How come there are no televised parades from major American theme parks not owned by Disney?

Forums: Tv, Society, Parades, Media, Holidays
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Hi. I am just curious. Every year Disney televises parades from their theme parks on American TV each year.

From 1985 to 1999 they aired Walt Disney World Easter Parades on TV, and every year they air The Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on TV.

Six Flags Theme Parks and Universal Theme Parks are the two biggest American theme parks after the Disney Parks.

How come they don't hold parades at the Six Flags Theme Parks and at the Universal Theme Parks and televise them like Disney does with parades at their theme parks?

Please help. Thank you.

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Stuff only gets on TV (or radio, etc.) if it can sell adequate amounts of advertising. Networks also have a brand. If they think a show or special won't work for them, they will pass on it.

Networks selected other programming that would make them more money.

Parades also aren't exactly gripping television. Disney has major advantages of a history of their parades being on TV + massive household name recognition + a major merchandising empire that all works together synergistically.

Six Flags, etc. has nowhere near Disney's market share.

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@jespah,

Oh. I thought maybe it was because Six Flags and Universal Theme Parks aren't big enough to hold parades that could be televised and don't have the money to televise them, or something along these lines.

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@JGoldman10,

It could also be that Disney plays to a younger crowd. Parades are really a teen thing and places like Six Flags and Universal are definitely more teen oriented.

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@engineer,

Six Flags has the Looney Tunes characters, which appeals to kids and general audiences, and Universal has characters like Woody Woodpecker and Popeye and the Minions, which appeals to kids and general audiences. That's not necessarily true.

They could have had parades at these theme parks that were televised and featured costumed characters.

I enjoyed watching Disney parades as a kid. The Disney parades are aimed at kids and their families.

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@JGoldman10,

You really have a thing about parades, it doesn't happen that much over here.

Other than Royal stuff I think there’s the Lord Mayor of London and that’s about it.

Various towns in the West Country have a carnival day, but it’s very local, never televised and more to do with charities than anything else.

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@JGoldman10,

True, but when you go to these parks you see the difference immediately. Universal et al are stacked with massive rollercoasters, etc. and people running from long line to long line to ride the biggest, scariest rides. Disney has one tame rollercoaster but lots of rides and shows that are family oriented. Heck, Disney has a bunch of rides where you ride along in a car and look at the scenery. Disney pretty much closes down in the evening before the parade, people start camping out on the parade route an hour ahead of time. I just don't see the other parks doing that. It's not their model.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

Hi Izzy. I don't have any kind of parade fetish. As I said, the Disney theme parks, the Six Flags theme parks, and the Universal theme parks are the three biggest theme parks in the U.S.

For some odd reason I was thinking about televised Disney parades which are held every year in Walt Disney World and in Disneyland and realized none of the Six Flags theme parks or the Universal theme parks ever hold televised parades.

Six Flags Great Adventure is in New Jersey and that's the closest Six Flags theme park to where I live. I have lived in New York State most of my life.

My dad took my younger brother and I to Six Flags Great Adventure when my younger brother and I were kids.

2 Replies

@JGoldman10,

I never accused you of having a fetish, just noticed you have started a lot of threads about various parades, that’s all.

The only parade I can ever remember being televised was a Lord Mayor’s show when I was a kid.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

I recall watching a number of parades as a young kid and teenager.

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@JGoldman10,

I remember them on films and clips on TV shows, The Simpsons does it a lot, but as far as actual parades being shown live just the one.

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@JGoldman10,

JGoldman10 wrote:

Hi Izzy. I don't have any kind of parade fetish. As I said, the Disney theme parks, the Six Flags theme parks, and the Universal theme parks are the three biggest theme parks in the U.S.

For some odd reason I was thinking about televised Disney parades which are held every year in Walt Disney World and in Disneyland and realized none of the Six Flags theme parks or the Universal theme parks ever hold televised parades.

Six Flags Great Adventure is in New Jersey and that's the closest Six Flags theme park to where I live. I have lived in New York State most of my life.

My dad took me and my younger brother to Six Flags Great Adventure when my younger brother and I were kids.

- FIXED

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@engineer,

I have been to Six Flags Great Adventure once as a little boy. When I was in high school and in art college I had a number of opportunities to go on class trips to Six Flags Great Adventure but I wasn't interested.

I haven't been to ANY amusement parks in years. I am not really interested in visiting any Disney parks or Six Flags parks or any Universal parks now - all the major American theme parks have LGTBQIA-themed activities and events. That goes against my believes as a Christian.

I was a little surprised when I learned about this at first, but I shouldn't really be that surprised. I remember back when I was in art school reading in an Entertainment Weekly magazine that the Disney Corporation advocated the LGBTQIA agenda but at the time I didn't want to believe that.

A report I watched on a Christian news show I saw a few years ago confirmed that Disney was pro-LGBTQIA.

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@JGoldman10,

Ok, but why do you care if they have a parade or not? I mean you wouldn't watch those who go against your beliefs as a Christian on TV, giving them advertising revenue, right?

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@engineer,

I haven't watched any parades on TV in years. A few years ago my family and I watched a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade or Christmas Parade on TV- I don't remember specifically which one it was. We saw some LBGTQIA-themed song-and-dance number being performed. We were shocked.

If they are going to include LBGTQIA stuff in parades now I want nothing to do with that.

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@engineer,

I started the thread out of curiosity. I know for a fact Disney characters, Looney Tunes and other WB characters, and other licensed characters appear in major televised parades that don't take place at any theme parks.

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@JGoldman10,

Quote:

I remember back when I was in art school reading in an Entertainment Weekly magazine that the Disney Corporation advocated the LGBTQIA agenda but at the time I didn't want to believe that.

To clarify, Disney is not so much that they are pro-gay rights; it is more that it is more profitable to be tolerant of LGBT+ audiences and their allies. If they actually were fully supportive of the LGBT+ community, Disney would have had one LGBT main character in major film release by now, instead of placing them in the background and cutting them out for international releases (which they have done a few times already).

Quote:

We saw some LBGTQIA-themed song-and-dance number being performed. We were shocked.

Can you really be shocked? It is widely known for years that the gay community is heavily involved in Broadway.

I'm trying to figuring out which performance you saw in in Thanksgiving Day Parade; there have been several plays and shows in recent years that either have a LGBT+ themed story (like The Prom)or is popular with the gay community (like Wicked).

1 Reply

@Rebelofnj,

Like I said my family and I haven't watched any televised parades in years. My mother told me she watched a local St. Paddy's Day parade my current hometown holds each year in person once. She said it was nothing to write home about. I watched part of one my hometown's St. Paddy's Day parade online once - she was right about that.

How come there are no televised parades from major American theme parks not owned by Disney?

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