The Main Street Electrical Parade, a floating nighttime parade, takes place on Seven Seas Lagoon in the Magic Kingdom area of Walt Disney World. It runs from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern Time and is about 20 minutes long. Guests under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call. The parade has been running since 1977 and has taken breaks from 1991 to 1999 and 2001 to 2010. A version of the parade is available at 10:20 p.m. during extended park hours.
The parade ends its run at the Magic Kingdom in 2017, but guests can enjoy it every night of the week starting February 16. The parade features floats and live performers, with show times usually starting at 9:00 PM. The best viewing places are on Main Street at 3:00 PM every day, and at night, at 9:00 PM, a firework display is featured around the castle. Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade runs every afternoon at 3pm, providing plenty of space for families with buggies and little ones.
Park hours are 9:00AM to 1:00AM, and there are two night-time parades. The parade is currently not running, but fans should not hold out hope that Main Street Electrical Parade or Paint the Night will return to Magic Kingdom in Summer 2024 or 2025.
📹 Main Street Electrical Parade | 4K Ultra HD | Magic Kingdom | Walt Disney World
Don’t miss this cherished Disney experience as it bids adieu to Walt Disney World Resort on October 9, 2016! This fall, the Main …
Does Magic Kingdom have a parade every night?
The Magic Kingdom offers a daily parade on Main Street at 3:00 p. m., followed by a nightly firework display at 9:00 p. m. around the castle.
What time is the Disney Light Show?
The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade features an 18-minute show featuring lasers, glistening lights, and updated versions of Disney classics. The show usually starts at 9:00 PM and is best viewed in the central hub behind the “Partners” statue. The parade also includes the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, an ode to the world of Fantasyland, featuring beloved Disney characters, including a variety of princesses. The best viewing places are behind the castle, near Be Our Guest, but the projections may be obstructed by buildings. The parade is a popular attraction for visitors to enjoy the magic of Disney.
How long does the Magic Kingdom parade last?
The Disney World parade, typically at 3:00 PM, runs daily and is limited to one show per day. To secure prime seating, line up 30 minutes to an hour in advance. The parade begins in Frontierland and ends at Main Street, U. S. A., offering various seating options.
A morning show, “Let the Magic Begin”, welcomes park guests with a 5-minute show in front of Cinderella Castle. This event takes place before the park’s official opening and ends with guests searching for their first ride. The show also features Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire, featuring Princesses Tiana and Prince Naveen, Anna and Elsa, Rapunzel and Flynn, and Olaf.
Does Magic Kingdom do a parade every night?
The Magic Kingdom offers a daily parade on Main Street at 3:00 p. m., followed by a nightly firework display at 9:00 p. m. around the castle.
What time is the parade at Magic Kingdom 2024?
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom parade will shift from 3 p. m. to 2 p. m. on August 4th, as the park prepares for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party starting on August 9th. The park will close at 6 p. m. on those nights. The Festival of Fantasy Parade will remain at 2 p. m. until August 31st. The Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade will have one daily performance at 11:15 a. m. from August 4th to August 31st, replacing the two daily performances at 10:30 a. m. and 11:45 a. m.
What time are the parades at Magic Kingdom 2024?
The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade will be relocated to two daily performances commencing on May 26, 2024, at 3 p. m. Furthermore, the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade will be relocated to two evening performances, commencing on May 26th from 10:30 am to 11:45 am. It is anticipated that these alterations will be in place until September, in accordance with Disney’s historical precedent.
When did Disney’s electrical parade start?
The Main Street Electrical Parade Parade, a beloved tradition at Disneyland, began in 1972 and ended in 1996. The parade featured half a million tiny lights on floats themed primarily to Disney movies. The park’s lights were dimmed, and the illuminated parade snaked from a gate next to “it’s a small world” past the Matterhorn, skirted the hub, and continued down Main Street to Town Square. The synthesizer music was based on a piece called “Baroque Hoedown”, with themes from Disney songs worked in.
The parade did not run in 1975 and 1976 due to America on Parade for the Bicentennial, but returned in 1977 with a new edition. In 1980, a special unit reproducing Sleeping Beauty Castle was added. The parade did not run in 1983 or 1984. A duplicate version of the parade ran at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World from 1977 to 1991, and was moved to Disneyland Paris in 1992. The Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade was replaced by Disney’s Fantillusion in 1995.
The parade floats were refurbished for a move to Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Park from 1999 to 2001. The parade returned to California in 2001, and the Disneyland Paris Main Street Electrical Parade ended in 2003. The parade concluded in 2009 and returned to Walt Disney World in 2016, returning to Disneyland for limited engagements between January 20 and August 20, 2017, and again between August 2 and September 30, 2019.
What time is the Disney Electric Water parade?
The Pageant will be observed from a number of vantage points along the shoreline at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, and Contemporary Resort, commencing at 8:45 PM and 9:00 PM, respectively.
Does Disney World still do the Electrical parade?
The Main Street Electrical Parade is not currently performed at Walt Disney World Resort. However, visitors can enjoy other entertainment options such as the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, featuring Fantasyland characters and spectacular floats. The Tangled float and Maleficent dragon are popular parts of this parade. Check the Entertainment Schedule to see when it is being performed during your visit.
If your Walt Disney World Resort vacation falls during the holiday season, consider attending Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, as the parades at these special events are among the best experiences and are sure to be a highlight of your holiday season.
What time is the Magic Kingdom light parade?
The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, held each afternoon at 3 p. m., provides sufficient space for families with strollers and young children.
What time is Magic Happens parade?
The “Magic Happens” parade is scheduled to occur twice daily, with one 3 p. m. showing occurring from Monday through Thursday and two 3 p. m. and 5:30 p. m. showings occurring from Friday through Sunday in April and May of 2024.
📹 Final SpectroMagic 2010 at the Magic Kingdom
June 2010 marked the final performance of SpectroMagic. Fans were told it was going on a 90 day hiatus, and it never returned to …
I worked in frontierland in 06-07 and loved the “race” against Spectromagic – if I got off work at Splash i had a short window of time to clock out and get to the other side, where I could enter the tunnel and go home. If I didn’t beat it, i had to watch the entire parade. I was never mad about not making it in time.
Im in this parade. I can tell you all that perusal this back made me shed some tears. These were some of the best, worst, craziest days of my life. Spectromen forever! If you have any questions about its operation or the parade in general ask away; I did 27 different roles in this parade, including float driving and spotting so i know it well
I was so sad when I found out this parade had been cancelled–I saw it on my first trip to Disney World back in 1992. My grandfather taped this parade and it is my most vivid memory of the trip. He has since passed on but SpectroMagic music always reminds me of him, and the main theme and Mickey float bring me to tears. I saw Spectro again in 2002, but it was gone by the time I returned in 2012; I wish I could have seen it one last time. Thanks for capturing this and for posting!
Every time I hear those trumpets, I tear up so much!! I not only remember seeing this on my three childhood trips to Disney in the early 2000s, but also seeing it recorded on my dad’s “Camcorder” (it’s a 90’s thing, kids), from when he and my mom went to Disney in the early 90’s, a few years after they got married. I fell in love with this parade perusal it on our grainy little TV when I was little before I was able to go to Disney. It was event more incredible in person! So, so, so sad that it’s gone : __ (
I remember my mom sitting hours before this started to save a spot for us while we continued to ride. This was always the highlight of her trip. She had a hard childhood, and this always made her happy. She recently broke her hip and nearly passed away from an infection- so I am so grateful for these memories because I will likely never get to sit next to her for another Disney parade ever again.
When you look back on this it looks like a complete freakshow. But a wonderful freak show that rams itself into your eyeballs with absolutely no guilt whatsoever. It was a nightmare to keep running at the end, but totally paid its way and deserves its place in Disney history. B*** Engineering did a great job of rejuvenating it in its final years with LEDs.
When I went to Disney World for the first time, this parade brought back the magic and the comedy for me. It sometimes scares me because, of the spinning floats but then I got use to them and loved the parade after that. Now after 10 years of this parade it has cancelled because of poor maintenance on the floats. Spectomagic your floats dreams, magic, floats, and theme will be in my heart.
After perusal this whole show through, I have to say it’s sad that this parade got cancelled due to negligence on Disney’s part in the care and maintenance of the float. As much as I love the Electrical Parade and I’m happy it’s back in Magic Kingdom, it would have been fun to see the parade live when I could remember it rather than when I was a toddler (stupid middle school me not taking advantage of the fact that she had annuals to stop and watch this parade), still, I hope they do manage to recreate it someday in the future so I can see Spectromagic live again.
I feel like SpectroMagic is supposed to be Magic Kingdom exclusive as it feels like a more fantastical version of the Main Street Electrical Parade and fits Disney World in general better while the MSEP should be Disneyland exclusive to still give the small but compact charm that the park is known for
I’ve been listening to spectromagic since I was a kid, and from a musical standpoint, I think this parade has so much more to offer! There was so much more variety in terms of movies used, the instruments are real and it displays so much strength and honor! When I saw the Nighttime electric parade, I heard the same tune repeated in various squeaky high buzzes, and I really miss this one!
Stumbled on this…Glad you captured this final performance. I was there with my wife and son (he was 5 at the time). We were leaving the castle after dinner and decided to catch it. ‘Didn’t know it was the final show until they announced it. I worked for Disney Event Productions when I lived in Orlando back in the late 90’s and Spectro was one of my favorites. I was happy my son got to see it. I don’t mind saying it brought tears seeing his joy, knowing it was the last performance. Thanks for posting…
I watch this often and am happy you had a such a great recording of what was my favorite WDW parade. I was sad when it went and always held out hope it would come back until I learned of the fate of the floats. Glad it gets to live on in your article. I wish everyone knew it was the end the way they did when the ended Wishes where they sang along after the show was done.
Maaaan, this brings back so many memories. This parade used to mesmerize me as a little girl, in my opinion it captured Disney’s elegance perfectly! By today’s standards it’s really old fashioned but I wish they can bring it back upgraded! Paint the Night is absolutely wonderful in my opinion but it had too many Pixar characters.
As much as I will miss DEP (so many memories) I would love for Disney to recreate Spectro and bring it back to what it was (if they could) PtN is nice but it fits Disneyland’s crowd and guests more than it would fit here. Last time I was in Florida I was speaking to a friend of a friend and she said “As much as I like PtN, it makes me feel like I’m in a nightclub… And I’ve never gone clubbing..” Now that does not mean it’s a bad parade, but I love the technology created to make Spectro. It isn’t the most advanced, but it looks stunning to this day.
At 3:47 LOL that was awesome!… It’s incredible to see how much this has changed since 1993 when I saw it! The music gives me goosebumps LOL it also brings a few tears and a massive lump in my throat LOL that was such a magical time for me I was 13 years old and it was the first and only time I had ever been to Disney World! I hope to visit again sometime in the future! There’s no place like it! ❤️❤️ thank you for posting and sharing this with us! 😎🙈❤️❤️🥰
I really love to see the awesome big floats from MSEP!!! But still, the awesomeness of it does NOT compare to how sentimentally connected I feel to Spectro!!!! I really love SpectroMagic and i even enjoy listening to the spectacular soundtrack and that brings me memories of the times i’ve seen the parade at the Magic Kingdom and how it has always felt like living a dream and it’s truly amazing!!! This is the parade i grew up with!!!! I miss Spectro!! I hope they bring it back!!!
It’s 2021 and what I would give to go back to that time when we first saw this July, 1998. It was a present to our son who turned 2 the day we got home. My family met us there at the castle. Just magic. I made my husband take us every night to see this spectacular event. Please Disney, bring this back. You can’t imagine the feeling one gets when the music pipes in throughout Main Street. It’s like a dream. But anyway… thank you for a memory that will last a lifetime. But hey it’s Disney and that was the intent.
I loved this parade(and still do), more than I used to like the Electrical Parade when I was waaaaaaaaaaay younger than I am now!! Guess all I can do is keep the memory of this parade alive by perusal as many articles of it here on YouTube as I can and hopefully one day in the future maybe, just maybe, Disney World will bring this parade back to us!!!🙏🤞🙏🤞🙏🤞
i got 5 minutes in and i’m already on the verge of tears, I was about 4 the last time I saw this parade and i’m absoloutley heart broken that it’s gone, me being the stupid child I was fell asleep in the stroller as the parade when by so I didn’t even see the majority of it, I have the entire parade recorded and it just makes me so sad to look back at this parade,this parade completely blows main street electrical out of the park in my opinion.
They should bring it back with an update, like use the theme song which is simply magical, and include more movies, like Cinderella, the 90s and current ones like Frozen and Moana. That would be awesome and magical. We would get a little bit of nostalgia and at the same time innovation with the new films 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this! I was part of the cast that opened this parade after ELP and I had no idea it closed. I noticed a few changes since it’s inaugural debut, like replacing Roger Rabbit with Genie and the removal of the masks of what we called “Chuckie” characters at the opening of the parade. Again, thank you for bringing back so may wonderful memories for me.
I grew up with Main Street Electrical Parade in the ’70s/80s at Disney World and it holds a special place in my heart, but have also loved Spectomagic as well. I have seen both, as well as the new version of the MSEP, on several occasions and they are all amazing parades. I have the music for both and am happy that I can enjoy them both thanks to YouTube. When I listen to/watch MSEP, it makes me want to get up and dance. When I listen to/watch Spectromagic, it makes me emotional almost teary.
Thanks for posting! I got to march in this parade twice in high school (our marching band lead the parade). I absolutely love the musical score. I love all the Disney night parades though…so many pretty lights! I just got to see the Main Street Electrical Parade again in Disney World last week and I live near Disneyland so I’ve seen the amazing Paint the Night parade several times. People are always argueing over which is best but I prefer to appreciate each parade. They obviously have grown technologically with each parade but I find just as much magic in MSEP as PTN, especially when I consider the history and importance of each. I do wish they would bring out SpectroMagic every once in awhile though! I think it’s great to offer historic as well as new entertainment!
I saw this in June of 2010 without realizing it would be gone almost immediately afterwards. It’s such a magical parade that I cry when I hear the music! I mean, it has that special “Disney” chorus you hear in their shows, music and whatnot. The Main Street Electrical Parade may be sweet, but it should be in Disneyland in CA where it belongs! Let the ‘Land” have MSEP, and the “World” have SpectroMagic!
I was there that night and I didn’t even know it was the last performance. I was on the International College Program and I’d just got my Disney ID that afternoon so came into MK with all the excitement of a child. It wasn’t until I had my first shift working at Casey’s Corner 2 days later that I knew this had been the final performance before MSEP came in for the summer. I’m grateful I got to see it once in my life 💖
Glad to see this again. My parents brought me to Disneyworld, and starting in the early 90’s i brought my kids to Disneyworld every year sometimes a couple of times a year but kids grow up and the last time I went was 2008. i returned this Nov. of 2015 with my first grandson and was shocked to see how poor the events at Disneyworld had become. The new parade is short, the fireworks have been cut in half and all the rides speeded up. Sad that my grand kids will not have the same experience I and my kids had. Disney has become just another big corporation.
Some people might hate for what im about to say but this parade is so much more superior to Main Street Electrical Parade i know that it’s a Disney Classic and all but i honestly don’t like Main Street Electrical Parade that much because the music is very and repetitive compared to this music it has a beautiful melody to it when Main Street Electrical Parade is this high pitched musical box music that would sound like one of the toys that you have to crank up for it to play music. Also the floats in spectromagic are more creative when Main Street Electrical Parade is just regular floats and Spectromagic has Fantasia and the Spectro Men and the floats have more creativity to them for example the sleeping beauty float it has a beautiful peacock at the begining of it and the fairies are there and they have the little turning things on the ceeling of the float, also the 3 little pigs float it’s not nesecarily a popular tale told by Disney but it’s nice that they include it in this parade and the carousel float after that float is pretty cool too! and to finishit has Jimony Cricket at the end saying goodbye witch is creative and etc… That’s my opinion and I think that Disney should re create it since it had been damaged and take away Main Street Electrical Parade
Spectromagic was weather damaged beyond repair. It was supposed to return this year but they finally gave up and destroyed it :'( Kept a few pieces though. Hopefully for a future parade as a replacement. It’s so sad I was hoping to be apart of the parade one day but now it can’t happen….I grew up with this thing.
I only got to see this parade in 2009 when I was 4. I love the MSEP and I am devastated that it’s run is almost completely over. I got over them changing the 3:00 parade, but I will never get over Disney getting rid of MSEP. So sad to see it leave. Wait a minute. Doesn’t Disney have enough money to have a MSEP on both coasts of the U.S.? The people in California can alternate between PTN and maybe they can have the original night parade back, while us in Orlando can keep our version. Everyone will be happy and people can keep bringing their kids to see the true magic that is at all of the parks.
We always enjoyed Spectromagic over the Main Street Parade. Sad to see it go. I really feel sorry for my daughters. They saw the parade every time we were at DW. The last four years or so, they couldn’t go with my wife and I. So, they never got to see it for the last time. I heard on another disney site, the floats were sitting out in the open and are in bad shape. I hope one day they bring this parade back, but I’m not holding my breath. Perhaps if enough fans complained to them…..
Dang, that was a long gap between the introduction and music segments. As someone who works at Disneyland, sees the parades almost everyday, and has worked guest control for them, I know there are purposeful gaps to provide crossovers, but wow, that felt pretty long. Also, gave me a bit of a culture shock that they didn’t close the doors between the gaps like DL. Perhaps it’s just done out of necessity here because our backstage is ugly whereas their backstage looks alright, but seeing that long gap makes me realize that there’s also a show element. Even if that gap was long on purpose, to the guests, it looks like there was something wrong (you can hear someone talking about traffic control) and if there is something wrong, it hopefully prevents guests from thinking there is.
that is correct . and from what i’ve heard they have started dismantling the Spectromagic floats & using whatever parts they can from that on the Main Street Electrical Parade units as for what parts they asing, idk i do know they recently took some parts from Spectro’s timpani float for suse on MSEP’s Tinkerbell float.
I’ll stay hopeful that it’ll come back hopefully sometime this year!!!! Spectro’s WAY better than MSEP!!!! MSEP’s music is fun but it can get a little annoying!! But Spectro’s musoc is just something else, it’s FAR FAR more awesome and spectacular and magical!!!!!!!! It just sent me in a musical and magical journey every time i’ve seen the parade as a child!!!! I will always love!! My favorite!! It just can’t be……..gone forever!
The Main Street Electrical Parade…it was only supposed to replace it for 3 months (summertime), but nope! They decided to go “You know what? Everyone likes this MSEP better now (only because it hadn’t been brought back in decades, & they took it out of Disneyland), so we’re gonna extend that parade!” & then the storage units holding this parade’s floats ended up being their demise (previous comments explain this). Disneyland got jipped from their classic parade, & we in WDW got jipped of ours.
Look All Characters Of Spectromagic – Mickey Mouse – Goofy – Genie – Fairy Godmother – Chip And Dale – Three Colorful Fairies – Ursula – Ariel – Flounder – Sebastian – King Triton – Ostriches – Chernabog – Big Bad Wolf – Big Blue Spider – Three Little Pigs – Cinderella – Prince Charming – Tinker Bell – Late Rabbit – Alice – Dumbo – Snow White – Seven Dwarfs – Evil Queen – Captain Hook – Pinocchio – Geppito – Donald Duck – Minnie Mouse – Jiminy Cricket
I agree, SpectroMagic is a true Magic Kingdom classic! I have loved it for years! Although I do enjoy the Main Street Electrical Parade, I feel that MSEP’s true home is at Disneyland in California & should return there. Spectro is a part of WDW’s fabric & hopefully will return someday. Would be nice if they did an upgrade to Spectro & added a few more floats & wouldn’t it be wonderful if they finally put Aurora & Phillip in the Sleeping Beauty sequence? Thanks for sharing the article!
Never cried over a youtube article so much, it breaks my heart that my disney childhood is being slowly demolished and taken away….now its all pictures and articles. My (futuristic, hypothetical) children wont be able to enjoy this parade like I did at two years old, sat on hot tarmac for hours until finally those gates open. It breaks my heart that one day their hearts might be broken by Disney’s lack of listening to what the paying guests want! Im totally devastated. RIP Spectro
hold up hold up hold up…. Spectromagic is gone? BUT WHY?!?! This was their best parade and the music oozes magic! Why would they get rid of it? Oh Disney…why Disney why? I know this is an old parade but it’s so great I think it could stand the test of time! Ok, so answer this one question, what do they have now?
Well it is official i am not sure you guys have heard, Disney has Retired SpectroMagic, According to disney officials. The parade will not return. The floats are backstage and are being demolished. A few will be saved however it will not return as of today. SAD, I loved it as well but my heart and alot of people hearts belongs to MSEP.
Ok if Spectro was better then Electrical Parade then can you explain why Disney destroyed it. So y’all are saying that Disney was like “Spectro Magic was such a great parade it’s probably the best we’ve done so let’s destroy it”. On the other hand MSEP is better because there is more than one version of it, since 2009 Tokyo Dream Lights soundtrack has been used for MSEP in the US and is still currently being used, they have gaven the parade a new float but taken away floats over time, they have added the new sparkle effect on the side of each float with LED lights, replaced lights on each costume that contains them and is even referenced in Paint The Night, in the beginning with the huge drum and the soundtrack as well.
They say the units are in such bad shape they rather spend the money for a new parade. I think its because the Electircal Parade requires less staff and is cheaper to run. Hopefully they arrant being blood suckers and giving the daytime parade a turn. Sadly, I really dont care for the daytime parades.
nope. ever since it left the floats were moved to tents over by Central shops unfortunatly those tents wern’t climate controlled. the bulk of the parade is too damaged to be used again. what floats ARE salvageable are having parts removed to keep the Main Street Electrical Parade going until it’s 6 month refurb woch will happen simultaneously wheb the new Daytime parade opens.