parades and fireworks......

[utahbelle]

I am taking my two girls (12,10) to Disneyland this December (21,22,23). We have been before but always used the parade and fireworks time to take advantage of shorter times on rides. Now I really want to sit and enjoy these shows, especially to be near the snow at the end of the fireworks. Can you give some advice on where to save a place and how early to start saving it? I am willing to sit as long as it takes to get a good seat and I love to people watch anyway!
Any advice for me? We are so excited! It will be our first time staying at the Grand California also!
I am thinking about the Holiday tour just to get the good seats for the parade......Would it be too boring for a 12 and 10 year old?

Thanks!

 

[AmericanItGirl]

The place with the shortest wait time for a parade will be by IASW when the parade ends at IASW. In order just to sit, I would say to get there maybe 15 or so mins before the parade start time, but to get a bench, I would recommend 30-45 mins. For the fireworks, the best place IMO is in the Hub. For that, I would grab a CS dinner 2 hours ahead of time and eat it while waiting (both benches and a curb right in front of the castle should be available for seating at that point). The snow should start soon after, so just stay in your spot after the fireworks. Even if fireworks are cancelled because of high winds, they may still have the snow.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Just as the pp said that the shortest wait to see "A Christmas Fantasy" parade is around IASWH. You can get a front row spot on the parade route about 15-30 minutes until the parade starts. But if you do it on MS, it can be at least an hour wait since that is the most popular area to watch the parade. If you do the Holiday tour they will have seats for the parade which will be right across IASWH. Benches around MS will be at least an hour or two since people will claim the spot way in advance. Same thing goes for the fireworks if you want a bench seat instead of sitting on the ground or curb. There will be two parades during your trip so the first parade will start from IASWH towards MS Town Square and the 2nd parade will start from MS Town Square back to IASWH. It is always great to watch the parade when it starts at the entrance of where it is coming from.

The best spot to watch "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks is in front of SB Castle. People would wait as long as 2+ hours for a prime spot for the fireworks. I have seen people wait as long as 3+ hour for a bench seat, but don't forget that you have to stand up for the fireworks so there is no sitting on the ground. If you are on a bench you might have to stand up just like everyone else. But you can get there around 30 minutes until the fireworks, but that is like forcing your way in. So if you want a front row spot, you got to get there at least an hour. Also if you plan on waiting a while on the curb side for the fireworks, you can use a blanket and mark it as your territory while the rest of your party can go on rides, food, restroom, etc. while waiting for the fireworks. This is a good way to save spots for your party so other groups won't try to force their way in your area. If you get there early, they will have Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle show which is a light up show of the castle before "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks. There will be two shows a night before the fireworks and it does snow around the castle area.

For the Holiday Tour, I don't think that it will be boring for kids since the CMs will try to make it more exciting for the young ones. But the highlight of the tour is definitely the seats for "A Christmas Fantasy" parade.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

My kids were 8, 4, 2.5 and 1 when we did the Holiday Tour. We all enjoyed it. We also had other kids in our group so the Guide really focuses on the kids (went by Santa's Reindeer and discussed their strict diet of Hot Cocoa, candy canes and gingerbread). I'd definitely do it again.