Disney Night has become a staple of Dancing with the Stars, though a relatively new one. The magical evening that finds the couples performing routines inspired by classic and beloved Disney films first showed up in season 18 and has appeared in every Spring season since then. But for season 25, Disney Night is coming to the Fall for the first time.
DWTS Spoilers: Disney Night Songs>>>
With four previous Disney Nights and a total of 37 routines, we’ve seen a lot of great content come out of this theme. To this day, Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s Pirates of the Caribbean Paso Doble remains my single favorite dance of the entire series.
Watch the Best Disney Night Dances Ever>>>
Here’s a look back at the history of Disney Night on Dancing with the Stars, including which movies, pros and judges have the best track records.
Which Disney Films Are the Most Popular?
In the first four Disney Nights, five different films made appearances three times: Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Frozen and Beauty and the Beast (though technically, two of them were for the animated version and one for 2017’s live-action film).
However, when you add in season 25, The Little Mermaid becomes the most popular Disney film, the only one to be featured in four out of the five Disney Nights. In addition, The Lion King, The Jungle Book and Pinocchio all join the list of films featured three times.
Which Pros Have the Most Disney Dances?
Val Chmerkovskiy and Sharna Burgess are the only pros who competed in all four Disney Nights. But since Sharna and Derek Fisher were eliminated, in season 25 Val will become the only pro to participate in every single Disney Night. In addition, with season 25, Mark Ballas, Peta Murgatroyd and Witney Carson will all join Sharna in dancing in four out of the five Disney Nights.
Who Is the Disney King?
Without a doubt, Val is the king of Disney Night. He ended the night on top of the leaderboard three out of four times, with the only exception being when he scored a 39 with Danica McKellar, just one point shy of James Maslow’s perfect score in season 18. Val has only received 9s and 10s on Disney Night, with Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli giving him 10s three out of four times. However, Val has never received a 10 from Len Goodman on Disney Night.
Which Judge Is the Nicest on Disney Night?
Bruno Tonioli loves Disney Night more than any of the other judges and his scores reflect it. Of the 37 Disney Night routines over four seasons, Bruno has handed out seven perfect 10s, which is as many as both Carrie Ann Inaba (5) and Len Goodman (only 2) combined.
Bruno has also given a 9 to 14 other dances, meaning more than half of all Disney dances have received a 9 or a 10 paddle from him. By comparison, his 21 total of 9s and 10s is more than Carrie Ann’s 17 or Len’s 16. Clearly he’s a sucker for the magical world of Disney.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC. For more DWTS updates, follow BuddyTV’s Dancing with the Stars Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
