The Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade is an American television special that airs on Christmas Day annually on ABC, airing live and taped, primarily inside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, approximately one month prior to Christmas Day.
Past shows have included segments from the three other Walt Disney World theme parks (Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom), water parks and other entertainment areas, as well as the original Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and all the overseas Disney parks - Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. Other segments of the annual broadcast included Walt Disney Studios, Disney Adventures, Disney Institute and Disney Cruise Line. The program has aired annually since 1983, except for 2000, when Disney aired Walt Disney World 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, a Santa tracking special featuring parade excerpts that aired in primetime on Christmas Eve.
Description The parade goes down Main Street, U.S.A. It features appearances of Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto, Scrooge McDuck, and Chip 'n' Dale, as well as floats featuring celebrities, musical performances, marching bands from various schools and community groups across the US, and highlights of events and properties at Disney theme parks and other Disney productions, in addition to those of the other components of the Walt Disney group (like Star Wars, Marvel Studios and Pixar) that are featured in the event. Like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, it concludes with the arrival of Santa Claus and one of the most anticipated highlights every year is seeing Walt Disney's iconic Babes in Toyland soldiers from the 1961 film.
Currently, most of the program is taped in November (in the 2000s, even until early December) for broadcast on Christmas Day. However, until the early 1990s, the parade was broadcast live on Christmas Day on CBS, with whom Disney had partnered for Thanksgiving and New Year celebrations as well. In 1996, the program moved to ABC after Disney bought the network through its acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC that year. The parade continued to broadcast live on ABC on Christmas Day with another show recorded two days earlier for international use and/or as a back-up in case of weather issues.
The recorded segments of the parade show feature highlights of the activities through the Walt Disney Company including motion pictures, television, home entertainment and streaming, music, cruises, world tours, and the newest attractions and resort hotels slated for future launches in its various resort locations in the United States and around the world.
Starting in 2016, the Disney/ABC family of networks have aired companion specials in the weeks leading up to the parade. That year, The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration and Disney Parks Descendants Magical Holiday Celebration aired November 24 on ABC and November 25 on Disney Channel respectively, featuring many of the same personalities as the Christmas parade, tying into the Descendants TV-movie franchise. Some segments and performances in that year's Christmas parade were even recycled from the two earlier specials. The following year, Freeform announced that they would not only air the second Magical Holiday Celebration after its original airing on ABC, but premiere a new hour-long special entitled Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic, which goes behind the scenes of the Disney parks' holiday festivities. This move coincides with the channel's popular 25 Days of Christmas event expanding to many of the other Disney-owned networks. The Disney Channel special from the parks, now titled Disney Parks Presents a Disney Channel Holiday Celebration, also returned for the 2017 holiday season.25 Days of Christmas Now on Multiple Networks of Disney|ABC; Winsanity Returns to GSN To reflect the huge part played in the production of the event, beginning in the parade of 2017, the prerecorded holiday greetings that air during the broadcast have been made not just by talents from both Walt Disney Pictures and the Disney Channel and the online streaming service Disney+, but also from the ABC Network, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, the Muppets and other entities owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company in the United States and around the world. Usually, the parade opens with the opening message from the CEO of Walt Disney welcoming television viewers to the broadcast, this was a tradition that began in 2002.
The special has been carried by the American Forces Network. Telemundo has aired Spanish-language versions of the special under the titles Desfile de Navidad Disney, (Feliz) Navidad Disney, and Navidad Mágica Disney, which typically feature Latin musicians. Until 2018, the special was also simulcast by CBC Television in Canada.
The 2005 edition of the parade won Harborlight Entertainment and ABC the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special.
History
Walt Disney himself presented the first holiday parade from Disneyland Park in 1962 on the NBC network as an episode of his weekly anthology series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color entitled "Holiday Time at Disneyland." This was also the television parade debut of the Babes in Toyland soldiers, replicated exactly from the 1961 Disney musical feature, The soldiers, later seen in Mary Poppins, continue to be highly recognizable symbols of Disney Parks holiday parades and shows.
Walt Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade began on the ABC network 1983 with Joan Lunden as the first (and longest-running to date) host and Mike Douglas as co-host. Alan Thicke later replaced Douglas, and Regis Philbin was later added as an on-street interviewer. In 1991, the first year there was a parade from both Magic Kingdom Park and (then) Disney-MGM Studios, Philbin and Lunden began a five-year run as co-hosts, before both were replaced by a series of rotating hosts for the next four years. Over time, the Disneyland Park in California gained more prominence, going from segments to parade coverage.
After experimenting with airing the parade in primetime in 1999, the parade was replaced by Walt Disney World 'Twas The Night Before Christmas in 2000, which aired on Christmas Eve in the same timeslot. While parade footage was seen in excerpts, the special served to track Santa Claus' voyage, a'la NORAD Tracks Santa as he made his way to Walt Disney World, with the repertory cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway as hosts. The parade returned as a Christmas morning special in 2001, with Philbin returning as co-host, now alongside his colleague Kelly Ripa from Live with Regis and Kelly.
Over the years, the program has gone through a number of name changes. During the 1980s and 1990s, the program was known as The Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade. The program's name was then changed to Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade. From 2009 through 2013, the program was referred to as the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade. For a few years after that, the program's name would change on a yearly basis, being known as Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration in 2014, Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration in 2015, Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration in 2016 and 2017, and finally Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade in 2018 and 2019.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the 2020 edition (branded as the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Celebration) was stated by ABC to have been "reimagined", with plans to include highlights from past editions among other features. A limited in person parade would return in 2021.
The parade celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2008. The 2023 ruby jubilee celebrations also marked one final event in a year long celebration of the Walt Disney Centennial celebrations marked by the wider Walt Disney group of companies, titled Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Celebration.
Hosts and entertainers
Announcer Original announcer, Dick Tufeld; Joe Hursh, current voice of Walt Disney World 1983 Hosts Joan Lunden & Mike Douglas. Carol Lawrence promotes Disney's World Showcase Program at the EPCOT Center 1984 Hosts Joan Lunden; Bruce Jenner & Regis Philbin 1985 Hosts Joan Lunden and Ben Vereen; on-street interviewer Regis Philbin. Regis Philbin previews The Living Seas at EPCOT Center and Ben Vereen previews Captain EO. Ben Vereen sings Go Tell It on the Mountain. Special holiday messages from US President Ronald Reagan, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, as well as from World Showcase Cast Members from France, China, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco and Japan. 1986 Hosts Ben Vereen; Joan Lunden; & Regis Philbin 1987 Host Alan Thicke; Joan Lunden; & Regis Philbin; portions of the parade were aired live. 1988 Hosts Alan Thicke; Joan Lunden; & Regis Philbin at Walt Disney World, and Sarah Purcell & Scott Valentine at Disneyland. 1989 Hosts Alan Thicke; Joan Lunden; Regis Philbin; & Kermit the Frog at Walt Disney World, Joanna Kerns; & Marc Price at Disneyland 1990 Hosts Alan Thicke, Joan Lunden and Regis Philbin at Walt Disney World and Sarah Purcell at Disneyland. Entertainers: Christa Collins; Amy Grant; Lee Greenwood; & Jaleel White 1991 Hosts Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden; featuring Mayim Bialik, Entertainers: Lee Greenwood; & Sandi Patti; This was the first year there were two Walt Disney World parades: the Surprise Celebration Parade from Magic Kingdom Park and the Very Merry Christmas Parade (just for the broadcast) from (then) Disney-MGM Studios, in addition to Disneyland and coverage of international celebrations. It was also the first year Regis Philbin moved from on-the-spot interviews to the co-host position with Joan Lunden. 1992 Hosts Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden; Co-Hosts Ed McMahon, & John Davidson, featuring Jodi Benson, Cheech Marin, Betty White, Earl Hindman, Leanza Cornett, Richard Karn, The Great Gonzo 1993 Hosts Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden; on-street interviewer Robby Benson. The parade was broadcast live. Appearances by Kathie Lee Gifford, John Davidson & Bill Nye the Science Guy. Reading of The Night Before Christmas by President Bill Clinton. Announcer: Dick Tufeld. 1994 Hosts Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden; featuring Margaret Cho, Nancy Kerrigan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. 1995 Hosts Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden; featuring Richard White, Jodi Benson, Brad Kane, Brianne Leary, J.D. Roth and Ben Savage & Rider Strong; portions of the parade were aired live. 1996 Hosts Jerry Van Dyke and Suzanne Somers; entertainment by Gary Beach, Brianne Leary, Sandi Patti, J.D. Roth, Ernie Sabella, and Samuel E. Wright. Brianne Leary goes backstage on the production of 101 Dalmatians. 1997 Hosts Melissa Joan Hart and Ben Savage. Entertainment by Jodi Benson, Harlem Globetrotters, Downtown Julie Brown, Ernie Sabella, Paige O'Hara, and the Backstreet Boys. A Magical Walt Disney World Christmas. 1998 Hosts Caroline Rhea and Richard Kind. Entertainment by Justin Cooper, Wayne Brady, *NSYNC, Martina Mcbride, and Donny Osmond. 1999 Hosts Mitchell Ryan and Susan Sullivan; co-host Wayne Brady; performances by *NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Harry Connick, Jr., SHeDAISY, & James Ingram. 2000 (Walt Disney World 'Twas The Night Before Christmas) Hosts Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, and Ryan Stiles; co-host Frankie Muniz; performances by 98 Degrees, *NSYNC, Billy Gilman, SHeDAISY, Jessica Simpson, and Monica. 2001 Hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa; co-host Wayne Brady; performances by Aaron Carter, Charlotte Church, Mandy Moore, Baha Men, Aaron Tippin, City High,