2 nights-3 nighttime shows?

[lovemy3girls]

Hi everyone. Our first trip to DL is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have been trying to make a very flexible itinerary. I see that there are 3 nighttime shows between the 2 parks- Fantasmic, fireworks, and Electrical Parade. We will only be there for 2 days. Does anyone have a good strategy for fitting all 3 in between our 2 nights? Or will it be impossible to see them all? If so, Which one to skip? We are WDW vets, so planning this trip is challenging for me because I just don't know what to expect. Thanks for your help!

 

[RudemanRB]

as I remember I think Fantasmic happens before the fireworks at DL position yourself where you can leave fantasmic and get over towards main street for the fireworks one night. and do the electric parade the other night.


Rudy

 

[DangerMouse]

I would do the fireworks and 10:30 showing of Fantasmic the first night -- just in case they cancel them due to high elevation winds, then you have another night to catch them.

Save the DEP for the second night in DCA.

Here's a post I created about doing all three entertainment events in one night. It may help you plan how to navigate between shows:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22784289&postcount=8

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

There are two plans of action that see - one involves staying up much later than the other (which involves a hopper pass). The key factor is that you understand exactly how small the distance between the parks really is!

Plan one - not staying up too late: You can do the 8:30 Electrical Parade and the Fireworks right after each other with a park hopper. Just plan on viewing the Electrical Parade by sitting on gate side of the Entry Plaza in DCA - this will give you a straight on view of the Sun Wheel Icon and it surf themed fountain. The parade starts at the doors to the left of the Sun Wheel and goes from left to right around the hub. Your seating location means that the minute the parade is over, you can turn immediately around and have no crowd between you and the gate to exit and cross the Welcome Plaza to the Disneyland entry gate by 9pm. You can then choose if you want to view the fireworks from Town Square or if you want to try to make your way up the street to the hub. If you want to get all the way up to the hub, it's possible - use the back of the shops on the right side, once you pass the Market House shop. It will pop you out between Baby Care and the Photo shop. Once there, go to the Tomorrowland entry path, where it meets the hub. There is a section here that is finally roped off about 45 minutes before showtime - with excellent viewing. Basically they have a cut-through path to access the center of the hub that they shut down. It's right next to the open traffic path that they keep for those wanting to access the Matterhorn area. You can usually find a pretty decent spot here at the last minute. If you don't want to chance it, stay closer to Town Square. The Tomorrowland entry spot is perfect for a weeknight or Sunday night and has a great view of Tink - just ask my 3-yr old!

Plan 2: Stay up late.
On Midnight park closing, the 9:25 fireworks ends in plenty of time to get to New Orleans Square for the 10:30 show of Fantasmic. All the locals and parents with small kids do a mass migration after the fireworks, or they are heading to the back of the park to get into Fantasyland to be first in line for Peter Pan when the area is reopened after fire check. For the most part, only the diehards or unlucky dads (who got the short straw in the family lottery) will skip the fireworks and stay over in NOS there to wait for a spot for the next Fantasmic show.

Hope this helps!!!
Nancy

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Rudy and DangerMouse got two great posts in before I finished my novel!

I would 2nd the motion to try for fireworks the first night, so you get an option the 2nd night if it is cancelled for winds. If they are set to go at 9:25, they have up until 10pm to complete the show (per Anaheim regulations). They can delay until 9:45 before they officially cancel. This still gives you time to get in the late Fantasmic, as that one is not as wind-critical, due to the height of the pyrotechnics.

Just a warning - sometimes it's rough to fight the crowd to get over to the hub after Fantasmic - not impossible, but not the easiest when everone else is trying to do it.

PS - you can also use my same strategy to see the Pixar Play Parade at 5:15 and then catch the 6:30 DL parade - it starts at Town Square and goes up to the castle. The 3:30 parade comes down from the castle.

Good luck and have fun!!!!
Nancy

 

[BillyFan]

I would just add that I'd watch the Electric Parade from near the Corn Dog Castle in DCA, and then as you see the last float go by, hoof it over to Disneyland. As you're leaving the DCA gates, the parade will still be going on, so you'll get out of there ahead of a lot of the crowd.

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

I've heard that watching the parade by a bugs land is good so that you can leave before everyone else and miss the crowds while the rest of the people
towards the front of the park are still watching. But I've been missing the
parades in DCA, so I don't know for sure

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I thought I must be deluded, as I've only ever see it travel the same direction as the Pixar Play Parade goes - from the Sunshine Plaza to the Paradise Pier area. (That's the same direction for the HSM show, too.) Since I respect my noted collegues from the Boards here - who have seen it go the other way, I decided to get the official answer - I just called the all-knowing folks at Guest Services at DCA.

It turns out we are all correct - the Electrical Parade travels a different direction each night! They leave it parked backstage where it ends up, instead of rerouting it back to Point A like they do the Pixar Parade and the HSM float.

The best bet is to ask a guest services that morning which direction it will be travelling. That way you can plan your escape route accordingly!

Nancy

 

[DangerMouse]

I thought I must be deluded, as I've only ever see it travel the same direction as the Pixar Play Parade goes - from the Sunshine Plaza to the Paradise Pier area. (That's the same direction for the HSM show, too.) Since I respect my noted collegues from the Boards here - who have seen it go the other way, I decided to get the official answer - I just called the all-knowing folks at Guest Services at DCA.

It turns out we are all correct - the Electrical Parade travels a different direction each night! They leave it parked backstage where it ends up, instead of rerouting it back to Point A like they do the Pixar Parade and the HSM float.

The best bet is to ask a guest services that morning which direction it will be travelling. That way you can plan your escape route accordingly!

Nancy

This is completely surprising to me, and I hate to say it, but I think that DCA Guest Services may be giving inaccurate info. Well, it wouldn't be the first time. The last several times I have watched the DEP it has always started at the Pier. When was the last time you watched it when it was going the other direction?

Over a year ago, it was reported by several different websites that they had changed the direction of the parade route to always run from the Pier toward Sunshine Plaza specifically in an effort to decrease the amount of people attempting to go from DCA to DL to try to catch the fireworks after. This has generally worked since by the time the DEP reaches Sunshine Plaza, it's easily 9:10-9:15, so people assume they have no time to get over to DL for the fireworks show at 9:25.

I'd be interested to hear from others who have seen the parade in the past 12 months to see which way they experienced the parade route running.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

It's very doable to watch the fireworks at 9:25pm and catch the 10:30 Fantasmic. I believe you'll likely have better seats for both if you do it in that order instead of Fantasmic first, which will end almost right before the fireworks. Doing Fantasmic first will leave you with virtually no shot of seeing the fireworks from a nice spot in the hub. But with the fireworks ending at roughly 9:40-9:45, you'll have plenty of time to head to Frontierland and get a decent enough spot for Fantasmic.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... I'd be interested to hear from others who have seen the parade in the past 12 months to see which way they experienced the parade route running.

When I saw the DEP last August it traveled from Paradise Pier toward Sunshine Plaza.

... I see that there are 3 nighttime shows between the 2 parks- Fantasmic, fireworks, and Electrical Parade. We will only be there for 2 days. Does anyone have a good strategy for fitting all 3 in between our 2 nights? ...

I agree with the PPs:
First night: Fireworks and the second Fantasmic
Second night: Electrical Parade (and maybe the fireworks, again)

Here’s my 2 cents:

I think that it would be better to avoid the first Fantasmic show. Trying to get to the hub to see the fireworks, after the first Fantasmic show, is IMO next to impossible (BTDT -- twice ).

Fireworks and the 10:30 Fantasmic:

To see the fireworks, I would recommend getting to the hub about 45 minutes early (although others may recommend a better time). You should stand in the hub (with a good view of the castle and the Matterhorn), and also be near the entrance to Frontierland.

To quote HydroGuy:

"... it is not very hard to see the 10:30 Fantasmic showing. We saw the DL fireworks in the hub from over in front of the Frontierland entrance (on the left side of the hub as you face the castle). After the fireworks end you just head through Frontierland. One thing of which to be aware is that DL usually sets up a traffic management system in the hub before the fireworks start. This system in my experience directs everyone counter-clockwise around the hub in a one-way traffic lane. After the fireworks they try to keep this going for awhile and hence if you are too far away from the Frontierland entrance you might have to go against one-way traffic to get there which might be difficult. My advice is before the fireworks start ask one of the CMs who directs traffic in the hub where you should be in order to make it to Frontierland and Fantasmic and go with that." -HydroGuy

Electrical Parade and Fireworks:

Last summer (first Wednesday in August), we watched the Electrical Parade in the Paradise Pier area, and afterward we quickly walked to see the fireworks. We made it to the 3 o'clock position in the hub (between the Partners Statue and the entrance to Tomorrowland). It’s not an ideal location to see the fireworks, but seeing the DEP and the fireworks in the same night made for a fun night!

 

[lovemy3girls]

Thank you all for you wonderful feedback! It was exactly what I was looking for. Now I just have to look at the park maps so I know the exact locations that you are all talking about. I'm gonna write it all down in my itinerary and hope for the best! Thanks again!