Why Don't Parades Always Begin on MSUSA?

[Cosmic Commando]

With all of the traffic flow problems the parade creates, I'm sure everyone has seen the wall of people following the parade, wanting to leave the park. Wouldn't it be easier if the parade always started on MSUSA, and then people could filter out more gradually as the end of the parade passed them?

 

[mousehockey37]

With all of the traffic flow problems the parade creates, I'm sure everyone has seen the wall of people following the parade, wanting to leave the park. Wouldn't it be easier if the parade always started on MSUSA, and then people could filter out more gradually as the end of the parade passed them?

Nope. That's just not the Disney way.

I'm sure there's logistics behind the flow from where they work on the floats and prep area backstage that dictate why they go the direction they do. The MSEP would run from Town Hall area to Frontierland.

It's also a clever trick to try and keep people IN the park. If they see a wall of people behind the parade heading towards the exits, they'll maybe get some people who will just say forget it and go shop, eat or get on a ride.

 

[marni1971]

If I recall it was the early / mid 90s when the afternoon parade started to run from Fronland.

I assume it's down to staging / storage order. Though more recently CADCT also ran from Main Street.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

I saw Spectro start in Frontierland once and never again

 

[DHoy]

I believe there are two reasons for the difference in directions, mainly operational:
Nightime parade in Town Square: That starts there to draw the crown up to the Hub for fireworks
Day Parade: Starting in Town Square would cause crowds to enter all the lands simultaneously, where as starting in frontierlands allow crowds to first disperse into Adventureland, Liberty Square, followed by Fantasyland then Tomorrowland. Also this allows a mass exit so that monorails, ferries and busses all have full capacity used.

If I recall correctly, Spectro and DEP mainly started on main street. FOF started in Frontierland. CADCT started on Main St. DDCT, SADCT, RTM, MM all started in Frontierland. Leaving celebrate a dream come true as the exception. During the parties, the Halloween and christmas parades both start in frontierland. That may be an operational decision as well as the lighting for those parades has been set-up for a certain direction.

 

[brb1006]

I saw Spectro start in Frontierland once and never again

That must had been rare, I remember seeing old footage of Spectromagic that also started from Frontierland.

 

[FettFan]

If I recall correctly, Spectro and DEP mainly started on main street. FOF started in Frontierland. CADCT started on Main St. DDCT, SADCT, RTM, MM all started in Frontierland. Leaving celebrate a dream come true as the exception. During the parties, the Halloween and christmas parades both start in frontierland. That may be an operational decision as well as the lighting for those parades has been set-up for a certain direction.

Last time I saw Spectro, they ran it twice. Before the fireworks, it ran a "matinee" show from Frontierland to Main Street. After the fireworks, it went from Main Street back to Frontierland. This was back in....2008 or 2009.

 

[5thGenTexan]

In 1992 when my high school went to WDW we started and the end of main street to Frontierland. I'm not sure how many parades they had then but I'm certain it was before the fireworks. It doesn't even seem like it was fully dark when we began. I know Disney parades move much faster that what we were used to marching.

 

[larryz]

When I first read the thread title, my response was "Because Ms USA would get really tired of those floats running her over."

But then I read the thread.

And I'm sticking with my first impulse.

 

[DisneyPan]

With Spectro, the floats were too heavy to get over the hill at Frontierland stepoff (behind the gate). For filming where spectro is seen coming down MS, they actually lined up the floats in Frontierland. That was back in the early 2000s when I was in Parades.