Favorite place to view parade/fireworks at DL/DCA

[TwingleMum]

Where would you recommend people who will probably only go to DL once (or not again for many years) go to view the parades and fireworks at DL and DCA?? Does Tinkerbelle fly over like at WDW??

 

[MATTERHORN]

Tinkerbell does fly over and I won't watch the fireworks from anywehre but the HUB. This show is just so condusive to being right there in the front and middle for it to be all it is meant to be. We like to be on the right side of the Partners Statue! We dont' get a seat but we also walk up about 30 minutes before show time. Your dates are a little busier so I would suggest a little earlier than that to get a good spot.

The parades I like to watch by the Alice in Wonderland Bathrooms or in front of Ariel's Grotto area!


Andrea

 

[Itinkso]

I won't watch the fireworks from anywhere but the HUB. This show is just so condusive to being right there in the front and middle for it to be all it is meant to be. We like to be on the right side of the Partners Statue!

Andrea

I agree with Andrea. The Hub is the best for the full effect and to hear the narration. If the Hub and Main Street are too crowded, watching from the Space Mountain entrance/exit area is also ok. But, I don't think you'll see Tink from there...you can see her if you are watching from the Carousel area. But, try for the Hub and the area that Andrea describes...I have sat on benches an hour or so ahead of time to secure a good spot!

 

[kabbie]

I watched the Parade of Dreams right by the firehouse with no problem.

Fireworks have to be watched from the hub, but people get there early and fill up the streets/sidewalks.

I watched the Block Party Bash in sunshine plaza area on the side across the entrance to condor flats.

 

[spazzyjazzy]

We stay away from the hub because of all the crazies we have encountered there. We always stand over by the Matterhorn close to the Ariel's Grotto exit/entrance. We get a perfect view of Tink as she is flying down. Yes, we don't get to see the castle change colors or a couple of the other things they show around the castle but, you get an awesome view of the fireworks.

At DCA we watch the ELP by the Golden Dreams building or by the fruit cart in the Bountiful Valley area.

 

[Albort]

Word of suggestion. Fantasmic usually brings 60% of the crowds into the Rivers of America. Now that there isnt any Fantamic, 100% of the spectators will be waiting in the main street area. Suggestion, head and save seats as early as possible in the hub.

 

[mikayla73]

We like to watch it from the HUB on the left side of the statue. You get the full on view of the whole thing. It can get a little crazy there since the entrance to Adventureland is so close, but it is just DH and I, so we don't have to worry about strollers and stuff, so it works for us. And once they get the traffic flowing, it's not a big deal. Besides afterwards, there are some pretty funny and sad scenes of people trying to go the wrong way through AL to see F! (when it is running) ... I am not sure what is wrong with some people. Do they drive down a one way street and wonder why they get a ticket to?

 

[HydroGuy]

Remember Dreams Come True

The hub is where you want to be. It is worth the time to get there 60 minutes early to get a spot.

The most important thing is to have a clear view of the front of the castle. Note that there are trees in the hub which will obscure the castle from some spots.

If you have a clear view of the castle you will be fine. If you can also see the Matterhorn that is good. I have only seen Remember twice. The first time was my favorite spot. If the hub was a clock, and the castle was at 12:00, we were at about 7:30. (It is out in front of "Coke Corner"). There is a road around the hub with curbs, and we got a spot standing on the curb at the "7:30 location" because my two youngest were 9 and 10 and I wanted them to have the extra 4-6 inches of the curb to see over people who stand in the street. And that worked.

The second time I saw the fireworks we were at about the 9:00 position in the middle of the street, and we could not see the fireworks and effects behind the castle quite as well (because we were a little too close to the castle, IMO) and I decided I liked the first spot better.

FWIW, the first time we saw the fireworks I went to the hub in the afternoon when it was not especially crowded with people and walked around. I looked for the curb, and the location of trees which blocked views of the castle and Matterhorn, and made a mental note of what spots were good ahead of time. Then when we came back that night I did not have to check sight-lines, etc., as I knew which ones were good. We just went to my first choice spot and sat down to claim our ground.

Be sure to account for the following: "HydroGuy's Fireworks Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199851


Parade of Dreams

Note that when the parade is performed twice in one day, it goes from FantasyLand to Main Street in the afternoon, then from Main Street to FantasyLand in the evening. If you go in the summer, the evening parade is nice because you do not have to deal with the afternoon sun. The first time was saw POD we got a spot over towards the Matterhorn where there were cement chairs and that worked. You should be able to find a decent spot 30 minutes ahead of time.


Fantasmic

We like sitting better than standing, and thus always go down near the water. We go to the second show (when they have two) and can get a fine spot 30-45 minutes ahead of time.


Disney Electrical Parade

This parade is not that popular and you can get a fine spot 20 minutes ahead of time. We saw it from Sunshine Plaza and that was perfectly fine.


Block Party Bash

There are two stops - one in the Sunshine Plaza and the second by Paradie Pier. I have only seen it once - and that from Sunshine Plaza - so I am no expert on location. If I were to see it in Sunshine Plaza again I would get a spot 20 minutes early on the outside edge of the road thru the Plaza somewhere in the center like out from Burrbank Ice Cream.

 

[Albort]

Im a bit more familiar with block party. The block parade consist of four pixar movies, Toy Story, Monster Inc, Antz and The Incredibles.

The Sun Plaza tends to be more crowded than the other place, but the more people, the fun!

This is how its split of, the first major float will consist of Most of the Toy story characters, followed by Monster Inc and by Antz. So if your a fan of blah, make sure you sit at the right place. People tend to like the Monsters Inc float so i may suggest that.

there are only three Incredible characters in the whole parade, but they are strategically placed at each location.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks so much everyone, I'm looking forward to seeing the DL fireworks and parades and it helps to know where to go for optimum viewing pleasure

 

[ldinCT]

Can you see the fireworks from outside DL? Like DTD or the place between the DL and DCA. We get in on Sat 3/11 at 8:30 and don't want to go into DL.
LDinCT

 

[HydroGuy]

Can you see the fireworks from outside DL? Like DTD or the place between the DL and DCA. We get in on Sat 3/11 at 8:30 and don't want to go into DL.
LDinCT

You can see them from outside DL, but miss over 90% of the experience. People tend to like the plaza between DL and DCA for viewing outside the DL park.

 

[DLR29]

Can you see the fireworks from outside DL? Like DTD or the place between the DL and DCA. We get in on Sat 3/11 at 8:30 and don't want to go into DL.
LDinCT

We could see them from our hotel room at the Ramada plaza. Also a good strategy we discovered last time was to view the fireworks near Fantasyland and then line up for the roped off FL rides. We walked on to the teacups during the fireworks and walked on to Dumbo right after, followed by a 5 minute wait for Peter Pan. It was great!

 

[Albort]

We could see them from our hotel room at the Ramada plaza. Also a good strategy we discovered last time was to view the fireworks near Fantasyland and then line up for the roped off FL rides. We walked on to the teacups during the fireworks and walked on to Dumbo right after, followed by a 5 minute wait for Peter Pan. It was great!

yeah, i agree. anywhere in the Fantasyland, behind the castle is a great spot. I walked by there right in front of storybook and i got a really really nice view.