One of the newer parades at Disney World the Festival of fantasy is sure to be a family favorite. The parade floats have great detail and feature some of the more popular characters. Debuting in March 2014 its biggest draw was a toss up between the frozen sisters Elsa and Anna or the fire breathing dragon from sleeping beauty.
The parade begins over in Frontierland and makes it way up main street USA then ends in times square by the fire station. There is only 1 time to see the parade but runs most days unless there is bad weather. As of now the parade begins at 3pm but it is expected to change to 2pm. Make sure you check your times guide found by the maps. This is available at a Fastpass+ option, there is a designated area for viewing. You can check out our video from the opening year down below.
My middle daughter loves Rapunzel so she will tell you her favorite is the float that has her along with Flynn Rider and some of the guys from the snuggly duckling. Some of the other princesses you will find here:
- Cinderella
- Belle
- Tiana
- Ariel
- Snow White
- Elsa
- Anna
- Merida
Even though there is a portion of the parade with the 3 fairies, prince Philip and Maleficent in dragon form you will not find princess Aurora (sleeping beauty) in the parade. It was rumored that she lost her spot in the parade to the popular Frozen sisters.
All of the floats in the parade are full of color as are the costumes of all the characters throughout. There are about 7 floats plus the dragon and additional characters walk in between. The floats in order feature:
The princess garden-Beauty and the beast, Tiana and prince Naveen, Elsa, Olaf and Anna, Cinderella and prince Charming
Tangled– Rapunzel, Flynn, Maximus (horse) and some other friends.
The little mermaid– Sebastian leads the way with Ariel (in mermaid form) and lots of ocean friends.
Neverland– Peter pan and Wendy steer the Jolly Roger while captain Hook rides on the anchor below. At the back of the float Tinkerbell can be found.
Brave– Merida rides atop a giant bag pipe with her triplet bear bothers hiding aboard.
Maleficent– this steampunk inspired dragon is quite a sight to see and it does breath real fire.
Pinocchio– Atop a whale with a mini amusement park with working Ferris wheel. On the second half of the float you can find Donald, Daisy and Pluto.
Mickey and Minnie– finishing off the parade is the mouse himself along with Minnie in a hot air balloon.
This parade is a must do at least once. Even though there are a lot of princesses throughout it doesn’t feel overly girly. The theming with each float is pretty cool I think. In total it runs about 12-15 minutes but people do start seeking out a spot along main street up to an hour before. If this is a must do on your trip make sure you double check the times guide and if its a busy time of year a fastpass will ensure you get a spot to watch.