better guest flow at the end of the night.
Please note, Disney Starlight will not be available on evenings Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party…
So, there are three things in that update to address…
Initially, the parade will run twice each night, at 9PM and 11PM. This is excellent from most any perspective. It’s unclear how long the twice-a-night setup will continue, but for some time it basically means we’re locked into long days at Magic Kingdom (yay!).
The parade route will be the reverse of the typical parade route—beginning in Main Street and continuing into Frontierland. I think this is mostly a good thing. Ideally, you’d pick a viewing spot on the side of Main Street or the hub that corresponds with where you want to go after the parade.
One downside to this route is that Main Street will be more crowded. It’s already the most scenic spot for parade viewing (except for maybe the hub), and now it’s also the best spot in times of getting on with your night.
Finally, the parade won’t run on nights with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, presumably). This just confirms what we expected, and our expectation remains the same—parade days will have higher crowds and longer hours, party days will have lower crowds and shorter hours.
Disney Starlight Description
Disney has provided a lot of fun detail about the parade, but here’s a brief description:
“Disney Starlight” transports guests into the stories of our beloved Disney characters. Through the power of the Blue Fairy’s magic, you’ll watch dreams and wishes come true. As the lights dance from float to float, you’ll see favorite classic and contemporary characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Pixar films, some for the very first time in a Disney Live Entertainment nighttime parade! (Source)
What Does This Mean for Touring Magic Kingdom?
While any new addition to the parks will bring some measure of increased crowds, the debut of Disney Starlight should be just about as positive as an addition gets.
For starters, it’s a parade, with lots of space to view! The parade route will start near the entrance, go down Main Street, through the hub, and into Frontierland (ending near Tiana’s Bayou Adventure). This means plenty of space for viewing. While parades can get crowded (and we’re not parade viewing experts), with some preparation and slightly early arrival, you should be able to snag ideal viewing if you want.
Also, it’s at night. While it will bring some increased crowds earlier in the day, the bulk of the action is going to be at night. One downside to a nighttime parade is it will keep guests in the park later (not that many people were leaving before the fireworks in any case), which means wait times might not drop as much as they would in the past. But with two showings (at least for some initial period), many guests will choose to leave after the 9PM parade. Presumably, Happily Ever After will be shown after the 9PM parade, but this still leaves some lower-crowd time before the 11PM parade.
Another benefit of a nighttime parade is a tendency toward longer hours. Disney will be fitting in both Happily Ever After and at least one running of Disney Starlight (two, initially), which requires a lot of nighttime hours. Rides will stay open longer, giving you more time to fit in more fun. You’ll get more value out of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, a tool that will be more important on days without holiday parties (discussed more below).
Of course, scheduling is a lot tougher where you’ve got parade and firework viewing to plan around. In an ideal world, you’d have multiple nights at Magic Kingdom, allowing you to view fireworks one night and the parade another night. The additional upside of this approach is that you’ll get to enjoy a dip in wait times while the show you’re not watching that evening is ongoing.
If there is a group that’s at an overall disadvantage here, it’s guests who leave the park earlier. If you typically leave at, say, 7PM, then you probably won’t see any significant drop in crowds by the time you leave, and you’ll be missing the show. That said, there is one good piece of news right around the corner for you (with a bit of a segue, first)…
About Those Party Nights (And Days)
This is a final “mixed bag” sort of point. On nights when Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are held, there won’t be a nighttime parade, generally because of a lack of night and the fact that those events also host their own unique parades. This might pull you in either direction…
On the one hand, if you want to see the nighttime parade—don’t make a party day your Magic Kingdom day. On the other hand, if you like low crowds, party days just got even better. And if you’re visiting on a non-party day during party season, those crowds are going to be more of a pain to deal with.
But, bringing it back, this is specifically good news for guests who typically leave the park early. These guests should plan their Magic Kingdom day on a party day, taking advantage of the lowest crowds. With the parties starting shortly after the parade debuts, we’ll quickly be in a win-win situation—pick a non-party day if you’ve got late night in ya, pick a party day if you’re happy to enjoy lighter daytime crowds and leave at 6PM.
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