FESTIVAL of FANTASY PARADE Fast Pass

[Momof2Singers]

After viewing a poster's photos of the 3pm parade in MK, I am considering a FP. For those of you that have done this, is it worth it, and do they normally sell out in advance. It will be our last day in MK.

 

[Accident]

I've never needed one no matter what the crowd size is.. Do you have a link to these photos as it sounds like they picked a spot that everyone else does.

 

[williamscm3]

FP's go very quickly...the later in your trip you want to use them the better. We have gotten FP's before and we liked it. I made sure to get some for our upcoming trip as well. When we used them previously we had plenty of room to spread out and we got great pictures. The spot has moved from in front of the castle(the spot we used them before) so hopefully the new spot is just as roomy

 

[florep1]

Was at MK today and watched the Festival of Fantasy parade without fast passes. Grabbed an ice cream cone first at the Ice Cream shop, sat under the yellow umbrellas, and had a great view of the parade. It wasn't crowded. I saw some people sat on the curb for an hour or so to stake out their spot. There's no need for it. Before the parade was over, we decided to walk towards Splash Mountain for our FP, the crowd was only maybe 2-3 people deep.

 

[Momof2Singers]

Was at MK today and watched the Festival of Fantasy parade without fast passes. Grabbed an ice cream cone first at the Ice Cream shop, sat under the yellow umbrellas, and had a great view of the parade. It wasn't crowded. I saw some people sat on the curb for an hour or so to stake out their spot. There's no need for it. Before the parade was over, we decided to walk towards Splash Mountain for our FP, the crowd was only maybe 2-3 people deep.

Thanks everyone, we haven't seen the actual parade in probably 6 years, so I wanted to make sure we could get a good view without getting there an hour ahead of time since it is our last day.

 

[Momof2Singers]

I've never needed one no matter what the crowd size is.. Do you have a link to these photos as it sounds like they picked a spot that everyone else does.

It was a trip I was looking at today from a family from Scotland, her pictures are fabulous, parade is near the end of the page

http://disboards.com/threads/the-th...t-update-6-25-real-life-update.3433152/page-6

 

[Accident]

you can see in the background that there is not that many people on main street. the hub and main street is where people are usually clogging up the place and it would have been easy for a front row seat elsewhere. I also find seeing a parade in the summer from the middle of that courtyard to be miserable. There's nowhere to hide from the sun out there.

I might say that parade is probably disney's best daytime parade. It's also a HUGE parade and everything is extremely tall. There's a few spots on the parade route to get a view of them turning if you want that head on view. being so tall, I really like watching this parade from the train station and the float performers are eye level with you up there.. They also always interact with everyone up there so if you have a button with you, make sure it's visible for them to start talking and waving to you.

 

[mom2rtk]

You will also notice the clock in one of those photos says 3:30 PM. Since it's at the end of the parade route, it takes some time for the parade to actually arrive.

We really prefer to not use a FP there and instead find a shady spot in Frontierland for "free" and be done watching before the parade even hits Main Street. Something else to keep in mind is that the FP area is in full sun, and you'll be there for a while.



IMG_6859 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[123SA]

I like this vantage point! Where are you exactly?

 

[Number Six]

I wanted to get this fastpass but I don't see it any more? Where does every one see it???

 

[MeridaAnn]

I love this parade and watch it as often as I can. I've used the FP twice before and I will again next weekend. It doesn't really save time compared to watching in Frontierland, because it takes so much longer for it to reach you, but it does allow you to arrive later, so I like to use it when I'm park hopping, so that I get to stay a bit longer at another park.

Another benefit when I've used it before is that it's not nearly as crowded there! If you watch elsewhere, you just have to arrive a bit early to get a front row seat, but you will inevitably end up with other people very close behind and beside you. When I watched with FP, there was a lot more space to move around. I could move back quite a ways for photos of the big floats, and then go right back to my spot where I actually still had personal space. This is an especially big deal for me, though, because I'm usually solo - I would think that maybe a whole family can at least keep a little bit of elbow room between each other, whereas I always end up crowded from all sides when I'm alone.

 

[mom2rtk]

I like this vantage point! Where are you exactly?

Thanks! We were on the porch (in the shade!) in front of one of the shops in Frontierland. I loved watching from there!

 

[Momof2Singers]

You guys are professionals, wow, thank you for all the valuable information...and I can't believe how observant you are..I never saw a clock and I never looked beyond the photo.

 

[mom2rtk]

You guys are professionals, wow, thank you for all the valuable information...and I can't believe how observant you are..I never saw a clock and I never looked beyond the photo.

I toiled over whether to use a FP for this on our last visit. I was very happy with my decision to watch in Frontierland and use my FP elsewhere. But I don't do well in full sun, so that really cinched it for me.

 

[Angeliki19]

I want to bump this up. I am also considering whether or not to use a FP for the parade. We have watched in Frontierland before and had a semi-shady spot on the side of the road where the arcade is. We thought it was great. We lined up about 30 minutes before and my kids were in the front row with us standing behind them.

The only reason I am considering getting a FP this time is because its our third day at MK and we don't really NEED It for anything else. So I figured, why not try. We plan on leaving right after the parade so being close to the exit would be good. And as much as I loved seeing the parade in Frontierland, I am imagining seeing it coming down Main Street would be pretty special. My other option would be to use it at Peter Pan.. we are planning on doing that at rope drop one day which we have never done before.. always used a fast pass. I'm a little nervous that even at rope drop, Peter Pan will be a long wait.

Should I go for the FoF fast pass or Peter Pan?

Thanks!

 

[bpadair32]

It depends when your trip is. My understanding is that FP+ for the parades will not be available any more, starting soon, I believe September.

 

[MeridaAnn]

I want to bump this up. I am also considering whether or not to use a FP for the parade. We have watched in Frontierland before and had a semi-shady spot on the side of the road where the arcade is. We thought it was great. We lined up about 30 minutes before and my kids were in the front row with us standing behind them.

The only reason I am considering getting a FP this time is because its our third day at MK and we don't really NEED It for anything else. So I figured, why not try. We plan on leaving right after the parade so being close to the exit would be good. And as much as I loved seeing the parade in Frontierland, I am imagining seeing it coming down Main Street would be pretty special. My other option would be to use it at Peter Pan.. we are planning on doing that at rope drop one day which we have never done before.. always used a fast pass. I'm a little nervous that even at rope drop, Peter Pan will be a long wait.

Should I go for the FoF fast pass or Peter Pan?

Thanks!

Rope Drop really is the best way to enjoy Peter Pan, because the FP+ line skips the interactive queue, which is a cool experience all on its own. I haven't done it recently enough to say exactly how long it will take, but it shouldn't be very long, and the queue has enough going on to distract you from a short wait.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

Thanks! We were on the porch (in the shade!) in front of one of the shops in Frontierland. I loved watching from there!

How early before the parade did you need to be there to grab this spot?

 

[mom2rtk]

How early before the parade did you need to be there to grab this spot?

I got there about an hour early. You'd probably be ok 30 minutes out. I only got there so early because I was very particular about wanting a shaded spot with Splash in the background of my photo, in the shade, with nobody in front of me.

 

[ehlander]

I want to bump this up. I am also considering whether or not to use a FP for the parade. We have watched in Frontierland before and had a semi-shady spot on the side of the road where the arcade is. We thought it was great. We lined up about 30 minutes before and my kids were in the front row with us standing behind them.

The only reason I am considering getting a FP this time is because its our third day at MK and we don't really NEED It for anything else. So I figured, why not try. We plan on leaving right after the parade so being close to the exit would be good. And as much as I loved seeing the parade in Frontierland, I am imagining seeing it coming down Main Street would be pretty special. My other option would be to use it at Peter Pan.. we are planning on doing that at rope drop one day which we have never done before.. always used a fast pass. I'm a little nervous that even at rope drop, Peter Pan will be a long wait.

Should I go for the FoF fast pass or Peter Pan?

Thanks!

Did you go on your trip yet? What did you decide to to with the FP+ for the trip? We are in the same boat, and don't really nee the third one for another ride. I wanted to get great photos with the castle in the background, but wasn't sure how soon to arrive at the FP area? Can you bring an umbrella to have shade?