It’s going to be a quiet couple of years for Walt Disney World, with one vivid spot: Starlight Night time Parade. We’re already anxiously awaiting its arrival, and questioning when the brand new gentle parade will make its Magic Kingdom debut and as soon as once more illuminate evenings alongside Important Road.
For many who are unfamiliar with Disney Starlight Night time Parade, it’s the non secular successor to SpectroMagic and Important Road Electrical Parade and is slated to debut in Summer season 2025. The brand new nighttime leisure was first introduced in the course of the Parks Panel presentation on the 2024 D23 Expo.
Disney Starlight will use the newest expertise to inform new tales in regards to the characters you like, based on Walt Disney World. All of this is dropped at life by the magic of the Blue Fairy, along with beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios movies “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen,” and extra. That’s all the corporate has formally revealed about Disney Starlight Night time Parade…
With that mentioned, the corporate did simply publish a casting name that encompasses Disney Starlight Night time Parade:
Disney Parks Stay Leisure is searching for numerous, energetic performers to assist carry to life roles reminiscent of Character performers, Parade performers and Look-Alike performers throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort close to Orlando, FL.
Character performers play earlier than hundreds of friends every day in Character Greetings and Sightings.
Performers could even have the chance to be part of Parades and Exhibits throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort together with the brand new Disney Starlight Parade.
Auditions for this casting name will probably be held in New York Metropolis at Pearl Studios on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
I don’t wish to learn an excessive amount of into this casting name, however I can’t assist it–that’s my nature. I had a number of quick ideas when seeing this:
- It’s actually early to be posting a casting name for a parade that’s debuting subsequent summer time
- It’s odd to have a casting name for fur characters in New York Metropolis
- I ponder in the event that they’re nonetheless having hassle with staffing shortages for performers?
- How is that even doable on condition that the Faculty Program has returned?
I notice New York Metropolis is a significant metropolis and makes for a simple hub for casting from an enormous expertise pool. It nonetheless strikes me as a stretch, from an applicant’s perspective, to relocate from NYC to Orlando for a task as a fur character. It’s one factor for fairness positions or face characters, however this looks like extra of a leap. To every their very own, although.
One factor to notice right here is that this casting name isn’t particularly for Disney Starlight Parade. When you learn fastidiously, you’ll see that invoked for instance of a future alternative–like dangling a carrot of a extra thrilling future manufacturing to entice candidates. It’s definitely extra tantalizing than languishing away as Vampirina at her Scare B&B in Animation Courtyard at DHS (no offense, Vampirina followers–it’s the situation that’s unhappy, not the character!), so I’ll give them that.
In different phrases, this isn’t a casting name for Disney Starlight Night time Parade–as it would seem at first blush. However what if it have been? What would that imply for the goal debut date of the brand new nighttime parade coming to Magic Kingdom? I used to be curious, so I did some digging.
On common, the primary casting calls seem 5-7 months earlier than new leisure debuts. This has been the case with stage reveals at each Disneyland and Walt Disney World, together with Rogers: The Musical and the entire returning productions at Walt Disney World. With the latter, the timeframes have usually been barely condensed, presumably as a result of they’re not brand-new.
Alternatively, casting requires “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Journey” have been first posted simply over 7 months in the past, and Walt Disney World nonetheless hasn’t introduced a gap date. There’s loads of time for it to make its late 2024 opening timeframe, however we anticipated it nearer to October 1, so the radio silence is…attention-grabbing. However that’s one other matter for one more day.
The final new home parade we’ve for mileposting is Magic Occurs at Disneyland. The primary casting name was posted on August 30, 2019 and the parade debuted on February 28, 2020. That’s nearly 6 months. I’d anticipate one thing related for Disney Starlight Night time Parade.
So if this casting name is on no account determinative and even instructive for the debut date of Disney Starlight, what’s?
Let’s look to previous precedent for summer season choices. Most just lately, Walt Disney World has debuted the next additions in the course of the summer time months:
- Tiana’s Bayou Journey: June 28, 2024
- Disney Desires That Soar Drone Present: Might 24, 2024
- Encanto Sing-Alongside: June 10, 2024
- Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: Might 27, 2022
- Toy Story Land: June 30, 2018
- Pandora – World of Avatar: Might 27, 2017
- Frozen Ever After: June 21, 2016
Listed below are {the summertime} debut dates for previous parades:
- Fantasmic Return at Disneyland (Dragon Hearth): Might 24, 2024
- Fantasmic Return at Disneyland (Submit-Reopening): Might 28, 2022
- Important Road Electrical Parade at Disneyland (sixtieth Anniversary): April 22, 2022
- Paint the Night time Parade at DCA (Pixar Fest): April 12, 2018
- Paint the Night time Parade at Disneyland (Diamond Celebration): Might 22, 2015
- Important Road Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom (Summer season Nightastic): June 6, 2010
As you may see, these dates are everywhere.
You may make much more sense of the openings by contrasting what was completed forward of schedule or on-time with what was a race in opposition to the clock or delayed for no matter cause. In nearly the entire June debut dates, building or different hang-ups have been an element.
The Might 24 or 27 opening dates mirror openings within the respective years that have been the Friday earlier than Memorial Day. That is Disney’s conventional summer time kickoff, so for those who needed to merely wager on a begin date for Disney Starlight Night time Parade with none more information, the most secure wager can be Might 23, 2025.
And actually, we predict the only most certainly date for Disney Starlight Night time Parade to debut is Might 23, 2025. That’s the odds-on favourite, and by a reasonably large margin. If the parade does begin on a unique date, it’s far much less predictable. (There’s additionally the truth that After Hours at Magic Kingdom has its final date on Might 19–I might hope Magic Kingdom would have a full slate of late closings for Starlight, however truthfully, who is aware of.)
Nonetheless, let’s speak ranges. Personally, I believe the earliest the Disney Starlight might debut–assuming the date is being purposefully chosen and there are not any hiring/fabrication impediments to choosing an earlier date–is April 25, 2025. That’s the Friday after Easter, and that week will probably be when spring break crowds fall off a cliff.
If Disney have been savvy, they could goal a date in late April or early Might so as to pull ahead demand into the shoulder season. This provides extra time earlier than the summer time vacationer season begins, to no matter extent that’s nonetheless a factor. It might seize locals and diehard followers, leaving summer time open to common ole vacationers. When you have a look at the above leisure debuts, that is exactly what Disneyland has accomplished with Pixar Fest and the final time Important Road Electrical Parade returns.
I’d wager in opposition to that. Whereas it’s a wise strategy, it’s additionally one we’ve by no means seen from Walt Disney World–simply Disneyland. The Florida parks are extra reactive or standard–it’s onerous to think about them debuting one thing enormous throughout shoulder season. Extra possible, they’ll supply ticket offers and name it a day. In equity, Disneyland has completely different demographics, to not point out summer time climate.
On the opposite finish of the vary, the top of June is the newest that Disney Starlight Night time Parade is prone to debut. Whereas there have been openings round then lately, these have all been resulting from building. Assuming no points with improvement or casting or rehearsals, it’s onerous to see Walt Disney World voluntarily choosing a date that late.
About the one factor that might trigger that to occur is Epic Universe opening later in the summertime, which is trying more and more possible. If, for no matter ill-advised cause, Walt Disney World needs Starlight to go head-to-head with the grand opening of Common’s new theme park, it might debut in late June…or July…or August?!
It could be loopy to place Starlight in opposition to Epic Universe. If the brand new park is delayed, Walt Disney World can be a lot better off shifting the parade ahead and attempting to seize as many vacationers and acquire momentum by doing the other–not competing head-to-head in opposition to a model new theme park in an unwinnable battle. I’ve gotta assume Walt Disney World realizes this, and would see the chance in grabbing attendance and occupancy earlier than Epic Universe hits and causes no matter injury its opening goes to inflict upon Disney.
My private hope is that Disney Starlight Night time Parade debuts at the least per week or two earlier than Memorial Day and as half of a bigger bundle of leisure. They’ve already introduced the brand new Villains stage present at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, now we simply want a contemporary competition at EPCOT and a drone present at Animal Kingdom to spherical out such a theoretical celebration.
Actually, what I’d actually wish to see–that looks like wishful pondering–is a 2-week mushy opening of Disney Starlight as a ‘shock and delight’ kinda deal. Extra importantly, to present Magic Kingdom operations time to search out its footing with crowd management and scheduling. They’re gonna want it.
By the point Starlight debuts, it’ll have been 9 years since an evening parade final rolled down Important Road. That’s an eternity in Walt Disney World phrases, particularly while you account for every little thing that’s occurred in between–particularly the Solid Member turnover and lack of institutional data. I think that only a few frontline Solid Members working Parade Viewers Management (PAC) are nonetheless round from then. Extra importantly, I worry that only a few Magic Kingdom managers nonetheless are–that means they’ll don’t have any clue tips on how to deal with PAC until they fly in a crew from Anaheim.
No matter when it debuts, I’m past excited for Walt Disney World to lastly get an evening parade once more. Greater than something that’s gone lacking from Walt Disney World within the final decade, I miss the night time parade. Specifically, I miss SpectroMagic, which is the parade at Magic Kingdom that I keep in mind after I was rising up, and which was the parade that was working the primary a number of years Sarah and I visited Walt Disney World collectively.
In all probability, Walt Disney World may have sufficient runway with Disney Starlight Night time Parade that they’ll have the ability to announce a debut date that followers can plan round months prematurely. Ideally, I’d like to have an announcement in the course of the ABC Christmas Day Parade–that’s when many households begin planning and reserving holidays for the next 12 months.
That is perhaps deemed too early, and prone to lower into winter and spring break bookings. (I disagree–winter is inherently engaging for climate together with different promoting factors; ditto spring break, which can also be a faculty recess.) Regardless, I’d hope we hear some kind of tease in regards to the parade then, together with a gap date announcement no later than February.
Bringing an evening parade to Florida ought to present a desperately wanted goodwill win for Walt Disney World and supply new nostalgia to an entire technology of followers. After the entire worth will increase, nickel & diming, launch of Lightning Lanes, cuts to issues like Disney’s Magical Specific, Further Magic Hours, on and on—followers might use constructive information and a cause to really feel much less cynical. Regardless that it clearly can’t “compete” with Epic Universe, it’s a very huge deal for Disney followers…and there are plenty of us! We’ll hold you posted about the entire developments relating to Disney Starlight Parade.
What’s your predicted begin date for Starlight? Trying ahead to Walt Disney World’s first brand-new night time parade in many years? Are you excited by Magic Kingdom getting its personal gentle parade in Summer season 2025? Has your Walt Disney World expertise been negatively impacted by the dearth of an evening parade? Any floats, franchises, characters, nods to SpectroMagic or Magic Road Electrical Parade, and so on., that you simply’re hoping to see out of the brand new Disney Starlight night time parade? Every other questions or remark? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
