Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade (1988)

This is the sixth Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade to be aired on network television since 1984 and the first two hour version. This parade would become a staple for decades and something important in growing up Disney in the 80's and 90's, although the "Christmas" name would be dropped near the end of the Eisner age. The Christmas parade telecast really became a 2 hour infomercial for what the Walt Disney Company had in the works for the upcoming year. Eventually annual Easter and Independence Day Parade telecasts would join the Christmas Parade and the Christmas Parade itself would expand to a 2 hour Christmas morning broadcast tradition. Regis Philbin became the figure most associated with these parades. (The Easter and Independence Day Parade broadcasts were dropped near the end of the Eisner years as well.) The Christmas and Easter parades always aired on the ABC Network. The second parade broadcast had been ta 90 minute broadcast and proved so successful that this year it was a 90 minute one as well and expanded to include Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. We get to see many coming updates to Walt Disney World. This Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade features a Christmas Day Presidential message from Ronald Reagan and newly elected George Bush. The Presidential message would be a staple of these parades for decades.

This is a time capsule into Walt Disney history past. This is where the Eisner regime really hit their stride with the company and you can start to see their influence coming through. Here, we get a glimpse of Disney easing into the age of their animation renaissance. We get a behind the scenes segment on the newly released Oliver & Company. You can see this once small family company is transforming into the global conglomerate people think of today. Many of these characters you don't see any more either and they STILL cared about the legacy of Walt Disney. What a tremendous time capsule this is. There’s segments on the construction of Splash Mountain and the soon to be open Disney/MGM Studios.

Joan Lunden and Alan Thicke co-host this parade with Regis Philbin. Sarah Purcell hosts the Disneyland segments with Scott Valentine on the street.

Lunden was then the current co-host of Good Morning America and Thicke was one of the stars from the sitcom Growing Pains. Regis was a well known talk show host vet even then. This archetype of hosts for the parade broadcasts would continue with the parade for decades even though the hosts would change. Purcell was a famed talks how host of the time and Valentine was a star on the sitcom Family Ties.

Joan Lunden is the longest-running host of the Disney parade broadcasts.

Original air date December 25, 1988

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.