Let’s Watch… The Paint The Night Parade

The Paint the Night Parade debuted at Disneyland Resort back in 2015 as part of the resort’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. The parade was a copy of the Hong Kong Disneyland show of the same name, which debuted a year earlier.

The parade moved over to California Adventure for this year’s Pixar Fest. Pixar fest officially ends after Labor Day, however Paint the Night is still scheduled for all released dates moving forward.

For the move, the Frozen float was removed (it was too tall for the trolley cables) and an Incredibles float was added.

The parade uses over 1.5 million individual LED lights and requires over 75 performers each night. In a word, its gorgeous!

It also features a ridiculously catchy soundtrack mostly made up from a mix of the Main Street Electrical Parades’s “Baroque Hoedown” and Owl City’s “When Can I See You Again” (changed to “When Can We Do This Again”) from Wreck it Ralph.

We actually used the Paint the Night soundtrack for the wedding party entrance music at our wedding reception back in 2016. It was a big hit with the guests!

All of this comes together to bring you one of the most entertaining experiences in any Disney park period! (I’ve heard many say Dreamlights at Tokyo DL is a better version of Paint the Night, but I have not seen it for myself yet).

Before Paint the Night I never considered myself much of a parade person. Now, I’d say that Paint the Night is a true trip highlight, and a real reason (among several) to take a trip out to California rather than Florida every now and then.

I would be so beyond happy if Magic Kingdom were to get this parade for its upcoming 50th anniversary. That being said, the longer MK goes without a night parade, the more likely it seems it will not get one again.