Originally Posted By schnebs Well, another Christmas, and another Christmas Day Parade has come and gone, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on this year's parade in the hope that other LP'ers would do the same. In past years, there's always been a catchphrase that's overused to the point where it would be good for a drinking game. This year, it seemed to me that instead of a catchphrase that was overused, it was a character - Duffy. Seriously, how much air time did that bear (either in regular form or in walkaround character form) did he get this year? The rows upon rows of little girls in pajamas all clutching their Duffys was particularly blatant. So much for the "too much of" stuff in the parade - let's get to the "not enough of" stuff. My girlfriend, who's a Disney fan but not a hardcore one, watched the parade with me, and was disappointed by how little actual parade there was on the show, and how Mario Lopez and Nick Cannon felt the need to spend every moment of parade time talking when Disney did show some parade footage. I honestly don't remember if Regis and Kelly talked this much, but I think she may have a point. A little more parade might be nice, or at least Disney should just change the name of the broadcast to the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Show" or something similar. I'm a fan of the Samantha Brown shows featuring Disney that were on the Travel Channel, so it was nice to see her on the broadcast. It didn't seem like they gave her a lot to do (maybe Disney spent all their casting budget on Nick Mario, and Melissa Whatshername?). Samantha's segments seemed to be all about showing the usual stock footage of the parks with a few seconds of concept art and construction shots to make it interesting; there wasn't a lot of new info. How 'bout a little more behind-the scenes and preview stuff, guys? Did anybody else try to Shazam the broadcast when the logo came up? It was a cute idea, but there wasn't much payoff - a contest entry and photos of Santa taking a post-Christmas vacation at WDW; big whoop. Here's hopin' that they'll put this idea to better use next year. As far as the performers: I really enjoyed OneRepublic (I guess I'd better, since I think that'll be the music in every Disney Parks commercial for the next few months). The finale with Jennifer Hudson was fun; Cee-Lo Green wasn't bad. One suggestion to Christina Aguilera: We know you're a good singer, we really do - you don't need to oversell it that much when you sing. The Muppets were fun; I especially liked the bit where Gonzo launched himself over Cinderella Castle. More Muppets, please! What did the rest of y'all think?
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt Duffy, I don't get it! I enjoyed the Parade but, it seemed like an infomercial for The Disney Parks!! too much singing... more parade!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I didn't watch it this year, but the few times I have in recent years, there's not been a whole lot of parade. In the entire broadcast (2 hours?) I would be surprised if there was a solid 10 minutes of total parade. I don't specifically remember the hosts talking over it, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen.
Originally Posted By basil fan I taped it, as always. Then, when I watch, I fast-forward not only the commercials, but also the musicians I don't like. Yes, there's always the same problem: too much talk, not enough parade. What we saw of the floats was great, we just need to see more, that's all. I agree the Muppets were well-utilized. Kermit's comment on Gonzo's jump really caught me by surprise.
Originally Posted By DBitz2 I really wish they'd get back to the roots of the special and have really good behind the scenes and teaser spots that showcased upcoming or new things at the parks. I also miss the skits or production numbers they used to do in the other WDW parks years ago. The "teasers" this year were deplorable. The Carsland one featured a few quick artist renderings we've all seen endlessly already. Really? They couldn't have shown some footage of the land under construction? Same with New Fantasyland. Seems really lazy and cheap to me. When I watch the special these days I always feel that it's more about trying to make the Disney parks "cool" for the teenybopper set with so many of the limited appeal performers they feature. Come on, make it entertaining for everybody and get back to building the anticipation for the new stuff the way they used to. Sigh
Originally Posted By DisneyDork101 i taped this too and LOVED every Muppet bit. Statler & waldorf were funny
