I now know what happens when someone manually sends a Mii. The recipient gets notified and the new characters appear. In the parade there is no notification. I now have a Hulk Hogan in the parade as well - I think that one came from my brother's console.

Just finished the third dungeon in Zelda and I'm at one of those break points. I suppose I can make it another action session, but I've managed to put it down for now.