POLL: Will WDW Institute a "Squatting Ban" for Fireworks and Parades?

[Goofyernmost]

I'm not sure if you're kidding or not, but when my children were little, I would not have appreciated them not being right in front of me ... in the dark, in a crowd of thousands of people.

Out of courtesy, 6' 8" Hubby always stands in the rear, but back in the day, nothing was coming between me and my kids.

You're not much taller then that anyway, I'm guessing after seeing pictures of you with your Hubby?

 

[brb1006]

Lol who is crazy enough to wait 10 hours for that horrible parade. Our loss was a major win for us, that parade needed to disappear.

If only they hadn't gotten rid of Spectromagic years.

 

[brb1006]

Can't agree with you there. MSEP is the parade I "grew up" with at WDW. Far better than Spectro. Why? The music. Spectro's main theme is a waltz.

I disagree, I love the music for Spectromagic since it contained more musical elements while MSEP just kept on looping.

 

[Gabe1]

Disney has just banned the practice of holding spots for fireworks and parade shows at Disneyland.

It is expected that WDW will soon follow suit, but still unclear at this point.

Disney no longer allows saving spaces for parades http://www.local10.com/theme-parks/disney-no-longer-allows-saving-spaces-for-parades
By Jeff Tavss - Executive Producer Posted: 1:43 PM, March 03, 2017 Updated: 4:18 PM, March 03, 2017

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Good news for those who hate showing up at a Disney parade, only to find all the seats taken by people who reserve spots hours in advance.

Disneyland is putting an immediate end to the practice of saving spaces, no longer allowing visitors to lay down blankets or other items to stake out spots.

The move comes as the park is bringing the Main Street Electrical Parade back to Southern California.

Guests have been known to show up at park opening to reserve a wide swath of space over 10 hours before the actual parade begins.

According to ThemeParkInsider.com, guests seeking to claim claim a spot will only be able to do so once the parade route is put up. But if you try to squeeze out others beforehand, you'll be asked to move by cast members.

The parade routes are set up any time between and 30 and 60 minutes before the parade begins.

While Disneyland is currently the only Disney theme park to institute a Squatting Ban, it could be possible that Walt Disney World does the same to manage the heavy crowds at the Orlando resort.

I mean, if they find it necessary, sure. But WDW doesn't have a huge population of crazy locals that think nothing of coming to the park and waiting for entertainment for hours and hours. Vacationers that are already concerned about time and value for the money have no incentive to waste hours protecting their turf in the same way.

I know nothing about Orlando locals so I may be completely wrong but I don't sense the same level of entitlement that is seen so often in Anaheim passholders.

Disney World had the same issues with a small chunk of their locals. It wasn't a MK thing like Disneyland though. It was Epcot and some of the resorts. Disney just solved their entertainment issues at Epcot by rotating the entertainment on a regualar basis now.
Off Kilter was at Canada for so long as was the Revolution at the UK. Both had fans that would park it in the same manner as the Disneyland followers. It moved onto the resorts too an example being the Scats Jazz Club lounge. They abruptly rid themselves of a very good preformer that was wildly popular, so popular that a guest staying at the resort was hard pressed to see the show because it was packed with some very loyal locals. The lounge is tiny to start with and it just threw off the business model of entertainment area for residing guests. Wasn't even meant to take on other resort guests staying on Disney Property though always welcome. Solution they just didn't renew his contract and gone, problem solved.

 

[JTravis58]

so in other words your an ***hole that has no patience and no respect for other people.

I'd probably punch you in the face if I'd been waiting and got to the show early enough to get a good spot and you tried to squeeze in and get in front of me and especially if you cut in front of older people or kids.

All joking aside, this really is a issue that occurs far too often than it should. It always strikes me when it's the adults doing or encouraging this. Kids I can overlook, especially if they are not being supervised. They may not have been trained proper crowd etiquette or just don't realize they are pushing in front of others. Though for adults doing this I can give no excuse. The frequency of seeing this occur is also astonishing.

 

[drizgirl]

Just show up before the parade or fireworks and find a spot. You can squeeze in and force others to move if you know how to do it right. We do this every trip and space somehow manages to be found every time.

FWIW, I didn't need a sarcasm font to tell you weren't serious.

 

[SweetDuffy101]

Um, TDL, last time I checked does not ban people from camping out a spot. In fact if it is a new or seasonal parade, people will wait hours for it, and most of the time they lay down towls too. Sometimes they'll wait from park open. But what Tokyo does do is ban people from holding devices over their heads.

Yes they have a camping ban rule for both parks years ago. check their website.

 

[ford91exploder]

All joking aside, this really is a issue that occurs far too often than it should. It always strikes me when it's the adults doing or encouraging this. Kids I can overlook, especially if they are not being supervised. They may not have been trained proper crowd etiquette or just don't realize they are pushing in front of others. Though for adults doing this I can give no excuse. The frequency of seeing this occur is also astonishing.

My personal favorite variation of this behavior is while standing being smashed in the ankles by a stroller deliberately and repeatedly - I then turned around keep that up and I'm calling Disney security (yes I have that number on my phone) and saying if you had asked politely I would have let you move in front of me.

For those who ASK if I'll move if they are shorter than me or if they have kid's I will and have allowed them in front of me (also allowed aggressive drunks as a parade spot is NOT worth a trip to ER) but I don't reward aggressive behavior.

 

[Lets Respect]

Fireworks and parades are so magical

 

[Biff215]

Laying out towels and blankets hours in advance should be outlawed IMO. If you want to sit there on the curb and hold your spot more power to you. I always laugh as we walk down MS and see the tour groups waiting for parades/fireworks well in advance. If that's the only way to enjoy something you can keep it, my kids would rather be doing something and it's better for my sanity. We've always been content walking up 10-15 minutes in advance and talking what we can get.

Shows like those at MVMCP are especially frustrating. You set up camp in advance just to have rude guests push you from behind and encourage their kids to move in front of yours. The worst I've experienced is the SW fireworks at DHS last summer. We purposely chose a spot a little further back based on recommendations here just to be forced by CM's to cram forward to the stage to allow the Fantasmic crowd to join in. I'm happy to make space, but don't shove guests who have waited patiently into spaces where there are obstructed views.

One more reason I'll choose to either stand in an open area or miss the show entirely. It's no fun feeling like cattle, standing in queues all day long can be bad enough!

 

[Siren]

Here is the official new parade viewing policy from Disneyland.

Courtesy of MiceChat.com

Disney World had the same issues with a small chunk of their locals. It wasn't a MK thing like Disneyland though. It was Epcot and some of the resorts. Disney just solved their entertainment issues at Epcot by rotating the entertainment on a regualar basis now.
Off Kilter was at Canada for so long as was the Revolution at the UK. Both had fans that would park it in the same manner as the Disneyland followers. It moved onto the resorts too an example being the Scats Jazz Club lounge. They abruptly rid themselves of a very good preformer that was wildly popular, so popular that a guest staying at the resort was hard pressed to see the show because it was packed with some very loyal locals. The lounge is tiny to start with and it just threw off the business model of entertainment area for residing guests. Wasn't even meant to take on other resort guests staying on Disney Property though always welcome. Solution they just didn't renew his contract and gone, problem solved.

Hi @Gabe1! Wow, that's just awful. MSEP was extremely popular and it disappeared for no valid reason. So, I believe you have made an excellent point here. Thanks for shedding some light on this.

Laying out towels and blankets hours in advance should be outlawed IMO. If you want to sit there on the curb and hold your spot more power to you. I always laugh as we walk down MS and see the tour groups waiting for parades/fireworks well in advance. If that's the only way to enjoy something you can keep it, my kids would rather be doing something and it's better for my sanity. We've always been content walking up 10-15 minutes in advance and talking what we can get.

Shows like those at MVMCP are especially frustrating. You set up camp in advance just to have rude guests push you from behind and encourage their kids to move in front of yours. The worst I've experienced is the SW fireworks at DHS last summer. We purposely chose a spot a little further back based on recommendations here just to be forced by CM's to cram forward to the stage to allow the Fantasmic crowd to join in. I'm happy to make space, but don't shove guests who have waited patiently into spaces where there are obstructed views.

One more reason I'll choose to either stand in an open area or miss the show entirely. It's no fun feeling like cattle, standing in queues all day long can be bad enough!

I totally agree. The MVMCP was the worst. People were so desperate to find a spot for the parade -- they were saving spots hours in advance. And then, after the first parade -- people immediately started saving spots for the second parade -- and many people never moved, so they could watch it twice.

 

[Brian Noble]

While Disneyland is currently the only Disney theme park to institute a Squatting Ban, it could be possible that Walt Disney World does the same to manage the heavy crowds at the Orlando resort.

WDW doesn't have anything like the problem Disneyland had*. There people lay down blankets and rotate who has to occupy it while everyone else goes off for the day. There are a few people saving seats here or there at WDW, but generally only after the parade route is set up in the first place.

*: Excepting possibly during the Parties. I've not been to one, so I don't know.

 

[nolatron]

Has WDW done anything to improve the way they manage the crowds?

Just came back from a week trip and spent 3 days at the MK. One welcomed sight I saw just before/during parade and fireworks was Cast members used masking tape to designate "watching space" from "walking space" all along main street and near the hub. Basically the first curb and about 2-3 feet back was taped off for parade watching,leaving the rest of the sidewalk space was for moving traffic.

This was a huge help as we needed to leave right during the 3pm parade. Cast members were telling people who stopped in the seperated walking paths to move along, so it was nice to see it being enforced as well.

Compared to previous trips this made getting out the park soooo much easier during these times.

As long as WDW keeps this up to maintain the flow of traffic around the hub and Main Street, it doesn't bother me that people want to sit around the hub at 7pm for an 8pm fireworks show. Just meant less people in line for us.

 

[amjt660]

Agree that there is a huge difference in the crowd control techniques between Disneyland and WDW.

WDW CM's tend to take a rather passive, almost submissive, view of enforcing basic crowd control policies. Disneyland CM's are much more visible and engaged in getting the crowd to follow some basic rules before and during the show.

As for the "No Camping" rule for Disneyland, it's about time! They have done this for years and years at Tokyo Disneyland, and it works beautifully and maintains a gracious atmosphere in the park. I'm very glad to see Disneyland USA getting in on the Tokyo act. It also tells me TDA isn't afraid of taking on the local AP'ers and getting them to obey with new rules.

All that said, as for "No Camping", I'm not sure it's that big of a problem at WDW. On my WDW visits I rarely waste time on parades or water shows, except for Illuminations. But I don't see the camping as a thing in WDW mostly because of the Orlando climate that doesn't encourage lounging about in the open air in the afternoon. But also because of the different demographics that visit WDW; more tourists less locals compared to Disneyland USA.

Tokyo has a demographic that is like Anaheim on steroids. When I visit Tokyo it looks and feels like it's 95% locals and 5% tourists. When I visit Anaheim it feels like a 50% locals and 50% tourists mix, or maybe a 20% locals and 80% tourist mix in summer, Easter and Christmas breaks. At WDW though, it feels like a 80% tourists, 10% locals and 10% Cast Members on their day off mix.

I visited Tokyo Disneyland in Dec 2016
I went to the hub approx. 2 hours before Dreamlights started and sat on the curb.
No issue for the CM - except when I lay down they asked me to pull back my feet so they were not in the street.
At the one hour mark everyone around me stood up, took out there blankets and layed them on the sidewalk.

So even though I was technically not supposed to camp out I actually did for 2 hours.
And so did everyone else around me at the time.
By the time the 1 hour mark hit they was my row on the curb and one row of families behind us

Max

 

[GhostHost1000]

so I wonder how this will work for those camping out for 4th of July or New Years firework shows... most of the day

 

[Obobru]

I visited Tokyo Disneyland in Dec 2016
I went to the hub approx. 2 hours before Dreamlights started and sat on the curb.
No issue for the CM - except when I lay down they asked me to pull back my feet so they were not in the street.
At the one hour mark everyone around me stood up, took out there blankets and layed them on the sidewalk.

So even though I was technically not supposed to camp out I actually did for 2 hours.
And so did everyone else around me at the time.
By the time the 1 hour mark hit they was my row on the curb and one row of families behind us

Max

Well this could be one of two things. They play an announcement telling people they can not sit on the floor until 1hr before so that's either new as of Feb or you ignored it as many westerners do seem to think they can just do as they please which is why the American parks are chaos now.

 

[Crystal J]

I think it is a great rule! My 1st visit to DLR I was shocked by all the blankets and people holding spots for hours. I ended up skipping paint the night since I didn't want to camp out for hours to see it. It also created a ton of congestion on main street hours before the parade - we were trying to go into a couple shops at like 7 PM and the parade was at 9:30 PM that night and it was very hard to navigate. They hold spots at WDW but nothing like this. On my last trip, I was there Jan 8 which was the last day PTN would run for awhile, I decided if you can't beat them, join them. I timed it to grab a bench with a good view just as the 1st christmas parade ended at about 2. So we got to see the 2nd Christmas at 4:00 then PTN at 6:30 then we vacated our bench. We just used 1 bench for our group of 4 and only 2 people ever left at a time to use the bathroom or grab a drink/snack. For WOC I said screw it after the 1st time I showed up an hour early for my fastpass to a massive line and paid for the dining package for the next night and again my last trip - I did it at lunch so it wasn't too bad cost wise and in my opinion as a vacationer worth every penny.

At WDW an hour is about my max for any show, and only because I am a photographer.

View from my bench: https://www.flickr.com/photos/clj7181/33095562406/in/datetaken-public/

 

[fngoofy]

My question is this.. We all pay the admission to get in. If one chooses to sit on a blanket on the curb all day, who's to say they can't do that? They paid their admission, they should be able to Disney however they want. As long as they're not taking up the entire sidewalk so that people can't pass, what's it matter?

So by your logic, you, me, and 10 others could lay down a gauntlet that spans Main St. and make everyone step over our blankets/bodies all day?
Man, give it up. They have the right to ask any of us to move for whatever reason they like, it's their park. I think it's the perfect rule to say "You can sit on this bench all day, but we will be clearing it as we setup the parade route. You can then come back to it if it is open."
Same with the the blankets/seat cushions. "No camping until the parade route is setup and even then, only in designated areas, you can't cop a squat in a traffic zone or on top of a planter."

 

[mousehockey37]

So by your logic, you, me, and 10 others could lay down a gauntlet that spans Main St. and make everyone step over our blankets/bodies all day?
Man, give it up. They have the right to ask any of us to move for whatever reason they like, it's their park. I think it's the perfect rule to say "You can sit on this bench all day, but we will be clearing it as we setup the parade route. You can then come back to it if it is open."
Same with the the blankets/seat cushions. "No camping until the parade route is setup and even then, only in designated areas, you can't cop a squat in a traffic zone or on top of a planter."

Then we agree to disagree.

 

[DisneyJayL]

Great!