Well, we were ready for a party like it was 1899, but Disney made a “last-minute decision” to pull the now-infamous Main Street USA DJ tonight at Magic Kingdom.

To get you up to speed, about a week ago, Disney added a live DJ/emcee to the Main Street USA Train Station in an effort to direct guests on how to utilize transportation at the end of the night. Once the Happily Ever After fireworks show concludes, the DJ/emcee begins directing guests towards either the monorail or ferryboat/bus area. The live DJ also directs guests to where they can drop off their strollers, which is at the Main Street USA Train Station. Throughout the 30-45 minute set, the DJ plays live music that has absolutely nothing to do with Main Street USA at all. Some videos gained quite a bit of traction on social media earlier today, including this one from MickeyViews.

The execution is confusing and not at all what you’d expect from Disney. There’s no other way to say it. In a landscape where Disney fans question the decisions made by executives, this seems to be another shockingly out-of-touch move. There is no attempt to make this feel like it belongs on Main Street USA, and it doesn’t accomplish anything more than a dozen Cast Members could. There is signage around the Magic Kingdom entrance plaza area directing guests to transportation, and it’s also worth noting that guests used those same transportation methods to get to Magic Kingdom, so they would seemingly be aware of their options.

Tonight, we decided to catch Happily Ever After and check out the DJ situation for ourselves. Shortly before the fireworks started, the DJ could be seen setting up at the Main Street USA Train Station. We snapped a few pics before he abruptly packed up his gear and left the station. Less than an hour later, the DJ went private on social media. At this point, we’re not sure if he was experiencing an equipment issue, or if Disney decided to pull his set. When we asked managers why the DJ didn’t perform tonight, they said that it was a “last-minute decision” and that they didn’t know if he would be performing in the upcoming days.

In lieu of the DJ, area managers grabbed light-up wands and did the job of the DJ instead, mostly herding guests with rented wheelchairs and strollers to the Main Street USA Railroad Station to return them before exiting the park.

Whether or not this becomes a permanent addition remains to be seen. We hope that this is simply a stumble by the Magic Kingdom executive team and not a viable solution to what they have clearly defined as a problem worth solving – crowd control after Magic Kingdom fireworks. There’s no doubt that the post-fireworks exit at Magic Kingdom is one of the more crowded events during a day at Magic Kingdom, but there has to be a more elegant solution for a world-class theme park operator.

As far as we can tell, this DJ has been in place after the conclusion of Happily Ever After on the following nights:

• August 21
• August 19
• August 17
• August 16

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!