Health & Fitness
Your Guide to Nighttime Entertainment at Disney World
The theme parks at Disney World offer numerous choices for spectacular nighttime entertainment. From parades to fireworks to pyrotechnic extravaganzas, you won't want to miss these shows!!
Each night, as darkness decends on the Walt Disney World resort, spectacular not-to-be-missed entertainment lights up the skies of the theme parks (with the exception of Animal Kingdom). To help you navigate your nighttime entertainment choices, just follow this guide!
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Magic Kingdom
Perhaps the two most well-known nighttime shows take place at the Magic Kingdom. First, there’s the popular Main Street Electrical Parade. Over half a million twinkling lights illuminate the night, as floats carrying your favorite classic Disney characters glide down Main Street. This parade runs on most nights during the regular season, twice a night during peak season, and a few times a week during the slow season. Our favorite place to watch the parade is on the Main Street curb, but you have to claim a spot here well in advance of the show.
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Second, a day at Disney World would not be complete without Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, a stunning fireworks display behind Cinderella Castle. On calm nights, you just might even catch a glimpse of Tinkerbell as she leaps from Cinderella Castle and soars through the sky! Wishes runs nightly, except on select evenings around Halloween and Christmas, when it is replaced by a holiday-themed fireworks show.
Epcot
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a breathtaking laser-light and fireworks display, graces the World Showcase lagoon every single night of the year. Focusing on common human experience and international unity, this show is the perfect way to end your day at Epcot. We like to watch IllumiNations from World Showcase Plaza, where Future World and World Showcase meet. Be sure to stake out a spot here early, though…it gets crowded!!
Hollywood Studios
Pyrotechnics, fiber optics, water, music, your favorite Disney characters…all of these elements come together to create Fantasmic!, the thrilling nighttime show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This show runs most nights (sometimes twice each night), but it is incredibly popular, so you need to arrive at least 45-60 minutes before the show begins to ensure that you get a seat (90 minutes early during peak season). Alternatively, you can book the Fantasmic! Dining package: eat at one of three dedicated restaurants for lunch or dinner, and you will receive a voucher for reserved Fantasmic! seating. Note that these seats are not the most desirable (although there’s really no bad seat in the theater), and you still must arrive 20-30 minutes before the show.
So, which of these shows is the most "un-missable"? The answer is different for everyone; for us, a trip to Disney World would not be complete without seeing The Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular. If you are a first-time visitor, plan to schedule a night around these two events.
Finally, what if you'd like to see these shows, but you have little interest in waiting around for an hour to secure a good seat? I have lots of ticks and trips for alternate viewing locations, but they are too numerous to discuss here (and they vary depending on where you think you'll be at showtime). Feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below if you'd like a specific recommendation!
Meredith McCutcheon
Disney Specialist, Ginger's Getaways
