Tori Spelling almost ruined Christmas for Fort Lauderdale when she dropped out as grand marshal of the city's famous boat parade at the last minute, leaving organizers scrambling for a replacement.

"Honestly we don't know why Tori dropped out," the president and CEO of the city's Winterfest, Lisa Scott-Founds, told local media. "We weren't told. They just said she was not able to make it."

Just three days before the parade, which is scheduled for Saturday, organizers announced that they had arranged for comedian Tracy Morgan to step in and fill her shoes.

"The last-minute change only adds to the considerable burden of putting on an event expected to draw 1 million spectators," reporter Ben Crandell wrote on SouthFlorida.com." …but the trade of whatever lingering glamor Spelling has for Morgan's more recent, Emmy-nominated star power is a coup."

Scott-Founds explained, "Tracy's someone people can relate to. We always try to have a grand marshal that is fun, exciting, someone who will put a happy face on. He appeals to a broad cross-section of the public."