Paint the Night is a nighttime parade that debuted for Disneyland Resort’s 60th anniversary. With the 70th anniversary right around the corner, Disneyland has announced that the parade will be returning to the resort for the first time in over five years! In this post, we’ll cover the news and add in our own commentary.

Frankly, covering the news here doesn’t involve much work. At this point there aren’t any details, we just have this post from the Disneyland and Disney Parks Instagram:

That works for me! Before we get into the commentary, I’ll add some conjecture. I assume Paint the Night will return to the resort next summer. Opening in May makes sense, as that’s when Disneyland has been debuting new or returning entertainment since the pandemic. While I’m guessing, I think the parade will run down Disneyland’s streets as opposed to California Adventure’s. My reasoning is simple, it’s Disneyland’s 70th anniversary and they’ll want a night parade for the park.

We have seen Paint the Night in DCA before though. In fact, last time the parade was running was in California Adventure for Pixar Fest. After the tepid response and low crowds this summer at that same (albeit Paint the Night-less) Festival, maybe the parade will come back there to bolster attendance resort wide.

Again, all of that was conjecture. I expect actual details to be announced by Disney in the coming months. Dropping the news on Friday was a surprise. After raising the prices at the resort and having to close Walt Disney World for a day due to Hurricane Milton, they may have just been looking for some good news to release.

When it comes to commentary, anything other than a positive reaction would be contrarian. Paint the Night is excellent and the resort has desperately missed a nighttime parade since it left. I would always rather see something new but I’m just happy to see that this won’t be the Main Street Electrical Parade again! Having Paint the Night return also plays into the Disneyland locals nostalgia. I’m about to head out the door to get a seat for the parade’s return now! I’m very happy that I’ll have the chance to photograph this again, as my skills have improved some over the last 10 years. Sorry for the below average photos in this post!

Widening our scope, this announcement follows the news that Magic Kingdom will be featuring a brand new nighttime parade in 2025. Both coasts will have two nighttime parades going at the same time! This used to be commonplace but has really disappeared in the last decade. Even if you’re not a parade person, these options play a big role in the park’s capacity. Showing parades will help spread people around and give another nighttime entertainment option.

Overall, I’m thrilled and somewhat surprised to see that Paint the Night will be returning to Disneyland. The timing of the announcement really caught me off guard but it does make sense to bring back such a beloved nighttime entertainment option for the 70th anniversary. We’ll be sure to update this when more details are announced. For now, we glow with anticipation! Sorry for ending this post with a pun.

Are you excited for Paint the Night’s return? 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. This site has you covered for Disneyland discount tickets! 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!