There are two Walt Disney Worlds. There’s the one that most people are familiar with: The grey castle rising up beyond the length of a charming Main Street. The silver geodesic sphere obscuring the sunlit exposition of countries beyond it. The bright, golden hue of palm trees lining the bustling streets of an Old Hollywood cityscape. The Walt Disney World of postcards.
If someone asks you to close your eyes and picture Walt Disney World, that’s probably the one that first pops into mind. But the second Walt Disney World is, in many ways, even more magical. It’s more mysterious, energized, and vibrant.
I’m talking, of course, of Walt Disney World at night.
When the sun sets on those 43 square miles of land in the middle of Florida, every park and resort transforms into something new. And, in many cases, something better.
At night, Imagineers are completely in control of the things your eye can see – they can dictate what color light should bounce bounce off a building. They can decide what parts of an attraction should be visible and which ones should remain hidden. The attractions and parks at night are completely designed.
And so, let’s take a look at a few areas that are, of course, wonderful when spotted during the day, but become something entirely more magical as night falls on the Vacation Kingdom.
1. Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland at night.
Image: Mark & Paul Luukkonen, Flickr (license)
In 1994, Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland received a controversial makeover. Gone were the stark white buildings inspired by mid-century futurism — in their stead, Imagineers constructed a world inspired by the classical sci-fi fantasy of the Victorian era. Tomorrowland became more the realm of H.G. Wells or Buck Rodgers than Ray Bradbury or Arthur C. Clarke.
Unfortunately for Imagineering, mid-century futurism had a bit more of a shelf life as far as architectural trends were concerned, and New Tomorrowland felt a bit dated rather quickly.
That is, if you were only there during the day.
Whatever qualms you may have about Tomorrowland in the sunlight, it is a truly stunning location when bathed in saturated light. The bright colors and neon signs give the space the feeling of a futuristic, cartoonish spaceport – one which has helped attractions like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and even Stitch’s Great Escape feel much more at home.
But that dense, colorful cityscape still doesn’t betray the back half of Tomorrowland – where Space Mountain and the Carousel of Progress sit – making it almost feel like this spaceport of the future has multiple differing neighborhoods. This section of Tomorrowland feels more retro-futuristic than the front portion, but it doesn’t feel out of place. The night sky helps blend the two areas together, and the starkness of Space Mountain is even more eye-catching when contrasted with the lushness up front.
In all, at night, Tomorrowland feels like the bustling center of future commerce Imagineers always intended it to.
2. Harambe
Harambe at night.
Image: JeffChristiansen, Flickr (license)
The fourth park in Orlando has always had the potential to be a premier nighttime destination, but the presence of live animals has always made Disney reluctant to introduce a nighttime program to its offerings. It is, arguably, the most stunning park Disney has ever constructed when viewed during the day, and the idea of an extended nightime look at the Tree of Life or Expedition Everest was always tantalizing.
Disney has begun answering our prayers, and the result is every bit as beautiful as we thought it would be.
Now, yes, the nighttime entertainment’s rollout has been uneven and bizarre – Disney has even scaled it back for the upcoming holiday season – but there is no doubt that it will be a permanent addition, at the latest, when Pandora: The World of Avatar finally opens.
But what we’ve seen so far has been nothing short of breathtaking.
Harambe, in particular, feels like a completely different place at night. During the day, the baking sun helps with the immersive feel of being in an African village, but it also saps the energy out of the area. At night, however, there’s a jovial spirit that comes rushing into Harambe – giving it a unique personality within Walt Disney World.
The nighttime edition of Kilimanjaro Safaris is special unto itself, but the experience of walking through Harambe to get there is as transporting as anything else on Disney property.
3. Sunset Boulevard
With all of the construction going on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it’s really only a half-day park at this point. Once the Star Wars and Toy Story expansions open, the park will return to it’s former glory, but in the interim, there’s still just not that much to do. What is there is amazing! But there’s just not much of it.
So, if you’re only going to spend half a day there, why not make it the second half?
Sunset Boulevard perfectly encapsulates what Walt Disney Imagineering was trying to do when first building this park: It takes an iconic piece of Southern California and transplants it to Walt Disney World. The charm of the classically-Hollywood area comes from its architecture, its horticulture, and its overall atmosphere. When you’re there, you truly feel like you’re in the Hollywood of old
But when night falls, that feeling is amplified and energized. The air cools off, the bright streetlights illuminate the asphalt streets, and the beautiful-yet-ominous Hollywood Tower Hotel rises up in the distance. In all, it feels like a place stories are created – which is particularly fitting considering one of the grandest stories in all of Walt Disney World can be found just near the end of it: Fantasmic.
Of course, as you can see in the photo at the top of this section, the Walt Disney World version of Sunset Boulevard has one feature that doesn’t come with the real thing: Rain.
4. Future World / Innoventions Plaza
Spaceship Earth at night.
Image: Jeff Kays, Flickr (license)
I’m probably cheating a bit with this one (and the next one), because it also happens to feature one of the most iconic buildings in the world. Nevertheless, as beautiful as Spaceship Earth and the area in its shadow are during the day, they become otherworldly once the sun has set.
Let’s start just with Spaceship Earth. Obviously, during the day, its silver color draws the eye toward it, but doesn’t dominate the visual scene quite as much as it otherwise would. It is mysterious and futuristic, but it isn’t distracting. Largely, this is because guests spend much of their morning in Future World, and having a dominating physical structure ask so much attention of the guests would be exhausting.
But as the light fades and guests find themselves spread more evenly throughout the park, Spaceship Earth becomes illuminated in all sorts of bright colors and textures. And, throughout the night, its personality can change – from warm to cool and back again. Now, instead of dominating the park’s sightlines, it accents them – giving the guest a visual anchor as they navigate around World Showcase.
Even that, though, is really only telling half the story of why this area is so incredible at night.
Sure, the canopies installed at the turn of the millennium become more subtle and futuristic in the darkness, and yes, the fountains give of a stunning mist when caught in just the right light. But there’s one effect in the Innoventions Plaza that comes to life at night that remains one of the most breathtaking sights in any Disney Park: the sidewalk fiber optics.
The ground lights up.
Image: Dave Walker, Flickr (license)
This is one of the few areas that isn’t just better at night – it’s completely transformed.
5. Main Street USA
Main Street at night.
Image: Richo.Fan, Flickr (license)
If I was cheating with Future World, this one is probably even more egregious. But it’s hard to talk about nighttime locales at Walt Disney World without bringing up the most iconic of all.
Of course, the most eye-catching aspect of Main Street USA at night is the massive, illuminated castle at the end of it. But what makes Main Street USA so special at night isn’t just one of the most photographed objects in the world sitting in its vicinity. I’d argue, it’s actually the view the other way.
The Magic Kingdom takes you on a journey through story and time. You start off on Main Street USA – an everytown that is classic and simple, but which introduces you to the world of fantasy. The castle at its end draws you into the world Disney has created – one inhabited by princesses, pirates, and rocket ships.
But at the end of your day, after you’ve explored the depths of the Amazon or flown high in the sky with elephants, you return to Main Street USA to find it transformed by shimmering lights and framed by the darkness of the night sky. You won’t find a castle at the end of the street this time, but rather, a train station. The eyeline is lower, and the street feels more intimate.
And that’s entirely the point. Once you’ve experienced those adventures and fantasies, the only thing that can draw you back to the real world is its comfort and familiarity. The spectacle of size and scale aren’t enough to tell the story at that point – now, you need something more simple.
While other places in the Disney parks transform after nightfall into the spectacular or the alien, the beauty of Main Street USA is that nightfall only serves to make it feel more familiar. And thus, like the fade out at the end of a great film, the final image of the Magic Kingdom transitions you back into the real world once again.
