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lauras5boys
07-10-2009, 07:28 AM
I took the boys to Disneyland by myself yesterday and we ended up sitting right behind the first row of people. It was great ebcause I had the stroller and wasn't blocking abunch of people that way. As the parade starts it announces for everyone to stand up and the cast emmbers urge everyone to do so as well. Of course that means anyone who isn't right in the front can't see anymore, especially the kids. And then it leaves a bunch of space for rude people to feel they can squeeze their way in. We had one entire family of adults with no children push my kids back so that they could walk in front of them. Grandma at least smiled at them as she pushed them back. I did ask them to please move but their either didn't speak Engluish or pretended not to. I just don't see how standing for the parade is a good idea.

candles71
07-10-2009, 08:49 AM
So sorry Laura, I hate rude people. Especially people who are rude to children.

disneylandgirl
07-10-2009, 09:19 AM
Mee too!

I hope a cast member on here can answer your question. I'm curious also as to why you had to stand... maybe they wanted to raise the excitement and get people involved? I haven't seen the parade though so I don't know what they do...

cstephens
07-10-2009, 09:24 AM
Same reason they do that on Main Street for the fireworks and most sections for Fantasmic viewing - you can fit a lot more people in if they're standing than if they're sitting down.

TowerofTerror
07-10-2009, 10:00 AM
I dont think you stand for the parade or the fantasmic unless ur in the very back. The fireworks show everyone by castle should sit and everyone down by coke corner and behind should stand

lauras5boys
07-10-2009, 10:30 AM
This is the first parade I've ever seen where people stand. I just found it very annoying.

cstephens
07-10-2009, 10:55 AM
This is the first parade I've ever seen where people stand. I just found it very annoying.

I was thinking about what you wrote, and you were talking about the people in the very front, on the curb, right? It occurred to me that I noticed that the other day too, that they had *everyone* stand up, even those on the curb. I remember thinking it was odd because they normally let the first row sit on the curb and then everyone else has to stand. I think they might be doing that for this parade because there are so many performers on the street (and vehicles as well, I think?), and there's so much movement, that they don't want *anyone* on the street with their feet dangling over even just a little bit, to prevent having someone's feet run over or having one of the performers accidentally being tripped.

DisneyMouse
07-10-2009, 11:33 AM
Was it the Celebrate Street Parade? Just from being there my guess would be because they are trying to get people to interact with the characters and floats, dancing and clapping for certain parts so they would have you stand.

Just a guess though, I hate standing for shows. Usually I'm watching them so I have a chance to sit down!

BrandonH
07-10-2009, 11:45 AM
It is an unfortunate reality, but children and shorter people will have a harder time getting a good view at concerts, parades, and other events, whether people are encouraged to stand or not. Parties with shorter people do need to do what they can to snag good spots or find a "window" between other people to look through. On the flip side, everyone should be courteous to those around them. Being a person with a height of six feet, I will gladly let a row or two of children sit or stand in front of me during parades.

I'm sorry that the experience turned out to be disappointing for you and your children, Laura. Maybe Disney will learn that it's a good thing for the front rows to be seated for future parades.

olegc
07-10-2009, 12:02 PM
As DisneyMouse suggested - it's an attempt by Entertainment to create energy and excitement into the parade by making people stand - and then dance and interact. Even if they are not chosen to be a part of the show - they idea is to create this environment of parties and dance and all out fun. That's one reason why many of us on the boards have called it the "not parade" because it's not a traditional parade where you watch things go by.

The big drawback is what you experienced - particularly if you were on main street or the hub. everyone pushes in to get a look - and crane their necks up and down the sets in order to see everything at once. It's a tremendous bottleneck and I am surprised more problems have not cropped up (could it be true to the summer is slower without all those So Cal and So Cal Select passholders? :rolleyes: )

lauras5boys
07-10-2009, 12:59 PM
Yes, I was talking about the very front row. We only had one row of people in front of us.

I totally get that they want people to stand up and participate in the parade but it might have been nice to know that everyone in front of us was going to do that BEFORE we waited around for 45 minutes. I think we'll just wait for a normal parade to come back. We did have one very nice lady who tried to get my boys to come up with her to see better but I think they were a bit freaked out about being shoved around and not being able to see me.

Other than that we did have a great day though. It's become a weekly routine for the boys and I to go by ourselves during the summer and just hang out and do the simple things that the 6 of us can do together.

disneylandgirl
07-10-2009, 01:05 PM
Just want to take a quick second and say something good about this topic. When my mom and I were there in March watching Fantasmic, there were two very tall men in front of us. They turned around to look at something, saw us, and immediately let us stand in front of them! We were very happy about them and how nice they were! We all started talking and now we are all friends on Facebook. :p

disneylandgirl
07-10-2009, 01:08 PM
Other than that we did have a great day though. It's become a weekly routine for the boys and I to go by ourselves during the summer and just hang out and do the simple things that the 6 of us can do together.

Holy Moly! :eek: Just you and 5 little boys? You are awesome! I could never do that. I can't even handle taking my fiance... LOL :fez:

ChipmunkStar
07-10-2009, 02:51 PM
Who decided it was smart to have evryone stand at the parade?

The same person who decided that squished toes and legs would be a huge liability? Seriously. Look at how close the Bikes at the finale of the performance get to the curbs. If people were sitting, their legs and toes could be seriously injured by the heavy bikes speeding by. Keeping people standing on the curbs eliminates the straightened leg factor.

AVP
07-10-2009, 04:13 PM
The same person who decided that squished toes and legs would be a huge liability? Seriously. Look at how close the Bikes at the finale of the performance get to the curbs. If people were sitting, their legs and toes could be seriously injured by the heavy bikes speeding by. Keeping people standing on the curbs eliminates the straightened leg factor.That is *exactly* why they require people to stand for Celebrate! The street is narrow, and they need every inch. If people had their legs / feet in the street, they would get hit by the chariots.

AVP

lauras5boys
07-10-2009, 06:21 PM
I do understand the reasoning. I don't understand why they decided that was a good way to do a parade. In my opinion, it was a poorly planned and executed parade. I'll be happy when we get back to the normal ones. Hopefully with a better design and choreographer.

DisneyFunFamily4
07-10-2009, 07:39 PM
I'm not a fan of the celebration street party thing, we watched it a few weeks ago because I knew my girls wanted to see it. The girls were in the front row, and I was standing right behind them, we watched up by IASW, about 1/2 way through the darn thing we had 3 adults push past us and stand in front of my kids and take pics!! I nicely said "excuse me, my kids cant see" and they looked a little confused but moved out of the way. We'll stick with the ELP and the Pixar Play Parade until they get something better at DL!!

breecie
07-10-2009, 08:29 PM
We went two weeks ago to see the new fireworks. We found a spot in front of the castle around 2 1/2 hours before the show started and sat on the ground.
Fifteen minutes before the fireworks started, a cast member told us we would all have to stand. We also have small children. While they could see the fireworks, Dumbo and Tinkerbell were much harder to see because of the tall adults who squeezed in last minute:crying:
While I understand the reasoning for the parade, the only reason I can see they do this for fireworks is to squeeze more people in...which kind of defeated the purpose of staking out a good spot. Many people just went under the rope and found a spot in the newly made space.

kiowa
07-11-2009, 05:04 AM
I can understand sitting on the curb for a parade. But, I don't understand sitting during fireworks. I don't understand why people camp out a spot for hours. I don't understand why people do that for fantasmic as well. Never had a bad view, always get there a few minutes before it starts. Never push my way through. I guess I wouldn't want to waste my time sitting in one spot for hours while there is a whole park to explorer.

chancencinny
07-12-2009, 10:06 AM
The parade is because the idea is to get everyone involved combined with the more people fit if they are standing. Everything else is simply the more people fit when standing issue. Trust me, CM's don't like telling you to stand anymore then you like standing but they have to follow policy or get in trouble with leads and managers who are out in full force at these things. It is especially annoying when people cuss and get pissed giving the CM attitude about it. One CM I know was actually punched in the back by a guest during the 4th fireworks who was upset about being told to stand and move out of the walkway. Not fun.

AVP
07-12-2009, 12:01 PM
While I understand the reasoning for the parade, the only reason I can see they do this for fireworks is to squeeze more people in...which kind of defeated the purpose of staking out a good spot. Many people just went under the rope and found a spot in the newly made space.Unfortunately these fireworks are very Castle-centric, which means Main Street viewing is at a real premium. Standing areas hold 30% more people than sitting areas.

The flip side is that this gives you a good strategy for nabbing a good spot without waiting for 2-1/2 hours. :)

AVP

tonytone
07-13-2009, 08:30 AM
It is an unfortunate reality, but children and shorter people will have a harder time getting a good view at concerts, parades, and other events, whether people are encouraged to stand or not. Parties with shorter people do need to do what they can to snag good spots or find a "window" between other people to look through. On the flip side, everyone should be courteous to those around them. Being a person with a height of six feet, I will gladly let a row or two of children sit or stand in front of me during parades.
I'm about to be a bit off-topic here--what really irks me about getting a good view of parades/fireworks where people are required to stand is when you legitimately stake out your spot for a few hours, then some person shoehorns himself right in front of you right before the show begins...then to add insult to injury, plops his child onto his shoulders...thus blocking your (and/or your child's) view. Now I understand wanting to give your child a better view and all, but sheesh--do these people not understand courtesy and consideration...or are they really that self-minded?


I don't understand why people camp out a spot for hours. I don't understand why people do that for fantasmic as well. Never had a bad view, always get there a few minutes before it starts. Never push my way through. I guess I wouldn't want to waste my time sitting in one spot for hours while there is a whole park to explorer.
Speaking of camping out for Fantasmic--while we were waiting for it to begin, we noticed DL Security standing next to a stroller and laid-out blanket right at the very front of the railing; apparently, that spot had been "unattended" for at least a few hours and Security was deciding whether they should clear the spot. They were just about to do so when the person who set up the spot finally showed up; needless to say, he was given a pretty good--if not stern--lecture about how it is not permissible to stake out a spot w/o having someone there to actually hold it. But wait--it doesn't end there...so the guy sat down with his kid, but didn't collapse his stroller; another person yells out to Security asking if it was allowable for strollers to not be collapsed during the performance. Needless to say, the guy got another brief lecture...

olegc
07-13-2009, 09:35 AM
...then to add insult to injury, plops his child onto his shoulders...thus blocking your (and/or your child's) view. Now I understand wanting to give your child a better view and all, but sheesh--do these people not understand courtesy and consideration...or are they really that self-minded?.

happens all the time to me with Fantasmic. you go across the walkway at the edge of the bridge, someone shoehorns themselves under the ropes on the other side AND puts their kid on their shoulder. Argh! - when I asked them once to understand our problem (I was not rude but I did shout "hey, we can't see back here. if you're late please think of others") the guy turned around and gave me one of the biggest grins I have ever seen, shrugged his shuolders, and turned back around.

yeah - great attitude. When did "you snooze you lose" replace the golden rule?

kelli1rose
07-13-2009, 10:54 AM
After the last time we watched the Celebrate "parade", a cast member approached me, asking for my email. I filled out a survey about the parade, and noted I did not like having to stand up for it. Hopefully they will get enough feedback and re-evaluate the policy.

ChipmunkStar
07-13-2009, 02:12 PM
As soon as they find the money to settle all the smooshed foot lawsuits they would receive, I'm sure they'll reevaluate. :rolleyes: