Fireworks Cancelled twice.

[DahliaRW]

First world problems!

 

[mom2rtk]

First world problems!

Isn't pretty much everything on a Disney message board a first world problem?

 

[Girimama33]

Isn't pretty much everything on a Disney message board a first world problem?

 

[GeneralTso]

Our best, unplanned and unintended fireworks viewing---we were in the cars at Autopia! It was spectacular. Unreal, really. We couldn't have planned it that way but there it was.

I've also seen fireworks, perfectly timed when the doors open on Tower of Terror. All of a sudden, doors open and you see the panoramic view WITH fireworks. We were so jazzed. Very cool.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've also seen fireworks, perfectly timed when the doors open on Tower of Terror. All of a sudden, doors open and you see the panoramic view WITH fireworks. We were so jazzed. Very cool.

That would be very cool!

 

[jetskigrl]

Our best, unplanned and unintended fireworks viewing---we were in the cars at Autopia! It was spectacular. Unreal, really. We couldn't have planned it that way but there it was.

I've also seen fireworks, perfectly timed when the doors open on Tower of Terror. All of a sudden, doors open and you see the panoramic view WITH fireworks. We were so jazzed. Very cool.

We love riding Big Thunder Mountain when the fireworks are going off.

 

[SweetAlex]

I think anyone would be disappointed if they planned to catch the fireworks, waiting it out two nights in a row and both times, they were cancelled. No problem at all with expressing disappointment. Unfortunately, the OP expressed this in a way that put the blame on Disney and bashed the whole DLR because of something completely out of both their and the city's hands (hello Mother Nature). Frustrating yes, but when the cancellation is no ones fault, sometimes people need to find the closest thing around to blame to feel better. Human nature . Sadly, we've all been there, done that... twice for me!

Our first time, we went in late Feb and man did we get some winds a few of the days there. Yes, fireworks were cancelled several times but honestly, being non-planners, it didn't really faze us. There is just so much to do and so much magic all over the parks that we barely noticed the glitch.

Honestly, this is one of the reasons I don't plan our trip down to the minute. I'm not saying the OP did this but it would really stress me out to have a plan and then have various cancellations or changes throw it out of whack.

Hoping we catch the Christmas fireworks when we are there in 2 weeks but if not, I know Disney will have no problems pouring the magic out in many other ways.

 

[Chiomaca]

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'll happily cut you some slack for being disappointed. I won't cut a California resident an inch of slack for complaining about not setting off fireworks during a drought, at the tail end of wildfire season, because of winds aloft, though. If you have been there for any length of time, you've heard discussion of the Santa Ana winds and the affect they have. The 7th floor of any hotel is too low to feel the affect of winds at altitude and the fact that you're whining about not being able to feel them on the 7th floor of a hotel demonstrates your lack of understanding.

 

[swooshbear]

I will attribute those crazy winds on Sunday morning for adding time to my half marathon race, running head first into the wind/dirt/branches was not fun and that stretch felt like miles.

We also watched WOC on Sunday night in the very first row, in the splash zone, where they say you WILL get wet. I'm guessing the winds were gusting towards the water and we were perfectly dry throughout the whole show.

I have heard the PA guy too many times to cancel shows. A few years ago, we were watching the Candlelight Processional on Main Street and Dennis Haysbert read no more 5 lines when they cancelled the show. There was a light drizzle and the instruments were so old, they did not want to chance getting them wet.

 

[FireDvl]

I'm not intending to pile on Chris, but I thought I'd drop in my 2 cents.

I don't work in California, but I am a long time Fire Captain in one of the largest cities in the country.

Fireworks are incredibly tricky to deal with, even with no wind. With any wind they're hectic and at times out of control. With Santa Ana winds it's can be devastating. I've been on roofs chasing embers from fireworks and I've been in structures and brush/vegetation fires started by fireworks. For the most part citizens never hear about a fire secondary to fireworks because prevention for this scenario works.

Folks in this thread talking about upper winds and changing winds are spot on.

Because Santa Ana winds and its associated fires have demonstrated to be an incredible challenge this is something that absolutely has to be taken first on as a preventative measure.

On the thought that structures in California are (over) regulated through fire prevention including fire-retardant-I'm not sure that's an understanding of how limited this regulation is. From what I understand the state of California mandates like most everywhere else across the country-that newer commercial buildings, including churches and senior centers are constructed with some fire-retardant materials. What this usually means is that main structural elements are coated with fire-retardants, meaning some internal fire-retardant treatments are used. What this doesn't mean is that there is some sort of fire-retardant gel or even permanent coating on the roof and/or eaves of structures. And it doesn't mean that there is any residential protection.

Also, in case anyone is thinking that a sprinkler system is meant as protection against fireworks, keep in mind the points of entry of the embers, as well as the location of the sprinklers heads. With very few exceptions sprinklers are in the living and working quarters of a structure. The entry points of fire through fireworks are at the exterior-at the roofline above the sprinklers with a ceiling as a barrier between the initial fire and the fire protection(sprinklers). The most difficult structure fires to fight and contain are attic and ceiling space fires. So the very fires that not only are started by fireworks, but are unaffected by a sprinkler system.


Getting off that point, as an aside, as a dad I can say I've always looked at situations of disappointment as an opportunity to teach kids about priorities and perspective in life and issues far greater than simple things like entertainment.

I remember learning early on as a dad how my responses to these situations can be picked up by my daughter(Butterfly123 alluded to this above). The first time I saw my daughter lashing out at some perceived injustice I recognized immediately she was taking cues from me-and to be honest it was uncomfortable to see. Right then I started filtering how I responded to disappointment.

But, with all due respect, when you're phrasing the situation that your kids are wasting two nights...for nothing I think it'd be pretty hard to argue that they aren't picking up cues from dad. Better, imo, to use this as a teaching tool.

Anyway, my 2 cents. Hopefully it wasn't too long winded.

 

[GatorChris]

First world problems!

Weird Al!!!

It's been strange this week. I've been watching test balloons go up most nights. The three nights that I was there to watch fireworks the balloons simply went up and slowly drifted in one direction or another. The difference being the balloons blue west on the nights it was canceled and south on the night the fireworks went off. Tonight the winds were blowing from a storm system coming in. Nothing rough but a lot worse than when they were cancelled. The fireworks happened as planned. Just weird to me. When you think they will be canceled they aren't, and when you think they'll happen because the weather is fine they are. A Disney mystery never to be explained.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Disney is a powerful company, but they don't control the weather! There is a big difference between Santa Ana winds and other kinds of winds, therefore there is a difference in the fire risk associated with these winds. Notice that Santa Ana winds usually make the news, but other kinds of winds don't usually make headlines. The next time you visit during Santa Ana wind season, check the National Weather Service forecasts for Anaheim to see if there is a red flag fire weather warning in place. If so, you'll be better prepared for the possibility of the fireworks being cancelled.

 

[Malcon10t]

I remember learning early on as a dad how my responses to these situations can be picked up by my daughter(Butterfly123 alluded to this above). The first time I saw my daughter lashing out at some perceived injustice I recognized immediately she was taking cues from me-and to be honest it was uncomfortable to see. Right then I started filtering how I responded to disappointment.

This is very important. It is not what is happening, but how you respond to it.

A few years ago, we were headed down to Disneyland for a surprise trip (my son was going to ask his GF to marry him at Candlelight.) We got off to a late start, but arrived in Bakersfield about 930pm. We stopped to eat, and at the end of the meal, it was discovered my wallet had been left in Modesto. Three hours away. After a family pow wow, we figured out the only thing we could do was get back in the car and head back home. Some would complain about the trip being ruined or how stupid are we... But it was when we all knew how well my son's GF fit in when she just said "Well, we were only going to sleep in the hotel anyway." We hopped in the car, headed back to Modesto, then headed back to Anaheim, and made it in 4:23!!! I had called the hotel and they had our room ready, and even comped the first night since we weren't really there, and they felt bad for us....

Last year, again we were headed to Candlelight. We were headed over the Grapevine, when we had car problems. We had no oil pressure. We stopped in Gorman at 8pm. My son looked at the car and decided we couldn't go on. After a few family discussions, we called AAA and were towed to Disneyland! We could have done the "Woe is me", but we opted to go for the "Wow, we get a new experience!" When we posted our experience on Facebook, we had tons of Disney friends pipe up with places to take the car to get repaired. Had one friend who had a great mechanic who handled the car, and the fix was minimal (a sensor.) It really was a GREAT trip and we enjoyed being driven to Disneyland!!

It is all about attitude... From the tow truck...

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

This is very important. It is not what is happening, but how you respond to it.

A few years ago, we were headed down to Disneyland for a surprise trip (my son was going to ask his GF to marry him at Candlelight.) We got off to a late start, but arrived in Bakersfield about 930pm. We stopped to eat, and at the end of the meal, it was discovered my wallet had been left in Modesto. Three hours away. After a family pow wow, we figured out the only thing we could do was get back in the car and head back home. Some would complain about the trip being ruined or how stupid are we... But it was when we all knew how well my son's GF fit in when she just said "Well, we were only going to sleep in the hotel anyway." We hopped in the car, headed back to Modesto, then headed back to Anaheim, and made it in 4:23!!! I had called the hotel and they had our room ready, and even comped the first night since we weren't really there, and they felt bad for us....

Last year, again we were headed to Candlelight. We were headed over the Grapevine, when we had car problems. We had no oil pressure. We stopped in Gorman at 8pm. My son looked at the car and decided we couldn't go on. After a few family discussions, we called AAA and were towed to Disneyland! We could have done the "Woe is me", but we opted to go for the "Wow, we get a new experience!" When we posted our experience on Facebook, we had tons of Disney friends pipe up with places to take the car to get repaired. Had one friend who had a great mechanic who handled the car, and the fix was minimal (a sensor.) It really was a GREAT trip and we enjoyed being driven to Disneyland!!

It is all about attitude... From the tow truck...

Love it!!!

My kids are really good at handling disappointment, and this gives me some insight why.

 

[gunka]

Weird Al!!!

It's been strange this week. I've been watching test balloons go up most nights. The three nights that I was there to watch fireworks the balloons simply went up and slowly drifted in one direction or another. The difference being the balloons blue west on the nights it was canceled and south on the night the fireworks went off. Tonight the winds were blowing from a storm system coming in. Nothing rough but a lot worse than when they were cancelled. The fireworks happened as planned. Just weird to me. When you think they will be canceled they aren't, and when you think they'll happen because the weather is fine they are. A Disney mystery never to be explained.

Earlier in the week So Cal was in a Red Flag warning (High Fire Danger), it wouldn't take hardly any wind to cancel. That has passed and the storm that was moving in last night was bringing moisture to the area and the Red Flag warning had long expired. Therefore, winds (not extreme) would not cause a cancellation.

 

[Malcon10t]

Love it!!!

My kids are really good at handling disappointment, and this gives me some insight why.

As parents, we teach them how to handle things. In the pic, that is my son, and my now DIL from the prior trip!