Taping of Christmas Parade?

[C.Ann]

Who has been at WDW when this was going on? When and where does it take place? I assume MK is extremely crowded that day?

We're booked for the first week in Dec. and I'm hearing that it will be very crowded then because of the taping.. Now I'm wishing I booked for the second week, but I didn't want to wait any longer for the SW airfares to open up beyond Dec. 10th..

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hi C.Ann, nice to see you.

The parade is taped the first weekend of Dec, Friday and Saturday, possibly Sunday if they need it. Just stay clear of MK those days, the rest of WDW is great, slow time of the year. MK is not even really that bad, just Main Street is a pain.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks! We're arriving on Sat. Dec. 2nd and probably won't hit the parks until Sunday, the 3rd.. (Arriving late afternoon on Sat...) So we should be okay - right?

I'm SO excited that we're FINALLY going back!! Our last trip was during 9/11.. Was hard trying to enjoy ourselves with all that was going on..

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Hi C.Ann, nice to see you.

The parade is taped the first weekend of Dec, Friday and Saturday, possibly Sunday if they need it. Just stay clear of MK those days, the rest of WDW is great, slow time of the year. MK is not even really that bad, just Main Street is a pain.

 

[WannaBeInWDW]

I am going 7/5 - 7/12 and COMPLETELY forgot about the Christmas Parade taping ... hope it''s not too bad!

I used to go all the time first week of December as a little kid and do not remember it being too bad, but this is my first time in i don't know how many years going in December!

 

[Terk-1]

The parade is usually taped the first weekend in December to allow enough time for editing, etc. Main Street USA, and certain other areas of the parks, can either be closed off or be a real pain in the tushie to get around on taping days. It is alot of standing in one place to watch them film one number numerous times to be able to get certain shots, etc. It's a long process, and although it's nice to see, it gets old pretty quick. Stand, smile, clap, stand, smile, clap... In the morning, I found certain areas ok, but when they were done filming, the crowds that were on Main Street blended in to the rest of the park and it got quite crowded. Also, the MK is busy on the weekends anyway with locals. Main Street can get pretty hard to get through and they tend to make people cut through the stores, which makes it a little harder too.

 

[NancyIL]

I am going 7/5 - 7/12 and COMPLETELY forgot about the Christmas Parade taping ... hope it''s not too bad!

I used to go all the time first week of December as a little kid and do not remember it being too bad, but this is my first time in i don't know how many years going in December!

Um....is that December 5-12?

 

[BarbaraK]

If Main St. is crowded hop on the train and ride to whatever land you want to go to.

Barbara

 

[Cory's Gal]

DH and were in WDW last Dec for a long weekend. The parade taping started that Friday and that was our first full day there. Didn't want to do MK on Sat or Sun so we went right away Friday morning. It was AM EMH too. We walked on some things and had a minimal wait for everything else. They mostly taped the stuff by the castle that morning and early afternoon. We toured ALL MK, including multiple rides on things and were out of there by 3. We didn't have any hastle at all. It might have gotten more crowded into the evening though!

 

[WannaBeInWDW]

Um....is that December 5-12?

Ooppsss ... yeah still stuck in July!!!

I meant i will be there 12/5 - 12/12. Which weekend are they taping? 12/1, 12/2 or 12/8, 12/9? Guess it could be either or right, depending on Kelly and Regis?

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

It seems like they usually tape on the first weekend in Dec. Main St. will be crazy, but the rest of the park isn't bad at all.

If you want to stop and watch the filming, just duck under the rope wherever you can find a spot. Sounds simple, right? But it took me about half an hour to find this out! The CMs working main street crowd/traffic control were NOT a lot of help last year- they were taping the Festival of the Lion King part when I got there (FOLK is my FAVORITE thing on property, so I was over the moon!), and I really wanted to watch. I stood off to one side near a bunch of other people, and a CM said "You can't stand here." I asked where I could stand, and he just pointed down Main St and said "You have to go that way." A little ways down, I asked another CM where it was okay to stand to watch, and they just pointed me down Main St, too, saying to keep moving that way. Of course, by the time I got to the end of main st, I couldn't see what was going on anymore. After asking a few more people, I just gave up and went to enjoy the park. Only later did I see people just duck under the ropes and stand wherever there was room- wish I'd known that when I got there!

Wow, I got off on a tangent there! Anyway, I don't think that the parade crowd had any effect on crowds the rest of the week, so you should be fine!

 

[Brianne]

We've been there that weekend a couple times--it's really not as bad as it would seem, crowd-wise. Plus, it's interesting to see how they set up shots, if you're into the behind the scenes stuff. I know a good portion of the parade is shot before the park opens---castmembers can bring family in to be the crowd---but we saw some of the footage being shot in front of the castle a bit later in the morning/early afternoon.

 

[n2mm]

We were there last year. AP holders could sign up to be part of the audience. They taped Fri/Sat/Sun. CMs were there during some of the taping too, usually when the park is closed to the public. It was hectic as they tape the singers performing in front of the castle part of the day, then for 2 days they tape parts of the parade going down mainstreet. We were at the AKL and found the resort was packed. We did see Vanessa Williams and family there one day after taping. Since our trip was only Thursday to Monday, that is all I can comment on. Maybe after Monday things got quieter. Restraurants were packed and you didn't get in without an ADR. The following weekend is the pop warner weekend and we got caught up in that the year before. We plan to stay away from December in the future, we still like our fall and spring trips the best.

 

[amy4bruce]

DW, DD6 and I were in Magic Kingdom last year on the Saturday (I think it was December 2) when they were taping the parade.

In the morning, it was fine. Once you pushed your way past the castle, it was fairly empty. No ride had a very long wait.

The problem was that they taped in in two shifts, one from 7-11, and one from 12-4. The extras in the crowd were locals brought in for that purpose. They were paid by being allowed to stay after they were done. So from 11 on, we got an amazing influx of people. Pecos Bill's was mobbed, and (since it was a nice day) DW, DD6 and I went back to our hotel and swam until our ADRs that evening.

Of course, if you were in another park, you probably didn't even notice that anything was going on.

 

[C.Ann]

Oh boy! Think I got a problem here.. My DD (adult DD , that is ) always wants MK to be the FIRST park we visit when we head down to WDW.. I doubt I can hold her at bay until Monday, so do you think Sunday would be okay?

Truth be told, I'm kind of partial to going to MK first too.. Just doesn't seem like we're in WDW till we're inside of MK..

 

[db4huskers]

I think Regis and Kelly host this parade. Is there any chance that they will do their show from MK on those days they will be there? Do they even have to show up for the taping or are they taped on a different day. Just wondering so I could watch on thier web site for tickets. When we were in Disneyland a few years back they did their show from there but the only way to see them was to have tickets.

 

[goofy4tink]

Oh boy! Think I got a problem here.. My DD (adult DD , that is ) always wants MK to be the FIRST park we visit when we head down to WDW.. I doubt I can hold her at bay until Monday, so do you think Sunday would be okay?

Truth be told, I'm kind of partial to going to MK first too.. Just doesn't seem like we're in WDW till we're inside of MK..

I was there for the Friday morning taping in front of the Castle last Dec. Yes, it was a lot of standinh around, then clap and look excited, stand for another 20 minutes, clap for 30 secs, stand...well, you get the idea. The park wasn't that crowded later in the day. I left MK around 11:30...my poor back couldn't take any more of that standing. My friend wanted to go back around 5ish, and it was fine. Same thing on Sat afternoon. We were there late in the afternoon, before dinner at 'Ohana. Yes, you had to wind around different areas, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I specifically want to know about Saturday night. We have an ADR at CP at 5:35 and plan on spending the rest of the day there since it is open till 11pm (and this is our last night there) Will it be awful or manageable?

 

[irisbud]

I have an ADR for LTT at 2:00 on Sunday, so I guess we're just going to have to brave it. It dosen't sound too terrible to me, though. I guess I'll have to make time to watch the parade another day, though. Oh darn, we'll have to return to MK... No worries!