We never wait for Illuminations. we just kind of keep an eye out for how crowded the spots are getting, and do stuff around U.S.,Germany, etc.,and work our way towards the International Gateway at a pace commensurate with crowd activity, at about 10 minutes(or less) before show time. When we spot a pretty good place, we'll stop to see the opening, then we'll walk on and watch, while stuff is in the air...stop at the next "globe" part at eye level, walk again while the fireworks are up in the air, and so on.It may not sound like it, but we do it in a pretty leisurely way. If it's a really good part, or we walk up on a really good spot, we'll hang out for a while.Sometimes we do snipe about whether we should stop somewhere or not!!But it's not like panicy oh no! it's going to ruin our trip. You really can see alot of this Illuminations without being right at the rail...and catch the finale right near the exit! Not for everybody, but it works for us.If you're not sure, try this on a. second or subsequent night.