Walt Disney World has quietly updated the calendar, which strongly suggests two of my favorite absolute days of the year are returning to Magic Kingdom this holiday season! This post shares the schedule update, why it’s likely happening, and dates & details for seeing Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and maybe more entertainment for “free.”
The update in question is actually not Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade (MOUACP) being added to the calendar–at least, not yet–but rather, the removal of another parade. Walt Disney World just ‘refreshed’ its showtimes schedule for November 2025, and among the changes was Festival of Fantasy Parade being removed from the lineup on November 8-9, 2025 at Magic Kingdom.
Although entertainment anomalies can happen from time to time (or this year, quite often!), this is something we’ve been watching for and actually expected to see happen. Now we’re left waiting for the other shoe to drop, which is the addition of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade to the calendar. That may or may not happen.
Regardless, this follows the same pattern from each of the past two years when production crews used that exact same weekend in November to record segments for the annual televised holiday specials that air on ABC and Disney-owned streaming services over Thanksgiving weekend (“Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular”) and on December 25th (“Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”).
Production has actually already started at Walt Disney World for the musical performances, where filming took place in late October in Animal Kingdom in front of the Tree of Life with a performance by Mariah the Mad Scientist. Since Disney always tends to use these specials as synergistic opportunities, we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to come at Animal Kingdom, given the opening of Zootopia: Better Zoogether and Zootopia 2 hitting theaters over Thanksgiving.
It’s common for Walt Disney World to film the daytime performances in other parks somewhat sporadically. We spotted Chance the Rapper one random day at EPCOT four years ago, and countless other performers I couldn’t identify in person (but subsequently said, “oh yeah, I remember seeing him/her!” once the specials aired).
While the daytime musical numbers are recorded randomly at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, it’s usually the case that the nighttime segments that largely constitute the Thanksgiving special are filmed at Walt Disney World on the same nights as the daytime parade. This year, that would be the evenings of November 8-9, 2025.
However, I’m far less confident than normal that the nighttime segments will actually be filmed at Walt Disney World in November 2025. There are a couple reasons for this…
D23 is hosting “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration Overnight Taping” on October 24-25, 2025 at Disneyland.
During this sold out event, D23 Members have the exclusive opportunity to attend an overnight taping of “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration.” D23 Members will be able to watch as the magic comes to life through live performances that fill the park with that special magic that only Disney can do, per the event description.
Normally, this overnight filming would be at Walt Disney World, and would be for Cast Members. (There’s probably also a simultaneous sign-up for Cast Members at Disneyland; I doubt they’re being left out.) Although there’s sometimes a song or segment filmed at Disneyland for the Thanksgiving special, it would be unprecedented for this much of it to be recorded at Disneyland and also at Walt Disney World.
The “why” of the Thanksgiving special being filmed at Disneyland is two-fold.
First, Sleeping Beauty Castle is already covered in snow. Unlike Walt Disney World, Disneyland also still does the glistening icicle lights. And even though Disneyland celebrates Halloween (and to a greater degree than Magic Kingdom), the park doesn’t host any hard ticket events.
With the removal of a handful of Halloween decorations, they can make the Central Plaza in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle look like Christmas for the filming of the special, which is basically a glorified stage show. This can happen a couple of weeks earlier at Disneyland than it could at Magic Kingdom, which might be beneficial for the turnaround time of the Thanksgiving special.
Second, Magic Kingdom now has Starlight Night Parade, which didn’t exist last year.
With the latest entertainment calendar update, two nightly showtimes were added to the schedule for November 8-9, 2025. While the production team has worked around Happily Ever After in the past, I’ve gotten the impression that they were less than enthused about doing so.
That plus two parade performances might’ve been a dealbreaker for filming the nighttime holiday special segments at Magic Kingdom. And it’s not as if Walt Disney World can cancel Starlight on those dates; it’s already not shown on many nights due to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
My guess is that we’ll still see daytime filming around Magic Kingdom on November 8-9, 2025. Some nighttime performances are also possible. After all, there’s time both before Starlight and after the night parade. In the past, recording has occurred pretty much all day, and was once still happening when I left Magic Kingdom around 2 a.m.
The surest thing, though, is Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. After Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party kicks off on November 7, 2025 for special event guests who purchase the $189 per person hard tickets, MOUACP will likely once again be shown during Magic Kingdom’s regular park hours on Saturday, November 8, 2025 and Sunday, November 9, 2025.
This means that Annual Passholders, regular ticket holders, and all other day guests will be able to enjoy the holiday parade, included in the regular price of their admission. It’s not truly free–everyone pays to enter the park, one way or another–but you aren’t paying anything extra (hence the air quotes around “free”). If you’ve already bought an AP or park tickets, no double-dipping–which is kind of a big deal for guests attending the parks this time of year!
In terms of planning info, we don’t have any confirmed details yet for 2025, so we’ll share some past precedent from the last couple of years.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade (MOUACP) will likely be performed at 2 p.m. on both November 8 and November 9, 2025. It might also be shown at 11 a.m. on one or both days, but there’s no guarantee of that (it’s gone both ways in the last couple of years).
Unlike the constant starting and stopping of the stage show numbers–where a single song can require a dozen-plus takes if it involves dance choreography that gets messed up–and long gaps in between, MOUACP is presented as a full, largely uninterrupted run-through. The characters might slow down their ground routines around the camera crew, but it’s largely a normal pass-through.
Last year, there was no parade viewing along Main Street for regular guests. The curbs were lined with chosen (off-duty) Cast Members and a ‘curated’ audience in the latest Disney holiday attire, etc. Day guests entering or exiting the park were routed through the bypass corridors behind Main Street.
This was unfortunate because it limited viewing options to Liberty Square or Frontierland, and this was despite higher crowds there for the specific purpose of seeing Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade (it was actually added to the schedule last year, whereas it wasn’t the previous year).
Our hope is that there’s once again at least some parade viewing on Main Street, as trying to fit the ever-increasing crowd back in Frontierland is a challenge. In the past, the parade had limited sections of a ‘planted’ photogenic audience, and the camera crew focused on them for reaction shots. The entirety of MSUSA being closed is excessive, especially on a busy holiday weekend.
While MOUACP will also be “free” during the home stretch of the holiday season, there’s inarguably more of a catch then. That’s the most expensive time to visit Walt Disney World from the perspective of hotels, park tickets, Lightning Lanes, and probably airfare.
Adding insult to injury, it’s the busiest week-plus of the entire year, every single year. And by a wide margin. We’ve “joked” that the crowd calendar should go to 11/10 specifically for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, because that period is so far above a normal 10/10 that it skews the scale.
You will have an easier time seeing Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade the weeks of Christmas and NYE, though. Even though the parks are busier and wait times are higher, fewer guests are there for the specific purpose of catching MOUACP like they will be November 8-9, 2025.
Note that both of these weeks make the ‘worst’ side of our list of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2025, 2026 & 2027.
However, the dates between Jersey Week and Veterans Day are not nearly as bad as the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve. Again, we’re talking 8/10 crowds vs. 11/10. Veterans Day might seem bad…until you’ve also experienced the week between Christmas and NYE. It’s insane.
This marks the third consecutive year that MOUACP has been performed during regular operating hours over Veterans Day weekend. When the change was first made last year to the entertainment lineup, a lot of fans speculated that it was simply a scheduling error. Honestly, not the most outlandish thought, as that type of thing has been known to happen.
Even so, word got out and many tourists, locals and Annual Passholders flocked to Magic Kingdom for the parade filming. If you’re an Annual Passholder, the first thing I’d strongly recommend doing ASAP is making park reservations for these dates. I don’t believe either of them booked up last year, but as word continues to get out, these dates are going to become more popular with each passing year.
In both of the last two years, I’ve spent one of the entire days of these television specials being filmed in Magic Kingdom (can’t do both as Saturday is Jollywood Nights), from park opening until long after park closing. If you’re wondering whether to do or skip Magic Kingdom on these days, I’ll cover that here with a recap of my experience…
Prior to the last two years, we had caught a lot of bits and pieces of parade filming over the previous 2 decades. Part of this is purely accidental, as we’ve been in the right (or wrong) place at the right/wrong time. The other part is…well, also coincidental. Before Disney started doing the Thanksgiving weekend special in 2016, the Christmas Day parade filming usually happened the first week of December.
As we’ve mentioned countless times, that’s been our favorite week to visit Walt Disney World for the last ~15 years. We knew that there’d be overlap with the parade filming and didn’t avoid the parks. Those were simpler times, and we could easily avoid filming of the holiday specials.
Back then, we never went out of our way to watch the parade filming. Only in the last two years have I specifically sought out the filming of the ABC holiday television specials. And I’m glad that I did!
Against my better judgment, I arrived at Magic Kingdom just after opening. When I first approached security, I immediately thought, “what have I gotten myself into?!” There were huge lines to enter the park, and the parade route was already packed.
Since word had gotten out about the likelihood of MOUACP filming, approximately half of the Sunshine State descended upon Main Street. Even though the first parade wasn’t for a few hours, the front row of the sidewalks was already filled with guests. In doing a quick scan of the crowd, most were easy to clock as Annual Passholders. (If you know, you know.)
And who could blame them? It was a rare opportunity to see Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade without dropping $170+ per person for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or visiting the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Eve (when most Annual Passholders are blocked out, anyway). That certainly sounded good to me, so I joined the group!
There were a few modifications to Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade for the ABC Christmas Day Parade, but nothing major–an opening banner, added characters, plus both Santa and Mrs. Claus.
It was neat to see the cameras swooping up and down in the middle of Main Street to capture footage of the parade. Aside from a couple of times when it seemed like the parade slowed down and lingered just a bit in that area, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade was presented as a normal parade.
Instead of doing multiple takes of the parade with starts and stops, they simply record it multiple times. From a crowd perspective, more performances is better, as it dilutes demand. The worst congestion will be for the very first MOUACP. The lowest will be for the last. Ideally, there will be 4 performances over 2 days.
There are pros and cons to the ABC Holiday Specials being filmed in Magic Kingdom.
The good is that ride wait times are lower than they would be otherwise. Crowd levels, as measured by wait times, have not been terrible over the weekend in Magic Kingdom either of the last two years. The filming draws a lot of guests away from attractions, making some other parts of the park feel downright uncrowded for part of the day.
This would be pretty good on a normal day, but it’s fantastic on a holiday weekend in Magic Kingdom. There’s no guarantee of a repeat of this in November 2025, but crowds this low in Magic Kingdom on a weekend with longer hours in November or December is amazing. (Note that this is fantastic by holiday weekend standards, not in absolute terms–our favorite week after Thanksgiving typically sees much lower wait times.)
The bad of the filming is that Main Street and Cinderella Castle Forecourt are packed all day. At least, if there end up being musical numbers filmed in Magic Kingdom. If not, there will be congestion along the parade route that’ll dissipate once that’s done.
The first year Disney did this over Veterans Day, they filmed segments all around the park. Navigating MK was challenging at times as a result. Various thoroughfares closed and traffic became one-way in other parts of the park. Last year, filming was limited to the parade route, and then the Cinderella Castle stage. The congestion was a lot more isolated.
Obviously, it’s impossible to know what the plan is for November 8-9, 2025. I’d assume they’re going to film at least some daytime musical numbers, which will again draw guests away from attractions to watch filming. If not, Magic Kingdom rides may see higher wait times.
The days I’ve done this in the past, I’ve camped out to watch the parade, caught a few stage show performances in passing throughout the day (never camping out for them), and then returned in the evening for the more engaging nighttime numbers.
Watching the opening for the Thanksgiving special is a really fun experience. This is a lengthy musical medley with quick transitions and, to this clumsy and uncoordinated man’s eye, a lot of fancy and tough dance moves. But because it’s fancy and tough, the performers kept messing up about midway through and having to do it all over again.
Getting to a certain point in the routine triggered pyro. So we kept seeing fireworks, then they’d goof up, and it’d all have to be done again. If the pyro was triggered, there would be a longer delay between takes, as they’d have to wait for the fireworks to be reset and the smoke to clear.
In aggregate, this was the most pyro I’ve ever seen in a single day at Walt Disney World. That’s really saying something, since we’ve done New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July at both Magic Kingdom and EPCOT countless times!
The fireworks were obviously fun, but there was also a fantastic communal energy as everyone was cheering for the performers to get it right. It felt like being at an elementary school competition full of positive parents, but with much, much better performers.
Again, I want to emphasize that we do not know whether there will be any nighttime recording on November 8-9, 2025. Given Starlight and the overnight recording at Disneyland, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if there is not. Or if they maybe just go for a single song or two as change-up numbers early in the evening (before the first Starlight) or later in the night (after the second Starlight).
Ultimately, spending all day in Magic Kingdom for the ABC holiday special filming is a fun and memorable experience. It can make navigating the park a little tricky depending on which walkways (if any) are blocked off, but the upside is that the added entertainment lowers wait times.
Lower wait times (relative to a normal holiday weekend–not in absolute terms) means you can pivot and do attractions if the viewing areas are too crowded for the parade or musical numbers. Based on how I’ve enjoyed the experience each of the last two years, I’d recommend Walt Disney World fans visit Magic Kingdom on one of these days.
For an even more granular recommendation, I’d opt for watching Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade on November 9 over November 8, 2025. There are a lot of bloggers, vloggers, influencers, and Florida fans who want to be “first” at everything. These groups will disproportionately visit on Saturday.
The very large caveat I’d add is to temper your expectations. My very favorite part of the experience is the late night filming and fireworks, and there’s a strong chance that will not happen November 8-9, 2025. It’s also entirely possible that “word will get out” this year and even more people will visit Magic Kingdom than will avoid it, that Walt Disney World will further limit parade viewing–the list of downside risks goes on and on.
Point being, I want you to be cognizant of what you’re getting yourself into–it could be awesome, awful, or somewhere in between. There’s only two years of “precedent” for this, each of the previous two years have varied significantly from one another, and there could be even bigger changes for 2025. The fantastic experiences I’ve had in the past may not repeat this year. Our recommendation also comes with a warning!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be trying to catch Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade for “free” on November 8-9, 2025? Were you in Magic Kingdom during the day or at night when the Holiday Specials were filmed in 2023 or 2024? What was your experience? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
