Day two of filming for the 2013 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade – Photos/Video

Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil patrick harris

by Banks Lee

The first full weekend of December each year brings us the filming for the annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC. We were there for the second day, and have some photos and video to share.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade main street
Morning of day two for the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade filming. The audience has lined up on Main Street U.S.A. for the filming of the opening performance and parade.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil patrick harris performance
First up for the day was filming the big opening musical number with this year’s host Neil Patrick Harris.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil patrick harris rehearsal
The performance involved many Disney characters, dancers, and entertainers filling up all of Main Street. Even some of the Broadway cast of Newsies were there.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade nph family
Neil’s husband and daughter were there to give him support.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade confetti main street
The finale of the opening musical number involved lots of confetti and fireworks down Main Street.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade custodial
After the confetti went off, the Magic Kingdom custodial team “swept” into action to clean up as much confetti off the street as possible.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade nca nda
It’s a tradition for many recent years to have a performance from the National Cheerleaders Association and National Dance Alliance teams.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil host
For most of the parade portion, Neil Patrick Harris stood on the host platform overlooking Main Street from Town Square.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil newsies
For some shots, Neil went to the streets with the audience. Here he talks about the cast of Newsies.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade characters
Lots of characters came out for some opening tease shots, including Doc McStuffins, who made her Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade debut.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade mickey minnie
Mickey, Minnie, and Duffy kicked off the parade portion of the filming.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade anna elsa frozen
Anna and Elsa from the new film “Frozen” made their Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade debut.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade huey dewey louie
Donald Duck’s nephews Huey, Dewey & Louie made a rare appearance for the parade filming.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade toy soldiers
A tradition every year is to include the marching toy soldiers.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade star wars
With Santa Claus appearing in Disneyland for the parade this year, Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers helped fill the void.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade darth vader
It was quite a funny sight seeing Darth Vader in Santa’s sleigh.

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Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade neil react
Neil reacting to Vader as Santa’s replacement.

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The 2013 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade will air Christmas Day on ABC. Check your local listings for showtimes. Below you can see our video highlights from the first and second days of filming:

Highlights from day two of filming for the 2013 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade
Highlights from day one of filming for the 2013 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade
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6 Comments

  1. Just wondering if they are done filming? The crowds were terrible yesterday and we could not enjoy Main Street, also there was no tree in the town square. We were stuck on the train for 40 minutes at one point too for filming – it was a disappointing day at the MK! Hopefully today will be better! Thanks for your reporting!

  2. I was there on Saturday and saw the filming. It was fun. What is the name of the song that they are singing in the opening number of the first video?

  3. We were there this past weekend and at Hollywood Studios on Sunday. A crew appeared out of no where in front of the big hat / stage as we were hanging out eating an ice-cream. They then rolled out a red carpet, grabbed a couple kids (my daughter included) and taught them a quick dance. Pluto, chip and dale appeared, and Mariah Carey Christmas music came out of no where. Someone was “filming” (she had a camera) and people were told to keep out of the shot. Was this for real? Would it possibly be part of the taping of the parade? I recall in past years watching the parade they showed Hollywood Studios….thanks!