Question/opinions regarding parade

[ppony]

OK. I'm an A+ worrier. It's hard to worry more than I do. I'm not proud of it, but there it is.
What has me up at nights recently is the idea that we actually want to see the FoF parade this year. We haven't seen any of the Disney parades in over 10 years. The biggest reason is the stress of the masses of people and how far in advance you need to stake out a spot and even then, trying to save space for your family starting at an hour and a half or 2, and keeping it open even up to half an hour before it starts for the family to return is incredibly stressful for me. Daniel would NOT deal w/ waiting there for that long, there is no way. I mean, it's ulcer inducing stress for me. My youngest is autistic and we use his stroller as a wheelchair in WDW. Not only do we use it as a buffer between him and others and his safe zone, but also as a way to calm him down and remove him quickly from situations that escalate quickly and badly out of control. I'm not quite sure if he's going to be able to handle a parade with the crowds and noise, but the only way to know is to try, right? We haven't before becuase he handled lines and rides so poorly most of the time, parades were an automatic no-go.

SO! All that said, I'll be seeking out the help of a DAS to help us keep him calm in situations we know that usually don't go well. But what can I do about a parade? I could try and find a spot that's perhaps like on the upper deck of the train station near the entrance so that if we need to get away quickly, it might be a little easier to do up there than if we were having 12 people deep behind us. But I don't even know if that is realistic. I know people like it up there too. I'm really at a loss here. Does anyone have any suggestions to help put my mind more at ease? I don't mind staking out a spot, but people WILL invade it even if I tell them to return to our spot 30 minutes prior. I don't want to get into arguments w/ people. I'm very non-confrontational. We plan so carefully to make our trips possible and we do our best to not impact any one else's experience adversely, but sometimes, the best laid plans, just aren't enough. We do a ton of pre-trip "prep" to acclimate him to what will be coming, but you can only do so much.

help

 

[Betty Rohrer]

not sure train station will work in case of needing an escape as have seen people standing on steps to watch parade making going down very hard. getting to tunnel is very hard as people are all around the area. an idea to me would be to watch near splash mountain on side so you can visit area behjnd you for an escape. just avoid Main Street crowd as I can not see an escape from Main Street

 

[ppony]

not sure train station will work in case of needing an escape as have seen people standing on steps to watch parade making going down very hard. getting to tunnel is very hard as people are all around the area. an idea to me would be to watch near splash mountain on side so you can visit area behjnd you for an escape. just avoid Main Street crowd as I can not see an escape from Main Street

Thanks! That's good to know about the train station. The only place I've ever watched a parade at MK was on Main Street, and I knew that was going to be incredibly difficult. I just figured most places along the parade route were going to be just as thick w/ people.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I'd suggest watching it in liberty square by the hunted mansion. That way you have the boardwalk along the rivers of America to escape to and also you can escape to fantasyland without being cut off too much from the park. Plus the parade starts in frontierland beside splash mountain, it take about 15 minutes for it to get to main street from there.

 

[ppony]

I'd suggest watching it in liberty square by the hunted mansion. That way you have the boardwalk along the rivers of America to escape to and also you can escape to fantasyland without being cut off too much from the park. Plus the parade starts in frontierland beside splash mountain, it take about 15 minutes for it to get to main street from there.

 

[WantToGoNow]

The parade routes are usually less crowded feeling back in Frontierland as well.

 

[Twende]

This parade runs in the opposite direction from the previous parade so Frontierland is busy!

There are two options I can think of, go to one of the wheelchair viewing areas and leave somewhere there with the wheelchair/stroller while you walk around with your child. Or take a seat along the walls, say by The Hall of Presidents or near Country Bears and save a rope spot for the family.

It is a wonderful parade!

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Use one of you FP+ for the parade- It didnt seem to be that crowded in the area and people were showing up exactly at 3ish (parade didnt get to hub until 315/320) if you need to bail then head towards adventureland

just my 2 cents

 

[ppony]

I REALLY appreciate the help guys! THANK YOU! This IS helping me a lot.

I'll google the parade route map and have a look-see again. I was so bummed last time we actually went to the MNSSHP and had to leave before the parade as our guy had completely had it with the crowds and noise. Watching the fireworks show at the castle really cheesed him off though we tried to buffer him from people by backing up to shrubs, it didn't help. I really wanted to see that one too.

 

[HopperFan]

I would avoid the Main Street and HUB entirely. I would not get the FP+ for the parade, I have done it. The area got quite crowded and I think with the new parade it will be a full house. It was stressful for my DS. We got there way early to sit forward and it was a long hot wait on that asphalt. Zero shade at 3 pm! The worse is that it is a no escape zone. You would have to push through quite alot of folks to get over to the walk going to Adventureland to escape.

Highly suggest the Liberty Tree or Frontierland area.

If you wish to sit to the "outside" I say go near Haunted Mansion so that (1) if you have to leave it's a quick exit to Fantasyland. (2) If you make it through the parade then you will be one of the first to get to Fantasyland while everyone on the HUB and Main are still waiting to finish the parade. You also have access to the boardwalk a PP mentioned but it only takes you down to Splash and Thunder. Unless you sit down at the start of the parade and then you can travel the length of it to the Riverboat. It sometimes gets tight since some will stand on it to watch parade.

If you sit to the "inside" which is on the Liberty Tree side you will have fast exit to Adventureland through several cut through areas. If you get down by the Diamond Horseshoe and Shooting Gallery you will see wood "decks" built by trees, good sitting area if you don't need front row. BUT we found a great sitting area (my DS does not like people near him) close to there and it provided us with some shade. We sat under the overhang right in front of the Disney Vacation Desk. There are posts so you can put him there and no one can push to the side of him. No one can really sit or stand behind you because you are on a walk in front of their desk so it has to stay clear. We found it great for him and the CMs there were very nice about us sitting there. Here are some shots of left, right and parade. We sat to the left so pole at our left. In the second picture you can see the pole to the right just past a couple strollers. Not a big spot so I would get there early but at least no one can really stand behind you. I'll try to find a picture of what it looks like head on.

 

[ppony]

Hopperfan, that's fantastic!!!! I think I even know the DVC spot you speak of. THANK YOU!

 

[ppony]

Just wanted to than everyone again for their help and advice. I'm much much less worried about it now. Now that I have a good idea of where to go and what to do to escape quickly should we need to, I think we'll get to at least attempt the parade viewing. I tried showing it to my little guy on teh computer, but he's never seen a parade in person before and I just think it was hard for him to understand why I was showing it to him. I'll try again closer to our trip.

THANKS AGAIN!