Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida just announced a brand new drone show called “Disney Dreams That Soar” thats set to run through the summer. Even better? It’s free to watch.
Kicking off on May 24, 2024 and running nightly until September 2, 2024, this high-tech spectacle will feature drones lighting up the sky above Disney Springs, which is the free-to-visit shopping and dining district on Walt Disney World property. A curated soundtrack will accompany the whole experience.
Rather than flying over places where people walk, the drones will fly over Lake Buena Vista, which is the lake that borders the shopping center. Expect the best views from the skies above the West Side of the massive outdoor retail district, which spans 120 acres.
A history of Disney World drone shows
It’s been more than seven years since Walt Disney World last hosted a drone show. Back during the 2016 winter holiday season, Disney Springs hosted another drone show. Called ‘Starbright Holidays’, the show was done in partnership with Intel, which at the time was among the most robust drone light show companies in the world. That Disney Springs holiday drone show ran twice every night and lasted six minutes. Re-live the 2016 show on YouTube, here:
But while this is only the second-ever drone show to arrive at Walt Disney World in Florida, the company is no stranger to drone shows. Among its biggest and best drone shows yet is the Disney Electrical Sky Parade. Held in France over at Disneyland Paris, the drone show pays homage to the iconic Main Street Electrical Parade. That parade launched at the original Disneyland theme park in California in 1972. In that French show, drones resemble iconic parade floats (albeit in the sky) including a train and Elliott from the 1977 film “Pete’s Dragon.” Check out that show here:
And it’s no secret that The Drone Girl is a huge Disney fan. Alas, that here means this drone show necessitates its own blog post. But this nightly summer series is just one of hundreds of drone shows around the U.S. in 2024. Major festivals, sporting events and community holiday celebrations are set to include drone light shows this year. That includes a show for the popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a show at the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, and shows at various MLB baseball games (check out my recap of last year’s Star Wars drone show at the Oakland A’s game in August 2023).
Other theme parks including Dollywood and Universal Studios have also embraced drones. Unlike Disney World, those parks have actually held drone shows inside the gates.
How to watch the Disney World drone show
The Aerophile balloon at Disney Springs
Simply head to Disney Springs, which is free to visit. Even standard self-parking is free at the Disney Springs area.
You’ll best see the show on the West Side. That’s also where you’ll find Aerophile, the massive, hand-painted helium balloon. Aerophile is tethered to the ground but also floats over the water. Since there’s a massive walkway along the water, it should be pretty easy to find a viewing spot. Plus, the show is in the air, so you likely won’t worry about someone blocking your view.
And while the Disney World drone show is free to watch, know that Disney World trip costs aren’t cheap. Especially if you stay at a Disney-owned hotel and end up buying theme park tickets (and on-property food, too), budget at least $300 per person per day. That figure includes food, a hotel room and theme park tickets.
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How many drones are out there flying in the U.S.? How many commercial drone pilots are certified? As the first quarter has just wrapped up, here’s a look at the state of drones in 2024. And we know it’s April 1 — but just know these stats are no joke.
For starters, the number of registered drones alone is nearly 800,000. That means — very likely — there are well over a million drones out there in the U.S., considering not all drones need to be registered. And that doesn’t even consider the toy drones you can buy for, say, $30 at your local Target, Costco or Walmart, or online through Amazon. Those almost certainly aren’t registered. After all, only drones weighing 250 grams or more, or that are flown for commercial purposes, need to be registered.
Here’s a deeper dive into the latest U.S. drone statistics, which the Federal Aviation Administration released on December 31, 2023.
As of the end of December 2023, there are a staggering 790,918 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That’s more than the entire population of San Francisco.
Though there are slightly more registered recreational pilots vs commercial drones registered, it’s actually a pretty even split. As of Dec. 31, 2023, 416,095 recreational drone pilots had registered. Meanwhile, 369,528 commercial drones had been registered.
Recreational drones in 2024: 416,095 pilots have registered
Though 416,095 pilots have registered with the FAA as of the end of 2023, there are likely far more than 416,095 recreational drones capable of flying in U.S. skies. Here are two reasons why:
For starters, know that the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations covers all drones in that pilot’s inventory. That means that, while 416,095 people have registered as recreational drone pilots, they might have more than one drone. If every recreational drone pilot owned, say, two drones, then that means there are actually more than 832,000 recreational drones out there.
And then, as stated above, only drones that weigh 250 grams or more (or that are flown for commercial purposes) must be registered. And there are surprisingly many high-quality camera drones that weigh less than 250 grams, including the DJI Mini 3 Pro and the Autel Evo Nano drone.
Commercial drones in 2024: 369,528 registered drones
It used to be that, like recreational drone piloting, commercial pilots would register once and then use that same number to affix on all the drones in their fleet. That changed with the implementation of Remote ID.
Since September 16, 2023, Part 107 drone pilots have generally been expected to fly in a Remote ID-compliant manner. In the case of Part 107 flights, the FAA requires that commercial drone pilots must each individual Remote ID device module separately within their inventory and each device will get a unique registration number.
Many drones have built-in Remote ID modules. Though, some pilots use separate Remote ID broadcast modules. That means, rather than scribbling the same registration number on all your drones as hobby pilots do, commercial pilots need a separate number for each drone (if it has a built-in Remote ID module) or individual Remote ID module.
But here’s where the data gets interesting. That 369,528 figure looks at commercial drones registered as of Dec. 31, 2023. But while Remote ID technically went into effect on Sept. 16, 2023, the FAA didn’t begin enforcing Remote ID rules until March 16, 2024.
That very likely means that drone pilots hadn’t registered their entirely fleets individually before Dec. 31. But now that we’re past March 16, it’s very likely that 369,528 will go way up, given that commercial operators will now have to register each aircraft in their fleet individually.
What about paper registrations?
And no, that doesn’t add up to 790,918. That’s because the remaining 5,295 registrations are actually paper registrations.
The FAA requires the paper (N-number) registration process if:
Your unmanned aircraft is 55 pounds or greater.
You want to qualify a small unmanned aircraft for operation outside the United States.
You hold title to an aircraft in trust.
The small unmanned aircraft owner uses a voting trust to meet U.S. Citizenship requirements.
If you’re a drone pilot whose drones don’t contribute to the stats above, you’re likely unregistered. Registration is easy and it’s not too expensive — assuming you don’t have a giant fleet of drones.
FAA drone registration requirements
The FAA registration requirements are pretty straightforward. You must be:
13 years of age or older (if the owner is less than 13 years of age, a person 13 years of age or older must register the drone)
A U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
For foreign operators, FAA will consider the certificate issued to be a recognition of ownership rather than a certificate of U.S. aircraft registration.
FAA drone registration fees
The fee might be a big contributing factor in why there are so many more drones flying out there than what the FAA has accounted for.
If you’re flying under the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations, you’ll owe a registration fee of $5. It covers all drones in your inventory and is valid for three years, upon which you must renew.
If you’re flying under Part 107, you’ll owe a registration fee of $5 per drone. Again, it’s valid for three years, upon which you must renew. $5 per drone might not seem to be of a deal until you consider something like light show drones. A single light show typically has at least 100 drones, but even 500 is relatively common. That would entail $500 in registration fees alone for the 100-drone show, or $2,500 for the 500-drone show.
How to register your drone
A screenshot of the FAADroneZone website where you can select to ‘Launch Drone Owners and Pilots Dashboard.’
Whether registering as a recreational or professional pilot, all drone pilots need to visit the official FAADroneZone website to register. From there, click on the button labeled “Launch Drone Owners and Pilots Dashboard” and follow the steps to register from there. (The steps are slightly different whether you visit the Recreational Flyer Dashboard versus the Part 107 Dashboard).
You’ll likely need to click “Add Device” if you’re registering for the first time. When you do that, you’ll be prompted to enter details about your drone such as the manufacturer, model and serial number.
Don’t register at any other website. Any other website purporting to help you register your drone is very likely a scam.
Registered pilots in the U.S.
Those are the figures for registered drones, but what about actual pilots?
While 369,528 commercial drones are registered, 368,604 pilots are certified. By those figures, there would be 1.003 commercial drones for every one certified commercial drone.
And while 416,095 recreational drones are registered, 667,165 TRUST Certificates have been issued. The FAA issues TRUST Certificates to recreational flyers via a free online course. All recreational drone operators flying drones that weigh between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs (250 grams and 24 kilograms) must take the TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test). TRUST entails a simple, online course that takes about 30 minutes to an hour to complete. Most providers have a test at the end of the hour training, which allows for unlimited attempts to pass.
Interestingly, by those metrics, there are just 0.624 drones out there for every certified TRUST pilot. How can that be? Surely people don’t take TRUST without actually owning a drone.
There are a few possible explanations. For starters, some drone pilots might register as a Part 107 pilot and have taken the TRUST test. I certainly did. (I passed the Part 107 test within the first couple months of it becoming available. Then I passed the TRUST test on the first day it was offered — all in the name of reporting research!).
Secondly, many pilots might have taken the TRUST test, but not actually have registered their drone. While TRUST is free, registering costs $5. Because enforcement standards around registration have been fairly vague, some drone pilots might not feel the need to be compliant, despite it being the law.
Recreational vs. commercial drone pilots
What does seem to make sense is the ratio of recreational vs. commercial drone pilots. For every one certified commercial drone pilot, there are 1.81 hobby pilots.
It makes sense that 667,165 people would have passed the simple TRUST online course, while just 368,604 pilots are Part 107 certified. Getting your drone pilot’s license under Part 107 is a much tougher process, which requires an in-person, written exam. And common sense alone likely won’t get you a passing score. Most people enroll in an online Part 107 course, which can also cost many hundreds of dollars on its own.
If you’re reading this, you’re very-likely already certified. Carrying that card around in your wallet indicating you passed is a badge of honor. The question is: have you registered your drone yet? It’s the law, so we sure hope you did.
