staking out seats for parades/fireworks

[KYmommy]

My family is coming to WDW in June.
Can anyone tell me how much time before parades, lightshows and fireworks we need to stake out our seats for each park?
Thanks. Your help will help me with PS's and attraction times.

Kris

 

[goofy4tink]

For MK a lot of people are sitting on the curb for Spectro about an hour or more before hand and then they just stay there for the fireworks in a lot of cases. The afternoon parade in MK is pretty much the same. I have found that if you try to find a spot along the route, closer to the ending area you have better luck.
IllumiNations in Epcot brings people out waaaay ahead of time. If you want a spot right up front you have to stake out a spot really early..over an hour ahead.
MGM isn't so bad, at least in my opinion. Maybe 30-45 minutes beforehand, depending on where you want to be.
And AK it wasn't bad at all. We finally did the parade for the first time in late Nov and found a really good spot about 20 minutes before it started.

 

[beccasmom]

For Spectromagic, our favorite position is on top of the railroad station. However, this involves a large commitment of time and may not be necessary. For us, if we've been there from the early morning, it is a nice chance to relax and have an ice cream treat. Little ones are not usually so accommodating to sitting still so long! I would agree that folks usually start to line the curb for Spectromagic at least one hour ahead of time and that the last parade of the night - if in the busy season - is always much less crowded.

Epcot is a little trickier because there are lots of places to see Illuminations - some better than others. We haven't found the perfect spot yet. But we keep trying different spots! It's fun no matter what!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We find that Spectromagic is the one parade that requires lining up for long ahead of time. We like to watch from Frontierland (near CBJ), and move over toward the hub to watch Wishes.

The AK parade and MGM/DS parade we saw with hardly no waiting at all. In AK from in front of the entrance to ITTBAB. In MGM from Hollywood Blvd near the main entrance.

MK afternoon parade -our favorite spot is somewhere in Town Square, depending on how hot and sunny it is. We have seen that parade multiple times and have hardly ever waited for it. Note: thsi works well I think because it is the end of the route.

Illuminations -I have only seen it once and was not overwhelmed, so I leave that little bit of WDW magic for others to enjoy.