Walt Disney World Entertainment: A Guide to all the Evening Spectaculars

Walt Disney World with its four full sized theme parks offers a wide variety of entertainment options. When it comes to nighttime spectaculars, Walt Disney World has you covered! Here is a guide to all the evening entertainment options you can find at Walt Disney World.

Discount Walt Disney World Tickets

Our favorite Disney-approved re-seller, Get Away Today, offers the best Walt Disney World discount tickets around. In addition to great discount prices, their customer service and easy support is absolutely fantastic. They have an entire department dedicated to making sure every order has a wonderful experience and they are on-call to help you during your vacation if you need them.

And at no additional charge, you get FREE concierge Walt Disney World services! These services include having Get Away Today's Walt Disney World expert Brooklyn take care of all your dining reservations, FastPass+ reservations, and more! This really takes all the stress out of planning a Walt Disney World vacation. Rather than waking up at odd hours of the night to book all your reservations, why not let their travel agents take care of it for you- for free!

Find discount Walt Disney World tickets here!

Buying tickets from Get Away Today is easy and convenient since all their tickets are sent electronically. You can take their vouchers and head straight to the gate without needing to wait in any ticket booth lines. They also offer layaway plans so you can pay off your vacation over time.

You can read my review on my personal experiences booking through Get Away Today and how much you can save here!

Harmonious- EPCOT- End Date Announced!

UPDATE: Harmonious will officially end its limited run on April 2nd and Walt Disney World will bring back EPCOT Forever temporarily on April 3rd. Disney will be removing  the fireworks platforms after the final Harmonious performance and clearing the lagoon of the platforms in a phased approach. This shouldn't impact EPCOT Forever as it ran without the platforms which were installed for Harmonious. EPCOT Forever will return with a “collection of songs that offer both a trip down memory lane and a look toward the future” so we might see some new additions to this classic show.

The nighttime spectacular Harmonious debuted in time for Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary. The show celebrates how the music of Disney inspires people all over the world and carries the crowd ‘harmoniously' on a stream of Disney tunes reinterpreted by a diverse group of musical artists. The show will feature massive floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers. This show is one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for  Walt Disney World!

EPCOT Forever is a celebration of Epcot's musical history and a celebration of the 40 year legacy of Epcot featuring fireworks, music, lighting, lasers, and special effects kites. Some of the music in the show comes directly from infamous attractions in Epcot like Journey Into Imagination, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'.

Wonderful World of Animation- Hollywood Studios

This new nighttime projection show uses the façade of the Chinese Theatre to celebrate more than 90 years of Disney and Pixar animation. Sequences featured in this film include moments from Sleeping Beauty, The Incredibles, Coco and Mickey Mouse shorts. The show ends with a tribute to Mickey. The theme of the show incorporates the love of animation with magic, family, adventure, romance, and friendship.

This show is 12 minutes long and typically plays nightly at 9PM in front of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.

Fantasmic!- Hollywood Studios

Fantasmic! is a Disney classic when it comes to nighttime spectaculars. The show takes you into the colorful imagination of Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Along with Mickey, the show features Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and The Lion King. The Evil Queen from Snow White gathers together classic Disney villains including a larger-than-life Maleficent to turn Mickey's dream into a nightmare so Mickey will have to save the day.

The show can be frightening for little ones with explosions, the larger-than-life dragon, and loud noises. You can see our extensive guide to Fantasmic! at Disneyland here to see if the show is right for your kids. The Disneyland version isn't much different than the Walt Disney World one.

Fantasmic! plays nightly at Hollywood Studios inside the Sunset Boulevard theater. Make sure to arrive at least 90 minutes prior to the show to ensure that your entire party gets a seat. Seating will begin 90 minutes prior to showtime and on busy days of the year there will be folks lined up already to get seated. Guests in the first few rows may get wet.

Fireworks- Magic Kingdom

And of course, it's not a trip to Disney without viewing the fireworks at Magic Kingdom! The fireworks show runs nightly beginning at 9:30PM and the show will vary with seasonal offerings. The fireworks run 18 minutes in length and features projections along with fireworks and music. You can see the full listing of Walt Disney World fireworks offered throughout the year here.

Also, keep in mind many of Walt Disney World entertainment options offer dining packages with reserved seating which you can read all about in our dining package guide to Walt Disney World here.

Electrical Water Pageant – Magic Kingdom

This nighttime parade on the river features Disney music along with sea creatures, American Flags, and twinkling stars. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy a stirring and inspirational medley of patriotic songs, all while stars and stripes float along the shimmering lagoon surface.

The recommended options for viewing this Walt Disney World entertainment offering according to Walt Disney World's website:

• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort – Beginning at 9:00 PM
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (including Narcoossee's) – Beginning at 9:15 PM
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – Beginning at 9:30 PM
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground – Beginning at 9:45 PM
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Beginning at 10:10 PM; in instances when the Happily Ever After fireworks show takes place at 10:00 PM, the Electrical Water Pageant will begin shortly following its conclusion
• Right outside the entrance of Magic Kingdom park – Beginning at 10:35 PM, during Extended Theme Park Hours only

Tree of Life Awakenings- Animal Kingdom

After the sun goes down, you can view the Tree of Life Awakening every 10 minutes until the park closes. You can find the Tree of Life at the center of Animal Kingdom. During this awakening you will see flickering fireflies and light up the animal spirits carved into the tree's trunk- displaying colorful visuals and images. The awakening celebrations the balance and harmony of living things. Don't miss this stunning display of Walt Disney World entertainment!

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular- Hollywood Studios

So far there has been no update if this show will return or not, right now it's currently listed as unavailable but as a fan favorite for many Disney guests, we leave this information up so you know the status of this show.

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular is a project show with lighting, lasers, and pyrotechnics. The show features music from the Star Wars films along with familiar characters with special effects and fireworks. This is a must see show for any Star Wars fan! The show now includes a new action sequence from Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The show typically runs nightly at 8:30PM in Hollywood Studios. The best spot to view this show is near Grauman’s Chinese Theater/The Great Movie Ride since the show is mainly projected on that.

Like much of the night time entertainment at Walt Disney World, we recommend reserving your spot in advance for the best view.

Ready to Plan Your Walt Disney World Entertainment?

You can save a lot of money on your Disneyland or Disney World vacation by subscribing to our newsletter HERE.  Be sure to check out the information offered on other Disneyland and Disney World planning articles throughout the website:

• What to Do When it Rains at Disneyland? Use Our Disneyland Rain Guide!
• Disney Springs: Ultimate Guide to Dining, Shopping, and Entertainment
• Attraction Guide to Walt Disney World’s: Magic Kingdom
• Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios Attractions Guide
• Attraction Guide to Walt Disney World’s: Epcot