Hi, everyone! I've been reading this thread with much interest, and I completely understand that once the first few parties happen, more details will come out that will make subsequent planning much easier. Our party night is 12/10, so I have plenty of time to plan still, however, I'm wondering a couple of things & would appreciate any feedback.
I have seen recommendations that it's a good plan to grab a curb seat on Main Street for the first parade about an hour before parade time if you want to ensure a front row view. Regardless of what time the first parade starts (8pm/815pm), the general idea is probably that my family group of 10 (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers), may want to find a spot around 7pm. I know there's a second parade, but some of the younger members of our group may not be able to stay awake until then, so at least as of now, we are feeling pretty firm on wanting to do the first parade.
But - then I see the suggestion that if you want to meet the 7 Dwarfs, you should start lining up around 6pm. This is probably the only special character photo op that our group would like to do. We'd love a picture of all 10 of us with the 7 Dwarfs. So, even if we lined up at 6pm for them, they may not start their meet & greet until 7pm, which is the official MVMCP start time. And even with luck on our side, we probably wouldn't be finished getting a photo with them until 730pm at the very earliest, which already puts us past the time we should have grabbed a parade spot.
So... is there any way to accomplish both watching the first parade (somewhat) decently AND getting a photo with a popular character(s)? Again, if we did the second parade or if we waited until close to party ending time (11pm-midnight) to get a photo with the Dwarfs, the possibility is that a few of the younger kiddos would either be asleep or actually would have left the party early to go back to the hotel. Realistically speaking, should we come to the conclusion that we will only be able to do one of these options (watch first parade at a good spot OR meet the 7 Dwarfs)?
Also - this question is for MVMCP but also Disney in general - what do you do with the strollers at parade time? We have two 6 year olds, two 4 year olds, and one 18 month old in our group & will have 2 side by side double strollers. If we all sit on the curb, where do we put the strollers?
Thanks for any advice, it's much appreciated!