Disneyland Parade & Fantasmic Seating?

[melissamaison]

Any tips on how early to find seats for the parade & fantasmic? And also any location suggestions? They'd be much appreciated! We'll be spending an entire week there very soon! (So Excited!!!) Thanks!

 

[mvf-m11c]

For the parade, any spots on the parade route is a good spot to see the parade. The only seats that you can sit down and watch the parade is the benches on MS or in the VIP seating. It only depends on how long you and your group will wait to save a spot for the parade. I have seen people wait as long as 2 hours for a spot on MS to see the parade (that is mostly for the benches on MS). The place to avoid watching the parade is MS all the way from MS TS towards the Hub. A great spot to watch the parade with little waiting time is right by IASW. I got a front row spot around IASW about 30 minutes until the parade started. For a curb side on MS, you have to be there at least an hour or you will have to behind someone for the parade.

For Fantastmic!, you can check out the Fantasmic! Superthread - Or Everything You Need To Know About Fantasmic at Disneyland that HydroGuy started which will tell you everything about F!.

Here is a tip for getting a good viewing spot for F!.

When should I arrive to get a good viewing spot?

The answer to this question depends on whether you are seeing the first show or second show (not all nights have two shows - check the schedule), and whether you have any children or other people small in stature. Since Fantasmic! has sitting and standing areas, the sitting areas are in higher demand. And the center sitting area for the first show of the night is in highest demand of all. This is where the #3 symbol is in the viewing area map shown near the top.

First Show

If it is for the first or only show of the night then some people start gathering four hours before the show in the viewing area in the "sit on the ground" section near the water (location #3 in the viewing area map). For a 9PM show that means people will start arriving at 5PM.

Many people bring a blanket to stake out their spot. If you do that you should leave at least one person behind the whole time to watch over your spot.

Generally you can arrive at 7PM to get a sitting spot. If you are content with a standing spot you can arrive 60-90 minutes early. If you are a small group you may be able to find a spot 30 minutes early in the standing section. The view may not be very good but you can do it.

Second Show

Since the second show starts 75-90 minutes after the first show starts and the show lasts roughly 25 minutes, that means the second show starts 40-65 minutes after the first show ends. Most people leave the area and CMs come and do a quick cleanup.

Since the second show viewing spots cannot be obtained until the first show ends, the second show wait is really a maximum of one hour. You can often get to the sitting area with kids 40 minutes before and still get a spot. I have done this several times with four kids and it works fine. Usually.

What special location tips are there to viewing Fantasmic?

1. The POTC Bridge - Some people like to watch Fantasmic from the standing area on the POTC Bridge (location #10 in the viewing area map at the top of the thread). It is elevated and thus people of smaller stature can see better from here - especially if they are at the railing on the bridge. Some people report you do not have to arrive as early to this spot to secure it.

2. The standing area (location #4 in the viewing area map at the top of the thread) extends up to the planter area which separates sitting and standing sections - on the whole left side of the viewing area behind the reserved seating (location #7). Stand at the planter and no one will be in front of you except for people in the mandatory sitting area. So you will have an unobstructed view.

3. Watch for trees and lampposts and tall brick structures that may block your view.

4. If you arrive late you can use the "Light Tower Trick". This is at location #6 in the viewing area map at the top of the thread. The middle light tower for the show stays down until right before the show starts and most people think it will stay down during the show and block their view. So they do not stand there. At the last minute it rises up and creates a pretty decent view.

For detailed information on this see this post: Fantasmic Light Tower Trick

5. After the show most people leave the Fantasmic viewing area by heading towards the hub. A good strategy to see the second show is to plan time during the first show in the area around Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. Then when the first show ends you can swoop in behind the crowds as they exit towards the hub.

6. There is a Disneyland Railroad stop in New Orleans Square. Some people take the train to this dropoff point to avoid the massive crowds during and after the show and work their way back to the viewing area when the first show ends.