Disneyland Fireworks location?

[ArielRae]

Anyone recommend a good location to watch the Disneyland Fireworks? We would like our spot close to a restroom if we have to stake out our spots early.

 

[figment_jii]

I like watching the fireworks from Main Street. The area between the end of the shops and the Partners Statue is a good spot, but with the new Pixar show debuting next month, I don't know how much they'll be using the MS buildings (so it might be good to be a bit further back).

Small World Mall is also another popular place. You can see (and feel) the fireworks, they do the projections on IaSW and, if you turn around, you can see the castle. I didn't really love this view because it felt a bit too close to the fireworks.

The Rivers of America is another popular location. They project the images onto the mist screens. Make sure you're on the far side of the Rivers of America (basically put the mist screen/rivers between you and Big Thunder), otherwise you'll have to turn to look at the images.

If you're not to concerned with hearing the music, then there are other places were you'll be able to see the higher bursts with a lot smaller crowds. The most popular location is the Esplande. Critter Country is another option, as is the parking structure.

 

[BrianL]

I like watching the fireworks from Main Street. The area between the end of the shops and the Partners Statue is a good spot, but with the new Pixar show debuting next month, I don't know how much they'll be using the MS buildings (so it might be good to be a bit further back).

The preview art did make it look like the Main Street projections will be used, like they did with Disneyland Forever. I loved being just at the end of Main Street, but still between the buildings to see all of the effects. I can't want for the new show!

OP, if you do want to stand on Main Street, there are restrooms at the half-way point on the West side of the street, but that may be a bit too far back for a great view. I don't know for sure at DL. Truthfully, a restroom's never that far. Good luck.

 

[figment_jii]

As BrianL mentioned, there are bathroom down by Carnation Cafe (about half way down Main Street), but this is a bit further back that I like to be. There are also bathrooms just off the hub in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland (although, these can sometimes be hard to get to if they're doing traffic control for F!).

 

[chickapin parterre]

restroom options are best on the west side of Castle hub, right across from the tiki room and on a major in/out path and one at the restaurant in Fronteir land, easier access in terms of crowd flow. If at the east side, Alice bathrrom is a long ways on major thru way and Tomorrowland bathroom is a hike to both

 

[figment_jii]

restroom options are best on the west side of Castle hub, right across from the tiki room and on a major in/out path and one at the restaurant in Fronteir land, easier access in terms of crowd flow.

If you can easily get to the Adventureland bathrooms, then yes, they're among the biggest. However, F! can often cause them to implement crowd control in that area. Guests have to enter via Frontierland and then double back to get to the bathrooms. Getting back to MS should be easier because they usually use Adventureland as the exit. You could try to go in via Adventureland, but there are often a wall of CMs tell guests that it's one way traffic out of Adventureland. I've been at Jolly Holiday and tried to get to those bathrooms, only to be directed to enter via Frontierland, go about halfway down (until the wall of benches and CMs end) and then double back.

If at the east side, Alice bathrrom is a long ways on major thru way and Tomorrowland bathroom is a hike to both

I actually think the Plaza Inn/Tomorrowland bathrooms might be the easiest to get to; depending entirely on where you are watching fireworks. There are a set of bathrooms next to the Plaza Inn, just at the entrance to Tomorrowland. Those should be pretty easy to get to from Main Street (getting back might be a bit tougher, depending what they're doing for crowd control).

 

[chickapin parterre]

the vizzini effect.....even at Disneyland!!!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

With DL Forever!, a CM who worked on that show told me that they used a spot on Main Street in front of the arcade as their focal point for the audience in that section -- so even being that far back isn't "too far back." If being by CC to be near a restroom is better for the OP, then that should provide a pretty immersive experience with the MS projections on the buildings, if the show designers are following the pattern set by the 60th anniversary show. Viewing by IASW gives a totally different experience -- yes, the fireworks are huge from there (many shoot off from behind TT) -- and there is a restroom (usually not too crowded) by the FL theater, by Troubadour Tavern.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

On a related note - do you have to stake out your spot way ahead as you do at WDW, or can you find a good viewing spot a little closer to the time because of all of the other evening shows?

 

[bffdisney]

I know this is about DL but I WISH WDW had other places to see the projections so EVERYONE wasn't in the hub! We loved watching 4th of July fireworks at Small World last year at DL! It was still crowded but MUCH better than squeezing in at WDW.

 

[mom2rtk]

On a related note - do you have to stake out your spot way ahead as you do at WDW, or can you find a good viewing spot a little closer to the time because of all of the other evening shows?

It's worse than WDW because so many of the guests are locals who don't care if they get much else done that day. They can just come back again next week.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

On a related note - do you have to stake out your spot way ahead as you do at WDW, or can you find a good viewing spot a little closer to the time because of all of the other evening shows?

The answer to this depends on what kind of viewing spot you want. If you want a prime spot, in front of the castle, then you're going to have to invest a lot of time holding your spot. The more prime your spot, the more time invested. If you are fine with a spot further back, then you might invest an hour or so before the show to get a good view. If you want to view the show from another area, like the ROA or from IASW, you will invest less time waiting, maybe half an hour? Basically, at DL, it isn't common to just walk up at the last minute to find a great fireworks view. If that happens, either buy a lottery ticket asap or you've just cut off someone else's view, most probably the latter.

 

[isabellea]

Do they let people stand on Main St for the fireworks like they do at MK? If so, when do they let you stand in the middle of the street?

 

[tzeitel]

The answer to this depends on what kind of viewing spot you want. If you want a prime spot, in front of the castle, then you're going to have to invest a lot of time holding your spot. The more prime your spot, the more time invested. If you are fine with a spot further back, then you might invest an hour or so before the show to get a good view. If you want to view the show from another area, like the ROA or from IASW, you will invest less time waiting, maybe half an hour? Basically, at DL, it isn't common to just walk up at the last minute to find a great fireworks view. If that happens, either buy a lottery ticket asap or you've just cut off someone else's view, most probably the latter.

I should've bought a lotto ticket! We never wait around for parades or fireworks (or at least not longer than 15-20 minutes). Mostly I lose track of time or we just don't want to wait But DD and I got stupid lucky one day during the 60th celebrations. We actually just wanted to get from Fantasyland to Adventureland after PtN. The way crowd control had things blocked we had to go through Tomorrowland and across the hub. Well, we go stuck in the hub. A super nice CM was trying to get us through but people just did not want to move. DD and I just stepped away from the river of people going to Adventureland and figured we would watch the fireworks. The CM said it was ok, there was no one behind us so we were not blocking anyone, there was no one infront of us either. We had tons of room to move. The photos are not great but you can see where we were standing -



Hoping to have good luck in May, but whenever there is a new show the crowds are crazy. I really do want to see the Up house (if it is true that it will fly).

 

[figment_jii]

Do they let people stand on Main St for the fireworks like they do at MK? If so, when do they let you stand in the middle of the street?

Yes, Main Street is used as a viewing area for the fireworks. They use the sidewalks as the walkway. In terms of when do they let you start standing...that depends on whether there is a parade or not. If there is no parade, I suppose it really depends on when you want to start waiting. I'd guess that most guests don't start to show up until about an hour before the show at the earliest. They do eventually start to put up ropes (I don't remember when that happens). If there is a parade, they won't let you stand on the street until the parade has passed by.

 

[StarlitNight05]

Not to hijack the OPs thread, but about how crazy does Main Street typically get before fireworks with folks camping out? I can't seem to remember from our previous trips. We aren't big fireworks people (I know, we are crazy...) and I was planning on just staying on the left side of the park the Thursday we are going to be there in April (there will be no F! during the week when we go). Just wanted to get a timeframe of when we should settle ourselves over there before crowd control starts.

 

[ArielRae]

We will be there the week of May 6th. If we have to stake out a spot an hour before we need to be near a bathroom, which would you recommend watching from small world or the castle? Ideally we would want the castle since this is our first visit. To bad Disneyland doesn't offer VIP/Dessert party tickets with a castle view. I found the VIP seating in Tomorrowland but that doesn’t have a castle view.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We will be there the week of May 6th. If we have to stake out a spot an hour before we need to be near a bathroom, which would you recommend watching from small world or the castle? Ideally we would want the castle since this is our first visit. To bad Disneyland doesn't offer VIP/Dessert party tickets with a castle view. I found the VIP seating in Tomorrowland but that doesn’t have a castle view.

Since your trip isn't until May, keep reading this forum for reviews of the new fireworks show after it debuts April 13th. It is really hard to give advice about viewing for a show that hasn't even started yet! Once you read the reviews, you'll have a much better idea about where you'll want to be to see the show. Right now, I think the answer to your question is a personal decision: how important is it that you have quick access to a restroom? If quicker restroom access is the priority, then I would head for IASW -- the less dense crowds would mean that you could get to the FL Theater restrooms more easily. If having a castle view is the priority, then head for the Hub or Main Street. But be aware that you might have to wait longer for a good spot and that the denser crowds might make restroom access a bit more difficult.