Credit: DisneyJust days after Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuted at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World Resort guests say cast members are struggling to adequately control dangerous crowds during parade performances.
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away premiered at the Magic Kingdom on Sunday, July 20, after two days of surprise “soft opening” performances. The sparkling procession, the first nighttime parade at Walt Disney World Resort in nearly a decade, features floats inspired by Wish (2023), Frozen (2013), Encanto (2021), and more. It’s led by the Blue Fairy, who makes Geppetto and Pinocchio’s wishes come true right before guests’ eyes.
Your wish has come true… Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away is now shining at #MagicKingdom, and the stars of the parade look like an absolute dream in their new looks. ✨
Your wish has come true… Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away is now shining at #MagicKingdom, and the stars of the parade look like an absolute dream in their new looks. ✨ pic.twitter.com/ocgnFfDjg6
— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) July 20, 2025
As expected, crowds have flocked to the Magic Kingdom to view Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. Walt Disney World Resort Annual Passholders are now required to make Disney Park Pass reservations for Magic Kingdom Park, a COVID-19-era policy that Disney is now using to control crowd levels for the new nighttime parade.
Even though Walt Disney World Resort is attempting to control crowds with Disney Park Pass reservations, Magic Kingdom Park guests report that cast members are struggling to manage spectators. On Thursday, Redditor u/B2utyyo shared their unfortunate experience watching Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away:
“Loved Disney Starlight last night but they are gonna have to work on the crowd traffic flow transitions between parade to fireworks to parade because it was such a mess they weren’t prepared for even though this was Night 4 .
They blocked off the Casey’s to Plaza ice cream walkway after the 1st before the fireworks even though that’s only way to get to the bathroom there since Crystal Palace’s are closed for refurbishment so if anyone needed restroom on that side of the castle they were at a loss We straight up got yelled at, which is rare, just trying to go that way to get to Tomorrowland and the only way they wanted people to go across straight through the middle of the fireworks crowd which became impossible to do cause no one was directing the traffic flow. We tried and I immediately turned around because it was futile.”
The Disney Park guest also reported that crowds trying to leave Magic Kingdom Park after the Happily Ever After fireworks show collided with guests claiming spots for the 11:00 p.m. performance of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away:
“Then getting out fireworks crowd just a nightmare because not only did you have masses wanting to leave the park but then you have the masses wanting to rush to a claim a good spot infront of the castle for the 11pm parade. People were pushing people from both ways and trying to ram through with strollers. It was so bad you couldn’t see where you were stepping and were calling out where the curb dropped off so people did trip because we knew if someone fell down they would be trampled.
I can’t imagine what this weekend will look like if they don’t adjust this because this was just a weekday crowd and they definitely hadn’t worked out all the crowd flow.”
u/thethurstonhowell argued that it’s impossible to watch both the Happily Ever After fireworks and Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away without enduring “high stress:”
“The move in early days is absolutely to watch from the barber shop where it starts, then exit before the fireworks. No solid strategy to do the parade then fireworks without finding and holding a spot that positions you well for both.
Too high stress for me…”
Still, other Disney Parks fans said Walt Disney World Resort is listening to guest feedback and improving crowd control with each performance of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. From u/SeriousStrokes69:
“You’ll have to cut them a little slack. There have been some operational changes brought about by the introduction of the new parade that have mixed things up a bit. Internal stuff that wouldn’t make sense to you as a guest. But there was no way for them to be able to “practice” the transitions before the parade actually went live (they gamed it out, but obviously that’s not the same). There’s just no way to practice that without a live audience actually having to be present for the PAC folks to deal with.
I know that they go back every night and evaluate what has gone on and try to make adjustments based on what they learn. So just give them a few weeks to get the kinks ironed out. They haven’t had to do this in over a decade now.”
u/ghost_of_apaol argued that it was unrealistic to expect perfection after less than a week of performances:
“‘Even though this was night 4’
I mean that’s 4 data points. I’d say give it some time. I’m sure they’re well aware”
Still, u/B2utyyo argued that, as a longtime Walt Disney World Resort Annual Passholder, this was the worst Magic Kingdom Park crowding they’d ever seen:
“As a Passholder I’ve seen many MK fireworks shows and that definitely was the worst I’ve seen. I’m meaning I’ve seen the transitions between Happily Ever After the 50th Anniversary and back.”
Have you seen Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away yet? In the comments, share your thoughts on the new parade with Inside the Magic!