When does setting up early become a nuisance?

[JIMINYCR]

Try though I may to make my way along Main street, I cant help stepping on someones fingers or brush into someone stepping backwards, then get nasty looks or comments. Just plant your butt down, sprawl out over the pathway and claim that spot. Hey... Youre the ones blocking the way and making yourselves obstacles to move around.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

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

Last November, it was 2 hours before the parade started!!! 2 hours! The Main St was so blocked that we had to exit the park behind the scenes at the side of the Crystal Palace. I've never seen it that crowded 2 hours before parade time before!

 

[Weather_Lady]

For me, the problem is not so much the people who park their buns along the parade route early -- it's the crowd trying to move around them. We were unfortunate enough to be entering the Magic Kingdom last year during the Festival of Fantasy parade (it was not part of the "plan," but there was a bus delay...). The "parked parade watchers" were staying behind barricades and generally behaving themselves. It was the idiots trying to walk behind them -- and watch the parade at the same time -- that were the problem. Incapable of doing two things at the same time, the ones in front of us would stop abruptly in the middle of the walkway (thereby blocking it) for a photo or just a lengthy gawk every few seconds, so we had to be constantly vigilant so as not to run into them. The morons behind us -- one pushing an empty wheelchair and one pushing an empty stroller -- kept ramming into the back of us repeatedly as they rubbernecked around, to the point where my 70-year-old father suffered a deep, openly-bleeding gash in the back of his ankle. The CMs in the area were doing their best to herd the crowd, but all the Magic in the world can't overcome the basic stupidity of people (all present company excepted, naturally).

 

[draybook]

Try though I may to make my way along Main street, I cant help stepping on someones fingers or brush into someone stepping backwards, then get nasty looks or comments. Just plant your butt down, sprawl out over the pathway and claim that spot. Hey... Youre the ones blocking the way and making yourselves obstacles to move around.

I literally had a lady looking down at her phone while she walked right into me in Liberty Square a few weeks ago. It was kind of funny because I tried to speed up my walking but she ran right into me and then bounced back a foot or two. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of it.

 

[Stevenlatham01]

I have been to Disneyland Paris 4 times and the arcade that runs parallel to Main Street is such a great way to miss the traffic of the parade and also stay dry whilst entering / exiting the park when it's raining. Also the shops the other side of Main Street are mostly linked so you can walk most of that side to. Is that not the case for the shops in Magic Kingdom Main Street (our first trip this July)?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Also the shops the other side of Main Street are mostly linked so you can walk most of that side to. Is that not the case for the shops in Magic Kingdom Main Street (our first trip this July)?

It is, and that's the way to do it.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I don't think I've ever waited more than 20-30 minutes for a parade or fireworks spot, and that was only because I didn't have time to fit in another ride before the show.

I love that people find spots early, every extra person sitting on the pavement is one less person in line in front of me.

 

[LAKid53]

Since the CMs seem to start setting up for the parades/fireworks at least 2 hours before, that encourages people to start staking out their spot. The first time we ate at CRT for dinner (7:30ish ressie), people were already staking out their spot for MSEP and Wishes. So I had to dash through the gauntlet of people sitting around the Hub. Unless I've booked a FP+ or dessert party, I take the 30-45 minutes before parade/fireworks start to (1) shop as I (2) exit the park or (3) if it's Wishes, get on rides with (hopefully) little wait time. Unless it's a special parade/fireworks, I've seen them enough times to not really care if I do/don't watch them on a particular trip. And I've found the best viewing for Wishes to be at my resort if I'm staying at a monorail or MK resort. I can sit, enjoy a nice adult beverage and then head back to my room without wading through the masses leaving the park afterwards.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I literally had a lady looking down at her phone while she walked right into me in Liberty Square a few weeks ago. It was kind of funny because I tried to speed up my walking but she ran right into me and then bounced back a foot or two. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of it.

Not just on the Disney walkways... happens to me everywhere. Everyones so fixated staring at the screen images they will walk right off the sidewalk out into traffic without knowing what they are stepping into. Next feature on the electronic devices should be a warning beep or have the screen go blank when you reach a critical area or collision spot so you have to look up.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Problem with scouting out a spot is you get the dreaded, "Oh, Johnny can't see, can he move up in front of you."

That's annoying.

Or you get people just walking in front of you anyway or moving during the whole show.

I'm 6'4, so I can always see, but I have realized that scouting out a "perfect" spot usually is a waste of time because someone ruins it for you. After investing all that time in it, you are always disappointed if you don't see everything.

I just play it smart.

I watch the electric parade in Frontierland, literally walk up 2 minutes before starting and have front row view. I walk up to Wishes right before start and always get a good spot. I don't go during super packed times, but I never waste time waiting for shows where it's not assigned seating. Just too much can go wrong.

 

[EpcoTim]

The only thing parades are good for, as far as I'm concerned, is the people watching. The panicking, the freak-outs, the tough-mom competitions, the trash talking. It's like a giant, angry carnival. One of the best fights I've ever seen was before a parade.

But other than that, then yes, nuisance, but only if you get caught in it.

 

[shipley731]

I've only waited once for a parade. After the 2010 Super Bowl when the Saints won, I drove down to MK on the chance Drew Brees would be in the parade. WDW is only a couple hours from where I live & both my friend & I had annual passes. We figured worst case scenario, no parade & we just hang out in Disney for a while. Got confirmation that there was indeed going to be a parade & Brees was there. Walked in MK around 10am. Grabbed a soda & set up to wait. Got an awesome shot of Brees & Mickey Mouse as they drove by. On a side note, I saw the biggest collection of folks in Saints wear that I've ever seen outside of NOLA. My friend & I had an awesome time.
Outside of something like that, I wouldn't stake out a spot for a parade or fireworks more than about 10 minutes.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Always remember, folks, every person parked on Main Street two hours before a parade is one less person in line for a ride. And that's just fine by me.