Disney Starlight has finally made its highly-anticipated debut at the Magic Kingdom. The parade, which brings a nighttime parade back to the park for the first time in almost 10 years, officially opened to a large and loud crowd on July 20th. Did Disney Starlight live up to expectations?
We’ll start by saying that Disney fans have been starved for a nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom. Going almost a decade without a regular nighttime parade is way too long. Disney could’ve rolled out just about anything with blinking lights and most would’ve been thrilled. Unfortunately, while Disney Starlight does a lot of things well, it also has some significant flaws.
Disney Starlight has 10 floats full of familiar characters from Frozen, Coco, Moana, and more. Disney describes the visuals of the parade as a “star-kissed constellation of Disney dreams.” The parade uses an original theme and score, and has plenty of nods to Disney entertainment of old.
As with anything Disney does, fans are going to have divided opinions. It’s the nature of the beast. But, we’ve seen mostly positive thoughts about Disney Starlight following its debut. Most enjoy the star-filled floats, the soundtrack, and the overall vibe the parade brings to the Magic Kingdom. The float designs are well done (though the Pinocchio and Geppetto box feels odd) and the score is catchy enough to be memorable.
However, we’ve also seen plenty of critiques about Disney Starlight that feel perfectly valid. Not everyone enjoys the music’s pace (it’s far slower compared to Paint the Night). We also think there’s a noticeable lack of things to look at between floats. There needs to be more performers between the floats, and they need to be in better costumes with more lights. What’s there now is pretty underwhelming.
There also needs to be more filler floats between the primary floats to help round out the space. Remember the turtle and buzzing bee floats from the Main Street Electrical Parade? There’s nothing comparable in Disney Starlight. That absence is felt. The lack of those smaller pieces combined with the poorly-lit performers makes things feel a bit empty.
Some guests will prefer the high-intensity Paint the Night or the retro-feeling Main Street Electrical Parade more than Disney Starlight. Some may not like that the overall color scheme of Disney Starlight uses a lot of blue and white. There’s no question that other Disney parades are much more colorful. Overall, we don’t think Disney Starlight will be a hit with every single Disney fan.
Critiques aside, we think Disney Starlight is a good parade! The last float in particular is chef’s kiss. Sure, there’s plenty of room for improvement and we think there’s a good chance Disney will make adjustments. Think of how many times we saw additions and changes to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Odds are good the version of Disney Starlight we see now won’t be the same version we see down the road. This parade has a solid foundation that Disney can (and should) tinker with in the future
We do wish Disney Starlight pushed the envelope a bit further and tried to be a bit more ambitious. It feels like a safe parade, which isn’t bad, but it seems like the return of a nightly parade at Magic Kingdom deserved a bigger splash.
What do you think of Disney Starlight?
