During my last visit in Dec 2009, I was not allowed to sit in the section in front of the Castle (by the Walt Dianey statue) because I was told this is VIP seating for the fireworks.
I was wondering how to obtain such seating. It is not available via the Preferred Seating phone number that handles Fantasmic and the Electiric Parade.
Does anyone else know anything about this? I'm interested for my next trip in March 2010.
It is available to "VIP"s, ie, those who take a VIP tour, Club 33 members, and certain others as Disneyland sees necessary.Originally Posted by r18044
This is not the normal VIP seating area. They move it here during Christmas due to the Christmas Tree blocking the view from the train station. The normal spot is on the platform at the train station.
To arrange a VIP Tour, call 714-781-4400 and they will transfer you to VIP. The VIP tour is $750 for 6 hours, additional hours are $125.
Planning 3 trips at once...
I also got to see here on the Halloween tour that I took but I don't know if that's ordinary for every tour.
Thanks for the info. I don't think I'll be a VIP anytime soon but now I know.
So the seating around Walt Disney's statue is not normally reserved and I may be able to sit there in March? That would be nice!
The Halloween Tour had the special seating for it, but the Christmas Tours get seating for the parade instead. None of the regular tours do the fireworks seatings.
Planning 3 trips at once...
We usually sit in front of the castle. You should be able to get a seat in the area if you arrive early enough. Those seats are the first to go usually.
Planning 3 trips at once...
Um, not exactly.
If you cut the circle around the statue in half, the front half is for VIP's. Behind the VIP section a walkway is always kept clear for crowd control and for the fire marshall.
Unless you are a VIP, you will probably never get to sit there, even if no VIP's are scheduled for the day.
But at exactly midline of the circle is where seating begins for the rest of us. You can walk up to where the walkways out to Tomorrowland or Frontierland intersect with the road around the circle and anything at those intersections or behind them are yours for the waiting if you get there early enough. If we want to get a seat right up front and wait, we usually plant our bottoms on a bench or planter near the statue and wait. (We can see the back of the VIP's heads, so I guess that makes us D-list celebrities!) A CM can show you exactly which areas are okay and which aren't.
Or you can wait near the center of the status and figure it out for yourself. About every two minutes a new visitor will walk up and think, "Wow, I can't believe it. All this great space right in front of the castle is empty!" and they will sit down. A CM will nicely explain why they can't sit there and usher them on. And two minutes later, the process will repeat itself.
So I'm reading my bean feed...
"...since I don’t do drugs, I spend the money that I save on good dried beans." David Lebovitz
This is all good information. We will watch what goes on and try to pick the best non VIP seats possible. I can always ask the CMs while I'm there too. We should be there very early since my daughter will probably be sleepy by 7:00 and we'll just hang out while she sleeps.
I've never been in the VIP seating at the Partners statue, but I have been in the section up on the train platform. When my husband called Guest Services to talk about proposal options he explained that I'm a huge fireworks lover and they put us up on the train platform. I'm not exactly sure, but it may have had something to do with his saying that while we were going to Club 33 that he'd rather do it for the fireworks. Don't know if that helped him land in VIP land or not. If you're celebrating something stop by City Hall and see what they can do for you.
Keep Moving Forward!
For what it's worth, there are plenty of places "not" on Main Street or in front of the castle that provide nice viewing, usually with less wait. The area in front of It's a Small World as a pretty good view, for example, and they duplicate some of the projections from the front of the castle onto the back of the castle for folks standing in the Small World area.
We've often enjoyed just leaning against a planter in Tomorrowland, pretty much all by ourselves. You won't see all the special affects but you'll hear the music and the fireworks are pretty much all in the sky waaaaay overhead anyway.
Heck, I've had a decent viewing from the Hojo's parking lot. Fireworks are always good!
So I'm reading my bean feed...
"...since I don’t do drugs, I spend the money that I save on good dried beans." David Lebovitz
Is there still reserved seating at the train station, though? Or can you watch from the steps, if you want, without a reserved seat? I didn't realize that reserved seating was still offered at the train station.
I dont think it is still reserved. When we were there last Friday they had people departing the trains from the Main Street Station.
Number of visits to Disneyland 36
That is entirely possible. We sat on the platform in October of 2007, I'm sure a lot has changed since then. If it isn't reserved, go for it! It's a great place to watch from.
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Which seats would you consider better, by the train station or by the Walt & Mickey statue? Can you see Tinkerbell flying if you are at train station?
Personally, I prefer down by the castle.
Planning 3 trips at once...
I didn't know they had VIP seating for Club 33. Is it for members only or if you are a guest of a member can you still use it?
I'm on the petite side of things, so the crowd at the Hub often ends up being less than enjoyable for me. We could see Tink from the platform, though of course she was not as easy recognize as if you were in the Hub. Another thing to consider is what you'll be doing after fireworks; if you're going to leave the park, you may want to be further down on MS or at the station. If you're going to hit more rides then you should stick near the hub rather than try to swim upstream!
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My understanding, the member has to arrange it. They call Club 33, who then calls VIP services and puts your name on the list for the day you are asking for if there is space available.
ETA - In our case, the member tried to arrange in on only 2 weeks notice, and everything was booked for our entire stay. It isn't something you can really do on spur of the moment type timing.
Planning 3 trips at once...
Even though I am petite, I think I might prefer sitting in the hub.I'm on the petite side of things, so the crowd at the Hub often ends up being less than enjoyable for me. We could see Tink from the platform, though of course she was not as easy recognize as if you were in the Hub. Another thing to consider is what you'll be doing after fireworks; if you're going to leave the park, you may want to be further down on MS or at the station. If you're going to hit more rides then you should stick near the hub rather than try to swim upstream!
I read that we could leave the park via the Monorail (in Tomorrowland) into Disney District. I was thinking we might do that if that wasn't a long walk to the Candy Cane Inn.
I need to find out if it's easy to bring a stroller on the monorail though.
If the purpose is to leave the park and head to the Candy Cane, I would NOT take the Monorail. Basically, you would double your walk. *IF* you even could get on the Monorail. Generally, after fireworks, the Monorail is a one way ride, limited to Disneyland Hotel/GCH/PP guests.
The Monorail drops you at DTD. That is the opposite direction of the Candy Cane. Instead of .53 miles from the Esplanade to the Candy Cane, it is .87 miles from the Monorail to the Candy Cane.
Planning 3 trips at once...
I'm so glad there are some knowledgable folks out there!
Malcon - You are helping me immensely, I will make sure to exit the normal way instead of via Monorail. However, I did plan to go to DTD the night we arrived in CA (for dinner). I wonder if that walk will be too much for us.
The Candy Cane has a shuttle that will drop you in the drop off area, just outside the Esplanade.
Or you can park up to 5 hours in the DTD lot with a restaurant validation. (I'd do the shuttle.)
Planning 3 trips at once...
PLEASE NOTE: The seating in front of the castle is NOT the seating area for VIP tour guests. The VIP area is at the train station. The area in front of the castle is usually given out at random by different departments in the park. It is not something you can buy and the CM's at City Hall cannot 'fit you in' if you whine and complain about having a bad experience in the park...Guest Relations has nothing to do with the seating area in front of the castle. Sometimes, that viewing area is reserved for a Make-a-wish family or a visiting school group or something like that.
In short, there is no way to determine how the castle seating area will be used on a day-to-day basis. The only way the average guest will get to sit there is if you are lucky enough to have someone tap you on the shoulder and offer it to you.
We were in the park this past weekend -- March 13 and 14 -- and saw the fireworks on Saturday night (March 13) from the train station on Main Street. Benches were placed at the top of the stairs and roped off; no one was allowed to sit there. A crowd gathered behind these benches (which is where we ended up standing, too). A few minutes after the fireworks show started, a CM appeared and removed the rope and let anyone -- ANYONE -- sit on the benches. There was no reserved seating. It was a free-for-all. We stood behind the last row of benches and had a perfect view of the castle. It was really fun, but as my husband pointed out, we missed the drama of being closer to the music and seeing the fireworks directly overhead. But I'm only 5 feet tall and don't do well in crowds, so this was a perfect location for me. When the show ended, my husband and son got on the train and rode over to Tomorrowland. Meanwhile, I sat down on one of the vacant benches and waited until the crowds thinned out a little below -- then walked down Main Street.
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