Christmas Parade?

[pezheadval]

We are going to WDW November 30 - December 13th.
We want to see the Christmas Parade. Will it run during regular hours at Magic Kingdom or do we have to go the Christmas Party to see it?

Also, does anyone know when they tape it for TV? Is that during regular hours or is that something special?

Thanks!

 

[beattyfamily]

We are going to WDW November 30 - December 13th.
We want to see the Christmas Parade. Will it run during regular hours at Magic Kingdom or do we have to go the Christmas Party to see it?

Also, does anyone know when they tape it for TV? Is that during regular hours or is that something special?

Thanks!

No the parade is only seen at MVMCP parties until after the last party.

The parade is taped on the first Saturday in December; parts of it are taped other days like the singing or the other parks' portions. Then it's spliced together for Christmas morning.

The parade takes hours to tape. Stop and go all throughout the day...then they usually run the parade once all the way through for those who were waiting there all day...not always though.

We were there last year the Friday before the tapping and saw the entertainment/stage portion being taped at MK. We got to see John Hurley and Vanessa Williams.

 

[zurgswife]

HIstorically the parade is taped the first weekend in Dec.

 

[MareSINY]

Are crowds higher during the taping? Do they close Main St.? I can't imagine that they could, how else would people get into the park? LOL

We're planning our first Christmas trip, we'll be there December 1 - 5th.

 

[beattyfamily]

Are crowds higher during the taping? Do they close Main St.? I can't imagine that they could, how else would people get into the park? LOL

We're planning our first Christmas trip, we'll be there December 1 - 5th.

Well, it is on a Saturday so MK will be crowded anyway but the parade taping crowd is mostly along Main Street.

They CMs will not let anyone stop. They are very good at keeping the crowd moving. Those that do stop to watch have to stay for a long while and push in to make room on the walkway.

No, they don't close Main Street but there are CMs everywhere directing the crowd.

 

[MareSINY]

Ok, good. I can handle normal Saturday crowds, I brought my niece for a long weekend in January this year, so I know what to expect as far as a weekend crowd goes, I just didn't want to have an even larger crowd because people wanted to watch the parade being filmed. LOL Maybe we'll go to Epcot or AK that morning and hit up MK that night, since we'll be going to the MVMCP the night before.

Thanks for the quick response!!

 

[pezheadval]

Thanks for the info.

Now to decide if we are going to the Christmas Party or watch at the TV taping.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was there for the Friday taping also. If I had a choice, I would do the Christmas party at night. The taping is tiring, and at times quite boring. We basically stood around for hours while the acts did their thing over and over. The parade doesn't actually move down Main St...it's more of a stop and go, stop and go back, stop and go ahead a bit....not a very fluid thing. You could stand there and see the exact same thing over and over for 90 minutes!!
But, some find this to be fun, and interesting. Not me....never again. But, I wanted to give another view of the 'parade taping'.

 

[beattyfamily]

I was there for the Friday taping also. If I had a choice, I would do the Christmas party at night. The taping is tiring, and at times quite boring. We basically stood around for hours while the acts did their thing over and over. The parade doesn't actually move down Main St...it's more of a stop and go, stop and go back, stop and go ahead a bit....not a very fluid thing. You could stand there and see the exact same thing over and over for 90 minutes!!
But, some find this to be fun, and interesting. Not me....never again. But, I wanted to give another view of the 'parade taping'.

ITA. I would to the party instead of trying to watch the taping or I'd do both but seeing the taping is nothing like the 'real' parade.

The Christmas parade is one of my all time favorite parades (my girls too).

 

[pezheadval]

Well, that is good to know about the parade taping. We'll have my dd who will be turing 6 and (suprise!) a newborn baby boy, too, so we probably won't want to do that much standing around.

In the past we have done Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, so maybe we'll look into the Christmas Party.

Thanks again for all of your input!

 

[goofy4tink]

ITA. I would to the party instead of trying to watch the taping or I'd do both but seeing the taping is nothing like the 'real' parade.

The Christmas parade is one of my all time favorite parades (my girls too).

Have to say that I was heartily sick of Brian Setzer and his band by 11:30 or so!!! They were terrific, don't get me wrong, but after watching the act 8 times, I wanted to scream...'Get it right you idiots!!!! My back is killing me!' I would opt for the party myself...it's lots of fun and you can't beat the atmosphere at night when that snow starts falling, and the lights are all on....can't wait for this years party!!

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

Did anyone notice if the ride lines shorter during the parade taping? Are the characters out and about in other areas of the park during the taping?