Details About Every New Show and Parade Coming to Disney World Summer 2025

Disney World Dad Here, today I want to talk about the new shows and parade coming to Walt Disney World in 2025. Disney is in a bit of a lull as we are in between a few really big projects announced at D23 in 2024, such as Tropical Americas coming to Animal Kingdom—stay tuned for more about that in an upcoming blogs/videos —Monsters, Inc Land at Hollywood Studios, the anticipated Villains Land and Cars Land at the Magic Kingdom, and the relocation of the Muppets to Rock N Roller Coaster, the latter of which to me is… interesting. More on my thoughts about that, and why it should have been themed to Powerline, coming soon.

 

With Tiana’s Bayou Adventure now open at the Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT’s neighborhood transformation now complete, and many of the big new attractions announced years ago, like Tron, Guardians, and Journey of Water now open, there’s not a lot of splashy new attractions under current development to track. So, Disney is really pushing the new parade and shows coming to the parks. So, in this blog, I am going to break down what we know and what to expect from Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, and The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.

 

 

Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away

Originally announced at the 2024 D23 EXPO as Disney Starlight, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away,  is a new nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom that will reportedly continue the spectacular legacy started by the Main Street Electrical parade. Featuring the latest technology and fan favorite characters, the show is brought to life by The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, who will imbue each float and costume with the Magic of starlight,  and according to Disney, illuminate the stories in a vibrant constellation of wonder, hope, and imagination. 

 

According to Disney, the creative team behind the parade is operating under the motto “a nod to the past with our eyes firmly set on the future,” and they mean it. Brand new concert art hints at nods to nighttime parades from years past, and perhaps most important, inspiration from Disney Legend Mary Blair. In fact, her concept art for Cinderella, which features a blue, twinkling scene as Cinderella and Prince Charming dance before fountain, is the basis for the princess unit float, which will feature a gleaming fountain that overflows to illuminate a cosmic ballroom. 

 

Other characters and scenes we can expect are from Moana, Peter Pan, Frozen, and Encanto. On the technical side, Disney Live Entertainment Costuming have been hard at work designing new parade costumes that blend lighting techniques with custom fabrics for a kissed by starlight look—their words not mine. My thoughts? I am excited about this—I have only seen one nightttime parade, over a decade ago, at Disneyland, and I don’t remember much of it. I think bringing back a nighttime parade with updated technology and characters will appeal to all types of fans, and I can’t wait to see it when it opens this summer. Plus, I think the use of The Blue Fairy is a nice nod to a classic Disney film, instead of perhaps taking the easy route and using a Pixar character or modern Disney character to the the star. 

 

Moving on to Hollywood Studios, we have two shows to discuss.

Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After

The first, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, is the show replacing Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, which was sort of unceremoniously shut down without much notice last year. 

 

Note that the new show (above left) is different from the Villains themed land that is planned for the Magic Kingdom (above right). Disney is really all in on Villains, and I am not complaining. Anyway, the new show is leaning into the mirror concept, with the story going that Magic Mirror summoning guests to “hear them out” about how they—the villains—have been treated for years. Confirmed villains that will break out of the mirror and perform fan favorite songs include Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent (of course), but Disney said that dozens of famous villains will appear in a wicked finale where they await our decision within the Mirror’s realm. Disney has been work on this show for nearly two years, and promises cutting edge stage design, thrilling effects and catchy numbers. 

The villain show will be housed in Sunset Showcase, down sunset boulevard near Rock N Roller Coaster, and is scheduled to open summer 2025. I enjoyed the Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, but understand that Disney is trying to refresh its shows at Hollywood Studios. I also, like many, enjoy a good Disney Villain, and I think the show sounds promising. That said, with this villains push here, and also at the Magic Kingdom, I worry it could be a little heavy handed. Also, I don’t enjoy pitting the companies against one another because I feel the more theme park experiences the better, but I can’t help but notice Disney’s seemingly sudden push into villains—not to mention the Villains Lair lounge at the top of Bay Lake Tower for DVC owners—seems responsive to Universal Orlando’s Dark Universe coming to Epic Universe, which I will talk all about in another video. Basically, I am just hoping Disney is doing this right and giving the villains the proper treatment and not just throwing things together to show that it, too, has villains. I remain optimistic. 

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure

 

The third show we have to talk about is The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure. While this is a new production, it’s actually replacing another Little Mermaid show, called Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Voyage of the Little Mermaid was a live show, featuring a mix of live actors and puppets, that essentially told the story from the popular film. The show opened in 1992–replacing another live show, Here Come The Muppets, which itself had a short fun. Located in Animation Courtyard, Voyage of the Little Mermaid closed during the pandemic, and never reopened in that iteration. In 2023, Disney announced the new show, The Little Mermaid -A Musical Adventure, which is what I am talking about today.

 

Touted as a reimagining of The Little Mermaid, the show—which will still be in Animation Courtyard—will feature new physical sets, cast puppets, live performers and visuals. I think that the technology being used for this show is going to be special. 

 

Essentially, there will be a blend of practical and projected design, featuring real and digital puppetry—which sounds interesting. According to James Silson, Show Director, the show will feature motion capture technology, much like what we see in modern films. Silson said in the Disney Parks Blog, “Basically, we have a live performer in a suit covered in sensors, and the data captured from their performance helps us create a digital animation of the character, which our animators then use to bring them to life on stage.” 

 

The technology is ostensibly going to accentuate what is happening on stage, blending real and digital in ways Disney has not done before. So basically, expect bigger, newer sets, plus digital effects that make it feel even bigger. Also exciting is new music: so far, Disney confirmed that the production will kick off with a new Daughter’s of Triton number, and Kiss the Girl will be added to the show. 

 

Final Thoughts on New Shows and Nighttime Parade

So those are the shows and the parade coming to Disney World this year. I am excited! I feel like Disney shows, while not easiest to prioritize when rides can be so fun, really set the parks apart from the rest. These are expensive, high quality productions that are included with your ticket—and as of now, don’t require a Lightning Lane (fingers crossed it stays that way). The nighttime parade at the Magic kingdom seems like fan service in the best way since fans have longed for something like this since the Main Street Electrical Parade stopped running; that it is new and features classic characters, only makes it that much more exciting. Hollywood Studios is really getting all the attention with two shows, including one that features a beloved film  and another that will get the chance to showcase villains that are often secondary characters. Tell me your thoughts—are you excited? Do you feel like Disney should make shows about different movies and characters? Are you ready for a new parade? Sound off in the comments and if you like this article please consider subscribing to my newsletter and YouTube channel (details below). See ya real soon!

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