BEST PLACE TO WATCH WISHES FIREWORKS OUTSIDE OF MAGIC KINGDOM

[~Tinkerella]

DH and I will be spending a couple of nights at POR prior to a cruise. We will be doing some resort hopping, etc. We would like to watch Wishes at the Magic Kingdom one night. Where is the best place to do this?

 

[jcdean]

The monorail from Epcot to Mk.

Beach at the Polynesian

Fireworks cruise?

 

[mesaboy2]

I suggest the TTC ferry dock. I can no longer recommend Poly Beach for Wishes viewing.

 

[jcdean]

I can no longer recommend Poly Beach for Wishes viewing.

Because of DVC construction?

That's a shame. I used to prefer it to inside the park in some ways.

 

[hopeful4fl]

Balcony outside California Grill...... with synchronized music piped thru speakers......
It is worth it. Simply magical

 

[PurpleKomodo]

Any idea what time you would have to catch the monorail at the Poly to see the fireworks?

 

[mesaboy2]

Because of DVC construction?

That's a shame. I used to prefer it to inside the park in some ways.

Me too. I haven't seen the new sight lines personally, but from what I can tell over the interwebs it's not what it used to be.

 

[Shmily01]

Booo!!! I was hoping to watch it this year from the beach. Even made reservations at O'hana...Didn't even think about the construction.

 

[jcdean]

How far to the west does the villa construction stretch? There is a second beach on the path between Poly and GF. No music piped in, but the view was nice.

 

[Pembo]

We watched from the beach at Ft Wilderness. It was quite lovely.

 

[RustManFan]

Now I am fairly certain only Poly guests can access the beach there to watch the fireworks

 

[kj2mom]

We watched from the beach at Ft Wilderness. It was quite lovely.

Last time we went to HDDR the night of our arrival. We booked the later one in case we had any flight issues. When we got out we headed down to the dock to head back for a bus and the ferry was delayed for the water pageant. We hung out on the beach waiting then not long after Wishes began. We ended up on the water with the pageant which was pretty cool. It was a lovely evening to start our trip, we could not have planned it better if we had tried.

 

[Traveliz]

I am not a fan of watching from the TTC. I have tried but am at distracted by the lighting and all of the other activity going on around me. I haven't been over to the Polynesian for a while and I will be there for a week by myself so I will be sure and check that out in the next week or so and report back. For now I've been watching from different vantage points at the Grand Floridian.

Liz

 

[truck1]

I suggest the TTC ferry dock. I can no longer recommend Poly Beach for Wishes viewing.

That would be my suggestion also. You are almost in a straight line looking at the castle and the music is piped in also.

 

[Robo]

Now I am fairly certain only Poly guests can access the beach there to watch the fireworks

Unlikely.
The Poly beach is all but deserted every night except for certain specific holiday dates.

 

[jimandami]

Balcony outside California Grill...... with synchronized music piped thru speakers......
It is worth it. Simply magical

I agree with this!

 

[Pygmypuff07]

the beach that is kind of over by the dock at the grand Floridian is an excellent place to view fireworks. Also, at the Contemporary there is a fireworks viewing area with seats outside on the 4th floor. they also pipe in the music.

 

[Robo]

You can see the MK fireworks shows very well from the TTC

(and they pipe-in clear, crisp audio from the show.)

Note: you are not allowed to stand directly in the actual Ferry loading area.

You can see them from the boat-dock and an outside

observation deck near Narcoossee's restaurant at the

Grand Floridian. Anyone can stand on Narcoossee's Deck.

The outside deck is not a part of the actual restaurant. (All serving is done inside.)

The deck is accessed from the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

Also, good viewing from the Patio overlooking the Marina.

The sound of the show is piped into these areas too.

At the Contemporary, there is viewing on an outdoor

observation area on the 4th floor.

The California Grill observation areas are reserved for patrons that day of the Grill or Bar.

(Fireworks shown above are simulated.)



At Wilderness Lodge, the "secret place" to watch the MK fireworks is from the northern area of the Cast Member (CM) Parking Lot.

At the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds Marina (angle shown on the map below,) some of the view (especially of the "Fantasyland" pyro) is blocked by the now unused Discovery Island in Bay Lake and by the high-rise buildings of the Contemporary Resort.

But, the view from the Ft. Wilderness' sand beach (farther north) is more open.

Still the tree-level can block the views of the lower-firing pyro.



Here are the angles of the views in the Bay Lake area.

Below are the angles of the views in the Seven Seas Lagoon area.

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As for viewing from INSIDE the dining area of restaurants

(you usually need ADRs for most, and they are usually busy during the shows)...

you can see (and hear) them at California Grill at Contemporary,

'Ohana at Poly, Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian,

and (if you have access there) the Top of the World at Bay Lake Tower.

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[Traveliz]

Ok as promised I went over to the Polynesian tonight and checked out the view from a variety of spots during the 12 minutes of Fireworks. I got over there about 8:30 and walked around to see what I thought it might be like. There are a lot of tarps up that really make getting around more difficult. I did not check this location but there were people sitting at tables and the end of the marina area -- not where you board the boats but where you would rent boats. It actually looked like that might be an ok view.

I then went over to the front of the Hawaii building (which actually requires going all around the back of it and then along the beach toward it. The walkways are a mess with sand/dirt and there were small construction vehichles going back and forth there in front of the building. I stood at the concierge lounge end of Hawaii at the beginning of the fireworks. BTW there were less than 50 people there (I counted) and about 4 CMs standing behind me -- they were not checking anything and two of them asked me how my evening was going. There were lounge chairs along the water but I don't do sand so I stood at the sidewalk. This area butted right up to the pool construction area that was "open" so the construction trucks could go back and forth. You can see the Castle and the fireworks here ok but it's a tight area and the music was only what you could hear coming across the lagoon. The noise from the construction trucks and beep beepng was distractiong. Here is that view:



As an aside there was definitely a family staying in that first DVC bungalow there on the end. They were back and forth in and out of the room.

Ok then I walked down to where the 01 room would be. There were people on that patio but I can't believe they could see anything but the higher fireworks.

Here's the view from 05 area:




From 10:


From the far corner of the Hawaii building (there were more people out on their balconies at this end on the third floor)


I then walked up to the point -- not sure what they call that. It had an ok view but I did not take a picture. The view was ok but you are very close to the bungalows here and it's a pretty small area.

I then walked down in front of Tahiti. Actually was surprised at the larger sidewwalks than before. Here many people were on their balocnies and watching and they really had the best view


The farther down the better and even as the sidewalk curved up and around the bulding the view was good. The music could be heard best from here also.

As Robo and Mesaboy2 will attest I have been a huge fan of viewing the fireworks from the Poly. Although there were some ok viewing spots these are far from ideal and I doubt I will make any special trips to watch from the Poly.

Also as I left walked along the sidewalk I saw two management CMs who wished me a good evening. I certainly felt welcome there.

Any questions I am happy to answer.

Liz

 

[PurpleKomodo]

That is so super helpful! Thanks for checking it out!