We’ve been asking for years and now the moment is here… when can do we this again? The answer is: NOW! For a limited time! Paint the Night parade returns to the Happiest Place on Earth for the Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration.

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Here’s everything you need to know about Paint the Night parade during the Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration.

About the Show

As an homage and a technological leap forward from the iconic Main Street Electrical Parade, Paint the Night dazzles with millions of colorful synchronized lights on both parade floats and performers. An energetic soundtrack weaves favorite Disney songs with the central theme inspired by Owl City’s “When Can I See You Again?” The mix also features arrangements of Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley’s “Baroque Hoedown.” The visuals you can expect to spring to life include the following float units, note that the fun facts provided were from the original release of the parade and may no longer be fully accurate.

“You Can Fly!” – Tinker Bell and Peter Pan: This 40-foot-long float features over 850,000 points of light, costumes for characters such as Tinker Bell and video screens powered by the float itself.
“If I Didn’t Have You” – Mike and Sulley from “Monsters, Inc.”: Measuring 11 feet wide and 21 feet long, this float includes five animated doors over nine feet tall with 40 LED video panels.
“Life is a Highway” – Lightning McQueen and Mack from “Cars”: Featuring Lightning McQueen, Mack, and DJ, this 54-foot-long float includes 28 moving lights, nearly 27,000 display orbs, and 2,000 feet of LED “neon.”
“Under the Sea” – “The Little Mermaid”: This 32-foot-long, 11-foot-wide float includes King Triton standing over 12 feet tall, nine fish, eight flowers, and more than 250 blades of grass.
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – “Toy Story”: Woody and Buzz Lightyear ride atop a 32-foot-long Slinky Dog with spinning disks rotating at 120 RPM, featuring custom video content and 18-foot-tall ears.
“Beauty and the Beast” and “At Last I See the Light” – Disney Princesses: This 26-foot-long float displays scenes with over 500,000 screen pixels, Belle’s 40-jewel dress, and a 17-foot-tall rose.
“Celebrate Happy” – Mickey & Friends Finale: The 31-foot-long float features Mickey conducting from 12 feet up, kinetic sculptures with nearly 7,000 LEDs, and smaller whirling vehicles with 352 lights each for Goofy, Donald, and Minnie.

At the Disneyland Resort, Paint the Night first debuted in 2015 as part of the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration bringing a spectacular nighttime pageant of magic and imagination in millions of dazzling lights and astounding musical sounds. When the parade ended its original run in 2016, it returned briefly for the 2016 holiday season and again at Disney California Adventure in 2018 during Pixar Fest when it added an Incredibles float. Back again for the 70th, the parade has been updated with new costumes and small updates throughout.

How to Watch

Paint the Night parade takes place twice nightly along the Disneyland parade route and typically lasts about 25 minutes from start to finish.

Keep in mind, the parade’s first performance of the day will typically depart from the “it’s a small world” parade gate and travel down to the Disneyland Town Square parade gate. The second performance will follow the same path in reverse. It’s also important to keep in mind that the “start” time for the parade is from the point that it steps off from the parade gate. Depending on how far you are from the start point, that could add upwards of 20-minutes or more before you see it come your way.

This is a fan-favorite parade and its absence the past few years has certainly made the hearts grow fonder. That means scoring a good spot can be tricky. Officially, Disney does not allow people to wait for the parade more than 2 hours before the parade start. Of course, enforcing this rule is very tricky and inconsistent and what Cast Members tell you one moment can change quickly from minute to minute. Pack your patience if you are trying to get the “perfect” spot for the parade. Many fans will try to wait for the parade longer than 2 hours which can make for a stressful environment as everyone tries to jockey for position to swoop in as soon as an arbitrary call by a Cast Member in the area gives the all clear.

Typical showtimes are 8:45pm and 10:45pm. Showtimes are subject to change so always check the Disneyland app on the day of your visit for the latest information.

MagicBand+ Interactions

Extra magic can be added to your visit by experiencing the show with a MagicBand+. The extra-cost wristband promises to spring to life during the show with dancing lights and vibrations synchronized to the show.