Something didn’t look quite right along the parade route at Magic Kingdom on Friday night.
For nearly a decade, nighttime parades were absent from Magic Kingdom, quietly removed from an entertainment lineup once defined by illuminated floats and synchronized music. Their disappearance reshaped how evenings ended, even as fireworks and projection shows filled the schedule.
Nighttime parades were once central to the park’s identity. The Main Street Electrical Parade debuted in 1977 and became one of Disney’s most recognizable after-dark offerings, later giving way to SpectroMagic.
The Electrical Parade returned multiple times through farewell tours and limited engagements, reinforcing the format’s staying power. When its final Walt Disney World run ended in 2016, no replacement followed, leaving a prolonged gap in nighttime entertainment.
That absence lingered for years. It finally ended in 2025, when Magic Kingdom restored a nighttime parade to its evening lineup.
Disney Starlight Hits an Early Snag
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuted as Magic Kingdom’s first new nighttime parade in nearly a decade. The production features illuminated floats inspired by Moana (2016), Peter Pan (1953), Wish (2023), and more.
Guest response was largely positive, particularly regarding the scale of the floats and the number of characters featured (even if some were left unimpressed by the soundtrack). Still, the parade’s early run has already seen several operational refinements.
During one of two scheduled performances on February 13, one of the parade’s finale floats experienced a visible technical issue. Large sections of the float’s lighting system went dark while the parade was underway.
“Oof the finale starlight float is half burned out,” wrote one X, formerly known as Twitter, user who shared video of the incident.
The affected float, technically known as Whimsy, is designed as a locomotive inspired by Casey Jr. Under normal conditions, it illuminates a wide group of characters.
Oof the finale starlight float is half burned out. pic.twitter.com/Mmh6eMnmgc
— RockNstardust🎸✨ (@Kdodgers24) February 14, 2026
Those typically include Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy Duck, Snow White, Dopey, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
With substantial portions of the lighting disabled, several characters — including Aladdin, Jasmine, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider — appeared in relative darkness as the float continued along the route.
According to other guests, the float had been operating normally the previous evening on February 12. The issue appears to have developed between performances rather than reflecting a recurring malfunction.
The incident comes as Disney Starlight continues to undergo operational adjustments. Performance counts are regularly modified based on projected attendance, with the parade route repeatedly hitting capacity during the holiday season.
Earlier this week, Disney also reversed the route for second showings, with the later performance now running from Frontierland to Main Street, U.S.A.
While the lighting failure drew attention online, it remains minor compared with past parade mishaps at Magic Kingdom. In 2018, the Maleficent float caught fire during Festival of Fantasy, the park’s daytime parade.
More recently, Mickey and Minnie's hot air balloon float deflated during a performance of the same parade.
Guests also reported seeing one of the Seven Dwarfs lose an eye in the middle of the Magic Kingdom parade in January.
What's the wildest Disney park mishap you've ever witnessed?
