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How early to arrive for parades
- Thread starter hajenga
- Start date
Tinkerbell 8
Well-Known Member
It's hit or miss really. I'm obsessed with having a certain spot (on the L corner of Main Street by Casey's, first of all you can see the parade and fireworks GREAT from right there, and there is a light post that we sit infront of so we can lean against something while waiting the 60+ minutes) Sometimes we have to get there over an hour and a half before the parade starts, other times we have gotten there about 25 minutes before and were okay. If you get there early you can sit on the curb, otherwise you'll have to stand on the sidewalk in a big mess of people, and if you're in the back of the crowd people will constanty be bumping into you and your ankles will be run over by a million strollers. Its also good to get a spot on the curb because then there really isn't someone standing in front of you with a child sitting on their shoulders holding up a Mickey balloon. (Just realized I turned into one of those people who constantly complain about strollers and kids on shoulders so sorry about that)
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tizzo
Member
When you arrive at the park, look at the map. The route followed by the parade will be prominently marked. The parade usually winds from the front of the park, in Town Square, to the back left corner between Frontierland and Adventureland, exiting right by Splash Mountain.
In general, the closer you are to the back of the park, the easier it is to find a spot. Most people seem to cluster at the front.
One caveat - I do tend to avoid the parks when it's busy, so this may not be valid all the time - but every time I've tried, I've walked up and gotten an excellent viewing spot in Fronteirland just a few minutes before the parade passed by.
Here's another tip for fireworks viewing if you're interested. For Wishes, the best view integrating all aspects of the show is obviously from Main Street. But that's where everyone goes. If you're interested in a different view and don't want to stand among all those people, there's an excellent viewing spot on the bridge between the hub and Tomorrowland. Specifically, there's a spot on the bridge just on the Tomorrowland side of the center point from which the view of the castle is obstructed by a tree. Nobody ever stands there because they think you need to see the castle to enjoy the show. You can always walk up minutes before the show starts and get a spot right along the railing. What people don't realize until the show starts is that from that angle, the fireworks mostly appear to the right of the castle, so while you can't see the castle from there, you get an unobstructed view of most of the pyro. As a bonus, Tinkerbell flies almost right over your head.
Note that while you can get a good spot right up to when the show starts, you should make sure to arrive before it actually does start, because once it does all the people who think they have a good spot because they can see the castle realize that the tree is blocking the pyro, and many of them will shift into this area. You want to already be there before this happens.
In general, the closer you are to the back of the park, the easier it is to find a spot. Most people seem to cluster at the front.
One caveat - I do tend to avoid the parks when it's busy, so this may not be valid all the time - but every time I've tried, I've walked up and gotten an excellent viewing spot in Fronteirland just a few minutes before the parade passed by.
Here's another tip for fireworks viewing if you're interested. For Wishes, the best view integrating all aspects of the show is obviously from Main Street. But that's where everyone goes. If you're interested in a different view and don't want to stand among all those people, there's an excellent viewing spot on the bridge between the hub and Tomorrowland. Specifically, there's a spot on the bridge just on the Tomorrowland side of the center point from which the view of the castle is obstructed by a tree. Nobody ever stands there because they think you need to see the castle to enjoy the show. You can always walk up minutes before the show starts and get a spot right along the railing. What people don't realize until the show starts is that from that angle, the fireworks mostly appear to the right of the castle, so while you can't see the castle from there, you get an unobstructed view of most of the pyro. As a bonus, Tinkerbell flies almost right over your head.
Note that while you can get a good spot right up to when the show starts, you should make sure to arrive before it actually does start, because once it does all the people who think they have a good spot because they can see the castle realize that the tree is blocking the pyro, and many of them will shift into this area. You want to already be there before this happens.
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PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
Previously we have gotten seats on Main Street about an hour or a little more beforehand. When we went in May, we tried to sit an hour before and we ended up having to stand the whole time. In November, we went to MK on Thanksgiving and we got to Main Street right before Wishes started. As soon as it ended , we moved to the side and sat right down on the curb to wait for the 2nd parade. I liked this theory better because 1 - We were able to sit down right after Wishes and 2 - The parade bgan about 45 mins after Wishes ended so we didn't have to wait as long as usual.
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disneygirl1
Well-Known Member
Honestly I think it will depend on a lot of factors like crowds on the evening you want to see MSEP and where you want to watch the parade from. But 45 to 30 minutes prior is a good time to find your seats for the parade if you want to get a good view of it.
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docdebbi
Well-Known Member
believe me, the walk from frontierland to the exit will be the quickest part of your departure. the exodus after the fireworks is horrendous. one of the few things i DO NOT LIKE about wdw.
the line for the monorail or ferry will take you at least an hour, i don't do busses but assume the same for them. earlier this month, we left the dessert party on main street, went immediately to the monorail line, waited forever, were NOT the last ones to get on, but still kept hearing announcement that this was the final monorail of the night! don't know what everyone in line behind us did!
so, watch in frontierland if you want, i like being in front of the liberty bell on the little triangle. good view, convenient, comfortable, doesn't fill up as quickly as other spots, then just exit with everyone else. the extra five minute walk shouldn't matter.
the line for the monorail or ferry will take you at least an hour, i don't do busses but assume the same for them. earlier this month, we left the dessert party on main street, went immediately to the monorail line, waited forever, were NOT the last ones to get on, but still kept hearing announcement that this was the final monorail of the night! don't know what everyone in line behind us did!
so, watch in frontierland if you want, i like being in front of the liberty bell on the little triangle. good view, convenient, comfortable, doesn't fill up as quickly as other spots, then just exit with everyone else. the extra five minute walk shouldn't matter.
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