Credit: Inside The MagicWalt Disney World has quietly announced a major change coming to the Magic Kingdom next month, and it may impact your plans.
Since losing the Main Street Electrical Parade in 2016, Walt Disney World has been lacking in its daily parades. While the Festival of Fantasy Parade happens each afternoon, the Magic Kingdom only offers one other cavalcade during the day, with no parade opportunity at night. However, starting next month, that’s about to change as the Festival of Fantasy will happen twice a day throughout the park while the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade bumps to an evening performance.
The Festival of Fantasy Parade debuted at the Magic Kingdom in 2014 and has been dazzling guests ever since with dozens of floats and beloved characters. During the parade, guests can see Tinker Bell and Peter Pan, Ariel, Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna, Tiana and Naveen, Prince Phillip and the iconic fire-breathing steampunk Maleficent dragon, and of course, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and many more. “The unbridled enchantment and vivid pageantry of Fantasyland—and its many inhabitants—winds its way through the park in a thrilling parade spectacular,” the site describes. “The dazzling mix of floats, motion and original music will keep you humming along for days to come.”
Along with the Festival of Fantasy Parade, the Magic Kingdom also features the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade, which debuted in early 2022 as part of the resort’s 50th-anniversary celebrations. The parade features a mix of Disney and Pixar characters, “Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade features the most Characters of any cavalcade to date, including Bruno from Encanto and Miguel from Coco—plus so many more!” Currently, the cavalcade runs through the park twice each morning, once at 10:30 and again at 11:45, but starting February 18, the cavalcade will switch to once in the evenings at 5:10.
With this switch, Festival of Fantasy will now waltz through Main Street twice in the afternoons, adding a 12:00 noon performance on top of its typical 3:00 one, also starting February 18. This could affect your plans as far as planning Lightning Lanes, reservations, and making your way through the park during those times. A pro tip–if you catch one performance of the parade, you may be able to catch a shorter wait time on a popular ride during the other performance as other guests stop to watch.
The parades switch performance times throughout the year, having just started a once-a-day performance of Festival of Fantasy and a twice-a-day of the Disney Adventure Friends on January 16. It’s unclear if the time adjustments are due to the time of year, with January and early February being a little slower than the rest of the year, or if it’s a performance related reason, but be sure to check your travel dates to see if the adjustment affects you.