Watching MSEP from a distance?

[branv]

I know if you want a *good* view of MSEP you have to get a spot really early. But what if all you want is an okay or fair view -- like you know you'll miss the bottom half of the floats and the walking performers? Is it even possible to see it this way without still lining up an hour ahead of time (on a weekday in early May)?

DS has some minor sensory issues, but when we sat front row for MSEP at WDW he was totally overwhelmed by how bright and loud it was. We thought this time around we might just try to view it casually from a distance, and maybe only part of it. If so, any recommendations as to how early we'd still need to get there and where to watch it this way? Thanks!

 

[SMD]

In some of the roped off areas by IASW, across from the dining package areas, you might be able to find a standing spot 20-30 before the show that is 3-4 rows deep but angled where you can see the parade. But that's not going to help with the house, it's coming through speaker. Have you thought about ear plugs or earmuffs for sound and sunglasses for the lights? If you can dampen the light and sound then I'd recommend just showing up on Main St 20-30 minutes before the show and standing behind the people who are sitting. It will be easier to leave if you don't want to stay for the whole parade. If there's only 1 parade and no fireworks, I don't know how successful you'll be finding any spot with any partial view, though.

 

[branv]

Thank you so much! We are bringing his headphones with us (and are so thankful there are no fireworks those days! Noooo bueno). There is a second parade which is way too late for him. Hopefully that will pull off at least a little of the crowd for the first showing.

How hard is it to get out of the park if we do try to leave while the parade is going. Like, for instance, we watch the first half from near IASW, but then start making our way out of the park. Do they open crowd bypass routes during parades like WDW (or are the shops on Main Street connected like at WDW so you can bypass at least part off the Main Street crowd that way?)

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

One of my kids has some minor sensory issues and for what it's worth, he loves the parade. It is very loud. If sound sensitivity is an issue, break sound canceling headphones.

I would say don't try to leave during the parade. It would be virtually impossible. I say virtually because if you planned it just right, you might make it, but that type of thing requires serious understanding of the park and how traffic flow works during nighttime entertainment. A better bet if you can't do the whole parade is to find a spot on Main St. by the train station. It would be a lot easier than trying to fight the crowds. I don't think I can emphasize the crowds enough. It's insane. We take a soon-to-be 7-year-old and our 3-year-old twins regularly and sit in the IASM area for the parade. It takes a good 30-45 minutes to get out after the parade as it's wall to wall people. It should be better without the fireworks, but just be prepared.

 

[YukonMommy]

I would also suggest Main Street as it will give you your best option if you need to leave. The earlier parade is usually the busiest (or at least it was at the end of March!)

Have a magical time!

 

[figment_jii]

I would say a lot of depends on the crowds in the park that day. We were there last Saturday and the park wasn't nearly as busy as I would have expected. We were able to find a spot to view MSEP (from the back row on Main Street by Carnation) with about 15 minutes to go. There weren't a lot of spots, but there were still some. The crowds weren't that big, so the bypass was not open.

In terms of exiting the park; if you're down by IaSW, you're going to have either go through FL or TL to get to MS (I would try very hard to be on the FL side of the parade route because it's easier to get out and you don't have to worry about crossing the parade route to exit. In terms of Main Street, there is a bypass that they may open for guests leaving the park if it's busy enough (it runs behind Coke Corner, Candy Palace, and the Emporium complex). Otherwise, yes, many of the stores on Main Street are connected, but in two sets; you cannot get down the entire length of MS without having to exit the shops and then re-enter. The Emporium side is more connected; you get about half way, then have to exit onto the sidewalk by Carnation Cafe and then can enter the Emporium complex, but it doesn't seem that much less busy inside the shops these days.

 

[SMD]

I would say a lot of depends on the crowds in the park that day. We were there last Saturday and the park wasn't nearly as busy as I would have expected. We were able to find a spot to view MSEP (from the back row on Main Street by Carnation) with about 15 minutes to go. There weren't a lot of spots, but there were still some. The crowds weren't that big, so the bypass was not open.

In terms of exiting the park; if you're down by IaSW, you're going to have either go through FL or TL to get to MS (I would try very hard to be on the FL side of the parade route because it's easier to get out and you don't have to worry about crossing the parade route to exit. In terms of Main Street, there is a bypass that they may open for guests leaving the park if it's busy enough (it runs behind Coke Corner, Candy Palace, and the Emporium complex). Otherwise, yes, many of the stores on Main Street are connected, but in two sets; you cannot get down the entire length of MS without having to exit the shops and then re-enter. The Emporium side is more connected; you get about half way, then have to exit onto the sidewalk by Carnation Cafe and then can enter the Emporium complex, but it doesn't seem that much less busy inside the shops these days.

Slightly OT, but both the So Cal ticket offer and military salute tickets were blocked through Sunday. I think Disney may have incorrectly assumed more people would be there the week after Easter than 3 weeks before this year. I also wonder if those block decisions were made before the F&W dates were known. It made for a nice second half of the week, though.

 

[figment_jii]

Slightly OT, but both the So Cal ticket offer and military salute tickets were blocked through Sunday. I think Disney may have incorrectly assumed more people would be there the week after Easter than 3 weeks before this year. I also wonder if those block decisions were made before the F&W dates were known. It made for a nice second half of the week, though.

I was thinking along the same lines (also, the lower level APs were also blocked on Sat); the crowds were better than I anticipated (I had thought that Dapper Day on Sunday might have a bigger impact on overall weekend crowds, but it didn't seem that way). It did make for a nice weekend in the parks!

 

[Nevada Jen]

Just another thought. IF you get the alladin grab and go parade package you would actually have a roped off area across from small world reserved. Its kind of tiered in that area so he would be a bit further away from the parade. I can't really explain it very well but it might be the perfect location. There was definitely room to move at the back and sort of half watch the parade. We were actually right by a tree/planter and there were kids climbing on it completely ignoring the parade. It worked well for my sensory kid.

 

[SMD]

Just another thought. IF you get the alladin grab and go parade package you would actually have a roped off area across from small world reserved. Its kind of tiered in that area so he would be a bit further away from the parade. I can't really explain it very well but it might be the perfect location. There was definitely room to move at the back and sort of half watch the parade. We were actually right by a tree/planter and there were kids climbing on it completely ignoring the parade. It worked well for my sensory kid.

This is a good suggestion. It's a semi-reserved spot (area roped off, but people still show up early for the front row) but there are steps up to a raised platform you can still find spots to stand in the back if you don't want to arrive right when it opens. After the parade you can sit on the planter ledge while everyone exits or hop across the route to IASW.

 

[Aladora]

Just another thought. IF you get the alladin grab and go parade package you would actually have a roped off area across from small world reserved. Its kind of tiered in that area so he would be a bit further away from the parade. I can't really explain it very well but it might be the perfect location. There was definitely room to move at the back and sort of half watch the parade. We were actually right by a tree/planter and there were kids climbing on it completely ignoring the parade. It worked well for my sensory kid.

This is a good suggestion. It's a semi-reserved spot (area roped off, but people still show up early for the front row) but there are steps up to a raised platform you can still find spots to stand in the back if you don't want to arrive right when it opens. After the parade you can sit on the planter ledge while everyone exits or hop across the route to IASW.

We did this last week and the spot was perfect! We had a great view of the parade but there was plenty of room behind us if DS had wanted to move back. We ended up staying for the fireworks and while we missed the castle part, the IASW projections were the highlight for our son!

 

[aidansmother]

We decided to watch the parade sorta last minute (we had already viewed it on a previous trip). We ended up on the main street train station steps on the side (I hope I'm explaining this correctly). The cast members had one side of the stairs roped off, but allowed people to stand on the other side. I don't think people realized it was allowed, so no one was there. We just walked up and stood about 10 minutes before the parade started. We had a great view but there was a bit of distance. A bonus was once the end of the parade was coming up main street, we walked down the other side and was out of the park in less than a minute, before the post parade crowds started to stream out. This was on Easter weekend, Saturday night.

 

[branv]

Just another thought. IF you get the alladin grab and go parade package you would actually have a roped off area across from small world reserved. Its kind of tiered in that area so he would be a bit further away from the parade. I can't really explain it very well but it might be the perfect location. There was definitely room to move at the back and sort of half watch the parade. We were actually right by a tree/planter and there were kids climbing on it completely ignoring the parade. It worked well for my sensory kid.

I actually did reserve one of these, but have been on the fence about it. Was worried if he got upset even at that distance, and we have to leave, we would have wasted the money. Plus I've heard mixed things like still having to get there an 1-1.5 hrs early to get an unobstructed view. I don't mind having a semi-obstructed view, but not if I've paid for it . (My thought being that at least in the "free" back row of the crowd DH can put our son on his shoulders and not have to hold him in his arms the whole time like he would 3 rows back at the reserved area if we don't get there early enough). I'm still debating this one.