Credit: DisneyA brand-new nighttime show called Disney Enchantment will debut on October 1 at Magic Kingdom in honor of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. With that being said, have we seen the last of Magic Kingdom’s Happily Ever After? Here’s what we know so far.
Happily Ever After is returning to Magic Kingdom on July 1 for the first time in over one year. Come October, however, Magic Kingdom’s brand-new nighttime show, Disney Enchantment, will debut. Disney Parks Blog shared the following information when discussing Disney Enchantment:
A new nighttime spectacular, “Disney Enchantment,” will help kick off the 50th anniversary festivities when it debuts Oct. 1 at Magic Kingdom Park. Created to launch with “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” this evening extravaganza will take you on a journey filled with adventure, wonder and empowerment. Inspiring everyone to believe in magic, “Disney Enchantment” will feature music, enhanced lighting, stunning fireworks and, for the first time, immersive projection effects that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.
We highly suspect that during the entire 50th anniversary, Walt Disney World will only show Disney Enchantment as it is highly unlikely that Magic Kingdom will show two nighttime spectaculars or even alternate shows every other night. From what we can tell, Disney Enchantment will be a nightly occurrence.
With this being said, the 50th anniversary will last for 18 months — into 2023. Therefore, we can speculate that Disney Enchantment will show at Magic Kingdom every night until then. So come 2023, when the 50th anniversary ends, will Disney bring back Happily Ever After, or will they debut another new nighttime show?
Personally, I believe the theme park will bring back Happily Ever After as it has only been around for a few years now. Happily Ever After debuted on May 12, 2017. The nighttime show before Happily Ever After, Wishes, lasted for 14 years before it was retired and replaced.
With Happily Ever After still being semi-new, I personally cannot see Disney debuting yet another new nighttime show. Therefore, come 2023, I suspect Happily Ever After to return to light up the night sky once again at Magic Kingdom.
On the other hand, if Disney wanted to replace Happily Ever After, this would be the perfect time to do so. Without Happily Ever After showing for 18 months, starting fresh in 2023 would be the way to go — again, if that is something Disney wanted to do.
We can also look at what Disney World’s sister park, Disneyland, did for special events. When Disneyland celebrated their 60th anniversary, Disneyland Forever debuted as the nighttime spectacular, which premiered alongside the Paint the Night parade and World of Color—Celebrate! on May 21, 2015. Disneyland Forever came to an end in September 2016, and that is when Fantasy in the Sky returned to the theme park.
Since then, Disneyland brought back Disneyland Forever for a short time from June through September 2019 as well as older fireworks shows including Remember… Dreams Come True.
Additionally, when Disneyland announced fireworks would return after being temporarily halted due to the pandemic, they shared that Mickey’s Mix Magic will be presented nightly throughout the summer, which is a fireworks show that debuted in January 2019.
At this time, this is pure speculation and Disney has not announced an official end date for Happily Ever After. Inside the Magic will keep you updated on all things Disney as we receive information.
For more information on Disney World’s 50th anniversary, which begins this October, visit our website here.
What do you think? Will Disney debut another new nighttime show come 2023 when the 50th ends? Or will they bring back Happily Ever After? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
If you want to visit Disney World during the 50th anniversary celebrations to experience everything the parks have to offer, but aren’t sure where to begin planning — Don’t hesitate to reach out to our friends over at Academy Travel.