Thoughts on FP for Festival of Fantasy Parade?

[LibrarianBecky]

FP just opened up for the Festival of Fantasy parade when we are in MK. I went ahead and grabbed it, but am now rethinking a bit. What are people's thoughts on this? It is a crowd level 6 day at MK (most recommended park), with MK closing at 7:00 pm for MNSSHP. Would this be a good use of a FP+, or would I be better off sticking to something like POTC instead?

Thanks!

 

[dkrauss]

I'm a fan of this FP. We had this during our trip last Sept when the FP area for the parade was near the castle (not sure if its back there yet). What we liked is not having to camp out 45 minutes early........we arrived about 20 mins before the parades started (then waited another 15 or 20 min for the parade to get to us). There was no pushing and shoving.......everyone was friendly. I actually posted a video on Youtube

Remeber this is the FP location near the castle. At the 14:40 mark you'll see why we liked it so much.

I'd keep it........but thats me

Doug

 

[MischaOz]

Great video! I would love to know if the FP spot is staying there through Dec...

 

[LibrarianBecky]

When I booked my fast pass, it said that it is at the Town Square--so a different location than this person posted. I don't have a problem getting there around 20 minutes early...but will it be another 30 minutes before the parade gets to the location? If so, I'm thinking might as well just take that 50 minutes and stake out a location in Frontierland that doesn't have me walking all the way to the front of the park.

I'll watch the video tonight when I'm not at work. Thanks for posting!

 

[BeerMe]

We did it in the spring and are doing it in December. It works for us

 

[mississaugamom]

Are there a lot of fast passes issued? My DH is concerned that the reserved area will be crowded and we will need to line up extra early for "front row" viewing.

 

[mesaboy2]

Are there a lot of fast passes issued? My DH is concerned that the reserved area will be crowded and we will need to line up extra early for "front row" viewing.

Relatively few FPs are offered, it's one of the harder ones to get for this reason. However, FPs still do not guarantee front-row viewing. As with anything, getting there early is the recommended strategy for the best view.

 

[hiroMYhero]

We had FPs for the Town Square area and we entered around 3:15 or 3:20. It's a later return window for Town Square versus the Hub.

The area is very spacious and we weren't crowded. As mesaboy stated, getting there early is best if you want curb/front-row viewing. Because the floats are very tall, we chose to stand back in the second row behind a stroller. We also had our favorite view of watching the parade come directly towards us on Main Street with the Castle as the backdrop.

 

[Dominion]

We had FPs for the Town Square area and we entered around 3:15 or 3:20. It's a later return window for Town Square versus the Hub.

The area is very spacious and we weren't crowded. As mesaboy stated, getting there early is best if you want curb/front-row viewing. Because the floats are very tall, we chose to stand back in the second row behind a stroller. We also had our favorite view of watching the parade come directly towards us on Main Street with the Castle as the backdrop.

Glad to hear its not crowded - I had the same concern as your husband. My FP+ says Town Square but it says from 2:45-3:05, which is different from what you're describing. Can you even get to Town Square from the back part of the hub once the parade starts if you didn't want to get there until 3:15 /3:20? (Which makes more sense based on timing...)

 

[hiroMYhero]

The 2:45-3:05 return time is the standard timing for the Hub. The parade reaches the Hub around 3:15.

You can get to Town Square if you walk through stores. We usually begin walking through at Casey's and continue to Emporium.

 

[Belle0101]

Is it fairly obvious where the FP+ viewing area is on any given day? My FP+ says this (obviously it would be ridiculous to show up after the parade) -

Valid November 1, 2015
Arrive between
9:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Magic Kingdom® Park
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade

It's from last month when Disney replaced it with a FP+ with Meet and Greet options. I was able to select the FoF FP+ again and Disney replaced it with this. I think they're being referred to as "Anytime FP+"?

 

[kjw42]

We scored a FP for the FFP, however our other two FPs for the day are in Frontierland and end an hour or so before the parade. I've heard good things about the views in Frontierland, is it worth hoofing it back to the FP area for the parade? It also worth noting I'm traveling with two small children and a senior.

 

[Dominion]

The 2:45-3:05 return time is the standard timing for the Hub. The parade reaches the Hub around 3:15.

You can get to Town Square if you walk through stores. We usually begin walking through at Casey's and continue to Emporium.

Ha! Who knew?? Thanks!

 

[texasroni75]

We scored a FP for the FFP, however our other two FPs for the day are in Frontierland and end an hour or so before the parade. I've heard good things about the views in Frontierland, is it worth hoofing it back to the FP area for the parade? It also worth noting I'm traveling with two small children and a senior.

This is our dilemma too. We will be in NFL/Frontierland just prior to our FOF FP time. Thinking of just staking out a spot near Hall of Presidents instead of rushing/running/fighting the crowds to make it to the Flag Pole FP+ location. Decided to keep the FP for the parade and make a last-minute decision on the day of. If we head to the FP+ location, we will be leaving after the parade and heading to another park for the day with our hoppers, since we'll be practically at the exit anyway.

 

[cincystamper]

Is it fairly obvious where the FP+ viewing area is on any given day? My FP+ says this (obviously it would be ridiculous to show up after the parade) -

Valid November 1, 2015
Arrive between
9:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Magic Kingdom® Park
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade

It's from last month when Disney replaced it with a FP+ with Meet and Greet options. I was able to select the FoF FP+ again and Disney replaced it with this. I think they're being referred to as "Anytime FP+"?

Thank goodness I'm not the only one.....everybody keeps talking about how their FP+ says a location and mine doesn't at all, either! So I have the same question....how do we know where to go? Are there signs? My plan right now is to just start asking CMs, but we all know how THAT could work out. LOL

 

[BarbieGal457]

We usually don't stop for parades but got a FP for this to check it out. We were near the train station area (where Marie & Pluto meet), but I would HIGHLY suggest getting there as early as possible for the return window. We got there pretty early and it was already crowded with many people totally stretched out on the floor which made it a little uncomfortable for us and we were very squished for a long time. That said, do not let that put you off from trying it. I would keep it and just try to get there on the early side. In the end we were happy we did it and took time to see the parade. We loved it!

Also our FP didn't have an area to go to. We had to ask CMs for directions which probably did delay us somewhat, but all were helpful. This was 6/2/15 so the newer FPs may have a return location, but ours didn't.

 

[MudBud]

Is the Frontierland area crowded for the parade? I was thinking of standing by the country bears area but only showing up about 15 - 20 minutes before the parade. We're going November 11. Good or bad plan?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you can time it right, there's a crossover from the Tiki Bird/Magic Carpet area to Country Bear Hall. Last summer, we were able to slip through the crossover and into the Country Bear stroller parking area just as the 3 pm parade was approaching.

The kids got front row with a less than 30 second wait. Not too bad.

 

[dismom2+twins]

Our plans have us stepping off the Riverboat around 2:45. Is there an ideal location around there to grab a view? I heard Frontierland is much less crowded for viewing.