We were at Disney for 4th of July this summer. I was a little apprehensive about the crowds, but we absolutely loved being there for that holiday! I agree that Stormalong Bay at the Yacht or Beach Club is the best pool around.
One of the main reasons I wanted to be at Disney for 4th of July was to see the spectacular fireworks. I wasn't diappointed. There are many choices, but here's what we did. We had priority seating reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern in Mk. (We wanted to stay with the "4th of July" theme). I believe our reservation was for 7:00. We were seated at around 7:20 and finished by 8:40. We walked out and grabbed a spot on the fence in Liberty Square. It was not crowded at all in this area. The fireworks were at 9:00. I've never seen anything like it! Only at MK on 4th of July do they shoot off fireworks around the entire perimeter of the park. So fireworks surround you as patriotic music plays. It was so amazing, I got goosebumps and a little teary! All of the parks had special fireworks, but only MK did the perimeter thing.
Just a warning: Many cast members asked us, "Where are you going for the fireworks?" When we said, "The Magic Kingdom," they looked at us and said, "You know it's going to be VERY crowded don't you?" I'm glad I didn't let that scare us away from MK. I'm sure Main Street was shoulder to shoulder, but other areas are manageable. They did close the park to any more people sometime late afternoon, but I'm not sure when. We arrived about 5:00pm.
Good Luck! We stayed at Wilderness Lodge for that trip and loved it.
