Best place to view parades/fireworks, etc?

[disneymoon0606]

I was just wondering if there are 'recommended' places for viewing the parades and lights shows (Illuminations, Wishes, etc). Where do you like to sit to watch these? How early do you have to get there in order to get your favorite spot? We will be going in June, so it will probably be pretty crowded. TIA!

 

[jcriket]

We usually don't go in June, so I don't really know how long you should wait there for your spot.But as for wishes, I realized that the best view is infront of the castle. Because they do things behind it, and even somewhere on main street is good also. Illuminations you can really see that anywhere around the lake, we have never had a bad spot. But the closer you are to the middle the better. And we never wait for parades, we usually just get caught when it starts and watch it.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

Illuminations: The little eating area in England or inbetween the 2 shops (Not sure of their names) when you come across the bridge from Future World to World Showcase. They are both tree-free pretty much, and are close to the fireworks.

Wishes: The little rose garden walkway. Not a lot of people watch from there, and it's close to the castle. The bridge to Tomorrowland is also a great spot. We've watched from both places.

Fantasmic: I prefer the middle section. I personally think the side sections of the ampitheater aren't as good of seats, and you don't get the full experience. Both others have said the side sections are good. I guess it depends on how picky you are.

My family usually skips the parades, since we don't have little kids travelling with us. I'm the youngest, and I'm 15, so we usually take advantage of the oppurtunity of slightly less crowds (since most people are watching the parades) to hit some more popular rides.

Have fun down there!

 

[LiteBrite]

For Wishes, we like to be smack dab in the middle of Main Street, right about even with the tip board. Great view, and since it's in the middle of the street, we just walk right up a few minutes before the fireworks start and find space - no need to stake out a spot (of course, we don't go at the busiest times of year either).

 

[oogieboogie]

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here, but as much as I love watching Wishes from the middle of Main St, being short it's really hard to see anything when you've got some big guy in front of you holding his kid on his shoulder.

I really like watching Wishes from the Poly beach. You get to see the full effect and you can lounge while you're watching it. But the best place I've been to watch it is from the Contemporary resort. I went up to the 10th floor outside stairway and watching it from there is just breathtaking. You actually see that the fireworks are more above Space Mountain instead of above the castle. Really cool effect. The 4th floor observation deck has the music piped in too but I could still hear it from the 10th floor.