Paint the Night Parade has returned to Disneyland Park with a few updates for the 70th anniversary celebration.
Paint the Night Parade
Also known as Paint the Night Electrical Parade, this nighttime spectacular premiered at Disneyland Park in 2015 for the resort’s 60th anniversary. It’s a version of a parade that ran at Hong Kong Disneyland from 2014 to 2020. Its original Disneyland run ended in September 2016 although it returned for the holiday season and ran until January 2017. It returned for a short run at Disney California Adventure from April to November 2018.
The parade opens with its famous drum float, which has been updated to feature the 70th anniversary logo. Characters in this unit include Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Rosetta, Silvermist, and Iridessa.
Many performers have updated costumes. A major change is that there are no more light-up wigs. Tinker Bell’s costume is brand new. Tigger, Genie, and Lumiere follow the drum float as giant light-up floats.
Sulley and Mike from “Monsters, Inc.” dance on the next float, which features spinning doors.
Lightning McQueen leads the Cars Electric Roadway Jam unit. He’s followed by dancers and Mack, who has giant LED screens on his sides.
Ariel is at the front of The Little Mermaid Electric Watercolors float. Behind her are Flounder and a large figure of King Triton holding Sebastian.
After the “Little Mermaid” float are dancing jellyfish. Marlin and Nemo “swim” among them.
Jessie from the “Toy Story” films is with cowboy dancers at the start of the Toy Story Electric Rodeo unit. Woody and Buzz are on a Slinky Dog float.
The little green aliens have their own spinning spaceship float.
Belle, Rapunzel, and Cinderella appear in the Candlelight Dreams unit. They’re accompanied by swan dancers.
Next is the Frozen Fractals unit, returning from 2017. It was not in the 2018 version of the parade, instead replaced by an Incredibles float. The snowflakes in this unit have entirely new costumes.
Anna and Elsa are in float inspired by Elsa’s ice palace. Olaf is among snowy trees on the back of the float. Other than costume changes, there have been some cosmetic updates to the lights.
The final unit is Mickey’s Lightastic Finale. Minnie, Goofy, and Donald are on small individual floats. Mickey is on the last float featuring an array of colors. The parade features the song “When Can I See You Again?” by Owl City.
Paint the Night Parade is performed at 8:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Watch our video of Paint the Night Parade:
The Paint the Night Dining Package includes lunch and reserved viewing for the parade. Starting on May 27, Magic Key holders can get a Paint the Night Parade poster.
The Disneyland 70th Celebration runs from May 16 through the summer of 2026. Other entertainment includes the return of “Wondrous Journeys” and the new “World of Color Happiness!”
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