The Electrical Water Pageant, missed by many guests, is the oldest Nighttime attraction at Walt Disney World. The attraction premiered on Monday, October 25, 1971, just weeks after the Magic Kingdom opening. The Electrical Water Pageant traditionally takes place every evening on Walt Disney World’s Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. Although the lineup of floats has changed over the years, the premise is still the same as colorfully lit sea creatures sail across Seven Seas Lagoon to classic Disney tunes.

However, due to its location outside of the parks, many guests miss the show. The show can be viewed from the shore of all the Magic Kingdom Resort Hotels starting at 8:45 pm at the Polynesian. However, more guests might want to catch the show soon as it will be the first nighttime show to return to Walt Disney World.

Nighttime shows have been missed since the resort closure, but the return of The Electrical Water Pageant is another step closer to normal. The show returns on December 20, 2020, and can be viewed at:

• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – beginning at 8:45 PM
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (including Narcoossee’s) – beginning at 9:00 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 10:00 PM

However, what about the other Walt Disney World nighttime shows? There hasn’t been any news on any of these yet, but preparations have been continuing for “Harmonious,” the new nighttime spectacular coming to Epcot. I suspect Epcot Forever will not be returning.

Disney has a problem introducing nighttime shows while social distancing is in place. It is likely the will not return fully until early summer, when hopefully the pandemic will be more under control. However, social distancing would be easier in some of the sitting locations. Therefore we expect Fantasmic might return sooner, perhaps for Easter. Disney recently announced the permanent closure of Rivers of Light: We Are One at the Animal Kingdom. I wonder, due to the easier social distancing, whether they might regret this decision.

Fireworks are more tricky and are not likely to return any time soon. It isn’t easy to reduce crowds watching these events, and guests are regularly in close contact. Do not expect Happily Ever After at the Magic Kingdom or Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular to return anytime soon.

Finally, Dessert Parties don’t expect them to return to their previous format. They are too big a moneymaker for Disney not to bring them back, but buffets are not likely to return anytime soon. Will pre-boxed selections have the same attraction? It will be interesting to see how Disney deals with this problem.

If the future of nighttime shows are unknown, what about parades? We will discuss this in an upcoming post.

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Visit our Beginners Guide to Walt Disney World to learn more. Our guide includes all the latest information on the reopening of Walt Disney World.

This post is part of our  “Road to 2021 at Walt Disney World” series. Check out the rest of guides for the latest information.

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