It’s beginning to look a lot like December, isn’t it? OK. It’s actually December now. I get it. My mountain fortress has been subject to multiple snow storms since early October. Most of which, as my wife is fond of pointing out, have taken place while I was in Disney World while she was at home. #jealous

Anyway, it’s been a white Christmas at my place for months now. We just passed through the Thanksgiving holiday and some of our traditions there definitely lead straight through the rest of the calendar year. Watching the Macy’s parade while cooking sweet potatoes somehow just leads into memories of watching Disney parades on Christmas morning. The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade is almost here!

I don’t know about you, but I have never been to a Disney park on Christmas Day itself, but I hear it’s quite the event! I never miss the annual footage of parades and other holiday acts starting early on Christmas morning. My wife and I snuggle up on the couch with our morning coffee and a few presents strewn about and settle in for the long haul with one of our favorite Disney traditions.

It’s fun to see the mix of familiar and cutting-edge-popular musical acts throughout the morning. By cutting-edge, I of course mean that I have never heard of them before. That admission sure does make me feel old. The stories of families who have endured hardships getting the Disney trips of their dreams make us tear up every single time. Heck, half of the time, we tear up just seeing beautiful footage of the Parks at a time we wish we could be there.

Yes, we know that this footage is far from live. I remember seeing one of these recordings in action a few years ago at the Magic Kingdom. We watched a camera crew recording crowd shots while some kids from The Descendants danced around on a stage. This was long before we had ever watched these specials with our nieces. It was cool to see the magic in action, as a dance number finished up and the crowd at Cinderella Castle went wild. It was cooler to see the special a couple months later and wonder if that was the take that we walked past as we exited Adventureland.

These Disney holiday celebrations have gotten much more elaborate over the years. Check out YouTube versions of previous specials if you can’t remember them! Even though we don’t always recognize the musicians or their songs, we still connect with the parades, the settings, the feelings of the Parks dressed up for the season. This has become such a part of our annual celebrations that I hope it never goes away.

If you want to find yourself a part of the holiday celebrations, give our ConciEARS a call! While we don’t know exactly when Disney will be recording their specials, we can get some good guesses together. Or you can plan your dream vacation over the holidays themselves! It’s all up to you!