The Magic Happens parade will reportedly not return to Disneyland in 2025 while Paint the Night runs instead.
Magic Happens Not Returning in 2025
The news comes from Scott Gustin on X.
Magic Happens ended its 2024 run early amid various entertainment cuts at Disneyland Resort. It had its final performance on August 22 and was replaced by the Mickey & Friends Halloween Cavalcade. Other cuts this year included the early end of Club Pixar and the closure of “Dr. Strange: Mysteries of the Mystic Arts.”
With the imminent return of Paint the Night, there were rumors Magic Happens would not return in 2025. Disney confirmed this week that Paint the Night would return in May for the Disneyland 70th anniversary celebration.
Since Paint the Night is only performed at night, this will be the first time Disneyland does not have a daytime parade during a major anniversary celebration. Paint the Night originally debuted in 2015 for Disneyland’s 60th anniversary.
Magic Happens could return in 2026 but Disney has not made any announcements. Some of the floats have reportedly been dismantled.
Magic Happens first debuted on February 27, 2020, for the 65th anniversary of Disneyland. It unfortunately only ran for a few weeks before Disneyland Resort was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally able to return on February 26, 2023, with over half of the original cast.
The award-winning parade was performed during the day and at night, but it was plagued by issues big and small. When the parade returned in 2023, it faced controversy surrounding Moana’s “Hula” choreography. In April 2023, the parade’s finale float was stuck in the park’s hub for hours. A few months later, the audio system crashed, leaving parts of the parade without sound. In July 2023, the impressive Pepita puppet was replaced with a float. A funnier incident saw Merlin losing his shoe.
Watch our video of the first-ever Magic Happens performance in 2020 below:
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