If you're going to Disney's Hollywood Studios this week, know that the stage for Friday's Night of Joy is already in place in front of Sorcerer Mickey's Hat. And because it juts so far out into the pavement, the HIgh School Musical pep rally has been rerouted.

To see it, you must head back to Streets of America in the open area where the Power Rangers greet their fans. For HSM pep rally veterans, there are a couple of advantages to this location. It didn't seem as crowded -- even on Labor Day -- probably because it's not as visible at the back of the park. The upbeat music and float are pretty hard to ignore when they travel down Hollywood Boulevard, and they may attract visitors who wouldn't ordinarily stop.

Have you seen the wacky route of the Magic Kingdom's "Disney Dreams Come True" parade?

The peppy parade is currently starting near Guest Services at the park entrance, processing up Main Street, running around the hub in front of the castle... and heading right back the way it came. There is no parade viewing in Liberty Square or Frontierland.

A cast member tells me this is because of reconstruction work on the old wooden bridge between the castle hub and Liberty Square. No one wants to risk a heavy float crashing through it!

It makes for funny viewing as all the parade floats have to crowd into the hub at once, and the lead floats have to wait until the final float passes by so they have room to travel down Main Street again.

Disney has also lifted out parts of the parade's theme song that featured the heaviest character vocals so Mickey, Aladdin, Pinocchio, etc. aren't all shouting over top each other at once.

Because the viewing area has been reduced so much, the parade is being performed twice daily to accommodate all the guests.

Be warned: Traffic can be backed up when the parade heads back down Main Street. Because many people only want to see the parade once (on its way up Main Street), they are trying to leave the area. But of course, there isn't much room because the parade is still filling the street.

If you get stuck in the logjam, just take a deep breath and repeat to yourself: "At least it isn't the boring snowglobe parade."

Guests Wednesday at Disney's Hollywood Studios were treated to a short parade featuring some of the young celebrities who are in Orlando to compete in the Disney Channel Games.

The parade (video on jump) was unannounced, but word had traveled among fans watching the taping of the games Tuesday at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.

And, so, we saw starry-eyed kids and their like-minded mothers having fun anticipating what was to come while they searched for the best vantage point to see the parade.

As we scouted for a good piece of concrete to call our own, we noticed the stairs of the ABC Theater were empty and shady. A cast member told us most were reserved, but there was a corner that was not roped off. Little did we know, we would end up sitting near the sister of Cheetah Girl Kiely Williams and other friends and family of the celebrities.

Chip 'n Dale, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto escorted the Jonas Brothers (photo on jump), The Cheetah Girls (Sabrina Bryan pictured), Demi Lovato (from the upcoming movie 'Camp Rock') and Selena Gomez ('Wizards of Waverly Place') in the vehicles like you would have seen in the former Stars N Cars Motorcade.

Although there was some disappointment over Miley Cyrus' absence, the fans around us seemed thrilled to see the other stars in another up-close setting.

We went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party last night and had a great time despite the rain during the Holiday Wishes fireworks. It had been about three years since we last attended the party, and we were looking forward to the new parade and our old favorite shows.

The Christmas party, which requires a separate ticket, runs from 7 p.m. to midnight in the Magic Kingdom on select nights. I had read that for the last several years, Disney allowed guests to enter as early as 4:30 p.m. for the event. We decided to try that because we wanted to see the new 10-minute show in which the characters light up the castle at 5:45 p.m.

If you're dining out for Thanksgiving, why not consider one of the area theme parks?

The Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom is a fun place to have a Thanksgiving feast, we discovered a couple years ago. All the traditional dishes are served at “Goofy's Liberate Your Appetite Character Dinner” while Goofy (of course), Minnie, Pluto and Chip & Dale circulate in their historical outfits.

The food was decent, and I was certainly thankful I didn’t have to prepare any of it. Liberty Tree's Colonial theme is well-executed both in the décor and the staff’s demeanor. Families are summoned by name and state of origin and then escorted to one of six rooms. Waitresses wear bonnets, which my son, who was 3 at the time, had never before seen. He was confused about why the women were wearing shower caps while serving dinner.

Before I could tell you about it, they were gone. It took less than 6 hours on Thursday for passholder tickets for the taping of the Walt Disney World Christmas Day parade to be snapped up. I knew they went quickly because I hadn't been able to secure reservations in past years. But 6 hours? Unbelieveable.

Earlier this week, a note appeared on the passholder Web site, indicating that in November we would be able to submit requests for the Nov. 30 taping of celebrity performances on the castle stage in the Magic Kingdom. That especially interested me because of the expected performers: 'High School Musical' stars, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Joey Fatone and Drew Lachey, Josh Groban, Harlem Boys Choir and Whitney Houston. The lineup has not been confirmed by Disney, but I did find it on an online source that has been accurate in the past.

If you were not one of the lucky ones and you want to see the taping, you still can.

OK, is anyone else as excited as I am about "Block Party Bash" coming to the soon-to-be Disney's Hollywood Studios? It is my favorite parade out there at the moment, and I have driven friends and relatives crazy making them see it every time I'm in California.