Oversold parties . Thoughts on trying again

[bookbabe626]

The fascination with parades must be sort of an American thing. We (and almost all of our other Canadian friends) couldn't care less about those. We are there for the rides lol. The amount of people lining up for hours to get a good spot to see a parade just boggles my mind. If I happen to catch part of the parade I'm like "Okay, that's nice", but nothing I would go out of my way for.

I have to disagree. I’m a Canadian and a total parade junkie. That’s our number one to-do at MNSSHP, and we even booked the Cruella party to make the viewing process easier. I could watch the Boo-to-you parade daily and never get sick of it.

 

[bfost87]

The fascination with parades must be sort of an American thing. We (and almost all of our other Canadian friends) couldn't care less about those. We are there for the rides lol. The amount of people lining up for hours to get a good spot to see a parade just boggles my mind. If I happen to catch part of the parade I'm like "Okay, that's nice", but nothing I would go out of my way for.

I'm the same, not a parade person, with one exception - night time parades.

 

[Chickinvic]

I have to disagree. I’m a Canadian and a total parade junkie. That’s our number one to-do at MNSSHP, and we even booked the Cruella party to make the viewing process easier. I could watch the Boo-to-you parade daily and never get sick of it.

I did say "most" lol. You must be the exception to my rule. I haven't met Canadians that are as gaga over the parades as Americans seem to be. I'm glad Americans seem to feel that way though - it gives the rest of us a good chance to go get on lots of rides while they waste time sitting on the sidewalk

 

[Mambo Junkie]

see below

 

[Mambo Junkie]

It has been a number of years since we have done the party-we are going Sun Sept 8th -maybe with SWGE and F&W- crowds might not be too bad.... Having a friend come meet us and we have added on the Cruella experience as well ( primary for parade viewing and to enhance the experience )- however, I am waiting for the initial reviews on Cruella to see if by chance we will want to cancel it.

That sounds ideal for your group, especially since you will be there for so many days. I did take a look at it and it looks like a really nice party, but the length of the party throws me off. We are taking my sister in law for her one and only, so we are trying to maximize her experience. She's a ride person, so we will focus on what she likes to do.
That said, we did Tony's for one of the last Electrical Parades, and we had an amazing spot in the hub, directly facing the castle. We got there early and had a great spot for the parade and fireworks. If the rope isn't up yet (assuming that's your viewing spot) then just stay on the curb and they will rope you in. Don't mind people in the street - they clear them out before the parade, and during the fireworks you still have a great view of the castle and the fireworks. With everything lit up, it's a great experience! We have also been on the back of the hub for the parade as well, but I would imagine a bit of bad viewing for the fireworks so I would stay to the front. Have fun!
ETA: Be ready for the Headless Horseman, who leads the way!

 

[Beckyb3]

We went last year the second weekend in September to MNSSHP and it poured for hours from about 7 to 10 so the ride lines were SUPER long because some of the rides were closed and some of the meet and greets were closed so pretty much everybody was doing the indoor rides and trick or treating. That being said, lines were really short pre party. We were able to arrive at 2 because we are DVC and we did SO much between 2 and 6. I think regular party goers can still get there earlier than the part so you can knock off a bunch of rides before the party even starts. I thought it was pretty fun even though the weather was fairly miserable and crowds felt high (I think because everybody was congested into specific areas). I would agree with one of the earlier posts that it’s fun to go for the ambiance versus actually getting a lot done. I wouldn’t go banking on short rides except for beforehand and even then I would recommend fast passing the bigger ones before the party starts.