A nighttime parade is back on the streets of Magic Kingdom for the first time in nearly a decade! Disney Starlight was made specifically for Walt Disney World’s castle park and debuted on July 20th. The parade runs twice each night at 9 and 11, going down Main Street toward the castle before moving to Frontierland. For the foreseeable future, Starlight will run every night that there’s not a separate ticketed event like Mickey’s Not So Scary and Very Merry Parties. This post reviews Disney Starlight, discussing the parade in broad terms before getting more specific and spoiler-y toward the end.

As a quick bit of housekeeping, the above photo is the only one I’ll show until further down in the post. It’s different than our usual layout but I want to be spoiler free (both in content and photos) for the first half. For those looking for tips on seeing Starlight, check out this post. We’ve been able to see the parade 6 times from different vantage points and can say, without a doubt, that the castle hub is our favorite general spot. But I want to test out a few other places before really diving into the weeds there. Like all shows and parades, see the second one if you’re able. It will be much less crowded.

Speaking of housekeeping, Starlight is going to be evolving. There are a few effects that aren’t working yet and will improve the parade. By all accounts, it was a rush to get Starlight to debut in time of the announced date. I expect the parade to look a little different in a few months from now.

That’s good news, because Starlight is already really enjoyable. I won’t bury my thoughts behind anymore housekeeping, the new parade is fun and exciting. There’s homage paid, specifically to Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic, while still being something fresh and interesting. Starlight mainly accomplishes that through the nine different floats on the route.

Some parades pack a lot of filler in between floats, with characters and smaller vehicles. Starlight is not about that! Instead the floats come in quick succession, with the runtime typically under 15 minutes once the first float reaches you. This is both good and bad, but let’s start with the good.

If the floats are going to be the focus of the parade then they need to be good and Starlight has that under control. The colors are vibrant throughout and there’s a myriad of different light techniques. Some floats use screens, others have a more classic look with the individual bulb feel. No individual float tries to be over the top with flashing lights (maybe a bad analogy in this particular case) but they all look stunning in succession.

Even with the different styles, Starlight feels cohesive. The Blue Fairy starts the parade off granting wishes and all of the floats and characters that follow have some dialogue about that. Heck, they even threw the movie Wish in there! I’m not sure how many people were asking for that but it was so on theme that they couldn’t pass it up.

The soundtrack helps tie everything together, as well. There are nods to the Main Street Electrical Parade soundtrack and a lengthy dose of Baroque Hoedown for the finale. Without diving into the details quite yet, that song hitting for the final float is a welcome boost of nostalgia and energy. Even with that song inside of Starlight, the soundtrack differs enough to be unique, blending orchestral and electronica sounds. There’s not as much of an earworm as Paint the Night (this parade has different goals), and it doesn’t quite reach the heights of some different Electrical Parade scores, but both Melissa and I thought it was well done.

It’s hard to overstate just how nice it is to have a new nighttime parade on the streets of Magic Kingdom. With all due respect to the legend, the classic Main Street Electrical Parade was so tired. Starlight looks fresh and energetic, even if the production was a little rushed in the last few months. That energy carries over to the crowd, as people genuinely seem to love nighttime parades. I’m right there with them.

Magic Kingdom, and really any castle park, is simply better with a parade to finish the night. They tie in so smoothly to a fireworks show and there’s an added air of excitement once the lights go down. Not only do guests get to watch something really bright and shiny and cool, they also get to be in a far more festive atmosphere. That’s been apparent in the first few nights of Starlight. People are excited and unified in seeing this, a feeling akin to a sporting event except in this there’s no threat of losing. Starlight and Happily Ever After are a winning pair.

When thinking of the parade in those terms, nitpicking the faults seems almost a little stilly. Starlight is enjoyable and people are happy to see it, that’s the biggest takeaway! But this is a website that does review things so, well, there are some nitpicks that I’ll mention quickly.

The biggest downside to Starlight is the lack of anything extra. There are very few performers or characters in between the floats and it’s noticeable. Tinkerbell is the only character that’s not on a float in the whole parade. Frankly, that’s really strange. The good news is that this would be a quick fix. I do wonder if they were worried about runtime, with the two parades sandwiching the fireworks. More likely, they were worried about money.

Along the same lines, the lighting on the performers in between the floats is puzzling. There are certain costumes that are downright hard to see. The goal of these costumes seems to be to make the human almost invisible and just to see the lights dancing around. I think that’s a cool concept but doesn’t work in execution. I will say that those costumes work better on Main Street the ‘stage’ lighting there. I’m hopeful that the costuming will be addressed and more performers will be added.

Those are pretty minor nitpicks but they do mess with the cohesion of Starlight. With all of the floats working well together and a soundtrack that’s successfully tied in, the parade just needed some filler. Even without, it’s a strong parade but adding a few minor floats or characters would go a long ways.

My last little concert with Starlight is that the parade might not have a showstopper. This is probably more of a worry than it is a fair criticism. I would love for Magic Kingdom’s new nighttime parade to spark a love of these performances for a new generation. I want castle parks to showcase these for as long as they exist. I really enjoy all of Starlight’s floats (even the Wish themed one!) but I’ll be curious to see if there’s a float that transcends and becomes iconic.

We’re voyaging into spoiler territory now. The Peter Pan float has the potential to be a highlight once the characters are able to fly. As of now, they’re grounded (or floated?) but I know that the plan is for them to soar above the crowd at some point. Even without the characters flying above London, the float is beautiful. It’s very similar to a Dreaming Up float from Tokyo Disneyland a few years back.

The final float is arguably a showstopper. This is a giant train (named Whimsy) carrying a great set of characters, and harkening back to prior electrical parades. That’s my favorite section of Starlight but there’s probably some nostalgia impacting that.

Coco and Encanto are both striking with their vibrant colors; they look absolutely amazing. The Frozen float is really sharp and is a nice contrast to the others, with the icy blues and whites. For now, the biggest wow moment of Starlight goes to the Moana float where a ray rises up out of the float. That’s mixed in with a more traditional looking nighttime float, and it’s really stunning. Finally, the height of the Blue Fairy to start off the parade is an exciting scale and one we haven’t seen stateside all that often.

Even without a jaw-dropping piece (I admit this is an arguable take) to offer, Starlight is a really strong nighttime parade and a welcome addition to Magic Kingdom’s streets. There’s not a bad float in the bunch and I think there’s room for the parade to continue to grow and improve. In the long run, I think that’s what Starlight’s legacy will rest on. At the moment, it’s a good parade that has a chance to become a classic with a few tweaks.

But we can talk legacy a few years down the road. For now, there’s a new nighttime parade in Magic Kingdom for the first time in a decade and it’s well worth seeing. Starlight brings people together and looks great doing it. We look forward to seeing the parade go down Main Street for years to come!

Are you excited to see Disney Starlight? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! If you are planning a trip to Disney World, then check out our planning guide. This site has discount tickets to Walt Disney World. 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. You can do all of that on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!