[xfkirsten]

Speaking as someone who's already seen it in person several times?

BARF.

Here's a review C&Ped from my LJ, opening day:

The Good:
-Mickey and Minnie on the same float, both talking. Cute! We've missed that in daily parades for awhile.
-The costumes on the characters on the final float (Goofy, Donald, Pluto, Chip, Dale). They're loud and over-the-top, but they fit the theming.
-Burt! YAY for having Burt!

The Bad:
-The music. Too sugary and sappy, like swallowing a big mouthful of maple syrup.
-The show stop. Really?! I'm a fan of show stops. I love them. I think that, done well, they can add a lot to a parade. This one? Not so much. The dance moves are nice, but that's really all there is to it. Um, you just dance the whole parade, why do you need to stop everything just to do it again?! If you're going to do a show stop, it needs to ADD something to the parade, not just do the same thing you have been doing. The streamers at the end are a cute idea (and I'm sure the very few kids that get them are happy), but REALLY unimpressive. It's like "Hey! We're too cheap to put a streamer cannon on our floats, so lets just have the performers throw them!" :/ Admittedly, I like that music because it's "Celebrate You" and I think that's a catchy song, but I am also disappointed that it's not Corbin Bleu's version. (I'm not really a fan of his at all, but I love how he did that song)

The UGLY:
-The dancers. Not that the performers themselves were bad - they did a fantastic job - but the whole IDEA. The only performers on the ground are the atmosphere dancers. And they all do generic dances. And they all wear the EXACT SAME COSTUMES. It's like watching the same unit go by over and over and over again. Seriously. It's formulaic. "Okay, here's a dozen dancers and a float. Aaaaand, a dozen more dancers that look exactly the same. And another float. And a dozen more dancers that look exactly the same..."
-The complete lack of props or ANY sort of themed costumes anywhere off the floats. It's like the theming can't touch the ground because OMG IT'S LAVA AND ONLY GENERIC DANCERS WEARING THE SPECIAL OUTFIT ARE SAFE! One of the funnest things about DDCT was the characters that would play and interact with the crowd as they went (the chimney sweeps and the pirates come to mind, especially, they were a blast).

Bottom line? It's like starting at a blank, white wall, instead of looking at one that's covered in a mural. One unit blends into another, and the uniqueness of each float is lost in the generic dancers and bland music. There's a serious lack of characters (maybe 3-4 with each unit, on average) and a serious lack of any sort of personality. It's easily one of the most boring parades Disney has put together... even more so than Parade of the Stars - and you Disneylanders know how bad that must make it. At least Parade of the Stars was VISUALLY appealing and had life to it.

Also, a note for anyone wanting to watch: if you want to see a show stop DO NOT sit anywhere between Splash and the opposite end of Pecos Bill's Cafe. The last float stops around the hot dog stand, so anywhere farther back than that will NOT see the show stop.