We had the pref. parade seating that came with the AAA package last
July. We actually bought them from someone off of Ebay. We were able to sit on benches right next to Play House Disney. There wasn't any one in front of us and we were able to see the parade at the very end. There were people sitting right across from us on the street though and they had the same view. There are only or 4 benches though. So you need to be there at the show up time so you can get the bench. Other wise you get to stand I was worth it to us when we went But you can still get good seats without paying for them
If you call the Disney Dining phone you'll have an option for the Premier seating reservations. The one for the parade is similar to what you get for the Fantasmic. I think they said it was $59 and you get seats and a dessert box. I think the seating is in the Wine tasting area. So, you can buy wine for it as well. We haven't done it but we considered it. We decided not to do it and spend the $$$ on a nice dinner instead.
When we were there last week, we happened to be over by Jumpin' Jelly Fish as the parade started. We had not planned to watch, but there were lots of spots available right on the curb as it started passing by, so we sat and watched. It was nothing like what we always do at DL (pick our spot an hour ahead and camp out).
We were there the 2nd week of June and you could find a spot a few minutes before the parade started. We watched both parades from the Golden State park area. The area around Sunshine Plaza does get a bit crowded though. You might need to get there 20-30 minutes early.
This photo shows our location across from the Golden Dreams building.