I was ten feet from KERMIT yesterday!

[pennyring]

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 hilarious. 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.

 

[timrikthegorf]

I'm glad there will be more than just Kermit and Piggy and I am glad Disney really is using the muppets as much as possible. The comment about not caring about the "magic" bugs me though. But that's just a snotty low payed "cast member". They don't matter. But if I were Dave I would have smacked that person. Luckily, I'm not Dave, or I'd be in Disney jail.

So was there any hint that Fozzie or Rizzo would be there? They had Dave and Steve, so I guess there will be at least one STatler and Waldorf appearence. Now i have a reason to watch this parade. When will it be on?

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

It usually airs on Christmas day. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[pennyring]

Christmas Day. 9:00 am. ABC.

 

[pennyring]

So was there any hint that Fozzie or Rizzo would be there? They had Dave and Steve, so I guess there will be at least one STatler and Waldorf appearence.

They acted like it was just Kermit, Piggy and Gonzo, but who knows??? They were filming different segments of the parade on different days, so its certainly possible. We got the feeling it was just Kermit, Piggy and Gonzo though. They were the only ones there that day. However, they're also filming the parade in Walt Disney World, so perhaps more of the Muppets will be broadcasting from there? Seems silly to have some of them in California and some in Florida though.

I know Ashanti is going to perform (she filmed Sunday in Disneyland) and Regis is also hosting (perhaps he's the host in Walt Disney World?? Not sure.)

At different points in the filming the director would give us different cues. He would read one of Regis' or Ashanti's lines and Kermit would reply. When Kermit introduced Ashanti's performance we were supposed to clap and cheer, etc. We're all, "Ashanti who?" Haha.. it was fun anyway. Kermit and Piggy also talked about making the Wizard of Oz with Ashanti, etc.

It was really interesting to see what parts of the Disneyland Christmas Parade will be broadcast. It is truly a neutered version of the actual parade. For continuity's sake, you can't have Mickey or Santa in both parades, so the DisneyLAND version had only a few characters. Pluto, Clarabelle, Ariel, Pinocchio and Gepetto are the only characters I remember seeing on the floats.

Missing characters normally in the parade include Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Max, Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Reindeer, Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Frosty the snowman was on Chip and Dale's float (they were MIA) and the entire Princess float (including Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderlla, Belle and all their Princes and dancers) was also missing. I'm guessing they will all be on the Walt Disney World floats when the parade is broadcast.

 

[Chilly Down]

Thanks for sharing, Pennyring! What a fantastic and exciting story! How lucky for you to be there.

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?

Whoever said this was a doofus. It's not the Muppets vs. Disney; Disney owns the Muppets now. So if anyone's not caring, it's Disney.

How can this person work in a Disney theme park and not know who owns the Muppets?

More likely, no one was to blame. Someone made a simple goof, and Dave had no control over it; he just had to go with it. How is that "not caring"? Should Dave have stormed off because there wasn't a back to his chair?

Eeef. Anyway, I'm glad you had a fabulous time. I can't wait for this to be on TV!

 

[timrikthegorf]

The muppets do stuff iek that all the time. They don't normally try to hide the performer from the live audience. This was probably the way it was planned from the start.

 

[KermieBaby47]

Thanks so much for sharing this great story pennyring! That's so amazingly cool that you got to see these guys close-up! Too bad that more people weren't excited about the possibility of actually meeting Steve, Eric, and Dave. I wish you woulda been able to say something to Steve! I'd prolly be a little starstruck too meeting these guys in person.

Can't wait to pick you guys outta the crowd, that's so cool! And poo-poo on that dingy cast member, I wouldn't have had a problem saying something to that person! Oh well, we know don't we! Hooray for Muppets in Action!

 

[Erine81981]

Now thats awsome thing for ya'll. I wished that my friend would of gotten up there at that time. He said he would bring be back something. I hope that maybe that Kermit, Piggy and Gonzo or whatever is still there doing other stuff.

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

That is an amazing story! I was at Disneyland a few months ago and I know if they were filming the muppets then I would have been mesmorised. I was amazed at muppetvision 3D so something like that would have been too much.

About filming with the muppeteer in view. Jim Henson talked about this and said alot of people feel uncomfortable when they see the puppeteer controlling the puppet but he doesnt try to hide the fact that he is making the puppet talk, they'll always pay more attention to kermit than him. (Non muppet fans anyway, lol) He said that in a documentary I have about the life of jim henson.