Disney Starlight Parade Will Include Nostalgic Vibes and Modern Tech
Nostalgia is a powerful force. My deep love for Star Wars traces back to 1977 when I watched that awesome movie while sitting on my dad’s lap in a theater. My love of theme parks began on a kindergarten field trip to King’s Dominion in 1979 (I was bummed they wouldn’t let my friends and me ride the Rebel Yell). And my passion for Disney World was born when I spent a week slamming rides and watching fireworks and parades with my new bride on our honeymoon.
Positive, happy memories are at the heart of nostalgia. Disney is pretty great at helping create those memories. But lately, they’ve been equally adept at crushing those vibes. Muppet*Vision 3D is making way for a Monsters Inc. land. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is getting a Muppets overlay. Encanto and Indiana Jones are coming to DinoLand U.S.A. And the Rivers of America is being drained for Cars rides. Those are gut punches for many of us, thanks to the feelings and memories those attractions evoke.
But Disney is throwing us a bone. They’re designing a new nighttime parade that might make us nostalgic for old-school Magic Kingdom. The creative team behind Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away has a motto: “A nod to the past with our eyes firmly set on the future.”
In that spirit, Starlight will pay homage to the Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic with plenty of Easter eggs. The design team also drew inspiration from one of Disney’s most iconic artists:
“This reverence for the past will be on full display in the parade’s recently revealed princess unit, which pays homage to Disney Legend and artist Mary Blair’s original concept artwork for Disney Animation’s “Cinderella.” Anchored by a gleaming fountain of light that overflows to illuminate a cosmic ballroom, the float is just one piece of the constellation of classic and contemporary stories that make up this new parade.”
Disney Parks Blog
The design team is mixing in some modern touches, as well. In particular, the parade’s characters will wear costumes that sparkle as if “kissed by starlight.” Each outfit will use innovative lighting techniques and custom fabrics. Disney wants us “to imagine it swirling down the parade route, layers of shimmering fabric picking up the glow of the surrounding floats, each light twinkling in perfect synchronization with the music.”
Mixing new and old. I dig it. And I’d like to see more of it in Disney’s parks.
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuts this summer in Magic Kingdom.
