There is a major change with the seating process for the fireworks competition this year. Whereas seats were assigned to all ticket holders in the past, tickets are now labelled “general admission”.

The “buy tickets” module within La Ronde official website is going through an update process this morning. When clicking to purchase a ticket, the following terms appear: “Reserved seat for the fireworks show for the specified day above. They are no seats assigned in the General Admission section.” It is reported from other sources that general admission will cover sections previously known as the Bronze and Silver sections; Gold section (VIP) remains based on seat assignment.

There is a lot of questions to be answered about the implementation of this new policy. For instance, it is unclear whether ticket holders will be free to seat anywhere in these sections, or whether hosts will enforce seat assignments based on the order of arrivals (as they did for the Labour Day weekend show in 2016).

Don't hesitate to add information and opinion about this issue in this thread.

Fred

Does anyone know when the "general admission" tickets will go on sale on the website? Only gold section is being sold so far.

Surprisingly, unless I'm missing something, the new general admission sections are still not on sale.

This leads me to believe it is 1 of 3 things:
1) Tickets will only be sold at the park. (Annoying - having to wait in that line.)
2) No tickets will be needed. La Ronde already prices daily tickets different by the day, so maybe these days would just be at the higher end.
3) They're struggling with updating their ticketing platform and didn't want to hold the program launch for this.

All that said, I know some are thrilled by this and others aren't. Personally, having reserved tickets makes the event seem a lot "nicer" and there's no worry about having to reserve seats. There's no question that the Gold section, being off to the side, is not the best viewing experience. Therefore, it's too bad that this is being changed.

Likewise, somewhat unrelated, season parking passes are also no longer valid on fireworks nights.

Tickets for Gold section AND general admission are on sale.

To access the ticket options for general admission, in the sale ticket module, move your cursor over the "fireworks" menu. Then, select “General admission.”

Fred

Completely missed that, thanks!

Thanks for the heads up about how to access general admission tickets. I missed that too.

One note for anyone trying to buy general admission tickets, I think the English ticket site is broken (says no tickets available for many dates). But you can buy tickets from the French site.

The 2019 opening show was the first display under the new “general admission” system. Seats in Bronze and Silver sections are no longer assigned to ticket holders. So it was interesting to examine how La Ronde manages the new system and how the audience behave. It was my plan to go in the grandstands as soon as the gates open in order to monitor the situation. However, due to the rain, I looked at the grandstands from a distance. It is hard to assess to what extent the situation was impacted by the weather conditions, but some interesting observations can be made. Also, La Ronde can make adjustments for the upcoming shows, so I will monitor again on Wednesday night.

The gate opened at 8pm. Until 8:20 or so, it looked obvious from my viewpoint that people were not allowed to select their seats: all those who entered via the gate located closer to the Arcade moved towards the top rows of Section 306, filling one row after the other, from the top towards the bottom. Less numerous viewers, who presumably entered via the gate located closer to the Spirale, did the same from the top of Section 308. Then, the situation changed and viewers who entered past 8:30 or so could select their seats, so people have scattered across the grandstands, in former sections Bronze (201 and 202) and Argent (301 to 308). Seats in section Or (401 and 402) are still assigned. Curiously, most of the VIP sections (500+) located between the Section Or and the Jardin des Étoiles were not setup (no chairs).

It appeared that top rows of sections 306, 307, and 308 are the most popular. Generally speaking, these sections filled more quickly than sections based on the ground. Among them, section 303 is where the audience looked more dense (presumably because most people came in from the gate next to it), followed by sections 304 and 305. The front sections (301 and 302) were the least popular, except for their front row. From my location, I could not have a clear view on sections 201 and 202, but they were certainly less crowded than 306 to 308. At 9pm, it was very easy to find a seat almost anywhere in sections 301 to 305 (some of them being almost empty), with remaining seats in sections 306 to 308.

Please note that specific sections are clearly designated – through colourful signs on the seats themselves – for specific groups of people :

- In section 202, rows A and B are reserved (unspecified).
- In section 304, rows A, B, C and D are reserved for partners (sponsors).
- In section 304, a central segment of rows J and K is reserved for media representatives ; these rows are available on both sides of the media section.
- In section 304, top rows on one side of the concrete base are reserved for the jury ; these rows are available on the other side of the base.
- In section 307, about one half of top rows S, T, U, V are reserved for partners (sponsors) and the fireworks teams.

Fred

I’m already in Montreal! I really appreciate the explanation of FredBastien about the new seating progress. Im a bit worried about this new seating process since I really wanna be located in the center of the silver section, 307 is my favourited location. The thing is; shoul I try to enter after 8:30 to get the seats I want? I really dont want to see the show from bronze section, which view of the fireworks is too lateral.

I cant wait for the Hanwha show by the way

While the tickets are now for “general admission,” don't expect to select the seat you want without some complications.

In comparison with the opening show, the seating procedure has been soften and strengthen at the same time. Whereas it was obvious, the opening night, that people who entered the grandstands at 8pm, and until 8:30pm or so, were sat next to each other, those who attended the South Korean display last night had some degree of freedom to pick a specific seat, but they were oriented towards the top sections (306-307-308). Visitors who sat in lower sections were asked to move up. Then, when lower sections started to be populated, people were asked to fulfill the highest rows. Those who sat in a lower row were asked to move. From my viewpoint, one of the hosts was especially zealous: at 9:58pm, he still required some people to move back, even by two or three rows!

While most people I saw didn't refrain to comply with the procedure, I think many of them didn't really understand what was wrong with the place where they sat.

Personally, I went into the grandstands at 8:15pm with the hope that early arrival would increase the probability to seat where I want (in section 304). I was obviously asked by the closest host to move up, “because top sections must be fulfilled first.” I discussed with his supervisor, a lady which I don't remember the name, but who was extremely courteous. She told me that I could stay in section 304 without any problem, but it was not clear that I would have the same possibility for future shows, especially when larger attendance is expected. The seating process is still in an adjustment phase, but she explained me that top sections are fulfilled first because they are the most popular.

My understanding is that, with higher attendance, La Ronde will try to squeeze as many people as possible in some sections, before allowing people to sit in other sections, beginning with the most popular ones to reward those who arrive early. One way to escape from this, without asking for a supervisor each time we are required to move, is to momentarily take a seat in the designated section, then to move where we want as the grandstands continue to be filled.

If I may, I would do two suggestions to La Ronde. First, your hosts could “suggest” visitors to sit in the highest rows first, but they should refrain to ask visitors who sit somewhere else to move towards a different row, or a different section (except for designated reserved seats, of course). Different people have different preferences about the place to sit, and it is expected to have this freedom of choice with general admission. Second, some hosts should be equipped with megaphones to be used once one section is “loosely” filled, to ask the audience to slightly move towards one side in order to fulfill all available space, so more people can get a seat there. This is the procedure used in Disney parks and it works pretty well.

Fred

I was thinking about Disney's process as well, but unlike them La Ronde charges extra for this section. Having an assigned seat not only simplifies the process but also gives fans a guaranteed spot. I'm thinking they made this change like airlines, to cram in as many people as possible. This change turned me off from going to La Ronde, already a mess to get and walk around in park