A few entertainment questions

[jenniferrose]

-Where is the best place to sit for the "Celebrate Street Party" Parade? I have read that the show takes place in certain areas? Where should we sit? And during an off week, how early should we get there to stake out our spot. We want to be right in front (we have 2 little kids).

-Is there a better place to sit for the Pixar parade? Or is it pretty much anywhere along the parade path?

-What is "Drawn to the Magic"? Can someone explain that to me? Is it something my little ones would be interested in? Or something we should think about doing when they are with grandma?

-Is Aladdin REALLY worth it? Would my little ones enjoy it? Do you have to get there so early that the wait could be wearing on young ones with little patience?

-Since we are going during off season, we will mostly be leaving before dark. Friday night we plan to stay a little later. What are some attractions that we must do at night? For instance, I think the tea cups look beautiful and think it would be to do that at night. Are there any others that you think are super magical at night?

Thanks!!

 

[ArvisoCa6]

-Is there a better place to sit for the Pixar parade? Or is it pretty much anywhere along the parade path?

Last year we did the Pixar Parade. ABSOLUTELY GREAT!! We arrived about an hour early and set out a blanket on the ground at the front of the rope. If you aska CM they should tell you where to sit. You can use the light poles as a reference point. If i remember right the rope goes right in front of them. It's a good time for everyone to sit and have a snack, the trade off however is the hour you haev to arrive early! But it is way fun. DW and I loved it as much as the kids. Plus if you sit at the ropeline, some of the parade ppl come right up to you!

-Is Aladdin REALLY worth it? Would my little ones enjoy it? Do you have to get there so early that the wait could be wearing on young ones with little patience?

Definitely, especially if your kids are Alladin fans! It's also very entertaining for the adults. A lot of 'current' material for us to get a laugh at without ruining the show. "twitter" that's all ill say!

-Since we are going during off season, we will mostly be leaving before dark. Friday night we plan to stay a little later. What are some attractions that we must do at night? For instance, I think the tea cups look beautiful and think it would be to do that at night. Are there any others that you think are super magical at night?

Casey Jr. and/or storybook canal are great at night, and right across from teacups! I have read that autotopis is cool at night. I also think the HM was way better at night. When we went in '08, we won a year of a million dreams prize and got to spend an extra hour in the park after close with only about 1000 other people. DD7 and I ran to HM and did it. It was really cool to see at night, added to its mystery. If you arent fraid of heights i would suggest Mickey's fun wheel, (wheel of TERROR as DW calls it. She is afria of heights)

Hope some of this helps!!1

 

[ArvisoCa6]

OO i forgot to tellyou that if you take the welcome to D/L tour apparently you can reserve PS for a show. So if you want to take a tour and Alladin is playing I beleive you can get front row seats and not have to arrive early. When we saw it we were all the way at the top. But even there it was great!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Celebrate: We sat right across from the Partner's statue. We were right in the middle of the 2nd stop and right in front. My kids were pulled out into the show several times. We staked out seats about 30 minutes prior to the parade starting (45 min prior to when it stopped by us). We got lucky since the sanitation guy parked his "trailor" there and no one staked out those spots. He moved shortly before parade time and we were sitting on the curb.

Pixar: No "particular" place. Its a parade and keeps moving. If you've seen it before, they have shortened the parade route right now. So it only goes from Sunshine Plaza to the Mission Tortilla Factory.

Is Aladdin REALLY worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!! My 2 yo LOVED it!! She danced and ooh'd and aaah'd! LOL My older girls loved it too. I would definitely see it again.

Night time rides: IASW is pretty lit up. I like the Carousel & Dumbo at night. Jungle Cruise is a lot of fun in the dark.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Casey Jr. and/or storybook canal are great at night

They are on refurb until November.

OO i forgot to tellyou that if you take the welcome to D/L tour apparently you can reserve PS for a show. So if you want to take a tour and Alladin is playing I beleive you can get front row seats and not have to arrive early. When we saw it we were all the way at the top. But even there it was great!

The best seats aren't right in front of the stage, but the next section back. We had PS through our vacation package and we sat in the first row of that section. The Prince Ali parade/entrance comes through there and the "camels" stopped to say hi to my girls!

 

[jenniferrose]

Celebrate: We sat right across from the Partner's statue. We were right in the middle of the 2nd stop and right in front.

When you say across from.... I am slightly confused, can you be more specific since it is kind of in a center. Do you mean on the castle side? to the right or left?

 

[DangerMouse]

-What is "Drawn to the Magic"? Can someone explain that to me? Is it something my little ones would be interested in? Or something we should think about doing when they are with grandma?

Drawn to the Magic is a small stage show that happens in the Hollywood Backlot area right across from Monster's Inc. They have 3 "artists" performers on stage singing and dancing and they draw 3 different Disney characters (usually Mickey, Woody and a princess perform). They ask for audience participation and afterward there is a meet and greet with the characters that were in the show. It's cute, and worth it to knock 3 character greets out at one time. If your child is chosen to participate in the show, they get to keep the artist's drawing of the character and you can get the character to sign it. My dd got Snow White, and she has it hanging in her room. It's a really great keepsake.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

When you say across from.... I am slightly confused, can you be more specific since it is kind of in a center. Do you mean on the castle side? to the right or left?

Sorry. The parade comes down main street and veers to the right around the hub. We sat right on that corner facing the castle & partner's statue.

 

[jenniferrose]

Sorry. The parade comes down main street and veers to the right around the hub. We sat right on that corner facing the castle & partner's statue.

Thanks for the clarification! I just want to be sure we are right at the action so my kids can really enjoy it, and hopefully get pulled into the party

 

[bumbershoot]

My then-3 year old sat under a blanket, on my lap, for half of Aladdin. Too loud, too much.

And then he needed to go to the bathroom, and there are no bathrooms in the building. So we had to find an usher, get a pass, go all the way out and down to the Monsters area to use the bathrooms, then go back to the broad side of the building, find a CM, show the pass, be let back in, and get to our seats again. Totally missed the flying carpet scene...

If I have a 3 year old again in the future, unless s/he is significantly different from DS, I wouldn't eve nbother.

That said! 3 year olds are different from 2 year olds. We went to DL when he was 1, 2, big trip at 3, 3.5, then his 4th b'day, 4.5, 5th b'day....At 1 he didn't care. At 2 he noticed stuff and wasn't afraid. At 3 he refused *everything*, and I've heard that many other 3 year olds get skittish about Disney, whether or not they've been there already. On his 4th b'day he came right out of that "I'm scared of everything" shell.

So I'm really only talking about a 3 year old when I say I would'n ttake another 3 year old.

Kid was so odd at 3. BEGGED us to show him POTC, we gave him, he's fine with the whole movie, he watches all but the prison/crows scene in POTC2, all but the ending of the beginning scene with the singing boy's end in POTC3...but he refused to ride Pirates all through his 3 year. And continues to be afraid of being "eaten" by Davey Jones in the ride. At 3 he wouldn't even attempt it, even though he'd seen at least the first movie. (which in retrospect was really young, but it seemed to be OK with him at the time!)

 

[jenniferrose]

My then-3 year old sat under a blanket, on my lap, for half of Aladdin. Too loud, too much.

And then he needed to go to the bathroom, and there are no bathrooms in the building. So we had to find an usher, get a pass, go all the way out and down to the Monsters area to use the bathrooms, then go back to the broad side of the building, find a CM, show the pass, be let back in, and get to our seats again. Totally missed the flying carpet scene...

If I have a 3 year old again in the future, unless s/he is significantly different from DS, I wouldn't eve nbother.

That said! 3 year olds are different from 2 year olds. We went to DL when he was 1, 2, big trip at 3, 3.5, then his 4th b'day, 4.5, 5th b'day....At 1 he didn't care. At 2 he noticed stuff and wasn't afraid. At 3 he refused *everything*, and I've heard that many other 3 year olds get skittish about Disney, whether or not they've been there already. On his 4th b'day he came right out of that "I'm scared of everything" shell.

So I'm really only talking about a 3 year old when I say I would'n ttake another 3 year old.

Kid was so odd at 3. BEGGED us to show him POTC, we gave him, he's fine with the whole movie, he watches all but the prison/crows scene in POTC2, all but the ending of the beginning scene with the singing boy's end in POTC3...but he refused to ride Pirates all through his 3 year. And continues to be afraid of being "eaten" by Davey Jones in the ride. At 3 he wouldn't even attempt it, even though he'd seen at least the first movie. (which in retrospect was really young, but it seemed to be OK with him at the time!)

Great info, Thanks! I do think that it might be much for my 5 year old. He is very sensitive to sounds and unfamiliar things. I think that if we catch the show, maybe we will do it without our kids.

 

[firefly87]

I have seen Aladdin twice now and both times we just happened to be in the area and went in and found a seat. We didn't get there early or anything. In fact, this last time, the kids and I got all the way up to the 2nd row on the left side. They were GREAT seats and for whatever reason, still empty. Last time we watched it, the kids were 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10. (my kids plus niece & nephews) The 4 y/o was fine during the show. I gave him some fruit snacks and that helped!

At night, Jungle Cruise is AWESOME!!! It's like a totally different ride in the dark. But that one can be a little scary for kids at night. I haven't done it but Dumbo might be fun at night. Big Thunder RR would be too. The facade to Small World is beautiful at night. I've done Matterhorn at night and it was fun too. Probably anything that the ride is an outside one would be fun to do at night.

One thing I might add about the dark at DL..........last trip we noticed that there are not alot of lighted walkways around there. So once the sun goes down and you're not near a lighted area, it can get rather dark. We bought some of those glow-sticks from Dollar Tree and wore them as necklaces so we could see each other. With crowds and the lack of lighting, it's easy to lose people!!

Have a fun trip!

 

[94bruin]

-Where is the best place to sit for the "Celebrate Street Party" Parade? I have read that the show takes place in certain areas? Where should we sit? And during an off week, how early should we get there to stake out our spot. We want to be right in front (we have 2 little kids).

-Is there a better place to sit for the Pixar parade? Or is it pretty much anywhere along the parade path?

-Is Aladdin REALLY worth it? Would my little ones enjoy it? Do you have to get there so early that the wait could be wearing on young ones with little patience?

We just got back on Sunday from 5 glorious, albeit hot, days at DL. We saw Celebrate on a Wednesday night. I think we got there about 30 minutes to go and got a spot near the beginning of Main Street. We weren't front row, but there was space for my 4yo to go to the front. They pulled her and the two kids next to her into the parade several times. If you want front row for the adults, you need to arrive more than 30 minutes ahead of time.

You can stand/sit anywhere for the Pixar parade. I'm guessing that if you go mid-week, you could show up maybe 20-30 mins and still get a good spot. We showed up at most 30 mins prior on a Friday and got front row.

Definitely, especially if your kids are Alladin fans! It's also very entertaining for the adults. A lot of 'current' material for us to get a laugh at without ruining the show. "twitter" that's all ill say!

It definitely is current - all I'll say is "Kanye West"! Aladdin is totally worth it - enjoyed by my 4 yo old & by my 65+ parents.