UPDATE: The Disney Starlight Parade soft-opened on Friday, July 18, 2025!
The newest episode of We Call it Imagineering offers an exciting preview of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, the all-new nighttime parade debuting on July 20th at Magic Kingdom. In addition to sharing a first look at several of the illuminated parade floats, highlights include early glimpses at the brand-new original character and thoughtful tributes to Disney parades of the past.
New Original Character
Meet Whimsy, the locomotive! Rather than making the train look and feel lifeless, Imagineers chose to make Whimsy an original character. “He is this childlike, whimsical character, so we wanted to keep him youthful, happy, playful… we wanted him to dance [and] have that energy of the parade.”
When designing the expressions of Whimsy’s face, the designers took inspiration from old Silly Symphony animations to bring in something older, but making it new with starlight animations.
Whimsy will pull the rest of the train cars which make up the parade’s finale float, which also include smaller sections themed to Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Aladdin, and Tangled.
Winks to the Past
The Imagineers highlight a specially created animated version of Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio, who will play a key role near the end of the parade.
Disney chose Jiminy Cricket for a sentimental callback to the beloved SpectroMagic parade, where he famously waved goodbye to guests:
— So Long! Jiminy Cricket at the end of SpectroMagic | Image Credit: KrisJaus on Flickr
To align with the celestial theme of Disney Starlight, designers envisioned Jiminy’s body as being made of starlight itself, an ethereal look that ties him into the parade’s dreamy, nighttime atmosphere. Beginning with 2D animation and before adding visual effects, the new animation truly sparkles.
Similarly, the Blue Fairy, who opens Disney Starlight, pays homage to the iconic Main Street Electrical Parade; another nod to Disney’s historic nighttime entertainment.
And for the music, Main Street Electrical Parade featured an almost entire electronic score, while SpectroMagic brought an orchestral score. Starlight‘s music blends both electro and orchestral elements to bring something both familiar and new.
Watch for More
The episode is full of glimpses at the new parade floats as the designers work on lighting tests and assembly in a warehouse, as well as late-night testing at Magic Kingdom. Catch the episode of We Call it Imagineering here:
