Originally Posted By nate5881 Hey guys, I'm going down to WDW this weekend and I saw somewhere the ABC is going to be filming their Christmas Day parade on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Does anyone know how easy it is to take part in this event? What is it like? When should you show up? The website said that filming begins at 7:45 am on Saturday. Any information would be really helpful as I fully intend to get on TV this year ;-)
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Plop down somewhere on Main Street and don't forget it is the one time of year the parade heads from the Castle to the RR Station instead of the other way. Make sure the sun is not behind you because the camera guys would likely have the sun at their backs.
Originally Posted By eortiz01757 I thought the parade always came from the castle area and ended at the end of main st?
Originally Posted By wahooskipper The Christmas parade filmed for television does because the castle makes a good backdrop for TV. But during normal operation all parades start at Main Street and work their way down past the castle, into Frontierland, and then out of the park back by Big Thunder Mountain.
Originally Posted By eortiz01757 Are you sure. I have seen many parades at WDW and just don't remember that...I remeber the floats actually going into storage near Town Hall at the end of the parade.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Well, I suppose things could have changed since I worked there but back in my day it was in at Main Street and out at Frontierland.
Originally Posted By mickeymeg wow ... Perhaps I am just too naive... but I was really under the impression that the christmas day special was live until reading a bunch of the threads about it recently. I guess it does make sence ... but Im not sure its going to be as special watching it this year ...=/
Originally Posted By wahooskipper It used to be live with some pre-recorded elements. Now I don't think any of it is live. Disney doesn't want to take chances that sunny, blue skies won't be the backdrop for the parade.
Originally Posted By RobinsonCrusoeEsq Christmas Day in the Magic Kingdom was also always very crowded. As a guest service issue, the decision was made to tape earlier so that guests would not be inconvenienced. In the 80s, it was almost impossible to enter the park around 9-10am and get up Main Street during the parade. Camera booms, ropes everywhere, people everywhere. It was actually very exciting to be present for the live broadcast. If you were not interested in watching the proceedings though, you were out of luck. Walkways would open up for pedestrian traffic during commercial breaks, or when they "threw it" to Disneyland. Now that it is taped, Christmas Day is just about business as usual on Main Street. Still, when we return from our Christmas trips, folks we know are positive that they saw us on TV when they watched the parade.
Originally Posted By Labuda "Well, I suppose things could have changed since I worked there but back in my day it was in at Main Street and out at Frontierland." It *has* changed, yeah. The afterbnoon snow globe parade starts down in Frontierland and ends on Main St. When there are tow shows of the evening parade, the first one starts in Frontierland and the second starts on Main St.
Originally Posted By danyoung >Perhaps I am just too naive... but I was really under the impression that the christmas day special was live...< If you believed that, this'll blow your mind! Y'know those new year's eve shows that take place in New York, but then they cut to places around the country? A bunch of these remotes are pre-recorded, as well. I used to work at a huge club in Ft. Worth called Billy Bob's. CBS would come in in early December and set up a fake NYE, complete with decorations, confetti and party hats. There would be a lot of starting and stopping, a lot of keeping the crowd motivated to look like they were really partying on NYE. During the show on 12/31, it really looked like they were going live everywhere!
Originally Posted By danyoung >When there are tow shows of the evening parade...< Is this when the float engines break down, and they have to be towed???
Originally Posted By wendebird FWIW, they were filming in DL & DCA on the weekend of 11/19-21 & my whole family got a great spot when they filmed Mercy Me doing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. (They evn leant us hats because they said we stood out) They also had my dh & dd sign a release for some other shots they took of them near Flik's Fun Fair. I can't wait to see if we made the cut.
