Yep, there is a theme park connection here: A version of the Macy's Parade also runs through the holiday season at the Universal Orlando Resort, and Disneyland often has a float in the Rose Parade, where Mickey Mouse served a grand marshal a few years back. (Disneyland's not on the participant list this year, though.)
It's Thanksgiving week in the U.S., which might tip votes toward Macy's, but the Rose Parade holds the home-court advantage on TPI, as the site's HQ lies three blocks from the Rose Parade route.
(Note: I'm not including Disney World's Christmas Parade among the choices, since it is no longer broadcast live. What you now see on ABC Christmas morning is a canned special, taped weeks in advance.)
Explain your vote in the comments, please.
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The balloons are spectacular, but just floating there alone, they lack any drama or context, too.
That said, the Rose Parade is really slipping. The floats remain gorgeous, but the parade is not reaching out to new sponsors who might inject some life into the parade. Where are the Yahoo and Google floats? Why can't the parade get more studios involved, creating floats to promote their films? The Star Wars stuff last year was great. Too bad it wasn't in the parade 25 years earlier. Where's Harry Potter?
The biggest problem with the Rose Parade, however, has always been its lack of conclusion. Macy's heralds the arrival of Santa Claus. The Rose Parade offers nothing to wrap it all up at its end, just a swarm of tow trucks, honking.
All this said, I'll take SoCal on Jan. 1 over New York in late November every time.
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