Wondering if anyone has eaten at Tony’s recently. I would like to do a dining package for parade viewing, but it is pricey and I don’t hear good things about it. Trying to reduce wait time for a 3.5 year old and a 14 month old.
When is your trip? The viewing area is great but full sun.
FWIW, during February break last year I was able to sit directly across from the parade viewing area with less than 30 minutes of hanging out. Same view basically, but no dining reservation required.
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The end of October. Thanks for the point about the sun. I always look for shade.
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Frontierland has some shade and is less crowded (typically)
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For the reserved parade area with the dining package standing or is there seating?
We did this package in February 2018. There was no seating in the VIP parade viewing space. Just standing. You stand in a roped off area around the flag pole directly in front of Tony’s. We truly enjoyed our meal and the experience. We had 7 adults and my 1yo and 3yo, so we thought it was totally worth it to avoid trying to find a spot for all of us and then make the kids wait for 30+ minutes. We loved walking to the viewing spot as we saw the first float approach. No shade but it’s not a super long parade and with no waiting beforehand, you’re not out there for very long. The characters in the parade also make it appoint to interact with you too (I.e. high fives, walking up to us to say hi). Not sure if they do this for everyone though.
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i think you can sit in the grass but you would want to get there early to be in front? Never did this package or watched parade from that location
My opinion is mixed. I hate Tony’s, everything from the service to the location to the food. That said, I still have yet to see any parade at Disney from start to finish because I have never gotten a good viewing spot, and the time I did another guest removed us from the curb. So… Maybe I’d do it if it wasn’t too expensive (in Disney terms)
We ate at Tony’s in March for the parade package. The meal was fine, although WAY too much food (and too heavy) for mid-day in hot weather. The VIP area is just a roped in section across the street. We were told to arrive by 2:55 - it was after 3 when we got there, and I was so stressed because I thought we wouldn’t be allowed in or something, but it was no problem. We were able to sit right along the curb. It was full sun, though but the stroller had an awning so we made our own shade for them.
That being said, right before the parade started my son had to go to the bathroom. My husband ran him across the street but by the time they came out the parade had already started and they couldn’t get back. They were able to see just fine, about 1 row of people back from the curb. This was about a crowd level 7.
Leaning towards not doing this package. I don’t hear the best things about Tony’s and that is quite a bit of money to take a chance.
I’ve heard a lot more positive reviews about Tony’s in the last year. Apparently they have a new chef. We loved it when we were there in November, so we’re going to try the parade package this year.
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Thanks for the info. I would have to give up and/or rearrange other ADR’s and I have nothing that I am willing to give up. No matter how many days I am there, it is never enough to fit in all of the dining choices.
We ate a Tony’s, but not the package. Our meal for 4 of us cost more than our steak dinner at Chefs de France did, which surprised me.
Also, don’t order the spaghetti. I had the fettacini, which was fine, but my DS and DH had the spaghetti and I can only describe it as ‘gluggy’. It was doughy and didn’t have a pleasant texture in the mouth. Neither could each much and we paid a lot for it. BTW, I’m not a picky pasta eater, so it surprised me that I wouldn’t care for this. And it was supposed to be homemade, too.
We do the package every year. The food is similar to Olive Garden, nothing too special but not gross either. You get 3 courses and can choose wine as our drink if you wish.
You sit at the end of main street and you get the unique view of the floats coming head on and then turning right in front of you. There is no shade but you can come to the area right as the floats arrive and still usually get a decent spot so you really only sit in the sun for about 15 mins. The characters seem to interact more in the “VIP” area too. We usually sit on the ground right at the front of the seating area, but if you do not get a spot on the curb you will likely have to stand to see over others, just like anywhere else. We always keep a towel in our backpack for the hot pavement.
Really?
I did the (nighttime) Christmas version and everyone was standing. It wasn’t very crowded at all. I arrived late so ended up on one side, which turned out to give (I think) a much better view than head on.
Maybe we have just gotten lucky with crowds but we have always been able to sit (or kneel) right in front of the rope. Then those behind us can see and we don’t have to stand.
This was last year, 5 minutes before the parade started on a CL6 day, we walked right up and picked a spot up front and sat down. Then about 5 mins into the parade you can see the area filled up but we were still able to sit and others had plenty of room.
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