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A day at Magic Kingdom now feels fulfilled with the return of a regular nighttime parade.
Hello, stargazers. It’s Haley.
I was able to stand right at the rope for a special preview of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away when the parade made its grand debut.
The floats are as mammoth as they are mesmerizing, an impressive mix of classic and new Disney.
I was particularly fond of the detail that the parade starts and ends with “Pinocchio.” The Blue Fairy float ushers in the magic, and then an animation of Jiminy Cricket appears on the back of the final float, a post-credit scene.
While getting the perfect spot to see the parade and fireworks is important to many, these floats were made for all guests in mind: nearby, far, and those passing by.
A buzz surrounding this parade is its reversed course, starting in Main Street U.S.A. and ending in Frontierland.
The idea is that when guests are leaving the park, they can filter out more easily. They likely won’t swim upstream in thick crowds of parade watchers, or at least it won’t be as bad as leaving during a traditional routed parade.
I left after the 9 p.m. parade, and the line to the monorail station was very manageable, as the masses hadn’t exited yet, since they were staying for Happily Ever After at 10 p.m.
I’ve included more photos and footage highlights of the parade in this web story.
A chef’s dream come true🥩
Ten years ago, Chef Michael Mina first envisioned having a restaurant at Disney World during the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic.
That dream became a reality this week as the James Beard Award-winning chef hosted a ribbon-cutting for Bourbon Steak.
Bourbon Steak replaces Shula’s Steakhouse, and while I’ll miss Shula’s, I’m a big fan of that restaurant space, as it has that classic steakhouse ambiance.
We talked with Mina at the ribbon-cutting and did a quick walkthrough of the restaurant.
Gaylord Palms Resort
‘Okay, Rudolph. Full power!’
ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort is going to “sleigh” this year.
For the first time, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will be the star of the resort’s popular holiday attraction.
Rudolph is a treasured holiday tradition for many, so you can expect plenty of frigid photo ops with ice sculptures of the most famous reindeer of all and other characters like Sam the Snowman, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, and the giant Abominable Snow Monster.
Gaylord Palms also announced details for its entire holiday celebration. Click here for details.
Universal Orlando
Passholder days 🌎
It’s not uncommon that passholders scale back on their theme park admissions during the summer, but Universal Annual Passholders, you’ll want to take note that Aug. 15 is the launch of Passholder Appreciation Days.
Passholders can receive a number of exclusive discounts, benefits, and access to limited-edition merch.
ICON Park
...Ready for it? 🎤
A music icon has landed at ICON Park in the form of a wax figure.
This week, Madame Tussauds revealed its largest global launch to date: 13 brand new Taylor Swift wax figures, launching in 13 cities around the world.
Turns out, Orlando has a “Reputation.”
We’re closing out July with merry and bright news from Central Florida theme parks.
As always, keep me in the loop through my email or reach out to me on X or Instagram.
See you next week.