Not quite Nightastic perfection; where do you watch the fireworks?
Featured, Matt Palm, Park Tips, Things to do — By Matt Palm on July 12, 2010 at 3:51 pmA group of friends and I made a Nightastic stop at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Sunday night to check on the Main Street Electrical Parade and the Nightastic fireworks.
My friends were thrilled with the parade — except for poor Mike, who immediately said “What happened to Peter Pan and Captain Hook?” I had to confess I didn’t know; the whole Peter Pan segment, including Mr. Smee’s little dinghy were missing from the 11 p.m. showing.
I know — the unexpected happens and that’s why Disney World will never guarantee any particular attraction, show or parade — but it was a letdown for Mike.
To me, even though the parade was just missing one unit, it seemed much shorter without the pirate ship sequence. And I still think that without a character calvacade at the finale, it ends kind of flat. The patriotic marching young ladies are doing their best, but it isn’t the same as seeing 7 or 8 light-covered Disney pals.
Best part of the parade? Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters were FIERCE. Unpleasant as they may be to poor Cindy, they are surely entertaining.
We got a great spot on Main Street; crowds were extremely light both at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, where we had eaten dinner. We left Epcot just as Illuminations was starting and there were wide swaths of empty spaces around the lagoon for watching. When we got to the Magic Kingdom — just 10 minutes before the Nightastic fireworks — we walked halfway up Main Street without any problem, even though it was an Extra Magic Hours night for Disney hotel guests.
Speaking of Nightastic, we still haven’t found the perfect spot to watch the spectacular fireworks, which amazed my friends. I was farther back on Main Street than usual for this viewing, and much of the peripheral fireworks were blocked. Yet if you get too close to the castle, that can limit your scope of vision too. Is Town Square the answer? Where do others prefer to watch the fireworks?
Print This Post
Tags: Fireworks, Magic Kingdom, Main Street Electrical Parade, Summer Nightastic, Walt Disney World
Tweet This
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
Follow Dewayne on Twitter
19 Comments
This might be part of the explanation. According to Miceage.com: “A fire in the warehouse for the Main Street Electrical Parade seems to have done some damage to a few walkaround costumes, and several have reported that Pete’s Dragon has not run in the parade since. No word on damages, but then again, Disney has not officially acknowledged the fire at all yet.” (http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky070810a.htm About 2/5 down the page)
captain hook’s ship is getting re-wired. it’ll be back soon!
I always find that viewing the fireworks from outside of the Magic Kimgdom is best to see the complete view. My two favorite pipe in the music also- 1) California Grill observation area and 2) the beach at the Polynesian Hotel.
Parade : Fort Wilderness outside the Country Bear as it is a wide open area.Especially if you get a seat on a benches under the trees.
Fireworks: to the left and front of the castle near the street that heads towards Liberty Square.Always stand mid-sreet for an unobstructed view.You get a great view of the fireworks and a full view of Tink as she flies across the sky.
We saw the parade Friday evening and Elliot and Pete were in the parade, as were Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Smee in his dingy… We watched the fireworks from accross from the Hall of Presidents and had a pretty good view and moved across the street to watch the parade. It took me back! I hope they keep the parade around so I can see it again next time!
Fireworks: right besides Dumbo
Try watching from the train platform at the entrance to main street usa. If you want to see it from this location make sure you are there early as this spot fills up very early and the few chairs that are up on the platform get swiped up quickly.
Excellent suggestion, Bob. I sat there for over 3 hours once, but it was well worth it. The setting sun can be a problem, but it’s minimal. Take a buddy with you so if you are lucky to find a seat, or two, one of you can keep them while the other one goes for food, drinks, etc.
Best fireworks spot I’ve found: outside the stairwells on the south end of the Contemporary Resort. And they pipe in the music.
My best spot was on the above walkway between The Contemporary Resort and the new Baylake Towers.
I must say these are great viewing areas, but I worked for the company for 3 years and probably the best view of the fireworks are right behind the edge of the Hub. Facing the Partners satute, right at the end of Main Street. You are far enough back from the castle to see the fireworks, your in the middle of the surrounding fireworks, and you have the best view of the Captain Hook battle. Depending on your party size, a small party of 4 or less can normally squeeze in to get a spot about 15 mins before they start. I always suggest getting a spot about 45mins before, and then going to the ice cream parlor and grabbing a cone to enjoy while you watch them. Classic Disney Magic.
Yes you can tell the show was designed to be viewed from that area..
The problem I have is that area is quite small compared to daily attendance, therefore so many other viewing areas will offer imperfect angles on the show.
Older shows didn’t seem to rely on the low castle shots as much, so you didn’t miss much by not being in front of the castle.
Now if you’re off in Frontierland/Adventureland you miss so much you might as well go on a ride and forget it.
I personally find a great place to watch just the fireworks is from the Ferry Boat dock on the land side with the Polynesian on my left. This allows you to not only see them with a clear and great view, but it also gives you a good view of the perimeter fireworks, which are more numerous than in previous fireworks specialty shows such as those for Christmas and Halloween. This vantage point also gives you a head start to get to the MK parking lot if that’s where you are parked.It’s also near the monorail system, and you don’t have to fight as much with the multitudes of guests leaving the park after fireworks are over.
In the case that you prefer to be in the park, a great place is Fantasyland. This vantage point puts you behind the castle, where many of the fireworks are shot off.
Try different places if you can. Each person has their own opinion.
I saw the show from two spots – the center of Main Street, across from Casey’s, and also from the beach at the Poly (where we stayed). Both places offer something different to the show. When you are right up on Main Street, or anywhere near the hub, you get the whole story of the pirate attack on the castle, and the theatrics play out beautifully from close up. Yet, when you are across the Lagoon, you get the full effect of the 180 surround of this particular fireworks show. And yes, you can still see Tink from there too!
Saw the Fourth fireworks both from inside Magic Kingdom and from the Floridian Resort. (Was there the 3rd and 4th.) On the 3rd. I was almost run out of the MK by (lighted) baton-wielding cast members who blocked the way passing from Tomorrow Land towards the Castle and basically “directed” the crowd right out the back into a bus parking lot where we could see pretty much nothing–what the heck?. Very disappointing. The next night (the 4th) we saw the fireworks from the Floridian and enjoyed that far more…and got to sit in chairs! We saw the park fireworks as well as an excellent view of the perimeter fireworks as well.
The 4th fireworks at Epcot were a bit of a disappointment. While what there was of it was quite spectacular, the special 4th show was simply an extra five minutes or so tacked on the end of the usual (and a bit long-in-the-tooth) Illuminations show. Still, nobody beats Disney when it comes to fireworks (which I love,) if they let you see them.
The best viewing area I have found for the fireworks is at the Grand Floridian behind Narcosees, I was there last weeks and they were spectacular
We always watch the show from the middle of the bridge leading into Tomorrow Land. The view of Tink is amazing! : )
I’ve found that my favorite spot to watch the fireworks is actually while driving on the Tomorrowland speedway! Since everyone is crammed in the usual spots to view the fireworks the attraction is all but dead so no wait time!
Fireworks going off in front and all around you as you drive through can be a truly magical experience!
I think you’ll all be pleasantly surprised at what a great view you can get as well
There are so many great places, some written about here: http://tinyurl.com/umwdw-fwks
but I like watching them from the beach at the Polynesian.