After the Mardi Gras Parade...

[townsend32796]

If we don't want to attend the concert and just want the fastest way out of the Park after watching the parade near Amity, any advice? Last night we followed the end of the parade which dumped us right in front of the throng waiting for the concert. As we reached that area, Universal blocked us from continuing behind the parade to the front of the Park. Before we elected to follow the parade, we saw some people exiting from Amity across the bridge towards the MIB area... and others continued straight following the parade until it turned going towards the Mummy area (the people then continued straight). Would these have worked better than following the parade to the concert area? Should we just take a seat and wait for the parade to end before trying to exit? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Victoria3]

If we don't want to attend the concert and just want the fastest way out of the Park after watching the parade near Amity, any advice? Last night we followed the end of the parade which dumped us right in front of the throng waiting for the concert. As we reached that area, Universal blocked us from continuing behind the parade to the front of the Park. Before we elected to follow the parade, we saw some people exiting from Amity across the bridge towards the MIB area... and others continued straight following the parade until it turned going towards the Mummy area (the people then continued straight). Would these have worked better than following the parade to the concert area? Should we just take a seat and wait for the parade to end before trying to exit? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

The quickest exit from Amity would be to cross over the bridge towards Simpsons and exit that way.

 

[PammyK]

The problem with the parade route is that the park entrance/exit is just about at the center point so it can be challenging to get from the back of the park where the parade begins, to the front of the park and the exit without hitting massive crowds again.

If you want to continue watching the parade in the Amity area, I think I'd suggest following the end of the parade until it turns right at Louie's and heads toward the Mummy. Instead of turning with the parade, continue going straight, walking briskly in the direction of Mel's Diner. When you get to the street where Mel's is, turn right and that will put near the exit of the Shrek attraction, on the park exit side of the concert lawn, avoiding the bulk of the traffic snarls. As long as you can get to the Mel's area before the parade does, you'll be in good shape.

I want to add that I am cautiously optimistic that they've got a better handle on crowd control this year. There was slightly better signage, and they were trying to use alternate exits (directing departing guests to the exit by RRR/BMG) to keep the flow moving. We'll have to see how things work when they have larger crowds for the more popular artisits, but it was nice to see them making some attempts.

 

[Metro West]

I want to add that I am cautiously optimistic that they've got a better handle on crowd control this year. There was slightly better signage, and they were trying to use alternate exits (directing departing guests to the exit by RRR/BMG) to keep the flow moving. We'll have to see how things work when they have larger crowds for the more popular artisits, but it was nice to see them making some attempts.

That's good to hear and hopefully they've learned something from past events.