1989 Holiday Parade with Ray | Listener Fav from the Vault
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, however you spend your holiday season…we always try to keep your holiday season full of lulls even when we take a break. So, this is a piece of bonus content. It’s a Disney holiday parade. We put it out as bonus content a couple years ago. It’s a very…it’s a yearly tradition where we look at these older parades and kinda talk about it. So, it’ll be fun. It’ll be meandering. If you like this kind of stuff, it’s all on Sleep With Me+, and the people that support the show on Sleep With Me+ enable us to make this bonus content, and then, yeah, put it out. So, this is kind of a little bit as a sampler here. But I hope you’re having a good season. I know it’s not sleepy for everybody, so, that’s why we…intead of just taking a total break, we make sure there’s still stuff to listen to, because no matter what time of the year, your sleep matters. So, here’s Scoots from the past to take you off to dreamland.
INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. This episode’s gonna be a little bit different 'cause it’s gonna be my neighbor Ray coming in, and Ray will set up the parade briefly, and then Ray will…so, Ray will set up the parade, maybe introduce himself, and then do…then we’ll have some support, and then Ray…then Ray will talk about the parade. All told, it’ll be about an hour, and it’s the first time…this is a episode from a few years ago, I think 2021, maybe.
This is something…this is the kind of bonus content we put out over Subscriber Winter and Subscriber Summer, 'cause it’s stuff we can play around with. But this one was so enjoyed, I said, let’s just put it out over the holiday season so people can enjoy it. So, just in case you need something on this…I don't know when the long…every…well, every…sometimes it’s seasonally. Every night feels long, huh? But I’ll be here to keep you company. That’s why we keep putting stuff out in some manner, to keep you company, 'cause you still deserve a good night's sleep. So, yeah, without further ado, I’m gonna turn things over to my neighbor Ray, and I hope you’re having a good holiday season, and thanks so much for listening to the show, everybody.
Hello, hello, hello, everybody. This is your friend Ray here in your ears here, and happy holiday season. However you and yours celebrate the holiday season, Ray’s here to do a little celebrating with all of yous. Now, this one is a blast from the past, and this is the idea Scooter and I have had for a while now. I’m not sure if it’s…Scooter came up with this idea. I don't even know anymore, you know, with the past few years. In 2019, 2020 he told me, Ray, what do you think about this idea? I said, Scooter, I like it, but…I needed a little theme park break over the past…until I felt more comfortable. This is where the beauty of archived audio and media that everybody can access, ideally, freely or with commercials or paid…but you could have access to it. It’s not just lost.
I’m not confident this will be around forever, but I’m so happy it was available to us now. I’ve had to hold off on Scooter downloading all of these, because he says, well, Ray, what if they take them down? What are we gonna do? I say, Scooter, we’ll just deal with it when that happens. Try to…why don’t we just enjoy it? So, we’ve watched a few of these, and I won't…I’ll link to it, but…Scooter will link to it. Oh, by the way, so good…thank you so much for supporting the show. This is a little gift from Scooter. I forgot he told me to mention that. So, normally, in 20…last year, 2021, or the end of this year, we tried to figure out ways to get more $20-patrons. We did this Ray level, and it did not really work out as Scooter had hoped. But I think there’s just a limited number of people in a position to be a $20-a-month patron.
But we did not…we wanted to keep making these episodes 'cause we enjoy them and the listeners enjoy them. Scooter said, Ray, we gotta figure this out. We gotta crack the code. ‘Cause originally we were gonna do a $50 or $100 Ray level and hope that would support…the number of people would come that would say, okay, let’s make this. Then Scooter tried around a few other things, 'cause making Sleep With Me is a bit like pushing a iceberg around, where once…it’s really hard to get any…get it going anywhere, and once you do…I don't know, Scoot. That’s an analogy Scooter and I were talking about. It doesn't quite do it. Plus, we gotta get into this show. But so, now Scooter’s idea is…Ray, we gotta get back to promotion by…attraction promotion. What attracts…promotion by attraction.
Instead of trying to figure out what cannot…what can I do to get the patrons to do something, let’s just do it and then we’ll see who comes along for the ride. So, I know this one…I think it’s going out to every patron, but if you want more content, stay participatory, but…because Scooter said in 2022, $5-patrons, you’ll probably be able to vote, and you gotta vote or become a annual patron to participate, and then everyone will get access to probably all-intro episodes or some other stuff. Then $10-patrons, if you vote by becoming a annual patron or staying engaged but particularly those annual patrons, then you’ll get more Ray episodes or other episodes. Then $20-patrons, you’re gonna keep getting bonus stuff, but if you become a annual patron, that’s terrific, too. You’ll get to vote on that, as well.
But so, that’s exciting stuff that we’re gonna be doing. We’re gonna keep doing bonus stuff. Now, Scooter said maybe that…we’ll figure out a way…eventually this stuff will make a way to the podcast feed in the end. Because Scooter said, well, if we’re just trying to do exclusives…so, anyway, Scooter’s trying to be creative but be positively creative instead of overthinking-creative. This was one of his great ideas here, which is…well, oh boy, I did not load it up, so give me one second here. Okay, so, it’s going now, and it is the…what is it? The 1989 Walt Disney World Christmas Parade. Now, this is just gonna be your friend Ray running through the tape here on the YouTube. The reason…now, we…this was interesting. So, we watched a lot of these historical ones one holiday season.
I don't know…again, I’m not sure what year it was. Scooter said, I don't even think I watched these as a kid, but maybe I did, and…but he doesn't have a real good memory of it. But…and it’s changed over the years, and even between 1988 and 1989, it changed a little bit. It kinda puts Ray in a position, because maybe we’ll do 1988 next year…because in 1988 to 1989, they changed the parade around. It’s a new parade for 1989. But 1989 was the closest to when Scooter would go to the theme park, we suspect…that he’s still not sure if he went in 1989 or 1990 for his first time to Disney World. So…'cause, I mean, watching this, you say, Scooter did not go before this, I don't think. But he may have, he may have.
But…no, this was right around when Scooter had gone, because we see the…so, this…so, we’re gonna run through the parade. Oh, but I was saying…I don't know. So, some of the other ones I saw, I don't know what years they were. So…but I know we saw a lot of 1988. One thing I really liked about 1988 was they have a lot of…I want to call them set pieces, but that’s not the correct word. They have produced pieces, dance numbers. So, there’s a live parade with taped segments, right? That’s still what they do now, but it’s a little bit too polished now. But back then, they had these big numbers. That’s what I was trying to say, these big numbers that were produced ahead of time. So, they had multiple segments with dancing and singing.
Now, there’s one in here…well, there’s two, there’s two, I guess…well, one’s with a celebrity. But the other one was just cast members, maybe performing cast members, and maybe performers they hired. Those were really fun, and I saw other ones. I said, whoa, boy, this is impressive. We don’t have any closed captioning, so what we’ll do is we’ll do the usual where we go through Scooter’s notes and kinda play the video at the same time. Let me get this thing going here. Let’s see here, Ray…get it going. We’ll get it going at 1.5…okay. So, it’s 1989. The people working there…Joan Lunden and Alan Thicke, and Regis in the audience. Regis…now, a lot of them are watching from another parade area now, but really good stuff.
Joan and Alan also did 1988, so I was familiar with the style, 'cause we watched them right in a row. But then, now the 1989 one I’ve seen quite a few times. It’s opens with some shots of the theme parks; Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot, Goofy…oh, that was one thing, and there’s cuts from other things, but they have Goofy in a boat, the boat that Scooter wanted to go through for Father’s Day, with a Christmas tree in the boat. Mickey and Minnie come out of Mickey’s house in Mickey Birthday Land there, and then we see a lot of it is taken from the Macy’s parade. They do a lot of wipes. They do a lot of teasing of the next segments. I think Mark Price was in the parade last year, but we didn’t make it 'cause we had to stop watching. We didn’t watch the whole 1988 parade.
Oh, and then we see segments…Goofy in a golf cart. So, I think they probably reused stuff…Mickey Mouse Club…and then they show some elves at Typhoon Lagoon. They’re…gonna be Kermit in a sleigh singing, and previews. Obviously this is a marketing parade, and this one was very…I wonder if they were contractually obligated to…I mean, it was a parade, so they show the whole parade. There’s also a lot of greenery at the Magic Kingdom, including in the Hub. I don't know if that amount of greenery has always been…is there now. That was also on my list to do that. Typhoon Lagoon, Mickey Mouse, dressed up, whole group, Kermit, rhino and jambis…Mark Price, Whitney Kershaw from Major Dad, Goofy on a golf cart, Mickey Mouse Club, Kermit, annual…oh, Disneyland’s annual anniversary, 35th anniversary.
Wow parade…Magic Kingdom, lots of green…U of F Gators, they’re marching now, the marching band. They do Jingle Bells, Dashing Through the Snow, and they had everything; flag-bearers, baton-twirlings…down Main Street, USA. Jingle Bells…it was a overcast day, I think, when they were filming the parade. Then they do a comedy bit where Alec…Alan Thicke is brushing a Santa statue’s beard. Joan says, oh, Alan, cut it out there. Then they say, well, let’s get back before we go to this commercial. That’s the preview of the parade. We’re so excited to be here, as usual. He’s actually in character because he’s dressed…I think that was the same kind of outfit his character wore on Growing Pains, was the sweater. I can't remember if he was a dentist or a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but he’s dressed as his character.
Santa’s beard…then we see an ad for Kissimmee, Saint Cloud…spods are very…Mickey’s like…live from where Anthony…Prince Regis…so, Regis goes into the crowd. He’s talking to the crowd. It’s a sunny day when Regis is talking. I don't know if this is a live segment. There’s a lot of interesting people. You think things change, but people have their own homemade shirts, matching shirts. Kermit’s in the crowd. It’s hard to tell if he’s wearing a sweater or a bath robe. I guess it’s a sweater. He looks very…like casual Kermit. Yeah, before I put…I was wondering if it was a bath robe. Now that I’m looking at it up close on an iPad, I say, no, that’s a…and it’s so good, such a good segment. Kermit’s in multiple segments here. Very funny.
Oh, Mike Teavee was there. When was that? There was someone that looked exactly…I know it doesn't fit in a timeline, but there was a kid there that looked like he was from Mike Teavee from Willy Wonka. Why, yes, Kermit…new horse and robe or sweater…sleepy birth…oh, the sleepy birthday…Smelly the Dwarf. Oh, Sleeping Beauty. There’s a lot of comedy, like I said, with Kermit. We’re gonna be at Disney MGM Studios…good jokes by Kermit, Regis says. But yeah, he says, oh, we’ve been working with Disney for a long time. We just got cut from the movies. Miss Piggy was supposed to be in one of them, and then, yeah, Gonzo was supposed to be Smelly the Dwarf. Then he says, bye, Kermit. Then we go to…the parade opens, the Walt…brand-new Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade.
Knights resplendent…and most of it…oh, we see Mickey, Minnie, and Joan Lunden’s daughters, Lindsay and June, Janey? I don't know, Joan’s kids, and Alan’s…this is when Prince Di and Charles were popular. So, he says…right around the wedding, maybe, even. He said, oh boy, it’s like Prince Di and Charles. One of Joan’s daughters is talking to Minnie while the…on camera, and Minnie even says to her, I don't know, sweetie pie. Then we see parade bank in gold…oh, then parade band with this gold, royal band. They have a lot of bands here, great…holy cow. Now, I’ll be honest, I haven't seen a Disney parade in a long time. Well, that’s not true; I saw the…well, I mean, on TV I guess I’ve seen…but this one is very…there’s a lot of marching bands, and this one is really good.
Then they have a royal…what is this from, Sleeping Beauty or something? I don't even know, but everybody’s shiny. Joan talks about how they have the largest costume wardrobe place in the world, there at Disney World. There’s dancers, yeah, costume department, glass carriage…Regis even gets to interview Cinderella. That’s Cinderella, Scooter. She says, oh, her name’s Ella. It’s a very short interview. She says, hi, Regis. He says, hi, Cinderella. Okay, let’s get on with the show. Pointless, Scooter put. Regis says, you’re really riding around in a thing there. You better get back to your ball. She says, okay, thanks, Regis. Sleeping Judy pal…Sleeping Beauty palace; there’s a ice palace, a crystal palace. I know that Agatha movie’s coming out, but that’s Agatha Harkness, Scooter. Oh, okay.
Set zoom on…oh, they do…they go back to the set after this parade segment, and then they zoom in on Alan. He says, soon, coming up, we’re gonna see some elves on vacation. But yeah, a lot of waving and dancing here in the parade. They got audience shots of kids waving, and it is a big difference from the previous parade, which was kind of like a hold-over from the early Walt Disney days. But again, these parades, I would say…well, I mean, I guess this is…they’re really doing it up for the cameras, but I’m saying, I don't know if they do this anymore, some of these segments. But Ray may be just pooh-poohing and pah-pahing. There’s a nice shot of Pleasure Island, those of you…oh, there’s the three fairy godmothers I saw.
They do this weird zoom on Alan — they’re doing it right now — where he sets up the next segment. He says, okay, Joan…now, a couple things bother me. He kept talking about Joan’s…he made a few comments about Joan that I wasn’t comfortable with. So, I don't know, but not in any overly, over-the-top way. I just said, why…who does that? But maybe they were friends. I don't know. Then we get…we come back from a commercial. There’s a DuckTale. Scooter put ‘double exclamation point’. Duck…Deck the Halls. So, it’s the DuckTales and they’re dancing with snow people, and they do a whole dance. Duckberg, USA…a launch pad’s there…a bunch of them, a bunch of the ducks; Scrooge duck…and they really…they do a whole dance number.
Really well done, and they go into Dashing Through the Snow, Jingle Bells, then dancing…and then they have to get back on the float. Then there’s a Pinocchio float, more daring tradition…I think it was more dancing, but…Scooter was saying…I don't know. But then we go…so, you see all of Pinocchio, everybody’s dancing…another number. Pinocchio doesn't get off the float, but there’s other team members that are there. They go back to the studio and Alan says, well, I’m gonna do the Star Tours here, Disney MGM. Then he goes and gets in line, and Goofy and Donald are there, and Alan’s interacting with…now, Ray’s gotta do a little commentary here. So, I gotta do a little commentary.
So, here’s the thing, Disney; so, I went…you go on Star Tours, right, and I don't know if this was…so, Alan interacts with some of the audio animatronics. Now, they may have been on the sound loop, and Alan’s kinda playing a buffoon on vacation a little bit. But here’s the thing; so, if you go in the Star Tours queue in Disneyland or Disney World, do me a favor if you’re one of the Disney executives. Do this, please, for the love of all that is good in theme park world. So, you go there; you wait in line, right? Now, there’s…now, if you’ve been on the line before, you might…but if it’s your first time, you say, well, this is entertaining. If I gotta wait in line, at least I’m being slightly entertained. Now go wait in line for the Millennium Falcon ride, which is more or less, no offense, a pretty similar ride.
You just press buttons and you don’t got as good a view. But if you wait in that line, the whole line, I’m saying…you don’t have to wait for four hours, but if you wait forty-five minutes for each ride…well, Star Tours…just wait fifteen minutes. But you’re waiting in a similar queue, but there’s no one there at the Millennium Falcon. It’s a similar kind of set, like, whatever, spaceship repair areas, but in the Millennium Falcon, everybody went on break. There’s no animatronics. There’s a couple announcements. I’m not…Ray was not happy. I said, what happened here? You couldn't have any kind of animatronics at all? You just have a empty…? It’s like we’re walking through a half-finished set or something. So, I don't know, I just had to say that. So, Alan goes to go on Star Tours, right? It’s a whole bit.
It’s a new ride in Disney World. He’s excited. It’s very funny with the droids. Alan’s joking. Then he goes on the ride. Now, if you’ve ever seen the behind-the-scenes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, they do that kind of thing where they pretend they ride the ride. Alan does not have a seatbelt on, so they didn’t really ride it. I mean, I’m sure he did, but they do the thing where they’re pretending the thing’s moving, you know? Then they move the camera or they’re moving the film and adding in special effects like you’re on the ride. So, leaning to the right, leaning to the left. I don't know. It was somewhat funny, but…and then he kind of is sitting there afterwards, all out of it.
Now, Scooter was also a little bit shocked to learn that…I think Alan in this parade and Scooter are the same age in their points in life, and that was a little bit humbling to Scooter. But yeah, they go in…I don't even think they’re actually in the ride, really. I think they’re in a…I don't know. But anyway, they go to go on the ride. It’s very entertaining, and that’s it. Battle Balls…balls…guy in blue shirt. Oh, this one…camp up elves, Regis…Chip and Dale…huh, my notes here are not perfect. Regis…blue…battle blue…bills…oh, bills? Oh, someone from Buffalo? There’s a guy in a blue shirt that he made himself that says stuff, and then he says…they say, who is the person you want to be the Person of the Century or the Millennium? They were having a vote for the millennium. He says Babe Ruth.
Then he asked another kid who can't think of an answer. He says, Babe Ruth, his grandson or something. Then they say, Walt Disney. Then they have a segment with Michael Eisner introducing the Person of the Millennium, and they scroll through the list. We don’t really…I’m not covering that, 'cause it’s not part of the parade. Oh, Buffalo Bill’s Ball. I want to see what this guy’s shirt says, though. Oh, it’s not in…New Hampshire…oh, we’ll get it. They show him again, hopefully. But he has a shirt with one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight lines. He has also…it’s cold this day, so, he only has a shirt on. A lot of people have winter coats and hats on. So, anyway, Babe Ruth…so, Eisner says, hey, vote for this person for this Person of the Century.
Now, we don’t even know who won, because…I don't know, not my…beyond my pay grade, you know? Then the calliope comes through. I wonder if it’s run…the music plays when the wheels turn. Is that how a calliope works? They say, it’s a rough ride. Walt Disney bought this thing. I would like to hear that and see it in the parade. Then we have Snow…is that Snow White and the dwarves? There’s a recycled joke every time there’s a group of Disney characters that have multiple names. Alan doesn't know them. They sing Frosty with the lyrics on the screen so you could sing along. Now, Ray would say, if you don’t know the lyrics to Frosty the Snowman, then the lyrics are there on the screen for you to follow. Long-form Frosty with lyrics, dwarves and snow-people dancing…Haul Out the Holly is the next song.
Later in the parade, around this point, we pause…oh, there’s Sleepy. He’s sleeping under a blanket. We did pause it…that all the floats are singing the same loop, maybe, 'cause they sing out, Haul Out the Holly, and that’s the Winnie the Pooh float, with Eeyore, Pooh, a holly jolly kid…oh, a kid picks his nose. We saw a kid picking his nose. So, that’s how you know it’s a live parade. There’s dancing trees, there’s a tree…oh, there’s also a TARDIS. We see Tigger, Kanga…and I said, is that the daughter…Pooh’s house or a TARDIS? I’m pretty sure it was a TARDIS. But everybody’s dancing a lot. Maybe they said, make sure…we don’t dance like this on regular parades, but for this one, we do. There’s even some tumbling. Oh, we need a little Christmas right this very moment.
Santa’s elves…swirl…surf…we’re on vacation. So, this one was good. Now, we don’t have closed captioning, but they go to a produced segment at Typhoon Lagoon, of these elves with characters dancing in multiple locations. They’re singing a song about…on Christmas Day, Santa goes on a break. A little bit of a surf-rock feel to it, and really well done. There’s lines of dancers. They’re in the water, they’re going down waterslides, they’re in the stores. Then we see a couple elves later in the parade, and Mickey and Minnie are there, Santa Claus is there. But really, I’m talking about fifteen, twenty different set-ups, maybe even more. I don't know, maybe Ray’s just been shaken a little. I say, would Disney actually pay for this nowadays? They say, oh, no…I mean, they’d say, well, CBS, you pay for it, or whoever.
But they say, well, I don't know if we need this. But even the elves…at one point there’s a overhead shot of them making letters with their bodies, and really…they do…somebody does the Mashed Potato…I think they sang. Goofy also…a little strange; Goofy was in one of those…a hammock with two young ladies. Yeah, there’s even dancing reindeer, there’s scuba diving and scuba…snorkeling elves, elves going down water slides. So, I wish they had one more of these segments, or…this song was not catchy. Now, there was a catchy song later with Whitney Kershaw, but it wasn’t a holiday song. I love Minnie…oh, Mickey made a Santa out of that. Lots of shots of dancing elves, scuba elf, reindeer…okay, welcome back. Kermit’s gonna be going down soon.
Then they do a river boat float, the S.S. Disney, another whole band, an entire band playing music. Donald and Daisy are on this one. It’s like a multi-stage float, and it has a paddle wheel, it had a grand piano, which I could not believe. Then the Country Bears come, and this is a whole ‘nother production. Like, each one of these floats was a whole production. There’s trees clapping…the bears are humungous. The Country Bears on this float are triple or double-size normal. Tree clapping…I don't know if that was it, but the bears are huge, holy cow, and they have so much energy. At some point there’s clog…oh yeah, there’s cloggers next, lots of dancers, and then…so, there’s cloggers dancing, then there’s scarecrows dancing with the cloggers, then there’s…what do you call that? What do you call that?
Square-dancing going on…and I don't know if these were volunteers or paid people, 'cause there was a lot of different ages of people. Then they start square-dancing with the audience members. Now, this we used to see at the Posadas celebration in Disneyland. I’ve seen people dance with the guests in 2018, I believe, and that was also very nice. So, they have cloggers, lots of dancers, scarecrows, audience, dancers, lots of ages…best seat in the house, Alan says. Then we go to a segment of Ariel and the Little Mermaid, which we’ll skip. Oh no, is this the float? Oh, Ariel, Little Mermaid float…no, with Sebastian and the little…the fish…whoever the fish was. Prince Eric’s on there.
Carbon cabana…Eric, Ursula, and I don't even know if the movie was out, but lots of hand-dancing, because not everybody was…oh, but they…yeah, I guess they do have a segment with the Little Mermaid first, a little teaser segment. So, I don't know if it was coming out. Oh, Glen Keane; that’s one of Ken…Scooter’s brother’s heroes there. But yeah, so, we get the Little Mermaid, lots of hand-dancing, then we go to MGM Studios. Regis, lots of coats on…I don't think this was in MGM Studio, though. Regis…maybe that was a over-the-head shot. Oh, whoever’s playing Prince Eric has on…has a looking glass or whatever those things are called…spyglass. Again, a lot of trees. I don't know if they cut down the trees, but then Regis is interviewing people. There’s lots of coats. He says, what’s your favorite ride?
Everybody says Space Mountain, which…Regis gets in even one person’s face, and he just keeps going. Regis doesn't like it. He said, why didn’t anybody say the friggin’ carousel over here? But then someone says, Thunder Mountain. Ray says, any mountain will do. Not Ray; Regis. Oh, that young lady has on a acid-washed jean coat, and Regis kinda…a lot of jean jackets. I guess this was the eighties, eh? Keep going. Any mountain will do. Oh boy, then we get more Disney Afternoon. They’re singing the Toyland song. We’ve got Gadget from the Disney Afternoon, we’ve got Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers…so, Chip and Dale…it’s pulled…the float is pulled by a tiny train. Also, Gadget has a seatbelt on, which is good, because she…oh, she’s dancing in a floating seat, but it’s pulled by a tiny train that could, I guess.
There’s also dancing monkeys, Raggedy Ann and Andy, teddy bears, and then the Gummi Bears, yummy gummy, and other bears. That was the show Scooter really liked. I don't think that was on Disney Afternoon. I think it was on Sunday or Saturday mornings. Gummi Bears bouncing here and there and everywhere, a wild adventure beyond compare; those were the Gummi Bears. Toy factory…body…here’s Joan…oh, and then we go to an…Body Wars. Joan…now, Alan went on Star Tours. Now Joan’s gonna go on the same ride, Body Wars, with some kids, which she did in the last parade, too, which is cute. She does a segment. She’s much more interactive with the children. So, she goes on this Wonders of Life. This ride isn't there.
Scooter liked this ride. I think this was where…this was this archetypal ride for suspending his disbelief in theme parks. But she tells the kids, hold out your hands. We’re gonna be miniaturized. Then they do an effect where it looks like it. Then they do the same thing as on Star Tours; they pretend to ride it, then they go back to the set, and Joan’s been shrunk, and Alan says, oh no, Joan, you’ve been shrunk. Welcome back. Epcot was very green. They did a overhead shot there. Something Jeff…northern Canada…my boys. Welcome back. Oh, they say, who do you want to send love to? She says, my mom, my brother Jeff…and then Alan says, my family in northern Canada, my boys back in Los Angeles…Bethlehem and coachmen calling…time…Deck the Halls. I don't know what that is, Scooter. We’ll see.
Then Pluto, toy train with Roger Rabbit and Goofy…clowns, and toy…they’re dancing with Toyland, dancing with the audience, toy blocks…and then we go to the…Kermit at the MGM Studios. He says, yeah, we’re working on a show and a 3D movie. Kermit’s in…now, they really missed the opportunity to have Miss Piggy here, because Kermit’s in a sleigh with two singers. I say, okay, wait, I’m gonna watch here, 'cause Alan called Joan back, and now Joan’s been miniaturized. She grows back to normal, so they get to use a little special effect there. Alan gets to act all…oh, I said, where are they? Where’s this booth set up that they’re recording from? I don't know the answer to that question. We get a shot of Epcot looking very green, and then they say, hey, Kermit’s coming up soon.
But Kermit rides in the sleigh with two singers that are women. I say, Miss Piggy would not stand for that. The sleigh gets pulled by a Clydesdale, then they even have people in the audience singing, and you really get some good shots of Disney MGM Studios, multiple…again, multiple places and locations. Then at the end there’s lights and there’s snow, and they’re in the New York backlot on…that doesn't exist anymore at a entrance to a hotel. Kermit says, there’s no business like snow business. A really good segment. There’s a lot of birds flying around behind Alan and Joan, probably seagulls. Yep, going after people’s food, and a couple Christmas trees. Oh, USC…was that the USC band? Oh, no, no…Scooter…oh, that must have been Scooter’s notes. This is the Bethune Cookman College Marching Band.
Yeah, where’s that note that Scooter couldn't read there? Oh yeah, they’re playing Deck the Halls, like a little melody. So, that was an enjoyable segment, and it’s another really large band, a lot…oh boy, really doing good. Yeah, then we see a couple…Pluto, Roger Rabbit, Goofy, clowns…not everybody’s cup of tea. Then we get a shot of the MGM Earffel Tower with a Christmas hat on. Then Kermit sets everything up. He’s singing, kinda like with…I don't know who the Andrew's Sisters were. I forgot what that…but I say, are those the Andrew's Sisters or the Andrew's Sisters’ daughters? So, then Kermit starts moving. The kids are dancing as they film the segment. There’s other audience members singing, I mean, that are actually part of the show.
There’s someone leading the Clydesdale while Kermit also is…has his reins. We see Indiana Jones, we see the Brown Derby, we see the theatre, former great movie ride…yeah, we see the MGM Studios archway, and Kermit says, we’re gonna need a little snow and some holiday magic or something. I don't know. Let it snow, let it snow. We get some special-effect snow and light, twinkling lights, and then fake snow and dancers, a little bit like the movie White Christmas. Now Kermit’s dressed to the nines as they have dancing, and everybody’s really dressed in finery, and snow’s dumping on him. He got some in his mouth. Poor Kermit. But, I mean, if Miss Piggy was there, she would have karate-chopped multiple people. So, I think that’s the only thing I’m missing. She’d say, what is going on, frog? Hi-ya.
Scooter could do it better than I can. Okay, so, that’s the end of that one. We come back with Joan and Alan again. Welcome back. Oh, now they do a whole Disneyland segment. 35th year, TV wife…my TV wife, Joanna Kerns. By the way, this is recorded, they say, or it says it under there. They say, we got…we’re here with Whitney Kershaw…is gonna do a song. So, Whitney Kershaw from the show Major Dad, she does a segment. Now, this song was catchy. Now, I can't think of it right now, but I was singing it earlier. It’s very eighties, this video. But she sings a song called Come On, Disneyland, Don’t Let the Nineties Pass You By. Here Come the Nineties: Don’t Let Them Pass You By. I wish we had closed captioning. But she sings it.
Everybody’s dressed in very eighties clothes, but it really was a catchy song, 'cause it was about nothing but Disneyland and celebrating…here, you’re gonna be thirty-five. But, again, well-produced. You got audience members, multiple sequences with her dancing with dancers and characters and interacting with park people. There was even someone that looked like Danny DeVito in the audience dancing. Yeah, here goes the dancers. Oh boy, they’re really good. They’re matching and, wow, making a lot of moves, spinning…they got rolled-up layer…sleeves with multiple layers, people are kicking…Mary Poppins comes in. The audience is clapping. I don't know, I thought it was good, even though it’s not holiday-related and it was kind of like a blatant advertisement.
They did…I preferred this to them now doing the Disneyland parade. So, then we cut to Joanna Kerns. She’s up very high somewhere, like on a rooftop, and she’s setting the parade. We see the Christmas tree. She…let’s see. Oh, then she says, okay, let’s talk to Mark Price, Skippy from…now, Scooter and I had no idea who this was before we saw him. Even…we saw his picture, Scooter…this…‘cause I think he was in last year’s too. We said, Mark Price, Skippy…and I said, Scooter, what do you remember about Family Ties? ‘Cause they set it up like he was the star of the show. Scooter said, Michael J. Fox? Then, there’s other family members. I said, yeah, do you know who Skippy is? He said, well, there was that guy that was like a greaser that dated the sister. I said, no, that’s not Skippy, though. He was like Vince or something.
I said, I don't know who this Skippy is, or Mark Price. But then once you see him, you say, oh, okay, he’s like comedic relief. He is very high energy in a good way. I mean, probably…he also looked like one of Scooter’s friends when he was this age, a little bit, like his friend Kyle, Scooter said. But Mark Price really brings the energy. He does not leave anything on the ground. He really makes it fun, I guess a little bit like Regis, but a little bit more comedic and silly. So, he has awesome energy. He wants to be the first person to ride Splash Mountain, and he talks to the audience. Then they do this segment where he says, hey, kid, I’m gonna go ride Splash Mountain. Can you tell me about it? The kid does a Sleep With Me routine where he says, well, first you go there, and there’s some honey, and then there’s…you go up the hill.
But it was a comedy segment, 'cause then he goes, I’m gonna go ride it. Then the kid immediately cuts to like, okay, Joan, we’ll send it back to you. So, I don't know if he was an actor or he was an actual audience member that was just very talented, but the kid did a great job. So, he could take over Sleep With Me, though he’s probably…well, I bet you he’s probably the same age as Scooter. Then we see Christmas is tradition, Jones…no, Joanna says. I’m sorry. Then the USC marching band, then we have the Jungle Book come through with lots of characters from there, then Mary Poppins. Oh, also, Mark Price has on a really nice Disney sweater, which really looked good on him. Oh, celebrate, celebrate…now the song’s just going in my head…Disneyland.
That’s one…the song that Whitney Price was singing, Celebrate, Celebrate Disneyland. It’s a very Disney song, like The Simpsons…it’s not as…it’s catchy but not in a way Simpsons would parody it. Well, maybe they would. Thirty-five years young…they go down in a octave or something. They go, celebrate, celebrate Disneyland. Thirty-five years young. You go lower on that ‘celebrate, celebrate, Disneyland. Thirty-five years young’. I think that’s the chorus of the song. Okay, so, let’s see, Mark Price’s Christmas sweater…then we see a shot…he says, I’m gonna be first to ride this ride. Then we see shots of the crowd almost getting him, then we go…we see him on the ride. There’s also a B-roll and surf music. Then someone, it looks like, is holding Mark Price or something when they go down the hill.
I’m gonna watch it. Here he is. He’s really bringing it. Oh no, the…now the crowd’s gonna beat me to the ride. Oh, here I go, I’m going for it. Now we see the ride. We see him sitting, smiling, looking…we see him going up a hill smiling, B-roll, him looking at another thing, B-roll, him going down the hill and looking back, then the big hill. It looked like somebody was holding onto his shoulders or something. Yeah, it is. So, there’s also…something flies off, like a balloon or something. But someone’s holding onto him while he goes down the hill, like giving him a hug. Then they talk about the Parti-Gras is coming. I think they go to commercial first. Then they say, coming up next is Parti-Gras, the thirty-five-year party. There’s a giant, forty-foot Pluto that surprise…they say, we got a surprise for Mark, a forty-foot Pluto.
Then Mark says, holy cow, this is stupendous, elephantine. Then he’s on top of a building. Then Joanna brings us back to the parade. We have a Neverland…what was that called? Peter Pan in Neverland segment. There’s a clock in the crocodile, which we noticed, which was interesting there. Then we see the Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland segment of the parade, we got the cards, we got…Joanna says, make…notice she’s wearing…she has a flamingo for a thingamajig. Huh, they even have children actors here for the kids, whoever Peter Pan rescued, Wendy and the other kids. I forget who they are. Well, those aren't the Lost Boys, though. There’s Smee and Captain Hook, or Smee…is that Smee or Smeagol? Let’s see what else we got. Queen of Hearts, cos-member snob?
I don't know what that says. Flamingo…cast member snob? Double ex…question mark? Oh wow, there’s even pirates swinging around on the ship, Peter Pan…oh, Peter Pan wins the day. So, a really produced segment. Oh, a lot of dancing, hippos, gators…oh, they have a Fantasia segment to celebrate fifty years of Fantasia, then…oh, ostriches dancing with roller-skating snowflakes. That was cool. Second tier of a float…oh no, then there’s…on the second tier of the float, there’s ice-skating penguins and roller-skating snowflakes. The roller-skating snowflakes are in the audience. Oh, more dancing with the crowd, I think. Well, there’s Alice, there’s flowers, Mad Hatter, the rabbit, Alice’s house…oh, the caterpillar is a long, multi-segmented caterpillar with…what are those…? Butterfly dancers.
They’re doing a lot of swing…singing. Now, I think they used to have a different caterpillar dance that would dance around. This one is more of a train, like a automatic train or something. ‘Cause I thought at some point…there was one I saw where everybody…each segment of the caterpillar was a dancer. Oh, we just saw the teacups. Oh, they’re teasing the next part of the parade. Skating penguins, jam…oh, Joanna Kerns then later says, hey, you know what? I used to be…I worked at Disneyland as a backup dancer for all these bands. I was in bell-bottoms and a rainbow wig. Yeah. Oh, there’s even…yeah, so, right now on the screen, at least, is the dancing gators and hippos with…from Fantasia.
Then there’s a Walt Disney segment talking about Mickey and Disney, then we go back, and Mark, Joanna, and Peter Pan…? Is that what it says? Welcome back…Mickey Mouse Club. Okay, we’ll see how this goes with Mark and Joanna, but then they have a segment with this Mickey Mouse Club; 5,000 kids auditioned. Oh, there’s the roller-skating. They have white wigs on, too, roller-skating snowflakes. 5,000 kids auditioned for fourteen spots in this new cast of Mickey Mouse called…now, this was big for Scooter because he watched this. He was a fan of this particular cast. Now, the later cast had more famous people in it here. So, you all know about this, but this was the first cast of the new Mickey Mouse Club.
So, this is the one Scooter saw…that recording…that you watched him record an episode once. Scooter’s sister was a huge fan of this show, as well. She even went to see the band live, and I think this was your first…one of your first childhood crushes, I guess, for the…Scooter and his sister. Maybe his…I think his brother, too. Okay, but right now we got this Walt Disney segment running that Joanna set up. Walt kinda says, yeah, it all started with a mouse here, Mickey Mouse. Then he shows the plans for Disney World, then they kinda show how it’s developing. Or maybe it’s Disneyland. I don't know. I’m sorry. I think probably Disneyland, 'cause it’s the 35th anniversary. Yeah, thirty-five years of magic, Disneyland. Oh, then we have the end segment.
Joanna and Mark, Peter Pan, Captain Hook…Mark’s kind of…a little bit too much on this last segment, I would say, but I think it’s scripted and that he’s just doing a really good job with the material, because he does say, don’t forget about Regis. Then he says, everyone, let’s say ‘Merry Christmas’ all together. Then we see the monorail at Disneyland, then we get a preview of the Mickey Mouse Club. Again, the way they chose this song, this melody that the Mickey Mouse Club sings, almost all the kids got a little bit of a time to shine. A lot of these kids went on to some success, too. Scooter even saw…'cause Scooter had a crush on Brandy, I think he said, and she went on to star in…what do you call that? One of the soap operas.
But there was also a lot of kids…oh, and also, one of these kids was one of the ones that got on Scooter’s nerves when he was waiting for the…Scooter didn’t realize he was one of the cast members. He just thought he was a know-it-all, 'cause he was coming and talking to everybody, and Scooter didn’t know he was a cast member. But yeah, right now we have the set up, Chase, Albert, and another kid. I don't know who the other kid’s name is. Then they all run out and they all take turns singing and dancing. They’re dressed in nineties…eighties, nineties gear, but they still do a good job, and they do a whole, produced segment. Each kid gets a little bit of a solo, which was nice. They even do a little bit of…yeah.
Wow, some of the dancing…not every kid gets a solo, I guess, but a couple kids, they get a little dance solo if they didn’t get to sing. Yeah, and a couple kids…Scooter said, wow, those…he said, some of these kids are really talented, and not just singing, but some of the…he doesn't remember any of the comedy segments. Now they all sing together. Yeah, and they’re dancing. Oh, wow, very good, very good, and also good costuming, 'cause the colors of their outfits kinda play off one another as well. So, yeah, they do a number. I think that is how it almost comes to a close. But, yeah, do yourself a favor. If you want to connect to Scooter’s childhood, watch that there. Then the toy soldiers come, play real…the toy soldiers are playing real instruments, according to Alan or Joan, that they’re really playing real music.
Frodo, Merry, Rop, Dinepe…smart horses lounge band…okay, I don't know what any of that means, Scooter. Santa live in a gingerbread…oh, Santa lives in a gingerbread house, according to the play, this play. Mrs. Claus, she’s mixing cookies; she’s also snacking on cookies. We couldn't figure out if that was a bit, because even Alan and Joan were confused. They said, is this a bit or is that…is she really eating a cookie during the parade? Probably was a bit. Yeah, or real. Then the elves from the other…the Typhoon Lagoon show, I think I recognized one of the elves. Lots of characters, the Three Little Pigs, the characters from Robin Hood are…oh, there’s the shirt. New Hampshire snow? Oh, no, no. Okay, well, I lost my spot there. One second, everybody. Scooter wanted me to see this man’s shirt.
So, I don't know if we missed it if we can get it back. It said, Christmas snow…Christmas snow, no, no, no. New Hampshire something…off to Disney we go. I guess we couldn't find it. So, yeah, we’re watching the band go by, and toy blocks and kids in the audience there. Really playing the drums, really playing the brass…that’s gotta be a hard job, holy cow. The band goes by. We see another overhead shot. Very green, that Disney World. Okay, so, we come back. Santa…oh, Alan drops a Milli Vanilli reference when they talk about…who’s with Robin Hood and the Three Little Pigs, or the reindeer? Then there’s dancing trees and gingerbread dancers, which is very good.
Then Kermit does interviews with some children, and you could tell the style of humor of Jim Henson and Frank Oz and the Henson Company is a little bit stronger humor than Disney, and in a good way, because Kermit says, what, you don’t know any of the reindeer? The kids try to say…one of the kids says, Barbie. He says, no, no, Barbie’s not a reindeer. So, Kermit’s not successful at getting the reindeer, which is fun. Almost like, I thought we rehearsed this. Oh, there’s the elves on toys…dancing bears, Three Little Pigs…then we see the dancing reindeer with long tongues, then the glockenspiel team. So, there’s a bunch of people playing glockenspiels as Santa comes through, with Santa. Then Santa’s on a remote with Regis, or whatever, radio contact or something. So, Regis says, Santa, how are you doing?
He says, oh, hello, Regis…maybe even calls him ‘Reg’. I don't know. Maybe Reg was not a thing yet. Maybe Kathie Lee was the only person that called him Reg. But he says, oh, hello, Regis. You’ve been great this year. Regis says, thanks, Santa. How are you doing? He says, well, I’m in the middle of a parade, so I gotta go. Okay, thanks. Bye. So, that was good. Hey, Santa Claus. Hello, Regis. Alan keeps talking about…oh yeah, Alan just keeps commenting about Joan. I don't know, maybe Joan wrote a book. Maybe that was it. I don't know. But I said, what is he referencing? I don't like it. Then they close it out with the international politicians, which I said, okay, that’s interesting. So, you have president…our current president at the time, the first George Bush, then I think they had former-president Reagan.
Let’s see, and then they go through the whole…let’s see…well, I’ll tell you, everybody, since we’re here. Zooming on Joan, then we got President Bush. He’s standing by a fireplace, hands in his pocket there, and he’s sending a greeting to the world. He’s in a sport coat and slacks. This SD TV is very hard to see anything. Then we see a picture of him with some kids, maybe his grandkids or his kids, and Barbara. Well, I guess they would be his grandkids, right? Then we come back to him there with a different angle. So, very professional stuff. Maybe they were doing a two-camera shoot, actually, 'cause it looks like he’s looking at the first camera. Yeah.
Then we go to Brian Mulroney, prime minister of Canada. He sends a greeting and they show the Canada pavilion. Then Rinaldo Petrignani from Italy, and they show the Italy pavilion there. Then Gunther van Well, ambassador of West Germany. So, wow, this is…West Germany still existed back then. Holy cow. Yang Shangkun of China, and they show the Chinese pavilion there…Emmanuel de Margerie of France…these are ambassadors, though…and Nobu Matsunaga from Japan, and they show the Japanese pavilion…yeah.
So, then they run through…and then they finally close out there with everybody on set; Mickey, Minnie, Regis, Alan, Joan’s three children, Joan’s husband in an MGM Studios hat, and Kermit. They all say…wave goodbye and they say goodbye, and it’s a nice little close. Alan makes a couple more jokes. He tries to crack Regis up, and everyone says, goodbye, happy holidays. So, Ray will say that to you, as well. Hope you enjoyed this parade. Watch it with your family for fun on YouTube there. Just search ‘1989 Walt Disney World Christmas parade’. Thanks, everybody, and goodnight.
[END OF RECORDING]
(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
