Towel to help reserve spot for parade?

[maxiesmom]

And perhaps you didn't read what I wrote- there were 4 chairs- two of them started grabbing chairs while the other 2 plopped their butts down as she was putting the food on the table - perhaps she should've stood aside with a 2 ur old and a tray full of food and a stroller so that these 2 adult pigs could sit at HER table . You do that on your trip- we won't. And it was outdoor seating, so no we didn't see an issue with him sitting on the table although I so hope eating while he was doing it was distasteful to them.

I did read what you wrote--and you didn't state how many chairs were taken. Nor did you state that the rest of the family were on their way--though saving spots for people who are not yet there in a full quck service place is a whole 'nother discussion.

Being rude back is never the answer, and proves nothing. Though i have the feeling from the tone of your posts that this is something you cannot look at in a calm, reasonable manner.

Lowering yourself down to the lowest common denominator is nothing to be proud of. So your daughter, the people she was rude to and those who were rude to her, and a bunch of innocent bystanders had their meal ruined. Not something to boast about.

 

[Micca]

Anybody here remember the fake plastic vomit & dog poop? Place it strategically around the towel?

 

[lucas]

1) And, get tossed out of the park.
2) The rule is no-saving.
3) If you object or make a fuss, YOU are in the wrong.
4) After all, where would people stand IF EVERYONE saved space(s)?
5) Just not practical.
5) Or, fair to those who wait the time.

NOTE: I have pulled a few shifts as crowd control, and saving has never been proper.

Think of it as getting in line for a ride.....would you create an obstacle of any kind in the queue with a view to saving that 'space', then allowing another party member to fill said 'space' once you had gotten to the front of the line some time later?

No....,because that wouldn't be tolerated, either by the rest of those queuing behind you, or any CM's that noticed it happening!!

Basically....you get out of line for any reason....you lose your place....simples!

Yes and yes.

 

[cakebaker]

Sometimes, yes! DH and I were in Italy last year and shared a table a few times. There is a German pub here in town with a lot of long tables with benches. No one forces it, but the lay out certainly invites patrons to share tables. Most Americans will avoid it when possible, but sometimes there is no other alternative.

We absolutely love sharing tables when possible. We very much enjoy Biergarten just for that reason- the experience we had was not a case of wanting to share a table tho.

We also make friends with those around us waiting for parades and fireworks/ it helps to work as a team and a friendly group has power. Lol

 

[chigirl]

As someone else has said I try to avoid the parades because of the masses. However my husband loves them. We try to view them way I closer to the end as it tends to be less crowded. My most irritating are those adults who insist on standing rite in front and won't let kids in from of them. If you can see over a child or short person what harm is it? We went to thanksgiving parade in New York a couple of times and those people were much nicer than the people at Disney!

There is a big parade the Saturday before Thanksgiving in Chicago that is sponsored by WDW, so there's floats and Minnie, Mickey etc. Thousands of people line up and everyone is nice. But it is free. WDW vacations are expensive. I never go to the parades due to the stress.
But we were chosen to be Grand Marshalls in 2012 and that was fun!!! But we have a fastpass+ for FOF in November. I am hopeful.

 

[Peachkins]

After reading a good chunk of this thread I'm becoming more and more thankful that we're not taking the time to stop and watch the parades. It's just my husband and I, and we're going to the second parade at MNSSHP- that's it. I dealt with the parade horrors three years ago when I went with a larger group, and I swear there were staggeringly rude people at every single one we tried to watch.

 

[Pfau]

My family for years has carried for the last 10 years, what the kids dubbed 'the parade blanket'. It is a small blanket which has a waterproof back and folds up to hang off the stroller. We use it for parades, fireworks, and just a quick rest break when we sit down for a snack. Usually we do not unfold it all the way, just enough to cushion our seat-setters and/or to keep us dry after an afternoon or evening shower.

At parades in the MK, we usually set it up in Frontierland which tends to be a little less crazy and the snacks/bathrooms are all close by. We are all on the blanket for most of the time except when the kids join the fun games in the streets with cast members or one of us does a snack/ bathroom run. I have been known to bring a small bottle of bubbles or deck of cards to keep the kids entertained when they were younger. The blanket has always been well received by others around us......we usually invite other young children to join us on it, especially as the parade gets ready to start. My DH does not really like to watch the parades, so he usually steps back and we look for a couple of kids whose parents have arrived late for the parade and are stuck too far back to see. We invite them up to the blanket to enjoy the magic.

While others may object to this approach, surprisingly, we have never had a bad experience. You just have to not take more space than you need and be willing to share. Most people around us have actually helped us 'protect' the blanket once they realize we are filling it with extra kids. My daughter's favorite motto is 'sharing and caring'...... We could all use a little more of this in our lives and what better place to demonstrate this than the MK.

I like your attitude.

 

[KimBean]

So very true. people have jumped in front of us pushed us together, It is so bad we usually do not watch the parades because it can be unenjoyable. If you do take a towel it will help but I would take one I did not care about because I am sure it will get stepped on.

This happened to us the last time. 2 hours sitting on a curb to save our spot. As soon as the parade starts people stand in front of us. Then the CM comes by and tells them to step back and making us step back. I have multiple health issues (not bad enough for a wheelchair YET) and so my saving grace was trying to get a curb to sit on. This used to be not an issue - but now a days people don't have any decency. My DH looked at the CM and said very nicely you've seen us waiting here 2 hours and the CM just shrugged his shoulders, like there was nothing they could do.

Is it better in the reserved spots?? Maybe I should rethink my FP's.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think our plan for the parade is to have one of us sit on each side of the stroller, and someone stand directly behind it. I just don't want crazies pushing their way in at the last minute and knocking into the stroller, so hopefully us surrounding it will help keep it safe.

 

[brerboys]

I bring a felt backed square tablecloth - folded in half it fits the rear ends of our family of four. We usually have at least two of us "holding" our spot with the tablecloth. Even though we have experienced the last minute pushing, I find they are less likely to sit or stand on our cloth. And since I got it at the dollar store, into the trash it goes after the parade.

 

[cakebaker]

This happened to us the last time. 2 hours sitting on a curb to save our spot. As soon as the parade starts people stand in front of us. Then the CM comes by and tells them to step back and making us step back. I have multiple health issues (not bad enough for a wheelchair YET) and so my saving grace was trying to get a curb to sit on. This used to be not an issue - but now a days people don't have any decency. My DH looked at the CM and said very nicely you've seen us waiting here 2 hours and the CM just shrugged his shoulders, like there was nothing they could do. Is it better in the reserved spots?? Maybe I should rethink my FP's.

We had the best CM ever at HS. We were standing in the area where they come out after Fantasmic waiting for the fireworks and a woman with a couple of kids tried to get past the cm and push her way into the taped off area. The CM told her no and when the woman asked why, the CM got on her face and said- these people have been standing here for 2 hours, you don't get to just push in at the last second, now move! I could've hugged her!! Lol

Moral of the story- make friends with the neatest CM!

 

[Nancyg56]

We have never had to deal with these issues...For the last 6 or 7 years, we watch from Frontierland, and it's just not that crowded.

On our last trip we attended a Christmas party, and watched from Frontierland. I am a convert! I have never minded Main Street waits or crowds, but the experience in FL was so much easier! I always do chat with my neighbors, and "shoo" littles in front of me once the parade starts, but I also do not like those pushy people who think that my space should be a free-for-all for those people who think that their time is more valuable than mine.

It really is like those line jumpers who have one person stake out their spot whale the rest of the group take their time, enjoying their coffee (yup, last trip Mom was "tired" and needed to rest with her morning coffee while Dad and his little beast of a kid held ETWB spots for the "girls". Yea...no one else was tired that morning! LOL

 

[Flight]

We secured a spot on Main Street two hours before SpectroMagic. As it got closer to parade time, people began to crowd in and we found our space shrinking so we were crammed together but still had our spot on the curb. There could not have been more than .02 mm of open space on the curb in front of us, but as the parade approached a family managed to shove their way onto that tiniest of platforms and stand in front of us!

So go ahead and lay out your towel. At parade time it will get trampled on and you will be jostled out of your position. Some people just go nuts. It is their vacation and they deserve to stand in front of you blocking your view.

 

[AmyB2006]

Good luck with that. I can't reserve my spot with my own body

FP+.... gotta love those reserved parade spots. I will never watch another parade without one.

 

[keishashadow]

Because if you let the children through, inevitably the parents want to stand with them, so they work their way through also, or they stick their arms in front of your face trying to video the faces of their kiddies watching the parade. It's nice when you can let kids stand in front though.

my vote for most irritating is when you are at the rope and you have been there for an hour and then someone tries to stand in front of the rope. A cast member comes by and tells them they need to get behind the rope. So they duck under the rope and stand in front of you.

obviously, not your first rodeo.

why the CM doesn't insure they go to the back of the pack is beyond me.

I would happily buy tickets to have seats, like at a concert. I have long given up trying to get a spot Parade watching, especially at MK as I found it too dangerous and I thought, omg, this is an accident waiting to happen. Way too congested on Main Street during Parades. Good Luck!

winter is coming

the only reason I threw good money to the upcoming Villians Soiree @ MNSSHP was to get a prime parade viewing spot that we wouldn't have to fight to hold the turf or line up hours early so my DH could get his photo geek on...if it's anywhere the success it seems, not a stretch to think it'll be offered as a standard $ upgrade option.

 

[KimBean]

We had the best CM ever at HS. We were standing in the area where they come out after Fantasmic waiting for the fireworks and a woman with a couple of kids tried to get past the cm and push her way into the taped off area. The CM told her no and when the woman asked why, the CM got on her face and said- these people have been standing here for 2 hours, you don't get to just push in at the last second, now move! I could've hugged her!! Lol

Moral of the story- make friends with the neatest CM!

Only one CM there. Not my fault he was a SISSY! HAHAHA!

 

[Motherofsix]

Hello all! I am the OP. We just got back a few days ago, and wanted to give a quick report on our FoF parade viewing experience. We viewed the parade this past Sunday. We did NOT end up using a towel to stake out our spot. Prior to our trip I did not realize that strollers were allowed to be parked right at the rope for parades. (I should have asked on here.) So, what we did was park our large double jogging stroller right at the rope with our two year old twins in it. We left enough room on one side of the stroller for our two older girls to stand at the rope, with somebody's single stroller parked on the other side of them. There was just enough room between the two strollers for my girls to fit, and not enough room for anyone else to squeeze in. My husband and I stood directly behind the stroller. We all had great, unobstructed views of the parade in a shaded area outside of Country Bears in Frontierland. We got our spots at about 2:35. My hubby and oldest daughter went and grabbed Mickey bars and were back within 5-10 minutes. By the time the kiddos finished their ice cream, the parade was starting. This made the wait manageable for our two year old twins. Our children LOVED the parade! I am so happy that we were able to see it, with great spots and a minimal wait. It was fabulous, and not at all stressful like many posters described. I think viewing from Frontierland had a lot to do with that. The FoF parade was the very last thing we did on our final day at MK. It was the perfect ending to our vacation!

 

[hazelsmrf]

And perhaps you didn't read what I wrote- there were 4 chairs- two of them started grabbing chairs while the other 2 plopped their butts down as she was putting the food on the table - perhaps she should've stood aside with a 2 ur old and a tray full of food and a stroller so that these 2 adult pigs could sit at HER table . You do that on your trip- we won't. And it was outdoor seating, so no we didn't see an issue with him sitting on the table although I so hope eating while he was doing it was distasteful to them.

They were already there and needed the chairs, vs people who weren't even there yet... the people that are already there win. Sending one person in to save a table for everyone is where you went wrong.

 

[RJO]

Wife and I are bouncing 1/20/16 to 1/27/16...we have been 4 other times and have experienced rude parade etiquette...let me tell you...THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN...if I stake out a spot and someone "tries" to step in front of me...IT WILL NOT HAPPEN...TRUST ME,!

 

[PetePanMan]

Only works on beaches....