Leaving Soon: Have Questions

[mabas9395]

I can't seem to get the search function of these boards to work for me tonight. I should be able to find the answers to these questions but can't right now.

1) Where is a good place to sit for the Block Party Bash?
2) Where is a good place to sit for the Parade of Dreams
3) I heard that you should be slightly off-center of the hub to see the fireworks, should you be to the right or left or neither?
4) If you are going to the Morning Madness, do you only get to do the ceremony or do you get that time to do Toon Town rides?

I think thats all for now, thanks.

 

[Michelle2]

Hi mabas9395! You are so lucky you get to go to DL soon! I think I can answer your questions...in my opinion that is. LOL

1. For the Block Party Bash, look on your DCA park guidemap. It will have the zones that that the parade stops at. The only problem is, where you sit, will determine which "theme" you will watch, even though the choreography for all the themes are basically the same. There is a Bugs Life float, a Toy Story float, and a Monsters Inc float. When we went, there were only 2 of the 3 zones that they stopped at--due to the slower season. When we sat in front of It's a Bug's Land, we saw the Monsters Inc float. When we moved down a little farther, we saw Toy Story. I loved watching the different zones! Just ask a Cast Member when you go to wait for the parade, where the certain themes will stop--that's how I found out where to sit for what I wanted to see.

2. For the Parade of Dreams, I like going as far away from Main street as possible. We sat right on the other side of the Matterhorn back by Alice in Wonderland. We did not have to get there too early, and were able to go on rides while the rest of the park was still waiting for the parade to come!

3.We sat slightly offcenter right in front of the castle...slightly to the left if you are facing it. It was a great position to be in...I think they shoot off the fireworks over to the left, over by Thunder Mountain, so I think the left would be the best..that way the castle itself doesn't block any of it.

4. We never did the Toontown Morning Madness, but I am sure since it opens up an hour before normal, it would include doing the rides and other things that are available in Toon town. They just start it off with a ceremony.

I hope this helps! Have a great time!

 

[HydroGuy]

I am not sure if Parade of Dreams has a best spot. We sat near where Michelle described, but between Matterhorn and Main Street. There are some concrete benches there along the hedges, and we grabbed those to have a decent place to sit. This was a 7PM show in summer, and we got there 1 hour early. If we were willing to stand or sit on the ground we could have gotten there 20-30 minutes early.

The Remember Dreams... fireworks show is harder. The key is you want a clear view of the castle and around it. Not sure if right or left is better. Seeing the Matterhorn too is good if you can, but not essential. We were off to the left of the hub. If the hub were a clock and the castle at 12:00, we were at 7:30. We had a great a view from there. Got there 1 hour early, and are glad we did. The fireworks/laser/special effects show is just awesome.

 

[mabas9395]

Thanks for your help. We fly out in only 7-1/2 hours and I got to get to bed, but I printed it out so I could add your answers to the notes I've already made.

Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain too much for me (some rain should keep the crowds down a little and we're Seattle-ites so we can handle it).

Thanks again.

 

[iceskatejen]

For the fireworks, when facijng the castle, you want to be toward the left. If you are towards the right, the castle will be blocking many of the fireworks. If you want to sit, you'll need to be directly in front of the castle, off the street and in front of the walkway. Otherwise, you're standing and there's a walkway between you and the castle. While the CMs do their best to keep people moving along the walkway, many try to stop and watch or take pictures (plus the walkway is on a higher level than you're standing). Just know, the seating area fills up fast.

 

[yipee]

Cool! I didn't even know there WAS a place to sit for the fireworks. I've been worrying about where to position our family, because we have a 5 and 7 year old, and I've read how difficult it can be to find a good spot for kids when everyone is standing! Is the seating area better for the kids?

Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

Cool! I didn't even know there WAS a place to sit for the fireworks. I've been worrying about where to position our family, because we have a 5 and 7 year old, and I've read how difficult it can be to find a good spot for kids when everyone is standing! Is the seating area better for the kids?

Thanks!

We didn't even try this because I heard you needed to get there 2 if not 3 hours early for a sitting spot.

 

[TSRE]

For the fireworks, when facijng the castle, you want to be toward the left. If you are towards the right, the castle will be blocking many of the fireworks. If you want to sit, you'll need to be directly in front of the castle, off the street and in front of the walkway. Otherwise, you're standing and there's a walkway between you and the castle. While the CMs do their best to keep people moving along the walkway, many try to stop and watch or take pictures (plus the walkway is on a higher level than you're standing). Just know, the seating area fills up fast.

I am trying to picture exactly where you are talking about in my head, and am having a hard time. I'm pretty familiar with DL, but not down to those details . Does anyone have a link to a map or picture that shows this spot? If we are going to take the time to wait, I really want to be in a good spot. We have 3 & 6 year olds - wil they be able to see from there?

One more question - does anyone who has been there recently know if you really have to sit down 2 or 3 hours ahead of time? We've seen it before - we wouldn't be willing to wait that long with kids that young for any show. I'd settle for not as good of a spot.

Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

I am trying to picture exactly where you are talking about in my head, and am having a hard time. I'm pretty familiar with DL, but not down to those details . Does anyone have a link to a map or picture that shows this spot? If we are going to take the time to wait, I really want to be in a good spot. We have 3 & 6 year olds - wil they be able to see from there?

One more question - does anyone who has been there recently know if you really have to sit down 2 or 3 hours ahead of time? We've seen it before - we wouldn't be willing to wait that long with kids that young for any show. I'd settle for not as good of a spot.

Thanks!

As I said, we didn't sit there so I can't say from personal experience. If you have been to DL you know there is a circular hub and that there is a road around the hub. The spot under discussion here is between that road and the castle, and also on that road in front of the castle.

The other complicating factor is Parade of Dreams. This brings a lot of people into the hub at 7PM. So some people stake out spots before the Parade to see it from the hub, and then hold these spots for another two hours after the parade to see Remember.

Everything I read from others before our trip was that if you wanted to be right in front of the castle you needed 2-3 hours.

When we got there 1 hour early - during high season but on a Tuesday so not as bad as weekends - it was already fairly crowded all the way around the hub. One reason we took our "7:30" location was that we knew from others that a rope was to be put up behind us for a walkway and thus people would not be walking in front of us thru the whole show. The ropes went up about one hour ahead of time - or shortly after we got there. In addition, we were on the curb in a standing area, so my younger kids got 4-6 inches of help from the curb to see over people who were standing in the street.

If you have really small children (1-5?), you can hold them. If you have older children (12+) they are probably tall enough to see in a crowd. If you have kids 6-11 they may be too heavy to hold but too short to see in the standing area which is almost everywhere in the hub except in front of the castle. To top it off, I have heard that on some nights some people in the "sitting" area stand up anyways when the show starts, forcing everyone else in the sitting area to stand up as well if they want to see.

ETA: At first I was considering the 3 hour thing to see the Parade too. But in the few weeks before our trip the Remember fireworks were cancelled due to high winds three times. There is no way I wanted to wait for three horus for something that might get cancelled. That is when I settled on the "7:30" location recommended by others - a curb to stand on and a rope behind you, plus a clear view of the castle.

 

[iceskatejen]

Last Saturday (a very busy day), we watched the Parade at 7 (got to our location on the Castle side of the hub at about 7:20), then immediately after the parade, got our spots for the fireworks. Back of the seating section (there was room in front of us at the time, but it's better further back), slightly left of center. So, it was a little less than 2 hours before the fireworks that we grabbed our spot. On less busy days, I've gotten there an hour and a half or less before and had no problems (and these were usually weekends).

 

[TSRE]

Thanks for the in-depth response HydroGuy. We have a 6 year old & a 3 year old, but I just can't see sitting down that far ahead of time to get a sitting spot. Our 6 year old isn't too heavy - we can probably hold him if we need to. I think we will head over there 1 1/2 hours ahead and see what it looks like. Would you mind telling me where the 7:30 spot is, just in case it is a busy night?

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks for the in-depth response HydroGuy. We have a 6 year old & a 3 year old, but I just can't see sitting down that far ahead of time to get a sitting spot. Our 6 year old isn't too heavy - we can probably hold him if we need to. I think we will head over there 1 1/2 hours ahead and see what it looks like. Would you mind telling me where the 7:30 spot is, just in case it is a busy night?

Like I said, if the hub were a clock and the castle was 12:00, we were at 7:30. Thus on the side of the hub away from the castle and to the left. Make sense? Another way to describe it is if you walk up Main Street to the hub and turn left and go a little ways clockwise. There is a Carnation Plaza there behind you. Some people call this "Coke Corner".

I know that since we were there they have changed the traffic control patterns in the hub, but I think the rope walkway areas are the same. What I did was in the afternoon beforehand I walked around this area in the hub looking at the curb areas and checking views of the castle and Matterhorn (less important than the castle). Note that there are trees in the hub, and if you are not careful you will get an obstructed view. I checked this out also in the afternoon scout trip.

Also, before the rope walkways go up in the evenings the Cast Members come around to start setting up. If you get there 90 minutes early ask a Cast Member if they will be helping with the fireworks crowd control. If they say yes, ask them where the rope walkways will be. Then make sure you do not have a rope walkway in front of you. You want it behind you so people are not walking in front of you the whole time.

One more tip. People with small children are often tempted to put them on their shoulders so they can see better. This blocks the view of people behind you and can earn you some angry comments - or worse. But if you really wanted to do this, try to stand just inside the rope walkway so that there is no one directly behind you whose view you might block. Otherwise, hold them in your arms so their head level is the same as yours.

 

[TSRE]

Thanks again - you can probably tell I'm horrible with directions, but I get where you are talking about now. We'll try & check out the crowds & make our decision then. Thanks for mentioning about kids on shoulders, too. We've had that happen to us before, and it is so rude! We keep ours in our arms, as much as they may feel ready to fall off by the end of the show!