Disney Movie Magic, a nighttime show featuring projections of classic Disney films onto Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, has quietly disappeared from the official Walt Disney World calendar.
Disney Movie Magic Temporarily Suspended
There are no showtimes this month, nor are any appearing up to August 11, currently the latest available date on the calendar.
The resort describes the Disney Movie Magic experience on the Walt Disney World website:
Fall in love all over again with unforgettable characters and cherished stories. After the sun sets, a compilation of favorites flickers across the iconic façade of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at the park. During this 10-minute treat you’ll enjoy memorable scenes from Indiana Jones and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, plus many more. Be swept away all over again!
Full video of the show, with a live-action “Mulan” sequence added when it reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic, is available below.
Disney has not offered any official explanation or reasoning, but this could be related to the lack of darkness currently being experienced in the summertime. Movie Magic usually begins around 8:45 p.m. as a prelude to Wonderful World of Animation:
This excitement-packed projection show will take you on an incredible journey through more than 90 years of Disney and Pixar animation. Watch in wonder as the façade of the Chinese Theatre is magically transformed—displaying this stirring tribute to animation. Behold spectacular sequences celebrating themes like magic, family, adventure, romance and friendship. Each theme is brought to life through unforgettable moments from beloved films—like Sleeping Beauty, The Incredibles, Coco and many more. Of course, since we can never lose sight of the fact that it was all started with a mouse, the show fittingly begins and ends with the one-and-only Mickey.
Wonderful World of Animation is still occurring at 9 p.m. every night for the remainder of June, though this show also mysteriously ceases performances starting July 1, and does not come back through at least August 11.
We’ve included a complete video of that show as well.
As of today, June 12, the sunset in Orlando is set to be 8:23 p.m. — supporting the idea that there is not enough darkness to properly experience the projections that depend on adequate lighting conditions.
Last year, both shows were abruptly canceled for a couple of consecutive days in February with an apology from Disney’s Hollywood Studios Vice-President Jackie Swisher. This, however, was unexpected and occurred after the performances were already scheduled to happen. An extended suspension such as what’s happening right now is uncommon.
Have you seen either of these nighttime projection shows before? Do you recall the sky potentially being too bright while watching in summers past? Let us know in the comments.
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