Parade Blanket Saving? (Blankets...Blankets Everywhere!)

[minnieralyks]

Has anyone else seen this? We were at Disneyland about 2 weeks ago and saw this guy saving a whole section of curb with about 15 blankets lined end-to-end 2 hours before the parade. We asked a passing Security about it (since curb spots were coming at a premium that far in advanced of a parade) and he said that as long as one person was with the blankets, they could save as much curb space as they wanted.

I don't care if one person is saving a section with one, maybe 2 blankets... but 15? C'mon.


This was the section that was being saved (I wish I would have got a picture!):

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Has anyone else seen this? We were at Disneyland about 2 weeks ago and saw this guy saving a whole section of curb with about 15 blankets lined end-to-end 2 hours before the parade. We asked a passing Security about it (since curb spots were coming at a premium that far in advanced of a parade) and he said that as long as one person was with the blankets, they could save as much curb space as they wanted.

I don't care if one person is saving a section with one, maybe 2 blankets... but 15? C'mon.


This was the section that was being saved (I wish I would have got a picture!):
View attachment 211965

Yeah, it's an issue at DL. From what I read, though, it's not tolerated at WDW. I wish they wouldn't tolerate it here, either.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Seems like a tripping hazard. Ridiculous.

 

[mom2rtk]

Someone at DL needs to grow a backbone. The problem is out of hand.

OP, you should write guest services about your experience. Only when people complain will someone eventually react.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

I encountered that when I was waiting for a parade at DL and there were so many blankets, and there was just one person by the row of blankets (there were like 3), so I moved one of the blankets and sat there. The one person tried to tell me that the spots were taken, but I said I don't see anyone sitting here and having a huge section saved is ridiculous because as far as I can tell the only spot that is taken is the blanket area he is sitting on. I didn't move, and nor did the people I was with.

 

[agamble]

That's silly. One blanket, fine. But a whole line of blankets, ridiculous. I thought the CMs wouldn't allow that. It does seem like it would be in the way, and also disturbs the Disney Magic of the Main Street theme for several hours. How rude!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

When Paint the Night first started the rule was 2 spots saved per person. I guess there were too many complaints about not being able to hold spots (maybe by the CMs who had to enforce it?), but I'm with the guests that say 1 attended blanket, and if not attended, then not a saved area.

 

[Jerryp49]

I wish they would control this. What`s to stop someone from putting a blanket down at park opening for a PM parade.

 

[ludari]

I hate when I see this but unfortunately there is no parade police to prevent people from doing this.

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

That's annoying. I wish they would ban camping out for spaces at all. Maybe allow it half hour before. Drives me nuts that people start sitting around for it hours before. One time I was sitting at a bench near the castle and it was atleast 3 hours before a parade was starting. A worker was sweeping around me and she said nicely that I wasn't allowed to be there for the parade. I kind of laughed and said I was just resting and wouldn't sit around waiting for a parade for that long. She looked relieved and kind of whispered to me that she would be either. I noticed then that were people already lined up on Main Street and realized that's why it was hard to find a place to sit. Lots of other benches were taken up by people waiting for parade.

 

[Rabb it]

Never seen someone with that many, maybe one or two like you said.. But never 15, that's nuts..

 

[hsmamato2]

wow.... annoying- I was amazed at the number of 'campers' at DL too.... people were camped out 2-3 hours before the mid day parade.... why????

 

[GatorChris]

I'd hate to have been that guy. Talk about a nervous wreck! You know that every 2 minutes, someone was trying to move in or ask him about it or yell at him for saving so much. When I lay down one 4x6 blanket, I get all anxious and paranoid with people crowding in. I can't imagine saving more than that.

 

[LizzyS]

I'd hate to have been that guy. Talk about a nervous wreck! You know that every 2 minutes, someone was trying to move in or ask him about it or yell at him for saving so much. When I lay down one 4x6 blanket, I get all anxious and paranoid with people crowding in. I can't imagine saving more than that.

Your reaction is really "that poor guy" and not "the nerve of that guy!"? Haha!

More than one or two blankets is insanity and people are crazy for doing such a thing. That's just plain rude, imo.

 

[alvernon90]

I'd hate to have been that guy.

And everyone else would have hated you if you were that guy, so it's unanimous!

 

[cmpeter]

It's really out of control and 15 blankets is insane!

 

[minnieralyks]

It's still crazy to think that he had that many blankets. I probably wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it for myself. That and the fact that the Security guy didn't even care.

We noticed the last few times they started cracking down on blanket saving, asking if a certain blanket belonged to anyone. If no one answered, they would pick it up and place it over a trashcan. This last time they weren't really doing that. We saw strollers and even ECV units left unattended on the curb, with the owners coming back around 30 minutes before the parade. It's definitely frustrating when you've been sitting there, holding your own spot, for 2 hours and others could just set something down and have their seat saved while they did other things.

It almost makes me want to do what that last guy did. Take up a whole section of curb for 4 people with the rest of the curb sitting empty. If they said anything, I would say they said I can save as much space as I want. I could never actually do that, though. The guilt would eat me alive! lol

 

[gottalovepluto]

Awe heck no! Maybe I'm an awful person... but I really wish someone would drop Soda/ice cream/coffee on those blankets and quickly blend back in with the crowd... (Obviously I'm in the "if you want front row for the parade you wait, no holding spots" group. Although yes, bathroom breaks are excusable- I'm not a horrible person )

 

[Leopardstars]

I wish they would control this. What`s to stop someone from putting a blanket down at park opening for a PM parade.

That's what I was thinking. I can see a blanket or two, especially 30 minutes or so before the parade, but that long is ridiculous. If I were the OP, I would have complained. I don't know if it would do much good, but it would have at least made me feel better. I also feel for the CMs because there's probably guest complaining to them at not much that they can do right now.

 

[minnieralyks]

That's what I was thinking. I can see a blanket or two, especially 30 minutes or so before the parade, but that long is ridiculous. If I were the OP, I would have complained. I don't know if it would do much good, but it would have at least made me feel better. I also feel for the CMs because there's probably guest complaining to them at not much that they can do right now.

That's sort of what we were doing when we saw the passing Security. I can't remember exactly, but we said "Are they really allowed to have that many blankets? He's taking up the whole curb" and motioned over to the area to which he said something like, "Yes, as long as the blankets are attended by one person, guests can save as much space as they want". Taking the time to complain at City Hall wouldn't have done any good if this is the current policy. Just frustrating!