In Case You Missed It..

Every year for the past 26 years, Americans have watched the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade on ABC. I know it has become a tradition in my family. We all watch the parade, then talk about it with other family members at my Grandmother's Christmas dinner, later in the day.

My absolute favorite parade was in 2005. Of course this was back during the Happiest Celebration on Earth and was the first time that I can remember where not only Walt Disney World was involved, but also Disneyland and all of the other Disney parks around the world. They all joined together in the finale and pulled off a fantastic show. Every year since, Disneyland has always been featured.

However, after 2005, the parade became less and less of a parade and more and more of a "Disney Channel Invades the Parks" with endless concerts and whatever with the latest goons from the "UnDisney Channel". Then on top of that, it was like watching 2 hours of an endless Disney Commercial. Don't get me wrong... I understand that essentially that is the reason why the Parade is broadcast, but come on, they don't have to do it in such an obvious way. By last year's parade, I had pretty much given up on this tradition, as I was more irritated than anything by the time it was over.

Things changed this year. The Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, though still maintaining a slight commercial feel, managed to keep my interest. Yes, the damn Jonas Brothers still graced us with an appearance, and Regis was missing due to his surgery just prior to tapping (which is a disappointment because he is needed to counter Kelly's personality) but all in all Disney did a great job with it. They actually showed the parade this year, had some pretty decent talent, and remained focused on the Theme Parks, rather than pushing the Disney Channel or upcoming Disney movies.

I believe that this year's parade was a success. So Kudos to Disney for turning this Christmas tradition around and on a job well done!