No visit to Disney’s Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL is complete without seeing one, or all, of the shows, parades or fireworks displays. Whether it be the spectacular new Happily Ever After projection/fireworks show at Cinderella Castle at night or Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire on the castle forecourt stage during the day, planning to see these shows as part of your visit is a must!
When it comes to Magic Kingdom parades, there are two of them presented daily. The first is the Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party that features plenty of Disney characters including Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, Genie from Aladdin, and of course Mickey and Minnie Mouse! This parade encourages just what the name implies – a lot of moving, shaking and dancing as characters get the audience to dance and clap along while stilt walkers and street performers keep the action moving.
The second is the Festival of Fantasy Parade that is more of a traditional Disney parade complete with floats, street performers and of course, all your favorite Disney characters.
Starting in the Frontierland section of the park, the parade makes it’s way through the Magic Kingdom, around the castle, and down Main Street USA where it completes its route (see the map below – the blue line represents the parade route).
The Festival of Fantasy Parade celebrates Fantasyland, one of the six themed lands of the Magic Kingdom, and the colorful cast of characters who live there including:
- Disney Princesses: Cinderella, Anna, Elsa, Tiana, Belle
- Tangled Characters: Flynn Ryder and Rapunzel on their sailing ship float
- Little Mermaid Characters: Ariel and Sebastian in a colorful Under the Sea themed float
- Peter Pan Characters: Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and Tick-Tock the Croc
- Brave Characters: Meridia, her three “bears” and a group of dancers
The floats are some of the most unique of any Disney parade, especially the steam-punk themed Maleficient fire-breathing dragon that has to be seen up close to be appreciated for not only how it looks, but how it walks in the parade.
Each one of the floats has its own, unique look and the parade itself has a catchy musical score that will quickly become one of those ear-worms after hearing it a few times.
Of course, no parade would be complete without Mickey Mouse! Mickey and Minnie arrive at the end of the parade waving from high atop their float to the throngs of onlookers below.
If you want to relive the magic of the Festival of Fantasy Parade or want to “virtually” see this 12-minute parade, check out my 4K HD video taken on Easter Sunday 2018 at the Magic Kingdom.