Preparations begin at Disney Springs for new 'Disney Dreams That Soar' drone show

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'Disney Dreams That Soar' drone launch site construction

Posted: Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:37pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

With just over a month to go until the debut of Walt Disney World's new 'Disney Dreams That Soar' drone show at Disney Springs, crews on the ground are preparing the staging area to serve as the launch site for the drones.

'Disney Dreams That Soar' drone launch site construction

A large section of the Strawberry Parking lot has been closed behind Cirque du Soleil adjacent to the lake, and a perimeter fence is being installed around the site.

'Disney Dreams That Soar' drone launch site construction

"Disney Dreams That Soar" is a summertime experience that will be a late-night perk for visitors. Taking place over the Disney Springs lake, it will showcase Disney stories celebrating the joy of flight with state-of-the-art drones choreographed to create designs in the sky, paired with a "soaring" musical score and memorable movie quotes. Disney Dreams That Soar will run nightly from May 24 through September 2, 2024.

Disney Dreams that Soar

While we don't yet have specific details of the new show, we can expect hundreds of drones to be part of 'Disney Dreams That Soar.' Walt Disney World has previously hosted a limited-time drone show, Starbright Holidays, at Disney Springs for the 2016 holiday season in association with Intel and its Shooting Star drone product. That 5-minute show featured 300 drones, intricately choreographed in 3D space over the Disney Springs lake and synchronized to holiday music.

Starbright Holidays overview

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SteveAZeeSep 05, 2025

I'm sorry, but I have that copyrighted for my drone enemas.

TheMaxReboSep 05, 2025

Good point - if I wasn't going for the show I would definitely skedaddle out of there earlier

DisneyHead123Sep 05, 2025

Yeah my guess (100% just a guess) is that places selling small items like drinks and snacks, in addition to those with drone show packages, did well. The rest I have no idea, but I can see the massive crowds actually scaring off would be diners.

TheMaxReboSep 05, 2025

I think it would be hard to argue that it kept more people at DS later - but like you said that doesn't mean they bought more food or merch than they would have otherwise We did do the viewing spots at Summerhouse on the Lake so I think they definitely saw an uptick from it - but some place on the other side of DS might have seen less business Definitely seems like any benefit wasn't worth the operational challenges

DisneyHead123Sep 05, 2025

I was reading a post on Disney Tourist Blog today where Tom Bricker speculated that restaurants with drone show packages may have seen different results than other restaurants. Others may have suffered from the fact that crazy crowds and traffic might have kept away people who just wanted to head out for a meal. (No guarantee that people who want to see a drone show also want to eat dinner, after all.)

mattpetoSep 04, 2025

I’d like to hear your source on that. Just had someone tell me the opposite.

TheMaxReboSep 04, 2025

I thought Dreams that Soar was a fun little show - I did enjoy the music which probably helped ... But it was a show that did not require entrance admission cost - if it was the nighttime spectacular at MK it would have been, um, not sufficient

Vinnie MacSep 04, 2025

It needs to complement a show it's boring as its own thing. As maybe a little extra bit of night entertainment in the same way the Electrical Water Pageant isn't a full entertainment offering but it's something cute and whimsical you might accidentally come by.

MisterPenguinSep 04, 2025

It's beginning to look a lot like grinchmas.

𝐌𝖆𝖓 𝖎𝖓 𝐖𝖊𝖇Sep 04, 2025

That's a show with drones. Not a drone show. Lasers, fireworks and protection doing the heavy-lifting. The drones themselves are the low point.

WDWLover#1Sep 04, 2025

I would have to disagree - I'm a local of DLP and seeing what they've been able to do has been fantastic over the years. The latest firework show there, Tales of Magic, is fantastic, as is the Electrical Sky Parade which I wish would come back.

invaderSep 04, 2025

Have you seen Tales of Magic?

djkidkazSep 04, 2025

The drone show had little to no impact on guest spending. It ended up being a logistical nightmare with little to no benefit. Many of the restaurants are either breaking even or are up from last year.

WorldExplorerSep 04, 2025

Also, you can see this from Epcot, and while seeing fireworks from another park is typically pretty neat, it ruins the dramatic tone of Luminous when there's a little Launchpad head bobbing up and down in the background.