Hi Rachel!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! We're so glad that you found us hEAR and asked this great question.
Magic Kingdom Park currently has one daily scheduled "traditional Disney" parade, where characters and floats dance and pass by as you watch from the sidelines. This is currently the
Festival of Fantasy Parade, and it's a huge favorite in our house. If you
click on the page dedicated to this parade, you'll see the exact parade route; the starting side is over near Frontierland and it ends on Main Street U.S.A. While the view is excellent from anywhere along the path, my favorite spot is along the west/left side of Main Street U.S.A., and here's why: A lot of guests start to find and then camp out in their spots about an hour before the show starts. Naturally the spots in the shade are more desired and at 2:00 P.M. this side of the street is in the full sun. But by the time the first float makes its way to this area, usually about 3:15 P.M., this side is nice and shady. There's also just something super magical about being able to watch the floats approach you with Cinderella Castle in the background.
There are lots of
other live entertainment options in Magic Kingdom Park that aren't technically parades and don't require the camping out commitment to view them. My favorites in this category are the daily
Flag Retreat,
The Main Street Trolley Show, and the
Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party, which parks in the hub area for most of its run so everyone can have a chance to dance it out with Mickey and his best pals!
I hope this helped to plan your upcoming Disney Days, Rachel, and We'll See You Real Soon!
~Kristen