Fireworks Cancelled twice.

[Malcon10t]

What DO you think the reason is? You don't believe that it's safety concerns or weather. What does Disney get if they cancel something like that? Any savings would be eaten up by the extra man hours dealing with complaints.

Santa Ana winds are unpredictable. And Disney engineers are going to have access to weather/wind info that you don't have.

Pretty much rule of thumb in our family - October-Jan, expect Santa Anas. They come out of no where, and just roll with it.

I was watching Wishes (ptooie!) with a friend (she was the reason I was watching) last week and the wind was blowing the plumes to an insane degree! It was almost scary seeing the conditions Wishes can happen in. And, of course, their ride caught on fire the week before, because there is fireworks debris going ALL over the place. We were near the bridge to BOG and the fireworks were on both sides of us. In Anaheim they close Fantasyland. In FL they seem to be doing some sort of population control by letting us stand right in the middle of things. Terrifying. I'm done with Wishes anyway so I won't worry about that any further. On a personal level, at least.

Remember when Alice (in Disneyland) caught on fire a couple years ago!! Yes, there is a reason.

 

[knitster]

Interestingly, there was just a fire at WDW caused by stray fireworks. It doesn't sound like a bit deal but something like that in SoCal during a Santa Ana condition could be disastrous.

Are you even serious right now? Like for real? Because this is not even funny. I'm dumbfounded, really.

Even IF every home within 10 miles of Disneyland were "fire retardant" (which BTW, um, no) you really think dropping flaming debris on them is a good idea? Because in the off-chance that the (fictitious) flame retardant values of the homes should fail people could die. Not fictional die. Die for real. In flaming houses. For YOUR viewing pleasure.

I get that you're frustrated. My first/only trip out west this spring was met with unseasonable miserable Santa Ana winds. It was not fun for us. Trust me. But you gotta put that stuff into perspective and make the best of it. So you sat there for an hour. You rested your legs for an hour. You (hopefully) spent an hour chillin' with people you care about.

A previous response mentioned Santa Ana's the last few days. When we were there they were fighting off wildfires left & right because the dry, arid conditions make fire hazards much more pronounced. I'm not from anywhere near dry, arid climate. I'll take the word of people who know about that stuff and go with what they say. Much like if someone from the plains states came where I lived & a hurricane was coming they'd be best advised to go with what we tell them since we've lived these conditions for so many years.

Just sayin. Take a step back. Think about what you're saying.

Yes. This.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

They set off fireworks while we were waiting for WOC at DCA tonight. Guess the winds went away??? Seems the exact same as yesterday. In fact I feel more breeze today than the last two nights. But what do I know. I'm just a "childish" and "selfish" dad who gets front row fireworks seats for my very short kids who can't see when folks show up last minute (like some have posted they do) and squeeze and stand in front of us. Flame me all you want. I got burnt twice on standing around for fireworks. When the kids start realizing that they've wasted two nights of ride time for nothing.... Anyway, glad there's a few folks here who understand my frustration and cut me a little slack.

As many posters have said, they can understand your frustration and disappointment. Can you try to understand their point of view about the danger of the winds and Disney having to abide by the fire marshall's rules and state regulations?
You are so blessed to be at DLR, with your family (are they healthy? happy? loved?), during Holiday Time, with annual passes (what a luxury!). Do 2 cancelled fireworks shows ruin and define your trip? I hope not, but your posts make it sound like they do. Many, many people would love to be in your shoes right now, fireworks or no fireworks. Please try to focus on the positive and not let this ruin your trip. Just trying to help...

 

[taffy]

Sorry for your frustration. I am actually a licensed Pyro Tech and every country and state has different regulations. Disneyland is in a very populated area so the fallout area for decending pyro is small as to not hit anything.

I know the seventh floor of HOJO seems high but fireworks go a lot higher and wind can be very different higher up and what we experience lower to the ground. They really won't mess with peoples safety and even a wind of 2 or 3 mph can blow a pyro hundreds of metres from where it is fired. Those guys are pros and will only cancel under strict rules guided by health and safety.

As for WDW they are in a non populated area and have a huge fallout area so can fire as far great wind speeds.

 

[SMD]

They set off fireworks while we were waiting for WOC at DCA tonight. Guess the winds went away??? Seems the exact same as yesterday. In fact I feel more breeze today than the last two nights. But what do I know. I'm just a "childish" and "selfish" dad who gets front row fireworks seats for my very short kids who can't see when folks show up last minute (like some have posted they do) and squeeze and stand in front of us. Flame me all you want. I got burnt twice on standing around for fireworks. When the kids start realizing that they've wasted two nights of ride time for nothing.... Anyway, glad there's a few folks here who understand my frustration and cut me a little slack.

I think you need to reevaluate your perspective on this. You've posted dozens of complaints about DLR in the past few months before you ever even activated your APs. You were already lamenting the lack of nighttime shows in particular, so your perception of what constitutes wind or safe conditions seems to be affected by your tunnel vision. Further, your multitude of complaints and your escalating hyperbole show that if the fireworks had gone off you would have found some other mishap to ruin your trip, because you already set yourself up for disappointment at the earliest planning stages for this trip. How much sympathy do you expect when all you do is post complaints that crap all over DLR, a place that most people on this board love. And you're saying inflammatory things that are so over the top no reasonable person is going to agree with you. No one has been nearly as rude to you as you have been with your own posts, yet you complain with how you're being treated.

 

[CassieF]

I believe the red flag warning ended around 4 this afternoon. Yes, it's still very dry but today was less windy than yesterday and especially Sunday. I'm glad you finally got to enjoy the fireworks.

 

[Malcon10t]

They set off fireworks while we were waiting for WOC at DCA tonight. Guess the winds went away??? Seems the exact same as yesterday.

According to the weather sites, yes, the wind went away. Seems is the appropriate word.

I am sorry you are having a horrible trip. We were there also this weekend. We had a blast. Even though runDisney made me get up each morning at 4am thus making night time shows impossible, I don't think I can complain much. I know fireworks went off Friday night (as I missed watching them cause I was sleeping to get up for Sat. 5K) but I was asleep and can't tell you if they went off Sat to get up for the Half.

In the future, plan your trips around the fact that October-early Jan, the Santa Ana winds will kill many shows. In 2005 or 2006, we were at Disneyland for 12 nights. Fireworks cancelled 8 out of the 12.

Also remember, they hate stopping the show in mid show, as the remainder of the shells have to be dislodged.

 

[GatorChris]

According to the weather sites, yes, the wind went away. Seems is the appropriate word. I am sorry you are having a horrible trip. We were there also this weekend. We had a blast.

It's not a horrible trip, though from some posters here, I've been accused of saying as much. It's actually been fun outside of two nights coming to a bummer of an end. Today was perfect - nothing was cancelled. Hoping for more good fortune. No more cancellations! Twice in three days is too much.

 

[SMD]

Kicking myself for buying APs and thinking Anaheim could ever replace my Orlando trips.

It's not a horrible trip, though from some posters here, I've been accused of saying as much. It's actually been fun outside of two nights coming to a bummer of an end. Today was perfect - nothing was cancelled. Hoping for more good fortune. No more cancellations! Twice in three days is too much.

If today was so perfect, why did you just post a complaint on your other thread about your viewing spot for WoC? I think you should take your posts to City Hall and ask for a refund of your APs.

 

[pixiewings71]

I still can't get over the fire retardant buildings.....I don't even know what to say, I guess I don't need my smoke detectors, and I guess if I'd have a fire retardant house it wouldn't have caught on fire 10 years ago......that's just so random and wrong.

I hope the rest of your trip goes more the way you want it to.

 

[rosiep]

Geemo got to it first (thanks, Geemo!).

Our oldest was very similar to your son -- such a hard time learning to deal with disappointments and changes in plans. We learned to check the weather sites so we could start warning him in advance and always discussed "Plan B." We would suggest something fun and rare (ice cream sundaes at Gibson Girl? 2 churros instead of 1? Dole Whip floats?) and he got to decide which would be the consolation prize if the fireworks got cancelled. He loved, loved, loved his fireworks, but "Plan B" really helped him focus on moving on and keeping his focus on the positive. Maybe something like this could help your son, too.

Great solution! There are lots of kids out there for whom a disappointment such as this could cause a meltdown. My daughter works with special needs kids and having a plan B is crucial.

 

[gmi3804]

It's actually been fun outside of two nights coming to a bummer of an end.

On too of everything else Gibson Girl was closed too?! My nights always come to a great end there (or, better yet, Trader Sam's, where they drink to bad weather), wind be damned.

I want to flame my kids for being impatient when we were trying to find a spot to watch the fireworks.

Bad metaphor.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Sun was WINDY we were there and sat at 3 pm to wait for a bench for fireworks. At 5:15 we said nope this is to windy they won't let them off tonight and we were right.
Monday was the last day and we waited from 2:30 till 7:45. At 7:30 they began to say it could be canceled. I prayed it wouldn't be. At 7:43 they said it would be cancled and I nearly cried.

So we didn't get to see the fire works at all.

One more thing Disney doesn't call it the fire department calls it. Higher elevation had bad winds to 20 or 35 miles and hour and the fire department is the one who says its a no go.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Geemo got to it first (thanks, Geemo!).

Our oldest was very similar to your son -- such a hard time learning to deal with disappointments and changes in plans. We learned to check the weather sites so we could start warning him in advance and always discussed "Plan B." We would suggest something fun and rare (ice cream sundaes at Gibson Girl? 2 churros instead of 1? Dole Whip floats?) and he got to decide which would be the consolation prize if the fireworks got cancelled. He loved, loved, loved his fireworks, but "Plan B" really helped him focus on moving on and keeping his focus on the positive. Maybe something like this could help your son, too.

Thanks so much for the advice! We were very inexperienced last year, had no cash for the carts to buy any consolation treats or toys for the long walk back to the hotel. At least this year we will know better and be ready! I love your idea of planning ahead and will definitely be using it!

 

[kirstie101]

ETA - You might tell all the Avenger Half runners there was no wind... I know my son and daughter are still trying to get all the dirt off from the run by Angel's stadium dirt canal.

This was my first thought when I read this post! OP must have shown up on Sunday afternoon after the winds died down some. Pretty sure I still have dirt and sand stuck on my scalp from the run along the river trail!

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Here's something interesting for those who "didn't feel any wind on the ground".

Fireworks are made to burst at different heights. This depends on the size of the shell and how the fireworks are packed.

- 3 to 4 inch shells travel to about 300 - 400 feet.
- 5-6 inch shells travel 400 - 600 feet
- 8 inch shells travel 800 -1000 feet
- 10 - 12 inch shells travel 1000 - 1300 feet.

http://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season6/fireworks/facts.cfm

The Matterhorn is 147' tall.
Princess Aurora's Castle is 77' tall.

Listen to the pre-recorded message regarding winds. Notice the announcement states "Winds at Higher Elevations" and "High Winds". To be clear, "High Winds" doesn't mean what you feel on the street or even your hotel balcony. It covers all altitudes, from surface to the maximum firework height.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyyWwVCcnf0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3viJLFIVt8

Nice vantage from the freeway. This illustrates how high up these fireworks detonate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV9ycYDgP7k

 

[JadeDarkstar]

What I want to know is, who sits for an hour waiting for fireworks at Disneyland anyway? I mean, they're in the sky. What kinda "front row seat" do you need?

I was staking out seat since 2 or 3 pm on Monday, and 4 on Sunday. You stake out a seat so you can see it all. It is not as crazy as you think. It just means we have planed and read all the tips on these boards

 

[starjazz]

I was staking out seat since 2 or 3 pm on Monday, and 4 on Sunday. You stake out a seat so you can see it all. It is not as crazy as you think. It just means we have planed and read all the tips on these boards

I'm not sure it means that you've read any more tips than anyone else. I would say it means you have different priorities, which is fine. I failed to recognize that in my original post, so sorry if I've offended the fireworks-faithful.

To me, Disney fireworks, while unique, are still fireworks - I've seen lots in my day, so its not a priority like some of the other night shows that are unlike anything else I've ever seen. I've watched the fireworks at both WDW and DLR many times. Once in WDW we got priority seating with the AAA deal. Otherwise, we just mosey on in to a place where we can view once they get going. We've always seen them, enjoyed, etc., but NEVER waited an hour for them, much less the several hours you're talking about. I can't imagine blowing several hours of park time waiting for a fireworks show, but again, not my priority. Out of curiosity, when you were there at 2:00 pm, what time did they start?

 

[bumbershoot]

I was staking out seat since 2 or 3 pm on Monday, and 4 on Sunday. You stake out a seat so you can see it all. It is not as crazy as you think. It just means we have planed and read all the tips on these boards

Oh Jade, you waited 4+ hours? I get that your priority was to see them unimpeded, but that's a LONG time for something you know can be cancelled at the last minute. I cannot even imagine waiting that long for fireworks. Not when I know I can randomly catch pretty fireworks when getting off of Jungle Cruise, or walking somewhere. (or at WDW, our BEST viewing of Wishes (ptooie!) was from outside the turnstiles while leaving MK because we don't like Wishes but our feet got tired and we sat down on a bench)

They set off fireworks while we were waiting for WOC at DCA tonight. Guess the winds went away??? Seems the exact same as yesterday. In fact I feel more breeze today than the last two nights.

There was likely more breeze on the ground, but not up 100+ feet above you. That's the big huge difference.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

they started at 7:45 and we didn't waist the time we did a lot during the time. It was actually pretty nice we had gotten most everything on the list done and every time i saw fireworks I never could see over ppls heads and kids on shoulders nor did i get to see the flying things like zero or tink when I saw them. This time I had a perfect view.