Anyone been to Disneyland the day they tape the Christmas Parade?

[summer0407]

We are going to be heading to parks Dec 9-11 I just read they will be taping the Christmas parade on the 11th. Can anyone tell me how the crowds are when they do that taping? Is the parade early in the day? We really can't do much as far as changing the dates but I want to try to have some sort of schedule worked out for the day so maybe we will stay in DCA while they tape it then head over later. I don't have any desire to watch it so I really want to try to stay clear of the area while it is going on. Any info from people that have been at the parks when this has gone on in the past would be great. Thanks so much!

[letitsnow]

Originally Posted by summer0407

We are going to be heading to parks Dec 9-11 I just read they will be taping the Christmas parade on the 11th. Can anyone tell me how the crowds are when they do that taping? Is the parade early in the day? We really can't do much as far as changing the dates but I want to try to have some sort of schedule worked out for the day so maybe we will stay in DCA while they tape it then head over later. I don't have any desire to watch it so I really want to try to stay clear of the area while it is going on. Any info from people that have been at the parks when this has gone on in the past would be great. Thanks so much!

Where did you find this information? I'm just asking because it usually happens at the beginning of the holiday season before they put up the garland because some of the floats won't fit?

[summer0407]

It was on the huge Christmas thread. One poster had a daughter that was going to be participating in it.

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Here's the blog I did on last year's taping.

http://www.disunplugged.com/2009/11/...as-day-parade/

It may give you a little insight on what the three days are like. I found the part not crowded at all, especially since the taping is done on the Main Street area. You can also come and go as you choose from the taping zones, unless you want to stake out a spot of on-camera real estate!

[summer0407]

Thanks do much for the post the blog was so fun to read. I am hoping I may be wrong with the dates since last year it was taped so early in November. I am going to re read the Christmas thread now. I hope if we stay clear of the taping areas we will be OK if in fact it is during our visit. Thanks so much again!!

[mariezp]

I seem to recall running across the post on the Christmas thread but I was thinking it would be taped in November. YellowMickeyPoncho's blog from last year was in November too. Any one out there know for sure?

[VictoriaAndMatt]

The last time I was there for the Christmas season they were taping the parade while I was there. We were there on December 15, 2004... multiple days, but that one sticks out because that is the day DH proposed Obviously it was a while ago so things may be different now. Crowds weren't bad at all.

[letthembelittle]

We were there last year when they taped the parade in early November, it didnt cause much a crowd difference that I noticed plus it was fun to see the floats and taping process as we walked by things they were doing.

[letitsnow]

A few years ago I got in line at 5am when we found out that Miley Cyrus was performing in front of the castle. We got a great view and even made it on tv! They went over it at least a dozen times sometimes just recording the crowds and having her redo some parts. Dh and ds got bored and left right when they finally focused on our group.

It is a very fun experience but you have to be very patient waiting in line and waiting as they perform. This was when Hannah Montana concert tickets were going for hundreds of dollars. This was even better..free concert at the Happiest Place on Earth!!

If anyone gets some insider information please post..I want to go again!!

[DLtorgo]

I was there last year. I posted this on the Christmas thread, but it is hard to find stuff on there.

It was filmed around Nov 14th last year. Dec 11th is the weekend I am going this year. I really hope this isn't the weekend they film the parade! It was interesting to watch the filming, but it was also a pain because it clogged up all of Mainstreet. It took the whole weekend during the days to film it last year. They filmed different parts on different days, with different stars coming in at different times to do their sections. Last year they had Stevie Wonder, Anika Noki Rose (Tiana), Seacrest, and Demi Levato. Last year Kelly Ripa was the host for the WDW sections and Seacrest did the DL sections. They will shoot the same interviews, host chat over and over to get all the camera shots they need. Then they run some parade floats then back it up and march a few feet forward again. Interesting and boring at the same time. That evening they ran the Celebrate parade because the Holiday parade wasn't running yet. They let the kids who danced in the holiday parade dance as a pre parade- which was fun to see.

Someone posted a while ago that their daughter was going to dance in the parade and that Dec 11th was when the filming was. Nothing official from Disney has come out yet.

[roobug]

We've been there a few times when they tape the parade. Main street can be a pain, but the rest of the park was great. We didn't have any issues, and none of the trips stick out in my memory as being bad. I do remember one year being surprised at how easy it was to get on rides, and it was fun because we saw a few of the stars that were hosting. Also for us it added to the holiday spirit.

[disneyfaninaz]

We have been there during taping in the past and have seen Ryan Seacrest and Rascal Flatts perform. We even saw Hannah Montana being interviewed before she became the phenom she is now. We did however, avoid Main Street during actual taping and stayed in Adventureland, NOS, Critter Country, Frontierland, etc. to avoid the crowds.

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I'm almost positive it will be the first full weekend in November this year. It has been that way the last 2 or 3 years. Last year is really the first time they decided to spread it out over multiple days.

The reason - they really lost a lot of time and light for filming. It's supposed to look like this takes place first thing in the morning on Christmas. If they are filming into the late evening - the lighting is a dead giveaway. Sure it can be "fixed" a little, but still - nothing replaces direct sun of the day. The taping of all of the dance students takes the longest. Plus, when they do the actual parade, they have to bring it forward, back it up, reset it, redo the dancing, etc.

Having the "concert" segments filmed on a different day allowed the crew to be able to focus on the filming at hand.