‘Paint the Night’ parade returning May 16, 2025 to Disneyland
“Paint the Night,” a next-generation electrical parade, will return to Disneyland in California after a six-year absence.
Updated Dec. 5, 2024; original version published Oct. 11, 2024.
Paint. The. Night.
“Paint the Night” — an after-dark parade and the technological successor to the vintage “Main Street Electrical Parade” — will return to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. on May 16, 2025 as part of the resort’s 70th anniversary celebration.
“Paint the Night” features colorful, light-up floats celebrating “Toy Story,” Disney Princesses, Mickey & Friends, and other favorite Disney stories and characters.
This time around, “Paint the Night” will perform at Disneyland Park; the procession has graced both theme parks at Disneyland Resort during previous engagements.
Photos by Blake Taylor
On Oct. 11, 2024, Disney Parks posted a 10-second video on TikTok showing close-ups of the “Cars” float from “Paint the Night,” padded by the beginning of the parade’s soundtrack. On Instagram, the official Disneyland account posted the video, all but confirming the parade will return to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. rather than a different Disney destination.
In the video’s caption, Disney wrote, “When can we do this again?,” referencing the song from “Wreck-It Ralph” that served as the theme song for “Paint the Night.” In a comment below the video, Disney added, “Stay tuned for more!” with a winky-face emoji.
The company officially announced the parade’s return date on Dec. 5, 2024. Following the May 16, 2025 debut, “Paint the Night” will continue performances through at least summer 2026 (exact end date TBA).
‘Look at the sky and the stars glow for you’
“Paint the Night” first debuted in 2014 at Hong Kong Disneyland as Disney’s first all-LED parade. The production was then duplicated for Disneyland Resort in 2015 as part of the original Disney park’s 60th anniversary celebration. There, “Paint the Night” enjoyed on-again, off-again engagements for several years. It most recently performed at Disney California Adventure in 2018. Since then, the original “Main Street Electrical Parade” has likewise come and gone on several occasions, most recently in 2022.
Meanwhile at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, “Disney Starlight,” an entirely new nighttime parade, will debut in summer 2025, as announced last August at D23. Among its characters will be Peter Pan, Wendy, the Blue Fairy from “Pinocchio,” Elsa, and the Madrigal familia from “Encanto.”
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