Parades, Fireworks and More in Walt Disney World

One of the tent poles of a day at the Magic Kingdom (at least, outside of pandemics) is the parade. When you see lines of masking tape appear on the ground, it’s time to heed the crowd-control orders of the show’s heralds. Each parade (there may be different versions in daytime, after dark, and for holiday parties; all of them were replaced by socially distant “cavalcades” while COVID-19 raged) is a memorable production, with dozens of dancers and characters and up to a dozen lavish floats. Day parades generally start at 2 or 3pm while night parades, when they happen, tend to start just after dusk (sometimes twice); times for the evening parades vary, and they last for less than 15 minutes.

While Main Street (especially its train station) has excellent viewpoints, we prefer to catch the parade from the western edge of Frontierland, where we're closer to rides once it ends.

Tips: If you want to catch only one parade, see the second one of the day, which is generally cooler and less crowded. During parades, the lines thin for many kiddie rides (especially those in Fantasyland) and character greetings. Once it ends, attractions nearest the route tend to be inundated with bodies—a bypass was recently carved behind the Tomorrowland side of Main Street. Also, the route is essentially impassible from 5 minutes before until just afterward, so don’t get trapped in Adventureland during one.

A trip to Disney doesn’t seem complete if you don’t catch the nightly fireworks-and-projections show. The old show, Happily Ever After, made way for the 50th-anniversary Disney Enchantment. Although the sky shows are technically at least partially visible from anywhere, the most symmetrical view is from the Castle’s front and Main Street, U.S.A. Roughly 18 minutes long, the show is quite a slick spectacle—lights dim everywhere, even at the ferry dock, and you can hear the soundtrack wherever you are. Areas around and behind the Castle are roped off to protect guests from falling cinders, and wide portions of the Hub are set aside for premium-paying guests, so arrive at least 30 minutes ahead or you may get shunted elsewhere by aggressive cast members.

Special dessert parties are offered for a steep upcharge, but the quality of the desserts has fallen in recent years, so we no longer recommend it unless you don’t mind paying for the viewing position.

Off-season, rides begin closing as soon as the fireworks start, and people start heading home; in summer, there are still hours left to play.

At the very end of the night (well, most nights, but not all), about 30 minutes after the posted closing time, Cinderella Castle flashes with a dazzling rainbow of light. This is a “Kiss Goodnight,” something that isn’t on the schedules. It’s a little like the Sandman at the Apollo, sweeping you out the door. The Kiss is repeated a few times, once every 15 minutes. Stick it out until you see one or two (the last one is about an hour after closing), because by then, escaping crowds will have thinned. Remember, you still have a monorail or a ferryboat and a parking tram to go.