Duration of Shows & Description?

[BurnsideMommy]

We leave on the 12th to go to Disney. I'm a bit curious of the timing of shows.

This is a list of what we will go see:

Flag Ceremony
Cars Pre Parade
Playhouse Disney
Parade of Dreams
Block Party Bash
Fantasmic
Fireworks
Sword in the Stone
Jump, Jive, Boogie Swing Party Featuring Stompy Jones


I'm wondering the following for each of the shows:
A) How early do we need to arrive?

B) How long does the show last?

C) Where is the best place/ most practical to sit with 3 young ones (4, 2 and 4 months) without having to arrive insanely early?

D) What exactly goes on at this show?

Also is Aladin no longer on, or is it just not listed on the site? We booked through AAA and got priority seating for 4 different shows, and according to the Disneyland site NONE of them are on during our trip (Sept 13-19). Or are they just not advertised on the site?

Lastly, how often do they change the shows? I looked the other day and the jump/jive show wasn't even listed, and now it is.

 

[iceskatejen]

The flag retreat isn't too big of a deal--you can walk up just as it starts and stand there and watch. Have not seen the Cars pre-parade, or Playhouse Disney. Parade of Dreams (a parade featuring floats with classic Disney characters and several show stops) usually runs twice daily (though in the off season they often just run once it in the evening on weekdays). I suggest trying to get a spot at least an hour early. Block Party (another parade with Pixar characters also with 2 show stops) is about the same, maybe not needing you to get there as early. Fantasmic is a live action show with water, pyro, laser and light elements. It's an amazing show and if you're seeing the first showing you need to be there very, very early--2-3 hours at minimum. The fireworks are called Remember, Dreams Come True and they are equally amazing--also, for the best view, you need to get your spot around 2 hours before. Sword in the Stone is a little thing where Merlin chooses people to try to pull the sword out of the stone--the one who does it is King or Queen for the day. The last is for Swing dancers and there aren't any characters. I've been told by a couple that I know who do swing dancing that Stompy Jones isn't very easy to dance to and plays non-swing stuff (which they don't like).

 

[HydroGuy]

Aladdin is on hiatus and will re-open in Oct with a new cast.

Here are some durations for some of the shows:

POD, 15 minutes
Fantasmic, 23 minutes
Fireworks, 17 minutes
SnowWhite, 30 minutes
Billy Hill, 25-30 minutes
Aladdin, 40 minutes
BPB, 20 minutes
DEP, 19 minutes

I have never heard of Jump/Jive, so I do not know about that.

Unfortunately for you, one of the downsides to going off-season like this is the lack of shows. See "HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852. Which shows do you have seating for but are not shown on the calendar? The DLR calendar should tell you all of the shows and is usually correct.

My experience with some of the shows is a bit different from Jens, as I would say 30 minutes early for the POD - unless you want a prime spot on Main Street (which is not necessarfy IMO), and 60 minutes early for Remember (if that).

 

[minnietoo]

If you stand near Carnation - you hear the swing band from there while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

The cars pre-parade is very very short and comes before block party - so you see it while waiting for block party - then the green army men come out and do a little crowd warmup

How many days are you staying - after 9/4 - some of your shows go to weekends only - I think sword in the stone is one of them. CHeck the schedule online as this may include Fantasmic and Fireworks etc.