Parade Day
We headed over to Pasadena for the parade well before the sun came up. Although we had reserved seats and parking the traffic gets absolutely insane so it's far better to get there way early and try to stay warm then it would be to miss the parade. The drive over was made better when we got the call that the float had won a very prestigious prize, the "Past Presidents'" award for "Most outstanding innovation in the use of floral and non-floral materials." We were thrilled with the news; this is a very nice award to win, and "Jungle Rescue" is the only time Burbank has received this honor. What a great way to start the day!
When the sun finally rose it was a drop-dead gorgeous day. Our prior floats all had to contend with a threat of rain for the parade but this day was just perfect.
We had fun watching the parade, but it definitely got better around the halfway mark when "Jungle Rescue" came into sight. This may have been our fourth float but it was still amazing to see it out there on the parade route.
The special effects crew outdid themselves on the smoke pouring out of the burning birdhouse. It made it a bit tough to get a good shot of the yelling bird but I think the audience was able to see and understand our story very quickly. Something sure was going on up there!
Everything went just as planned. All of the animation worked perfectly, the soundtrack sounded great, and the crowd really seemed to enjoy the float. It had been a lot of work but worth the effort.
The rest of the parade was great, and even better, no car problems on the way home this year.