NEWS: Main Street, U.S.A. Is CLOSED in Magic Kingdom, and We Know Why

What’s happening, Disney?! Main Street, U.S.A. is closed in the Magic Kingdom, the Festival of Fantasy parade is canceled, and the park is completely sold out of Park Pass reservations. Something BIG is happening!

Holidays in Disney World

Well, there’s actually a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all. On November 9th, Disney’s ABC film crews were spotted in Magic Kingdom. Now that the holiday season is here, we know exactly what’s going on: ABC is filming for the annual Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade show! Want to see what a sold-out park looks like on the first day of filming? Let’s take a look!

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We arrived at Magic Kingdom bright and early and noticed that the My Disney Experience app stated, “There are no showtimes today” for the Festival of Fantasy parade.

©Disney

Additionally, our view of the Cinderella Castle looked different. The castle area was blocked by bushes, and there were large lights pointed towards the stage.

The Cinderella Castle looks different!

Here’s a closer peek at the stage. Hey, it looks like a crew of Cast Members was hard at work preparing for the stage!

Film crew in Magic Kingdom

It really felt like we were getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the show is made!

How interesting!

Now, what exactly is Disney filming? Each year, Disney airs a special show on ABC to celebrate the holidays! In fact, the show is described as an “annual Christmas celebration with heartwarming stories, dazzling celebrity performances and of course, the Christmas Day Parade!” It’s our one chance to see the iconic Once Upon a Christmastime Parade on TV. On November 9th, Disney was filming a daytime performance of its Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party parade for the show.

Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

Naturally, most people tried to stake out a spot on Main Street, U.S.A., before the parade, but Disney had other plans. Around noon, Cast Members started directing people away from Main Street. The area was reserved for Cast Members who registered for special parade viewing.

Crowds in The Emporium store

Main Street, U.S.A. was totally closed off to those without special parade access. Luckily, Frontierland and Liberty Square were open for anyone in the park to catch the parade. If you head over to Frontierland, you’ll have a great view of the parade; in fact, the parade starts next to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, so you’ll be among the first to see the show.

Frontierland parade viewing

We’ll be sure to update this post with more details as the parade begins in Magic Kingdom! In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

EVERYWHERE You Can Find Free Cookies and Hot Cocoa at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 

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Do you watch this parade on Christmas Day? Let us know in the comments!

The post NEWS: Main Street, U.S.A. Is CLOSED in Magic Kingdom, and We Know Why first appeared on the disney food blog.