Carnation Cafe dinner - PTN/fireworks ?

[Symon]

We have reservations for dinner at 6:20 on Tuesday, January 26th at the Carnation Cafe. This will be our first 1/2 day at Disneyland (plane arrives 11:30 am.) There are 5 people in our party which includes 2 elderly on scooters and one 4 yr old in a stroller. When I planned this dinner I did not take into account that when we were finished we would be exiting onto Main street crowded with parade/fireworks viewers, and possibly the parade.

What is your suggestion of how we should leave? We have reservations later in the week for the BB PTN package, so we plan on seeing PTN then, but I would kind of like to see the fireworks – a great way to end the 4 yr olds first day at Disneyland. I was thinking we could head towards town square as everyone else heads towards the Hub and we could watch from there and then make a quick exit. But I’m not sure how easy that will be given that we will have 2 scooters and a stroller.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Indiana Scott]

Depending on which way you want to go, it's often easier to just navigate through the shops on Main St. - which are all interconnected on that side of the street. This gets you all the way to the hub and right next door to AdventureLand & FrontierLand.
The same is true if your trying to leave the park. Just amble through the stores if the sidewalk is too busy.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We have reservations for dinner at 6:20 on Tuesday, January 26th at the Carnation Cafe. This will be our first 1/2 day at Disneyland (plane arrives 11:30 am.) There are 5 people in our party which includes 2 elderly on scooters and one 4 yr old in a stroller. When I planned this dinner I did not take into account that when we were finished we would be exiting onto Main street crowded with parade/fireworks viewers, and possibly the parade.

What is your suggestion of how we should leave? We have reservations later in the week for the BB PTN package, so we plan on seeing PTN then, but I would kind of like to see the fireworks – a great way to end the 4 yr olds first day at Disneyland. I was thinking we could head towards town square as everyone else heads towards the Hub and we could watch from there and then make a quick exit. But I’m not sure how easy that will be given that we will have 2 scooters and a stroller.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

If there are two parades: So not sure how this will go with the scooters, but the first time we watched the fireworks, we started at CC. After your dinner, head out towards the castle (either on the street or through the buildings), cross the street where the CMs are controlling crossing, go towards the rockets. Go past the rockets, Star Tours, and just keep walking until you can make a u-turn. Walk past Buzz and walk as far as you can towards the street. Expect a bunch of people to be standing there. Get as close to the street as you can. As soon as the parade is over, head over to the hub. Try to get as close to the castle as possible while still being able to see the Matterhorn.

 

[figment_jii]

According to the schedule, the parade is at 7:00 pm and fireworks are at 7:40 pm on Jan 26. Given that there is only one Soundsational and one PtN that day, my guess is that PtN will start at IaSW and end on MS. It usually clears the parade route with about 10 minutes to spare, so that means it'll finish up around 7:30 pm. In my experience, a meal at Carnation Cafe takes about 60 to 75 minutes (depending on the number of courses). So you'll either be just finishing up or just about to finish your dinner when the parade goes by.

As others have said, you really have options to get down Main Street. You can either try moving down the sidewalk or you can try going through the Emporium complex. Neither is going to be super-fast or super-easy to navigate at that time. The CMs do their best to keep traffic moving along the sidewalks and the sidewalks are pretty straight. Inside the Emporium Complex could be fine or it could be really tough to navigate with an ECV depending on the crowds. I've dealt with a stroller before (not an ECV) and I have to say, I found moving along the sidewalk easier than going through the Emporium Complex when it was busy.

 

[calilou]

If I were you I would incorporate watching the parade and fireworks into your agenda. When you arrive to Carnation Café for your reservation request to sit on the patio. You will be able to see the majority of the parade while you're finishing dinner. Plan to have your bill paid shortly after 7:00. Once you see the Mickey float get ready to exit onto Main Street and walk towards the Hub a bit for a spot to see the fireworks. We've done this several times and it always works great with little stress and wait. This will be a great way to start your trip, and you'll get to see the parade even closer with your BB package spot later.

 

[calilou]

And after the fireworks you'll be able to navigate your way to other parts of the park. It will be crowded though and you'll want to have a clear plan for where you want to go from Main Street. We've navigated our way to Adventureland and Frontierland easily, but you're going against traffic for the most part. Just have a plan.

 

[Symon]

Thank you all for your advice. I am now thinking I will switch our reservations for Carnation Cafe with our reservations for Cafe Orleans later in the week and eat dinner our first night in New Orleans square, thus avoiding the parade all together. We will watch what ever fireworks we can see from NOS and call it a night