Disney's televised christmas parade....ugh!

[JimmyV]

Let me plop a big DISAGREE with every one here. I thought the parade show was a lot of fun. While Robin Roberts has always gotten under my skin a little, I thought she did well. Plus, to have Tebow show up....that was awesome. It totally made my Christmas to have him in the parade several times and co-hosting with Robin. Still waiting for his comeback! I thought the Olaf/kid cheerleader bit was incredible. Was it a lot less parade and more show this year? Yes. I would've loved to seen more WDW footage since I haven't been there in two years. But since half the place is boarded up for refurbs, that just couldn't happen.

As for the Frozen stuff, this seems like yet another "hate Frozen" thread. Not really sure what that's all about other than "success breeds contempt" theory. I suppose had this site been active 50 years ago, we'd be hearing about how there's too much Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty everywhere.

Back to the show. It was the first time ever that all of my kids actually sat and watched the entire parade. Usually they're up and running around 45 minutes into it. Not this time. They liked the music, they loved that WDW and DL and Aulani were all a part of the show. And I really loved the "family reunion" stories - very heartfelt and in good taste. It was all good.

BTW, the Disney Christmas Day Parade has always been a commercial. It's on a network they own and they've always talked about how great and "affordable" it is to visit a Disney destination. Nothing changed yesterday, and I liked it. I WANT them to talk me into going back again.

Great satire! You almost had me for a moment. But the "Tebow comeback" gave you away. This was obviously written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Nicely done!

How good can a parade on TV be anyway?

Watch HGTV's coverage of the Rose Parade to find out. But coverage of Macy's. Thanksgiving Parade and now the Disney Christmas Parade have become unwatchably awful. We DVR'ed both parades and combined we watched about 20 minutes of footage and FF'd the rest.

 

[SharonLowe]

BTW, the Disney Christmas Day Parade has always been a commercial. It's on a network they own and they've always talked about how great and "affordable" it is to visit a Disney destination. Nothing changed yesterday, and I liked it. I WANT them to talk me into going back again.

It was not always that way. It used to be a wonderful show about the parade and not an advertisement for the Disney parks and movies. It used to be magical and now it is nothing close to that - nothing more than a commercial for an overplayed movie that many have already put in the back of their minds - just look at all the Frozen merchandise that is 1/2 price or cheaper now that Christmas is past.

 

[KNovacovschi]

My question is this, they spent 3 days filming the actual parade, so where was it? What was the point of even bothering to film it if they weren't going to show it.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We did indeed enjoy the Christmas show.

I don't see a issue with showing more the the parade, if folks think it was advertising, I agree, same as any company would do given the venue. It is kinda hard to show anything in DL or WDW without is appearing to be marketing.

AKK

 

[Laketravis]

While I'm sure Disney could just display their logo for two hours and some would enjoy watching it, we tried but after 10 minutes DS wanted to switch to Sponge Bob.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It wasn't even a 2 hr ad for the parks this year, though! There really wasn't much they showed in the parks outside of those family reunions. IMO, it was more of a commercial for Aulani than anything else.

I would have enjoyed a 2-hour commercial for the parks and resorts. I think the best part were the real commercials they were showing for the parks and the cruises and Aulani!

They were definitely pushing Aulani but I don't even think they did a good job there. All they showed was the beach and a far-away-shot of the building. It did make me want to go somewhere warm with a beach, but not necessarily Aulani.

 

[dtats]

Count my family as another set of viewers that felt this was a terrible excuse for a Disney Christmas parade. I think this one was the worst yet, and they have been deteriorating in quality each year for awhile now.

Fortunately, I taped their 1994 parade 20 years ago, so we can still enjoy an example of when they actually knew how to televise the parade properly and respectfully (to the parade itself as well as the viewers). Not sure if we'll tune in again next year, or even bother to program the dvr for it.

What I also think is interesting is that signs are beginning to show of the Frozen-overload... many Disney fans are really starting to express their fill with the anna/elsa/olaf juggernaut, and I'm curious as to just how this will bode for the Frozen underlay in the Norway pavillion. With the blowback against this latest holiday "parade," I'm thinking it aint good.

 

[fairy oma]

I DVRd the Christmas Parade and was instead disappointed by the lack of a parade. I don't mind Disney promoting their product but how did that presentation take 3 entire days to tape? Their film editing team should be fired as this was just not up to Disney standards. What a departure from the televised parade of 4 and 5 years ago. I won't be watching next year.

 

[afwdwfan]

Here's my thing... I love Frozen. I love college football. But when I watch a Christmas parade, I want to see Christmas songs, decorations, etc. And more importantly, A PARADE!!!

Yes, I can't wait to see a college football playoff! But I don't want to hear Tim Tebow and Robin Roberts talk about it instead of the Disney parade going on around them.

I love the songs from Frozen. The Frozen Sing Along at DHS was a big hit with our family. But just scattering the songs into the parade with performers who modified the original songs, and then couldn't perform them near as well as the originals just seemed like Disney was kind of taking a "meh, it's close enough" approach.

And why did every performer have to perform 2 or 3 times??? I've had my fill of Ariana Grande and Train before they even finish the first song. And they felt the need to bring them back for more.

I really didn't get into much of the music at all. Bring in all the superstar performers you want, but stick with well known Christmas songs that most of us know. I actually looked up lyrics to Trisha Yearwood's song trying to figure out what in the heck it had to do with Christmas.

I had to look up the finale on YouTube (since I had tuned out by that point) and you are completely right -- the freezing effect was really cheesy and it was only made worse by the green-screened actors they cut to for facial reactions.

Here's the clip.

Yeah, that was pathetic. You'd think the company that can make the Marvel films could come up with something better than that.

Great satire! You almost had me for a moment. But the "Tebow comeback" gave you away. This was obviously written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Nicely done!

I thought the same thing. I thought it was all sarcasm as soon as I saw the Tebow comment. But then I noticed Gator in the name.

 

[michelleiada]

It seems to be how everyone is feeling...disappointed! There is a way to complain if you go to http://abc.go.com/feedback Many of us from a Disney Vacation Club site have already sent complaints. Disney needs to know how unhappy everyone is.

 

[larryz]

I would like to know the exec and their thinking that led to this.

 

[profdsny]

It seems to be how everyone is feeling...disappointed! There is a way to complain if you go to http://abc.go.com/feedback Many of us from a Disney Vacation Club site have already sent complaints. Disney needs to know how unhappy everyone is.

Done, thanks.

 

[Robo]

My question is this, they spent 3 days filming the actual parade, so where was it?

They didn't spend 3 days shooting the actual parade.
They have never done that kind of shooting schedule (at least in the last 10-15 years.)

 

[riverbend]

It seems to be how everyone is feeling...disappointed! There is a way to complain if you go to http://abc.go.com/feedback Many of us from a Disney Vacation Club site have already sent complaints. Disney needs to know how unhappy everyone is.

Thanks for posting the link!

 

[happymommy]

I totally agree that it was the worst ever. I do hope that Disney execs are reading this!

It was so obvious the taped nature of it as well; at Aulani it would have been dark out if it was truly "trying" to pretend they were actually talking live to each other.

Frozen - I honestly do not know ANYONE who seriously liked the movie. I am sure with the money it made that it did appeal to lots of much younger kids. But making the whole parade centered around one movie? No thanks. It seemed to have almost nothing to do with Christmas.

Didn't the whole Christmas parade always end with Santa? This time it was frozen princesses.

I also won't be watching it again.

PS: I've walked through Aulani a bunch of times (we own at the Marriott right next door) and every time I did, I couldn't wait to get back over to the Marriott. It is quite crowded and cramped, although it is a beautiful resort, just felt like the pool chairs were insane how many they cram on the pool areas there. I wouldn't ever stay there.

 

[happymommy]

They didn't spend 3 days shooting the actual parade.
They have never done that kind of shooting schedule (at least in the last 10-15 years.)

I do know that they do film the parade over a series of days, usually the first two weeks of December. Then they splice the best scenes together for the airing.

 

[Robo]

I do know that they do film the parade over a series of days, usually the first two weeks of December. Then they splice the best scenes together for the airing.

They shoot all of the show segments (most are NOT of "the actual parade"
over the course of 2-4 days at WDW... and a like amount of time on different dates at DLR.

Then, they cut the show together from all of that footage.

But, the statement was that "they spent 3 days filming the actual parade, so where was it?"
and the actual parade is not what they were shooting over the course of multiple days.

 

[Itinkso]

I do know that they do film the parade over a series of days, usually the first two weeks of December. Then they splice the best scenes together for the airing.

The MOUCParade segments are only taped in one day. This year it was December 9th. A new director this year taped most of the segments in one take only. Hiro and Baymax as well as Club Penguin needed three takes each.

The 9th was a beautiful, sunny day and the 8th, when the Castle stage performances were taped, was a rainy, dreary day. Those two days were spliced together to form one strange-weather day.

 

[ktlm]

It was horribly disappointing this year. It is (or was) our Christmas tradition, to open gifts, then cuddle up on the couch and watch it. I know the last couple of years has been almost more commercial than parade, but at least there was still enough parade and parks stuff that we would still cuddle up and have our Christmas morning watching it. This year, DD, 8, kept asking "where is the parade", and then we realized it was not even called a parade this year., just a celebration. DD said this is mostly just people talking way way way too much with a few songs from mostly people I don't know. She finally left the room to go play with her new stuff instead. She came back to watch the Olaf number, which was very cute. With 30 or 40 minutes left, DD, who had come back in the room with stuff to play with, just kept asking if I would please turn it off and put a Christmas show or DVD in. She said we could just fast forward the last of it later to see if there was anything worth watching-which we did and she deemed there was not. DD is a total Disney kid who has not missed the Christmas morning parade since she was born! That tells you how bad she thought it was this year! Luckily we caught the live feed of the parade from MVMCP a couple of weeks ago. We got on youtube later Christmas day and watched some of the MVMCP parade again since we did not feel like the morning event was parade at all or remotely worth the time we spent with it. For anyone who missed it, you missed nothing. It wasn't called a parade this year, and they did not show the parade. It was at least 50%, if not more of Robin Roberts and Tim Tebow at WDW, some dark haired guy I don't know at DL, and Sarah Hyland at Aulani talking- and probably more than that. Add in some celebrities talking about how their kids love Frozen and a few little blips of people surprise meeting family members or friends they have not seen in a long time at WDW. Then add in a bunch of performances by people most kids under 10 don't even know like Train, Gavin Degraw, Trisha Yearwood, Trey Songs, Lucy Hale, Prince Royce and Alex and Sierra, some of who did 2 songs. The ones your tweens probably knew were 2 Disney Channel teens (which DD did like) and Ariana Grande (who DD does not care for at all), and then the really talented girl that sings Let It Go on You Tube. Then there was 5 minutes sprinkled throughout of a combination of characters, one Christmas parade float ;and the first float and last part of the Festival of Fantasy parade, and one cute Olaf number.Other than that, the only time I saw the parade was in the be right back blips as they broke for commercial. I should have known it was going to be trouble when they showed the tin soldiers, reindeer and Santa in the first 5 minutes of the broadcast. What Disney has historically done best is do things for kids that have enough substance in them that adults can really enjoy the things too. I did not feel like this years broadcast was remotely geared towards small children. It was 85% adults talking and adult music artists that most small children don't even know. I will take last year's 2 hour commercial over what they gave us this year.

 

[maxiesmom]

Let me plop a big DISAGREE with every one here. I thought the parade show was a lot of fun. While Robin Roberts has always gotten under my skin a little, I thought she did well. Plus, to have Tebow show up....that was awesome. It totally made my Christmas to have him in the parade several times and co-hosting with Robin. Still waiting for his comeback! I thought the Olaf/kid cheerleader bit was incredible. Was it a lot less parade and more show this year? Yes. I would've loved to seen more WDW footage since I haven't been there in two years. But since half the place is boarded up for refurbs, that just couldn't happen.

As for the Frozen stuff, this seems like yet another "hate Frozen" thread. Not really sure what that's all about other than "success breeds contempt" theory. I suppose had this site been active 50 years ago, we'd be hearing about how there's too much Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty everywhere.

Back to the show. It was the first time ever that all of my kids actually sat and watched the entire parade. Usually they're up and running around 45 minutes into it. Not this time. They liked the music, they loved that WDW and DL and Aulani were all a part of the show. And I really loved the "family reunion" stories - very heartfelt and in good taste. It was all good.

BTW, the Disney Christmas Day Parade has always been a commercial. It's on a network they own and they've always talked about how great and "affordable" it is to visit a Disney destination. Nothing changed yesterday, and I liked it. I WANT them to talk me into going back again.

I don't think there was even enough of the real Frozen shown to call it a hate Frozen thread. The singers who did sing Frozen songs did them horribly. So you could say I'm sticking up for Frozen, because that show did not represent it well AT ALL.

The whole program was garbage. And I did e-mail ABC letting them know just that. And that I though whoever though up the idea of barely showing the parade and showing a bunch of not so talented singers should be fired.