'Happily Ever After' fireworks return to Disney World

ORLANDO -- Disney World guests watched fireworks dazzle and explode around Cinderella Castle in person for the first time since the theme park shut down in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Just in time for Independence Day celebrations, Magic Kingdom's "Happily Ever After" and EPCOT's "EPCOT Forever" spectaculars returned to Disney World Thursday night.

Disneyland in California will resume their nightly fireworks shows on July 4.

The fireworks shows had been put on hold in order to discourage people from gathering together after the parks reopened following COVID-related closures last year.

Disney parks in the US are slowly easing their COVID-19 protocols. Face masks are now optional in most areas for guests of the California and Florida parks who are fully vaccinated.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of this station.