Ohmigosh I'm so excited! My fiance and I decided to take a last minute trip down to Disneyland this past weekend. Yesterday (Monday) was our last day in the parks. When we entered, there were signs saying they were filming again for the Disney Christmas Parade that is to air on ABC on Christmas Day. We saw the same signs on Sunday and thought that was pretty cool, however these signs were different... at the bottom it said today's parade guest hosts that would be filming in the park were THE MUPPETS!!!!!!
When we got to the end of Main Street there was a little booth set up with two chairs and two familiar voices were being broadcast over the Main Street loud speakers. It was Kermit and Piggy!!! THE REAL Kermit and Piggy were RIGHT THERE!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!
I filmed a little from a distance of about 100 feet. (Thank goodness for digital zoom!) Then we decided to get a little closer. The director had everyone packed in on Main Street, so the crowds for the Christmas Parade would look great on tv. We came around the back side by Tomorrowland and gradually edged closer and closer to the booth. It seemed like most people in the crowd were more excited at the prospect of being on tv than they were about the fact that THE REAL Kermit and Piggy were RIGHT THERE!!! Silly people...
Once in our position directly behind the booth, we stayed for the entirety of filming. They did several different set-ups with different parade floats rolling by and Kermit and Piggy had a few different scripts to read.
There was about a fifteen minute break in the middle of filming where the director was getting crowd reaction shots, so Kermit and Piggy were resting. A few minutes after the frog and pig disappeared down into the booth, Steve Whitmire and Eric Jacobson popped their heads up and came out of the booth for a break! Fifty bucks says my sweetie and I were the only two people there to be in complete awe. (OMG! That's Steve Whitmire!!! He's standing 5 feet behind us!!! OMG!!!!) I mean he was just standing there and no one even gave him a second glance!!! Of course I was too much of a moron to formulate a sentence, so I just grinned like an idiot and tried not to stare.
After awhile, the director said they were doing a couple more set-ups with Kermit and Piggy and then they'd be moving down Main Street a little to do the set-ups for Gonzo. GONZO IS HERE TOO?!?!?! OH MAN! Can it get any cooler?!
The director kept asking us to stay in the same spots for continuity, so we obliged. At the end, they filmed a wrap up segment with Kermit and Piggy and the director told us to all look at them as they said goodbye. So if you see a long, dark-haired girl and her goatee'd sweetie directly behind Kermit and Piggy on Christmas Day, THAT'S US!!
When Kermit and Piggy were finished filming, we moved down Main Street about fifty feet and watched them film Gonzo's spot. Dave Goelz was there and they just had him sitting on this chair thing on the ground. No booth or anything hiding him from view. Can I just say how entirely cool that was?! He was sitting right there in the middle of Main Street and we got to watch him make Gonzo come to life. It was such an insanely cool moment.
The highlights:
1. Kermit and Piggy are in the booth and a little girl is being held up behind them by her mommy because she wants to see Piggy. The little girl says, "Miss Piggy! Miss Piggy! I love you!!! I love you!!" Miss Piggy struggles to turn around in her seat and see where that voice is coming from saying, "Oooooh I looooove you too sweetie!! Where are you?? I love you too!!" It was just too sweet.
2. Kermit and Piggy's banter between sets was awesome. Once the director said the film was rolling, there was still a few minutes before they started the parade floats, so Kermit and Piggy had time to chat and adjust themselves. Watching Piggy fluff her hair and Kermit crack his neck in person was just so hilarious and fun.
3. At one point the director says, "Steve, can you hear me?" and the response, "Yeah I hear you" came from Kermit's mouth in Kermit's voice! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Hahahaha... awesome.
The lowlights: As they were setting up for Gonzo's shot, a Disney Cast Member herded a group of parade elves into position for their walk-by. One of the elves asked the Cast Member in charge where they would be setting up for Gonzo. The Cast Member in charge indicated the chair on the ground, right out in the open. The elves seemed concerned that there was no booth hiding the muppeteer from view of the children that would be grouped around Gonzo. The Cast Member's response was so snotty, I was taken aback. She turns to the elf and says, "Yeah, well they [Jim Hensen Co.] don't care about 'the magic' the way we do." I know Disney prides themselves on "show" and "the magic" and hiding the inner workings from their Guests. But jeez, could you be any louder or ruder about it? To me, it was so incredibly neat and interesting to be able to see Dave Goelz at work.
We've all seen Sesame Street. You know the guests on the show and the kids alike are completely aware there's a muppeteer behind the wall. It doesn't make a difference. Kermit is still Kermit. Cookie Monster is Cookie Monster. Even with a muppeteer RIGHT THERE they speak to the Muppet, not the person controlling the Muppet. It is still real. It is still magic. Get off your high horse, ya snotty Cast Member. I just thought that was really rude. Especially in ear shot of guests and employees from Henson Co. I heard it. My sweetie heard it. I'm sure many others did as well. Boo to her.
All in all we had such a fantastic time. Not only was it fun to be involved with the filming of a tv special, but we got to see Kermit and Miss Piggy live in person! Its hard to describe the kind of impact Kermit the Frog has on your life. He's the biggest star I've ever been that close to, and the one I hold closest to my heart. Being there and watching them work still makes me teary eyed just thinking about it. We were so lucky to be there yesterday and so lucky to have such a wonderful opportunity.
When we got to the end of Main Street there was a little booth set up with two chairs and two familiar voices were being broadcast over the Main Street loud speakers. It was Kermit and Piggy!!! THE REAL Kermit and Piggy were RIGHT THERE!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!
I filmed a little from a distance of about 100 feet. (Thank goodness for digital zoom!) Then we decided to get a little closer. The director had everyone packed in on Main Street, so the crowds for the Christmas Parade would look great on tv. We came around the back side by Tomorrowland and gradually edged closer and closer to the booth. It seemed like most people in the crowd were more excited at the prospect of being on tv than they were about the fact that THE REAL Kermit and Piggy were RIGHT THERE!!! Silly people...
Once in our position directly behind the booth, we stayed for the entirety of filming. They did several different set-ups with different parade floats rolling by and Kermit and Piggy had a few different scripts to read.
There was about a fifteen minute break in the middle of filming where the director was getting crowd reaction shots, so Kermit and Piggy were resting. A few minutes after the frog and pig disappeared down into the booth, Steve Whitmire and Eric Jacobson popped their heads up and came out of the booth for a break! Fifty bucks says my sweetie and I were the only two people there to be in complete awe. (OMG! That's Steve Whitmire!!! He's standing 5 feet behind us!!! OMG!!!!) I mean he was just standing there and no one even gave him a second glance!!! Of course I was too much of a moron to formulate a sentence, so I just grinned like an idiot and tried not to stare.
After awhile, the director said they were doing a couple more set-ups with Kermit and Piggy and then they'd be moving down Main Street a little to do the set-ups for Gonzo. GONZO IS HERE TOO?!?!?! OH MAN! Can it get any cooler?!
The director kept asking us to stay in the same spots for continuity, so we obliged. At the end, they filmed a wrap up segment with Kermit and Piggy and the director told us to all look at them as they said goodbye. So if you see a long, dark-haired girl and her goatee'd sweetie directly behind Kermit and Piggy on Christmas Day, THAT'S US!!
When Kermit and Piggy were finished filming, we moved down Main Street about fifty feet and watched them film Gonzo's spot. Dave Goelz was there and they just had him sitting on this chair thing on the ground. No booth or anything hiding him from view. Can I just say how entirely cool that was?! He was sitting right there in the middle of Main Street and we got to watch him make Gonzo come to life. It was such an insanely cool moment.
The highlights:
1. Kermit and Piggy are in the booth and a little girl is being held up behind them by her mommy because she wants to see Piggy. The little girl says, "Miss Piggy! Miss Piggy! I love you!!! I love you!!" Miss Piggy struggles to turn around in her seat and see where that voice is coming from saying, "Oooooh I looooove you too sweetie!! Where are you?? I love you too!!" It was just too sweet.
2. Kermit and Piggy's banter between sets was awesome. Once the director said the film was rolling, there was still a few minutes before they started the parade floats, so Kermit and Piggy had time to chat and adjust themselves. Watching Piggy fluff her hair and Kermit crack his neck in person was just so hilarious and fun.
3. At one point the director says, "Steve, can you hear me?" and the response, "Yeah I hear you" came from Kermit's mouth in Kermit's voice! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Hahahaha... awesome.
The lowlights: As they were setting up for Gonzo's shot, a Disney Cast Member herded a group of parade elves into position for their walk-by. One of the elves asked the Cast Member in charge where they would be setting up for Gonzo. The Cast Member in charge indicated the chair on the ground, right out in the open. The elves seemed concerned that there was no booth hiding the muppeteer from view of the children that would be grouped around Gonzo. The Cast Member's response was so snotty, I was taken aback. She turns to the elf and says, "Yeah, well they [Jim Hensen Co.] don't care about 'the magic' the way we do." I know Disney prides themselves on "show" and "the magic" and hiding the inner workings from their Guests. But jeez, could you be any louder or ruder about it? To me, it was so incredibly neat and interesting to be able to see Dave Goelz at work.
We've all seen Sesame Street. You know the guests on the show and the kids alike are completely aware there's a muppeteer behind the wall. It doesn't make a difference. Kermit is still Kermit. Cookie Monster is Cookie Monster. Even with a muppeteer RIGHT THERE they speak to the Muppet, not the person controlling the Muppet. It is still real. It is still magic. Get off your high horse, ya snotty Cast Member. I just thought that was really rude. Especially in ear shot of guests and employees from Henson Co. I heard it. My sweetie heard it. I'm sure many others did as well. Boo to her.
All in all we had such a fantastic time. Not only was it fun to be involved with the filming of a tv special, but we got to see Kermit and Miss Piggy live in person! Its hard to describe the kind of impact Kermit the Frog has on your life. He's the biggest star I've ever been that close to, and the one I hold closest to my heart. Being there and watching them work still makes me teary eyed just thinking about it. We were so lucky to be there yesterday and so lucky to have such a wonderful opportunity.
