The newest episode of We Call It Imagineering has released on YouTube revealing another look behind the scenes of Disney Imagineering.
The footage released gave us a first look at the new “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away” nighttime parade coming to Magic Kingdom including Easter eggs to past parades and a brand new character.
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High Tech Used to Bring Disney Starlight to Life
We Call It Imagineering premiered its fourth episode on YouTube. This series has given fans an up close look at current Disney Parks projects which also included details on the Disney Starlight parade.
The episode takes you behind the scenes of the creation of the parade and we learn about how much advanced technology went into the Disney Starlight. The parade features new UV technology that helps the floats sparkle with an energy that is “elegant and musical” and “infused with Starlight magic.”
New Character Created for Disney Starlight Finale
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The episode revealed that the Disney Starlight parade will have a new character, Whimsy, that is the name of the train leading the finale float.
According to Imagineers, Whimsy is meant to embody the spirit of the starlight parade and was created to be a “childlike, whimsical character” with playful energy. The inspiration of this new character came after studying old vintage Disney animation including the Silly Symphony animation shorts.
Musical Easter Eggs for Historic Magic Kingdom Parades
We also learned that the music for Disney Starlight is inspired by both the SpectroMagic and Main Street Electrical Parade.
SpectroMagic was the nighttime parade that was created to celebrate Walt Disney World's 20th anniversary in 1991 and ran a cumulative total of 18 years. SpectroMagic replaced Main Street Electrical Parade which did make a return to Magic Kingdom in 2010 to 2016. This was the last time Magic Kingdom had a nighttime parade.
Imagineers brought together electronic pieces of music, like from Main Street Electrical Parade, and then brought in an orchestra element inspired by SpectroMagic.
Bringing together the music from these two nostalgic Magic Kingdom parades is an attempt to bring together something “familiar and nostalgic” while also creating something new.
Jiminy Cricket Joins Finale Just Like In Nostalgic Parade
In another way to honor Magic Kingdom parade history Jiminy Cricket will be at the end of the finale float just like in the original SpectroMagic parade. To bring Jiminy Cricket to life, Disney animators created a new animation just for the parade.
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You can see the care and dedication that Imagineering put into the creation of the Disney Starlight parade which debuts at Magic Kingdom on July 20. To learn more about Disney World's first nighttime parade in ten years, including a look at new merchandise, read our full guide to Disney Starlight.
You can watch the episode on YouTube below:
First photo via Walt Disney Imagineering.
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