Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula and more led a villains float down Main Street, U.S.A., for ABC’s Christmas Day parade. The special airs Dec. 25 with hosts Robert Irwin and Malia Baker.
The bad guys are crashing Christmas again at Magic Kingdom.
Disney villains led their own section of the ABC holiday parade taping on Main Street, U.S.A., on Nov. 10 and 11, BlogMickey reports. A villains float with Maleficent and the Evil Queen closed out the segment.
It is the second year in a row the villains have had their own part of the Christmas Day broadcast from Magic Kingdom.
Which villains are in the Christmas Day parade?
Plenty of Disney baddies walked ahead of the float:
The Queen of Hearts, with card soldiers carrying heart, diamond, club and spade flags
Cruella de Vil, riding in a white vintage car driven by her henchmen Horace and Jasper
Ursula, holding out a golden scroll to guests, a nod to her contracts in The Little Mermaid
Gaston, flexing for the crowd
Captain Hook and Mr. Smee
Lady Tremaine and her daughters, who hammed it up for the cameras
Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog
Jafar was also listed on the teleprompter. Mother Gothel from Tangled, who joined Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade last year, was part of the group too.
What does the villains float look like?
The teal float has stone arches, shelves of old books and giant clawed hands reaching over the top. Chernabog, the demon from Fantasia, rises above it all.
Maleficent stood in the center with her arms raised, wearing her black robes with lime-green accents and her horned headdress. The Evil Queen posed beside the Magic Mirror in a gold crown and a red-and-cream cape.
Two performers opened the segment with a red “Happy Holidays” banner.
When does the Disney Parks Christmas Day parade air?
The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade airs Christmas morning, Friday, Dec. 25, at 10 a.m. Eastern on ABC.
Robert Irwin and Malia Baker are this year’s co-hosts. A monitor during the taping prompted Irwin with a fun question for the segment: Who is your favorite Disney villain?
The villains segment was filmed over two days on Main Street, U.S.A., with guests watching from the curb.
Why are the villains getting more time at Magic Kingdom?
Disney is building Villains Land in the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom, on the former Rivers of America site.
At D23 in August, Disney confirmed the land will have a Maleficent roller coaster and a Magic Mirror dark ride. The story centers on a wishing well corrupted by an evil wish. Cruella, the Evil Queen and Dr. Facilier are among the villains who have built lairs there.
Disney has compared the land’s size to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Work is in its early stages, and infrastructure is targeted for completion by 2028.
Disney has not announced an opening date. Until then, parades are one of the best places to see the villains together at Magic Kingdom.
What was it like at the villains parade taping?
The villains played it up for the crowd. The Queen of Hearts wore a red, black and yellow gown. Dr. Facilier strutted in a feathered top hat, and he will have a lair in Villains Land when it opens.
Lady Tremaine and her daughters stole the show, according to BlogMickey, as the stepsisters fought each other for the camera’s attention.
Camera crews were set up to stay out of the shot, so the segment should look like a regular parade on TV. A teleprompter along the route listed each character as they passed, including Cruella and her henchmen.
Chernabog, the giant demon on top of the float, comes from the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia. He is one of the biggest and scariest villains Disney has ever made, so seeing him on a Christmas float is a fun twist.
If you want to see the full segment, set a reminder for Christmas morning on ABC.
Disney has not said whether the villains float will appear anywhere else this season, so the TV broadcast is the surest way to see it.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
BlogMickey (Nov. 13, 2026), the villains taping details, float, lineup and Villains Land update
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