Disney’s Electrical Parade May Be Replaced by New Nighttime Parade When Fantasyland Expansion Opens

in Disney, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World

It was recently announced that the Main Street Electrical Parade will be returning to the Magic Kingdom here in Orlando in June as part of Disney’s “Summer Nightastic” promotion. This nighttime event has been announced to begin on June 6 and run through August 14.

Today I received word from a trusted source that there are talks within the company to keep the popular Electrical Parade in Florida for roughly two years until the ongoing Fantasyland expansion completes its first phase of construction in 2012. At that time, I was told, an all-new nighttime parade would launch along with new fireworks show that is designed to not require parts of the expanded Fantasyland to close (which currently occurs quite often due to launch locations found in and around parts of the land). It is unclear whether that fireworks show will resemble the “Summer Nightastic Fireworks Spectacular” that will run this summer.

When asked about the end date of the Main Street Electrical Parade, Disney spokesperson Benjamin Thompson told me, “Both the Main Street Electrical Parade and the Summer Nightastic Fireworks Spectacular will debut on June 6 and run at least through August 14. We have not determined the exact end date for these special offerings.”

It certainly seems unlikely that Disney would ship an entire parade from its parks in California to Florida just for a couple of months’ worth of entertainment, so it is probable that the Electrical Parade will extend its run here beyond the August 14 end date of “Summer Nightastic.” But whether a new nighttime parade will replace the Electrical Parade when the Fantasyland expansion premieres in 2012 remains to be confirmed.

In the meantime, I’ll be more than happy to once again make a trip to the Magic Kingdom to enjoy the thousands of sparkling lights and electro-synth-magnetic musical sounds of the Main Street Electrical Parade – and I may not want it to ever leave.

Related: VIDEOS: Main Street Electrical Parade Returns to Disneyland Brighter and Happier Than Ever

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