Credit: DisneyOne of the floats in Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away burned out during the parade yesterday (February 13).
Nighttime parades were once a cornerstone of Magic Kingdom evenings. The Main Street Electrical Parade debuted in 1977 and became a defining after-dark tradition. SpectroMagic later took over and ran for years before the Electrical Parade returned multiple times through farewell tours and limited engagements.
After the Electrical Parade’s final run at Walt Disney World Resort ended in 2016, Magic Kingdom entered a long nighttime parade hiatus. Fireworks and projection shows filled the void, but for years, there was no true replacement, leaving a notable gap in the park’s nighttime entertainment lineup.
That changed in 2025 with the debut of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away. Its arrival marked Magic Kingdom’s first new nighttime parade in nearly a decade, featuring floats inspired by the likes of Moana (2016), Frozen (2013), Wish (2023), and Peter Pan (1953).
While the parade has, for the most part, received positive reviews, it’s not totally without its faults – as proven by last night’s performance.
Disney Starlight Parade Float Blinks Out at Magic Kingdom
During one of the two performances on February 13, one of the finale floats of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away experienced some technical issues.
“Oof the finale starlight float is half burned out,” wrote one X, formerly known as Twitter, user who shared a video of the float.
Oof the finale starlight float is half burned out. pic.twitter.com/Mmh6eMnmgc
— RockNstardust🎸✨ (@Kdodgers24) February 14, 2026
Typically, this float bathes Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy Duck, Snow White, Dopey, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse in twinkling lights. However, with the lights out on huge sections of the float (which is technically known as Whimsy, a locomotive inspired by Casey Jr.), the likes of Aladdin, Jasmine, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider were left in relative darkness.
As per other guests, this is a recent development, with the float working as usual on February 12.
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away has undergone multiple operational changes in recent months. The number of daily performances is frequently adjusted depending on the crowd projections. If there is a second performance, guests should take note that the route has been reversed as of this week, with the later viewing now running from Frontierland to Main Street, U.S.A.
Fans will need to wait and see how long it takes Disney to fix the parade’s new technical mishap. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a relatively minor fix – at least compared to past parade issues, such as when the Maleficent float caught fire during Festival of Fantasy, Magic Kingdom’s daytime parade, in 2018.
More recently, Mickey and Minnie’s hot air balloon float deflated during a performance of the same parade.
What are your thoughts on Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away?