Guests visiting Walt Disney World Resort next month may notice a surprising change at Magic Kingdom Park. The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade has quietly disappeared from the park’s entertainment calendar on select November dates.
According to Walt Disney World Resort’s official entertainment lineup, the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade will not perform at its usual 2:00 p.m. showtime on November 8 and November 9, 2025. The update appeared this week, removing the parade entirely from the public calendar for those dates. Disney has not offered an explanation for the change.
The Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade typically marches through Magic Kingdom Park every afternoon, delighting visitors with floats inspired by Disney stories like Peter Pan (1953), Frozen (2013), and The Little Mermaid (1989). Its daily performances are a staple of the park’s entertainment lineup.
While no official reason has been announced, the change is likely connected to ABC’s annual holiday filming for The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration. Each year, the network captures festive footage at Walt Disney World Resort for its Christmas Day broadcast.
ABC’s televised celebration traditionally features Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, which usually appears exclusively during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the after-hours, ticketed event at Magic Kingdom Park. However, on filming days, regular guests are often allowed to view portions of the parade as it travels through the park.
Although Walt Disney World Resort’s website does not confirm that Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will replace Festival of Fantasy on November 8 and 9, past filming patterns strongly suggest that these dates align with ABC’s holiday production schedule.
Filming for The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration has already begun elsewhere at Walt Disney World Resort. Earlier this week, Disney cast members were invited to attend a holiday performance by Mariah the Scientist at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. The area around the Tree of Life was decked out with festive décor for the shoot, and attendees were encouraged to wear holiday-themed Disney attire.
In previous years, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade has performed twice on filming days—typically at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.—allowing daytime guests to enjoy the holiday procession alongside film crews. Visitors attending on those dates can expect larger crowds, potential delays, and occasional show stops as cameras capture footage for the Christmas Day broadcast.
Walt Disney World Resort has not issued a formal statement about the missing Festival of Fantasy Parade or confirmed any replacement entertainment at Magic Kingdom Park on November 8 and 9.
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