ABC Holiday Specials Filming

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ABC Holiday Specials Filming


Earlier today I had the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes for the filming of ABC's Holiday Specials. As detailed by allears.net ABC has been filming their upcoming holiday specials this week at their different theme parks (1). I was able to participate in the filming this morning at the Magic Kingdom. As the article describes, this was the first year where Main Street was actually closed off to regular guests during filming of the holiday parade; only cast members were allowed for that portion.

As an Interactive Media major, I was paying close attention to the filming process, not just the parade. For example, I noted that the production crew always had 4-5 cameras filming the action from different points-of-view. Several bloggers got some photos of the film crew setting up (2). Some others posted photos of the two hosts who were in the park, Julianna Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro (3). Lastly, Disney Tourist Blog shows a few photos of the cameras capturing the parade itself (4).

It was interesting that all this work happens well in advance of the special actually airing on ABC. I learned from my behind-the-scenes access that this year the holiday special will not only be shown on ABC, but will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu. They also filmed earlier in the week at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. In total, there was something like 100 hours of filming plus all the set up time for the 2-hour special!

Topic: Quickly-Evolving Media Landscape, Multi-Channel Media Marketing

References

1. https://allears.net/2024/11/09/spotted-disneys-tv-crew-was-seen-filming-the-christmas-day-parade-at-magic-kingdom/ (also source of cover image)

2. https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2024/11/09/main-street-u-s-a-is-closed-in-magic-kingdom-and-we-know-why/

3. https://www.instagram.com/p/DCKoCsMSao3/?img_index=1

4. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/free-christmas-parade-magic-kingdom-november-december-2024/


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