Paint the Night Parade and Disneyland Forever Fireworks Strategy

dina444444 · May 28, 2015

I watched the parade last night from the curbside in front of Jolly Holiday. I got there at about 7pm and was able to stand behind the people sitting on the benches which made for an unobstructed view of the parade since those on the benches and curb sit. As soon as the parade ended everyone moved into the street and it was a pretty good view of the fireworks, however for the projections I do think Small World has the best view of those.

lvdis · May 28, 2015

Sorry if this was already mentioned and I missed it, where does the parade start and end from? Is it different depending on the early or late parade? Thanks!

dina444444 · May 28, 2015

lvdis said:
Sorry if this was already mentioned and I missed it, where does the parade start and end from? Is it different depending on the early or late parade? Thanks!

The 1st Parade goes from Small World to Main Street, the 2nd parade goes from Main Street to Small World. And I believe Soundsational is running from Main Street to Small World.

WebmasterMaryJo · May 28, 2015

Disney Kidd said:
I went to Disneyland last night to watch The Paint the Night parade and fireworks. The parade started at 8:50. A Cast Member told me that you want to be sitting down by 7pm to get a spot in Main Street. The area by It's a Small World is less crowded. There was another parade at 11pm that night, and you could get a spot a few minutes beforehand, no problem. I didn't want to sit for two hours so I strolled into Main Street at 8:30. Definitely no spots left, but I ended up watching it from inside the Emporium and by walking back and forth on the walking path. I could basically see the whole thing! Once the parade is over, you fill in the space of the parade route for the fireworks. This is important: YOU MUST HAVE A VIEW OF THE MATTERHORN AND CASTLE! I was on the walking path towards the end of parade and filed in directly in front of the castle. Be ready to fill up the space at the end of the parade because it filled up instantly!

This is a really good view, but you also get a great experience in the middle of Main Street. If you are in the area where you see both the castle and the Matterhorn you miss all of the effects on Main Street. I've been in the hub area and Main Street, and enjoyed both for the different effects that you see in each area.

Disney Kidd · May 28, 2015

Mary Jo said:
This is a really good view, but you also get a great experience in the middle of Main Street. If you are in the area where you see both the castle and the Matterhorn you miss all of the effects on Main Street. I've been in the hub area and Main Street, and enjoyed both for the different effects that you see in each area.

I do want to go back and see it from the different locations. I was lucky to be at the back edge of Main Street so I could periodically look back and see the projections.

Epek · May 28, 2015

Here now. I didn't want to be sitting waiting for the parade already (7:25), but have been in front of Astro Orbiters since 7pm! Slim pickings already! It's nuts. Even by Small World. People are blocking walkways. CM's have quite the job to do....

lorijohnhill · May 29, 2015

Are there supposed to be projections on IASW? I had my group over there all excited and nothing. We could see some of the fireworks, but really felt like something was missing.

theluckyrabbit · May 29, 2015

There are supposed to be projections. Here is a link to a YouTube video showing what was missing:

.

dtnrhi · May 29, 2015

According to Twitter, the projections there didn't work last night.

hpfan100 · May 29, 2015

Went to park last night, was able to snag a bench at 7 pm in front of the train station. Great viewing for the parade. Then we got up and moved towards the center of Main Street for fireworks. We ended up being able see the projections on both sides, fireworks, castle effects and think and Nemo. Great spot

beachdreamr1229 · May 29, 2015

If the projections are working I think you can actually see them more clearly on small world since it's a large mostly flat canvas. Hopefully they fixed whatever issue they were having last night.

Tinkerbell19672 · May 29, 2015

We saw them on IASW on Saturday night and they were awesome!!!

Tinkerbell19672 · May 29, 2015

Are the new fireworks just around for a year or indefinitely? We just got back but already wanting to plan our next trip

maltdizzy · May 29, 2015

Please understand the caveat that I, nor any else, probably knows for sure, that that may include executives who can wait and see before setting an end date. You can only gauge it by previous, similar promotions.

I expect you'll have plenty of time. The 50th Anniversary fireworks show remind the dominant fireworks show at DLR for the past decade. That said, after about 3 years, they shortened it to save costs. The 50th Celebration itself last 1-1/2 years. I would be surprised in the 60th Celebration promotion ended before Labor Day 2016.

Tinkerbell19672 · May 29, 2015

Thank you!

figment_jii · May 29, 2015

dina444444 said:
The 1st Parade goes from Small World to Main Street, the 2nd parade goes from Main Street to Small World. And I believe Soundsational is running from Main Street to Small World.

This was how it was on Saturday and Sunday. Soundsational ran from Main Street to IaSW. Then the first showing of PtN went from IaSW to MS and the second showing went from MS to IaSW.

theluckyrabbit · May 29, 2015

VandVsmama said:
There is no way I am going to sit on a curb for 5 hours just for a parade. What do you want to bet these are southern CA locals catching the parade before the AP block out days start?...

While many of the people waiting may be locals with passes that about to be blocked out for the summer, how about some credit for those of us locals who haven't even seen the new parade or fireworks yet so that non locals can have more spots? We plan on seeing the new 60th offerings after summer because we know we can and others should have their one time chance.

VandVsmama · May 29, 2015

theluckyrabbit said:
While many of the people waiting may be locals with passes that about to be blocked out for the summer, how about some credit for those of us locals who haven't even seen the new parade or fireworks yet so that non locals can have more spots? We plan on seeing the new 60th offerings after summer because we know we can and others should have their one time chance.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean any offense to you personally. A LOT of regular DL repeat visitors are locals. I have a few friends who have gone to DL since Memorial Day weekend just to camp out and see the new parade and fireworks...these same friends are also AP holders. Even if I lived just an hour away from DL, for me personally, I wouldn't want to wait 4-5 hours to see a 20 minute parade. But there is a large camp of southern CA locals who do exactly that.

theluckyrabbit · May 29, 2015

VandVsmama said:
I'm sorry. I didn't mean any offense to you personally. A LOT of regular DL repeat visitors are locals. I have a few friends who have gone to DL since Memorial Day weekend just to camp out and see the new parade and fireworks...these same friends are also AP holders. Even if I lived just an hour away from DL, for me personally, I wouldn't want to wait 4-5 hours to see a 20 minute parade. But there is a large camp of southern CA locals who do exactly that.

No worries. No offense taken. But I just wanted to give a balanced perspective. Yes, many APs are camping out for the new shows; but I suspect many of these same APs will soon be blocked out for the summer. (And it will be interesting to see how the summer AP blockout period affects the crowds on MS.) If not, they probably won't be camping out repeatedly throughout the summer. After all, once you've experienced the shows numerous times, you probably won't need to camp out to see the shows again. Some of our group of AP friends camped out at the 24 hour party, but others of us watched the videos online and will wait until after summer to give others their chance to sit curbside. Being local actually gives us the opportunity to be generous to other guests.

Minnie Meg · May 29, 2015

We got there at 8 last Sunday and despaired of finding a spot but were able to find a pretty nice spot for the parade in the pathway between the Tea Cups and the Alice and Wonderland ride.
The view was fine as the floats are so tall. And for the fireworks we just went down a little ways towards Small World- it wasn't the greatest but still very good!

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