Paint the Night Parade and Disneyland Forever Fireworks Strategy

[lorijohnhill]

I agree, trying to leave Tomorrowland during the end/after the parade was a total nightmare! The CMs at the back of the land had no idea what was going on at the front. We were told multiple times that there were crowd corridors behind Main Street, so we could exit the park with no problem. My mom and I were both on scooters and my 8 year old daughter was with us. When we got to the rocket ride at the front there was this huge mass of people at a dead stop. More were squirming around in between others to try to get through. I had people climbing over me on my scooter. We were all stuck. My daughter was absolutely terrified, as was my mother. The CMs at the front were not allowing anybody to head to the left to use the corridor out of the park. Once the parade ended, we were forced to go across the hub and then turn left to go down the Main Street sidewalk (again, no access to the crowd control corridor). So, the huge crowd of people from Tommorowland is having to blend with the crowd already trying to get to Main Street. At this point, a woman forced her way in front of me ( with her stroller and two young children walking with her) and the wheel of my scooter went onto the back of her flip flop, basically pinning her foot into place for the couple of seconds it took the vehicle to stop moving (they do not have brakes). She instantly went on the attack screaming and yelling at the top of her lungs. I told her to not cut in front of a moving vehicle with no breaks. But she was having none of it. She called me a hippopotamus and grabbed her kids to her side telling them to watch out because I was going to run over them.

Now, normally I would have apologized to her right away ( even though it was her own fault, that's just the way I am. But I never even had a chance before she was screaming and calling me names.)

Anyway, once we finally made it out of the park my daughter was in tears and swearing that she would never come to Disneyland again.

This all could have been avoided if DLR had better crowd control and made use of the devices they already have in place.

 

[dina444444]

I agree, trying to leave Tomorrowland during the end/after the parade was a total nightmare! The CMs at the back of the land had no idea what was going on at the front. We were told multiple times that there were crowd corridors behind Main Street, so we could exit the park with no problem. My mom and I were both on scooters and my 8 year old daughter was with us. When we got to the rocket ride at the front there was this huge mass of people at a dead stop. More were squirming around in between others to try to get through. I had people climbing over me on my scooter. We were all stuck. My daughter was absolutely terrified, as was my mother. The CMs at the front were not allowing anybody to head to the left to use the corridor out of the park. Once the parade ended, we were forced to go across the hub and then turn left to go down the Main Street sidewalk (again, no access to the crowd control corridor). So, the huge crowd of people from Tommorowland is having to blend with the crowd already trying to get to Main Street. At this point, a woman forced her way in front of me ( with her stroller and two young children walking with her) and the wheel of my scooter went onto the back of her flip flop, basically pinning her foot into place for the couple of seconds it took the vehicle to stop moving (they do not have brakes). She instantly went on the attack screaming and yelling at the top of her lungs. I told her to not cut in front of a moving vehicle with no breaks. But she was having none of it. She called me a hippopotamus and grabbed her kids to her side telling them to watch out because I was going to run over them.

Now, normally I would have apologized to her right away ( even though it was her own fault, that's just the way I am. But I never even had a chance before she was screaming and calling me names.)

Anyway, once we finally made it out of the park my daughter was in tears and swearing that she would never come to Disneyland again.

This all could have been avoided if DLR had better crowd control and made use of the devices they already have in place.

The corridor on the left when facing the train station was being used as the walk up to the hub corridor on Memorial Day. The one on the right was for exiting. They keep traffic one way usually in and around Main Street.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Once I got to the right side of the street I asked about the corridor and was told it should have been open but keep moving down the sidewalk.

 

[CassieF]

They haven't had the corridors open on recent weekday visits during or after the parades, which is unfortunant when trying to leave after the second fan during the second parade. Traffic is terrible and the timing puts the leaving fantasmic crowds right along Main Street as the parade is ending. If the corridors were open fan crowds could bypass the stand still sidewalks that are supposed to be a walkway and beat most of the PTN crowds out, eliminating everyone hitting the exits and trams/buses at the same time. Yet they don't...

 

[Kenshin21]

Was there yesterday and we found a curb spot at the hub in front of the tomorrowland entrance. View of the parade was awesome but when it was over there was a mad rush of people entering the streets as they shut down the brick sidewalks. We had a stroller with us and it felt like a nightmare as we got pushed around.

Then as everybody was waiting for the fireworks, they announced they were canceled due to high winds, lots of upset people and it was chaos trying to move after that. They still has the one way walkways going but nobody knew where to go. People were trying to get around others standing still and going multiple directions.

They really need to get better at crowd control and need better communication between the cast members.

 

[DznyPrnces]

Are you allowed to have your stroller with you while you are watching the parade? I've heard conflicting reports about not allowing strollers in the parade viewing area.

 

[Kenshin21]

We waited in our spot at around 515-530 on and there were families behind us with a stroller and to our left as well. Several cast members came by to say hi talked to people but not one said we couldn't have our strollers.

 

[calilou]

Are you allowed to have your stroller with you while you are watching the parade? I've heard conflicting reports about not allowing strollers in the parade viewing area.

There were TONS of strollers all up and down every viewing area taking tons of space. So if they're not allowed there are just too many of them for the CMs to have a chance of controlling them. Plus where would they all be parked?! I know strollers are a necessity, but I'm so glad we're done with them! They're a pain.

 

[calilou]

Has anyone who has seen the fireworks in the last week viewed from the ISAW area? Were the projections working again?

 

[DznyPrnces]

Thanks. I couldn't figure out where strollers would be parked if they weren't allowed on the parade route, but I wanted to check.

 

[gmi3804]

This all could have been avoided if DLR had better crowd control and made use of the devices they already have in place.

Yeah, right. Better crowd control on Disney's part would turn this woman civil.

 

[dreamseeker9]

Any suggestions on how to see the fireworks without watching the 8:50 PM parade? We attempted this last night - we entered Town Square at 9:00 PM and were held while the parade went by. Then CMs told the crowd on the right of Town Square that Main Street was full, and they directed us to the 'secret passage' into Tomorrowland. When we tried to stop and watch the fireworks that had started, CMs made everyone not inside the rope (not sure how to get inside that rope!) to keep moving further into Tomorrowland. We finally stopped by Finding Nemo to at least watch the fireworks, though we couldn't hear the music or see the castle or the side of the Matterhorn with the projections on it. Not a good experience.

However, for the 11:00 PM parade, we asked a CM where to watch - she guided us to the benches on the outer right curb of the hub, across from a churros cart. We got there around 10:00 PM and secured our seats, and it was perfect - we sat there for the parade. Some people asked to sit on the ground in front of us just before the parade, which ended up being fine because no one stood. Such a great spot, and the parade was terrific!

 

[KellaCat]

Any suggestions on how to see the fireworks without watching the 8:50 PM parade? We attempted this last night - we entered Town Square at 9:00 PM and were held while the parade went by. Then CMs told the crowd on the right of Town Square that Main Street was full, and they directed us to the 'secret passage' into Tomorrowland. When we tried to stop and watch the fireworks that had started, CMs made everyone not inside the rope (not sure how to get inside that rope!) to keep moving further into Tomorrowland. We finally stopped by Finding Nemo to at least watch the fireworks, though we couldn't hear the music or see the castle or the side of the Matterhorn with the projections on it. Not a good experience.

I couldn't figure out a way to get a good fireworks view without being there for the 8:50 parade as well. They're just so close together, and if you want a good fireworks view, those are the same prime viewing spots as for the parade. We watched fireworks one night from the Rivers of America after F! and the view was decent. But I knew that I wanted a spot on the hub, so our last night there we sat directly in front of the castle from 5:30 on! Yes, a 4 hour wait but it was totally worth it!!

 

[dnamertz]

Does anyone have any experience from that last week or two (not including the opening weekend) about how soon you have to stake out a spot on Main Street/or the Hub for the first showing of the Paint The Night parade?

 

[AustinTink]

However, for the 11:00 PM parade, we asked a CM where to watch - she guided us to the benches on the outer right curb of the hub, across from a churros cart. We got there around 10:00 PM and secured our seats, and it was perfect - we sat there for the parade. Some people asked to sit on the ground in front of us just before the parade, which ended up being fine because no one stood. Such a great spot, and the parade was terrific!

How full were the spots at 10:00 for the the 11:00 parade? We had planned to arrive around 10:30 after closing down California Adventure.

 

[MouseEXP]

My PTN and FW strategy after seeing it 4 times.
Avoid Main Street at this time. The majority of guests will be looking for a spot in that area.
The Fantasmic area is ok. If you are watching the first show of Fantasmic, just stay in that area and watch the fireworks.
My favorite location is the curb that faces the Matterhorn with the castle slightly to the left. Here you will get a perfect view of the parade and you can stand on the curb during the fireworks with the castle and Matterhorn at a perfect angle.
The Small World area is the easiest place to watch both.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Have the gotten the projections at Small World working?

 

[Kansas Mom]

MouseEXP, about how early would you stake out your place on the curb facing Matterhorn?

 

[dreamseeker9]

How full were the spots at 10:00 for the the 11:00 parade? We had planned to arrive around 10:30 after closing down California Adventure.

10:30 PM will be too late. All benches were full by 10:10 PM. However, there were still several spots to sit on the ground near IASW around the teacups close to 10:30 PM.

Update on avoiding the first parade:
We went into the park last night at 8:40 PM last night and were able to walk up Main Street, then cut through shops and then the Jolly Holiday Bakery outdoor seating, then went on the pathway to Frontierland, just before the parade started. We rode BTMRR twice in less than 30 minutes and saw parts of Fantasmic as we waited for it and rode it - very cool!

We had planned to then go back out to the hub to watch the fireworks, but the fireworks were canceled last night because of winds.

 

[MouseEXP]

MouseEXP, about how early would you stake out your place on the curb facing Matterhorn?

We staked it out after Soundsational which is about 5pm, but the curb area behind us and some to the side didn't start to get full until 630pm. Just make sure you start to stand on the curb as soon as the last parade float passes and before the last rope walkers.
A lot of the guests coming from Small World head to the castle area and it gets full fast.
Best spot on that curb is in front of this bench facing east, That is where a rope will be put up an hour or so before the parade. Were a bit right of that area.
As soon as you stand on the curb you shouldn't have anyone standing directly in front of you. Here is a picture

and a video of the parade here