There’s no shortage of excitement at Disney theme parks this year; Disneyland Resort has some incredibly exciting things headed our way! After all, Disney is ready to welcome back many of the Disneyland nighttime entertainment offerings that make their theme parks so special! To celebrate, Perfecting the Magic is sharing our tips on how to score the best Disneyland fireworks and parade views in 2022!
In fall 2021, Disney officially announced a long list of fan-favorite entertainment that will be returning to Disneyland Resort in 2022, including the following nighttime shows:
Although we don’t yet have a date for the shows returning to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure this year (follow us on TikTok for updates!), that isn’t stopping us from planning ahead! If you’re making a trip to the happiest place on earth in hopes of seeing any (or all!) of these shows, here are our best tips for watching Disneyland nighttime entertainment in 2022!
Plan Out Your Day
First and foremost, we highly recommend planning the main aspects of your day. Even if you don’t want to have every detail of your theme park visit figured out (Disney magic can come from spontaneity!), it’s a good idea to have a game plan when it comes to seeing nighttime entertainment. Whether you’re planning a rope drop-to-fireworks day, or you’re just heading to the parks for the evening, solid plans will serve you!
When we have an upcoming park visit, we check the Disneyland app for theme park hours and showtimes to get an accurate idea of the day. This is especially important if we want to watch multiple shows in a day! If you’re going to watch World of Color in DCA and plan to Park Hop over to Disneyland to see another show, it’s essential to know what you will (and won’t) be able to fit in.
So, be sure to use the Disneyland app — perhaps even the Disney Genie feature, too! — to plan out (and maximize) your day!
Secure a Spot Early
We’re rarely about camping out for fireworks or parade spots. But, we make an exception for the very first day we see a show! If you want to guarantee a great viewing location for the Disneyland Forever fireworks, Main Street Electrical Parade, Fantasmic!, or World of Color, we recommend securing a spot early! For us, this means getting a cup of coffee and a Mickey candy apple before heading to our seat and waiting it out! Treats help the time pass and keep the vibes immaculate.
Now, it’s important to mention that most of our experiences with Disneyland nighttime entertainment were pre-pandemic. Since Disneyland Resort reopened, we have seen fireworks shows (Mickey’s Mix Magic and Believe…in Holiday Magic) and parades (Mickey’s Frightfully Fun Parade and A Christmas Fantasy Parade), but 2022 will mark the return of World of Color and Fantasmic!. It will be the first time guests have seen the Main Street Electrical Parade and Disneyland Forever fireworks in years.
So, if you want to secure your spot without worrying too much about the crowds, we recommend scoping out a viewing location early. Get prepared an hour or two before the show is scheduled to start, bring your snacks, and spend some time chilling out. That way, you won’t be scrambling to find a spot minutes before the show’s about to begin.
Our Favorite Viewing Locations
Finally, if you want to be extra prepared, take note of our favorite viewing locations—we’re even sharing how to snag them!
Disneyland Forever
This show features projections all up and down the Main Street building facades, “it’s a small world”, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Matterhorn Mountain, and the water screens of the Rivers of America. You can’t go wrong if you’re around any of those landmarks. But for us, we like to stick to Main Street to feel those nostalgic vibes. There’s just nothing like it.
Main Street Electrical Parade
If you’re planning on watching Disneyland Forever and the Main Street Electrical Parade on the same night, we recommend sticking it out on Main Street and securing your spot for both shows there. However, if your schedule is more flexible and you want something different (and potentially less crowded), head to the “it’s a small world” mall. Typically, around an hour or so before the parade, you can snag a prime parade seat!
Fantasmic!
Okay, stay with us for this one: if you’re willing to splurge a bit, we recommend booking a Fantasmic! Dining package. Unlike Walt Disney World, which offers stadium-style seating for Fantasmic! shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland isn’t as spacious, so it can often be pretty tough to snag a spot for the show. If you want to avoid the hassle, book a dining package that offers reserved seating in a prime location. We’ll share more info when it’s released!
World of Color
This is one of our all-time favorite shows that Disneyland Resort offers. World of Color at Disney California Adventure is unlike any other nighttime entertainment. We suggest arriving around 45 minutes before showtime and snagging a spot in the back middle section. This way, you’ll get to see all of those fantastic projections from an ideal vantage point without risking getting sprayed by the fountains. In the past, Disney offered FastPasses for World of Color viewing spots, but we’re not sure those will come back now that Disney Genie+ has launched. We’ll keep you posted!
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