My personal thought on yesterday's Disney Parks Parade special on ABC

[*NikkiBell*]

One of the things that I always recommend people do if they are unsatisfied with a product is voice that opinion to those in charge. A handwritten letter goes a long way. If anyone is interested, below you will find the contact information for both ABC and Disney:

ABC
http://site.abc.go.com/site/contactus.html


WABC-TV Main Station Number: 212.456.7000
7 Lincoln Square
NY, NY 10023


The Walt Disney Company Corporate Office | Headquarters
500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA 91521
(818)560-1000

 

[SDSorority]

I love seeing Main St. on the TV. That makes me smile. That said.....

It absolutely was a 2 hour infomercial that didn't really "sell it". I too didn't know who a lot of the performers were... and unfortunately, this year it seemed REALLY REALLY staged. The crowd looked really small until they showed everyone at the Castle at the end. I dunno.... I like seeing anything and everything Disney Parks on TV, but this was disappointing.

 

[cdotla]

I take it from people's comments that there were actual commercials in the ABC US broadcast.

We watched the Canadian broadcast on CBC. This is the 2nd year for it...previously we just watched ABC's US broadcast but last year they started airing a Canadian version.

Our "commercials" were not really commercials at all. Each time the parade broke, there was a special filmed segment with Canadian families vacationing in the parks or with two well known Canadian tv personalities from a decorating/lifestyle show. Each segment would show the families or the tv personalities enjoying a different aspect of the parks, and pretty much all 6 parks were featured.

I actually enjoyed these "commericals" more than anything else!

I guess I am Disney's target audience because despite the performers/singers that I had never heard of, despite the blatant marketing, and despite the choppiness of the "parade", I still loved watching it.

 

[cdotla]

I watched .... fast forwarded ... through the parade again last night. The thing I don't understand is if they want to make it a 2 hour commercial, why not show more of the parks? Did we see any Epcot, AK or DHS? Why not show the Osborne lights? Some of how the countries in Epcot are decorated for Christmas? Some of the Jingle Jammin Jungle Parade? I hear the decorations at DL are amazing, but we didn't see much of them. Show Liberty Square, show Small World with it's Christmas overlay, ect....Like I said earlier, the parks sell themselves...showcase them.

Hmmmm.....definitely sounds like the Canadian broadcast was much different than the US version. For our "commercials" (which were actually integrated into the broadcast itself such that you would never even call it a commerical) there were various segments taped about each of the parks, highlighting many different experiences in the parks.

It was actually my favorite part of the broadcast.

Maybe the US producing crew needs to speak to the Canadian team to get some fresh ideas for next year!

 

[HeatherLassell]

We watched the Canadian broadcast on CBC. This is the 2nd year for it...previously we just watched ABC's US broadcast but last year they started airing a Canadian version.

Well damn...wish I had known that. The ABC version came on sooner so we watched that...we were very dissapointed and turned off the tv. Had I known. Guess I'll know better for next year!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

From Miceage...

EDITOR’S NOTE 12/30: The big surprise to be announced on Dick Clark's New Years Eve show is the gimmicky 24 hour bi-coastal party on Leap Year Day this Feb in the parks, plus more WDW discounts and a continuation of the Memories campaign. Meanwhile, Disneyland is managing massive crowds this week with daily phased closures and forcing the overflow into DCA with complimentary parkhopper upgrades. Between Christmas and New Years Days, Disneyland Resort is heading to a park attendance tally near 750,000 visitors, a new record. - Al Lutz

 

[nickyb720]

It has been an infomercial for the last few years. Should expect that every year you watch it. But I will still watch it because it is Disney!

 

[doconeill]

It has been an infomercial for the last few years. Should expect that every year you watch it. But I will still watch it because it is Disney!

There's always the hope that they'll change. Perhaps we should all start writing in about how horrific it was...

 

[Justin Jett]

There's always the hope that they'll change. Perhaps we should all start writing in about how horrific it was...

If the ratings drop in 2012, they might change in 2013

 

[kermit116]

I totally agree...you can show off the parks while featuring a parade, without making it obvious that you are trying to sell vacations. That's what the commercial breaks are for.

Yeah, we were watching it and one of my family members finally said, "this is a just a giant commercial for Disney!" Of course that's what the parade is, but it's sad that it's so obvious. It's a real turnoff to those who aren't die-hard Disney fans. And, as a die-hard Disney fan myself, I found if off putting the way the parade came off as a giant "up sell" of all the Disney products. Let the parks and hotels speak for themselves.