Electric parade Viewing

[wendybird]

Is there a good place to view the Electric Parade without having to get there hours in advance? I have 2 toddlers and I would love for them to see it up close, but have a hard time keeping them still and waiting more than about 30 minutes.

[NewDVCowner]

The last time I was there was August of last year. My sister and I got there about a half hour early (we ended up close to where it ended) and didn't have any problems at all finding a place. There was one 'row' in front of us which stayed seated the entire time. About twenty minutes before was supposed to start it started getting more crowded.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it - the parade schedule said that it was supposed to start at 8:00, but it ended up starting about twenty to twenty five minutes late. That might be because we were at the end but the lights didn't even go down until then so maybe they were just running late.

I'm going next week with my mom and two sisters, the youngest of us is 27 but we're still excited to have picked up glow necklaces and bracelets at the Dollar Tree. I saw glow wands (with stars at the end of them) there a month or so ago. You can always try to distract them with some glow goodies pulled out for the occation - and then you don't need to purchase the hugely overpriced knick knacks they're selling before the parade starts.

[NotaGeek]

The best thing about the Electric Parade at DCA is pretty much ANYWHERE along the route is a great place to sit! I normally just find a place about 20 minutes before ... I don't need to sit on a bench or wall ... there's lots of room as the walkways are huge! Enjoy!