The Festival of Fantasy parade has finally returned to Magic Kingdom after two years.
It's a wonderful sight to behold as excited crowds line the parade route to catch a glimpse of this whimsical, colorful and fun parade, and of course it's amazing to have the iconic fire-breathing Maleficent Dragon back, and as picture-perfect as ever before!
Of course it’s great news that a daytime parade is back at Magic Kingdom, but there were some significant cutbacks to the parade. The number of characters, dancers, and performers were reduced throughout the entire parade.
For example in the lead float, the Princesses were without their Princes, and the entire Brave float was cut out of the parade. We can only hope that these changes are only temporary.
In addition, and in a move to further Disney's diversity and inclusion initiative, the song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” has been removed from the finale section of the Festival of Fantasy Parade.
“Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” is a song featured in the Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain, an attraction that Disney has said no longer aligns with company ideals.
Plus, Disney have also removed a snippet of the parade's music that used lyrics from “When I See An Elephant Fly” lyrics from Dumbo, an attraction in Magic kingdom that Disney has not yet announced any changes for.
