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When does setting up early become a nuisance?

Club Cooloholic

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am talking parades here. I feel like every year people start staking out spots earlier and earlier. Great for them but sometimes they start to create a roadblock on the walkways by being there over an hour early. I feel like 10 or 15 yrs ago it wasn't like this,..am I wrong?
FYI I personally think a half hour to 40mins early is a healthy amount of early
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
We either walk up as the parade is starting or skip it. We Never waste time sitting around staking out a spot. Same for Wishes and Illuminations. We have seen people gathering by 7 p.m. for Illuminations that starts at 9. And yes, having to step around people sprawled out on the ground is a pain. We just avoid Main Street before parade time to avoid that.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
I see it, but, unless they are blocking my way, I frankly, do not care. The way I see it if they want to spend $70 to $100 per day to sit on a concrete curb for a couple of hours just to watch a few floats go by for 15 minutes or so, then who am I to deflect that desire. To me there are way to many things to do and see to waste my time getting hemorrhoids.

I should add that I have watched those parades for years and have always just walked up and stood behind people shorter them myself and wasted no park time to do it.
 
Tom

Tom

Beta Return
In the past several years, especially since MSEP came back, we've accidentally seen the parade more times than we had back when we would stake out a curb.

As long as it's not important for you to see it on Main Street, you can catch a good view just about anywhere in Frontierland. We've sat on porches. We've stood behind people. And we've been stuck at the crossing next to Splash Mountain. All with perfectly good vantages.
 
RonAnnArbor

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
As long as I can remember the parades have been a nuisance, no matter what time people start to claim their space on the curbs. Frankly, there are three types of visitors when it comes to parades -- those who consider it a must do and are willing to sit there for a couple hours as the "event" -- those who walk up and watch from whatever corner they find decent -- and those who ignore it all together and find everything about them a nuisance and hindrance.

It has been like this since the 60's at Disneyland, and the first days at WDW -- the parades are not designed, from a business point of view, for entertainment but as crowd management -- in particular the afternoon parade is designed to move the stroller brigade toward mainstreet and eventually out of the park afterwards...and the evening parades are designed to gather the crowds in the central hub and eventually progress them out of the park afterwards en masse. Lots and lots written on this out there so not worth really getting more into than that.

The newer parks (Paris etc) have designed arcades that run parallel to Main Street for non-parade watchers to use and avoid the route completely. WDW has a design to build something similar though there doesn't seem to be any type of rush to get this done.

Not into the parades -- stay off of Main Street.
 
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S

Susan Savia

Well-Known Member
We were one of those familiies that would grab a good spot on the curb 45 minutes early and when it was about to start stand up...but then always ALWAYS someone pushing a stroller or a family with kids that decided to wait til last minute to get a spot, would come along and push to get in front of us. Sooo we have since just used the 10 minutes before method and it has always worked out just fine,. Watch a couple minutes of it and then go on.
 
jlsHouston

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Once I stopped briefly and watched Wishes from in front of Crystal Palace until a CM told us to move along. And twice I've seen it from the Tomorrowland Dessert Party venue. Never staked a spot, never even moved towards the crowd gathered to watch it. Have sat over in Frontierland and watched the fireworks and have sat over by Sleepy Hollow and enjoyed the music of it but joining the crowd on Main Street/Hub area is not for me.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Disneysea05 said:
Tokyo Disneyland does not have arcades running parallel of Main Street.....nor does it have a Main Street! ;)
Click to expand...
Not arcades, more Centre Street, but you can bypass most of Main Street in Tokyo. Not to mention their parades don't touch it.

The problem today is one group sits. The next think they must to. Then the next just in case they loose their spot. Then the next....
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
People setting up camp has always been an issue, but there seem to be two main differences now.

The first is there are no more slow times. Way back in the long long ago, you could go to the parks at certain times of the year and experience much lower crowd levels and less of a demand for space for the parades and fireworks. Those times are long gone.

The second is that people today seem to have no reservations about trying to squeeze you out of your spot. We have run into that so much over the last few years that we hardly do the fireworks or parades anymore unless we are doing a desert party or fireworks cruise.
 
draybook

draybook

Well-Known Member
In our past two trips, February and April, we only watched the MSEP once. Luckily, it had just rained(lightly) a bit earlier and by some stroke of luck our spot was open. This was literally 10 minutes before the start time on a Saturday and by the time it started there was still a ton of empty space in Liberty Square.

Now if we're discussing the Boo to You parade then heck yes, we try to grab our favorite spot 45 minutes in advance. And it just so happens that our spot is a tight squeeze and doesn't allow for late comers to try to fit in.

That parade is the main reason we enjoy the Halloween party, so you better believe we aren't missing a good spot.
 
BJones82

BJones82

Well-Known Member
draybook said:
Now if we're discussing the Boo to You parade then heck yes, we try to grab our favorite spot 45 minutes in advance. And it just so happens that our spot is a tight squeeze and doesn't allow for late comers to try to fit in.
Click to expand...

Last year was the first time we went to MNSHP and from what I heard we setup shop right at the end of main street for the parade and fireworks about an hour early... This was and will be the only time I ever setup early for a parade or firework show, we just like to meander around until they start and generally find ourselves in a decent place to watch them from and the benefits of not getting trampled make that worth while lol...
 

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