A slew of entertainment announcements came out from Disneyland today. All of the announcements were for shows (and a parade) that are returning rather than brand new entertainment. In this post, we’ll share the return dates for Magic Happens, Wondrous Journeys, Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular and Mickey’s Mix Magic while giving a little bit of commentary on each.

We’ll start with Magic Happens, which returns on February 2nd and will run for the foreseeable future. The daytime parade came back last year and ran through the summer before stopping in time for Disneyland’s holiday season. Part of the absence was to make room for the Christmas parade.

I understand that Disneyland’s Christmas parade holds a sentimental spot in many guests hearts but it just does not hold up to Magic Happens, which debuted just a few short weeks before the COVID shutdown. This site has been effusive in its praise of the parade as it feels modern and fun without being annoying like a nighttime spectacular that I’m about to talk about.

If there was a nit to pick it would be that Magic Happens isn’t returning until February. I haven’t seen a reason for this and if I did then I would probably call it an excuse. Saving the parade until February is likely a money saving move, knowing that January will be a low crowd month. Minor gripe aside, having the parade back will add another must-do to a Disneyland day.

Now for that annoying nighttime spectacular? Mickey’s Mix Magic keeps coming back and it is easily the resort’s worst nighttime spectacular. This time around the show will run from January 8th to March 21st and then again from April 15th to April 25th. During those times, the show will run with fireworks on the weekend and holidays and then just as projections on all other days.

Mickey’s Mix Magic appears to have nine lives and it’s got to be on life number six or seven. The show just will not go away, no matter how many other more enjoyable nighttime spectaculars that Disneyland Resort introduces. Why? I have to assume that Mix Magic is cheaper to run. There is no other reason that I can think of at this point. Even so, just run Wondrous Journeys projections or with less pyro instead.

Speaking of, Wondrous Journeys debuted for the Disney 100 Celebration and will return to Disneyland from March 22nd to April 14th. It’s a short time frame but will play for the spring break crowds. I’m of two minds about this. The first is simply being happy that it will be back. Wondrous Journeys is a fantastic show, similar in style to Disney World’s Happily Ever After. I’m eager to see it again.

On the other hand, it’s coming back for the peak of spring crowds which shows that Disney knows this is their best option. That it’s relegated to just a few weeks of the year is very frustrating while Mix Magic gets over 2 months. It’s too bad we won’t see more of it. For locals, it will be a must see while it is around!

Finally there’s Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular returning on April 26th and running until August 4th. To be honest, I’ve never seen this one so I don’t know what to expect. The dates align with Pixar Fest, coming to Disneyland Resort this summer. It’s been quite a while since the last Pixar Fest so I’m excited to see all that it offers.

Overall, this is good news as there will be entertainment coming back, making for an eventful spring. Along with Fantasmic! returning in May, the live shows and parades throughout the parks will be running at full volume for the first time in over a year and that helps the park’s capacity as well as just makes them a better product. I’m eager to see them all return, just some a little more than others!

Are you excited for these shows returning? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below. Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Need tickets to Disneyland? We’ve got discounted options here! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!