Fireworks -places to watch?

[heidica]

On my last trip, I watched the fireworks in front of the Rivers of America. It was a pleasant surprise for me. We sat down on the ground and watched from there. It was soooo much less stressful. I told my family that this is where I wanted to watch fireworks in the future. What was really nice is the soundtrack played on the speakers that are mainly used for Fantasmic. Fantasmic had performed earlier and they used the speakers for the fireworks. The major caveat for this is the soundtrack is only played on nights with Fantasmic and right now Fantasmic is dark. The next night we were in the same area (just came out of PoTC) and the fireworks were starting and there was no soundtrack because there was no Fantasmic that night. And this doesn't help with parades, but it's an option. Earlier in the trip, I tried watching the fireworks from Main Street and the anxiety and stress it caused me made it not enjoyable.

 

[Albort]

I actually like watching them from the Mickey and Friends parking structure... you can see them get launched.

 

[hsmamato2]

wow... love al the advice here..... so there's no music igf you're near the river? that sounds odd...usually Disney pipes the music all over the park for the fireworks.... I don;t mind not seeing the castle during the show, but the music is a huge thing..... another question, some shows/parades are twice a night,I'm assuming the second show is less crowded? since I have have 2.5 days, I don't mind starting early/staying late to see 'it all'- and from what pp's are describing, it sounds like Small World area has more room for watching?

 

[rentayenta]

When we are not in the mood to wait 2+ hours for our favorite spot, we love watching them while riding BTMRR; its truly amazing. You cannot hear the music but the view of the fireworks with BTMRR as the back drop is really cool. As you exit, you can watch the remainder of the show near the exit of the ride.

 

[cagirl4life]

Going to hijack this thread a little since it's sort of the same topic, but does anyone have good places to view the parade with back support.

My last trip I literally camped out a little past Starbucks against a lamp post for three or four hours waiting for PTN... I chose a lamp post that wasn't in a crazy crowded location and that was strategically located next to a trash can so guests could only sit to my left.

It was a perfect spot but last minute people tried to squeeze in and I had an annoying little girl who kept trying to grab the pole behind my head. She had sticky hands and it was very rude. Normally I would ignore a child but her parents were equally annoying snapping photos with a blinding flash, and talking very loudly... It did not ruin PTN by any means tho so if given the choice I would try that spot again...

So my question again is there a spot with back support that would be better? I'm going solo, so I don't mind camping out. I thought about the benches in Main Street and near the castle but didn't know if people would block or if last minute rude people would try to boot me out or sit at an arm rest.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but along the castle/matterhorn there are benches that are literally on the parade route so only one row of people sitting could get in front of you. You will have to camp out really early for this. The other spot would be by It's A Small World. I haven't been up there since the dining package but they have quite a few places you can lean. And there is also the dining package. The Aladdin's Oasis package is chairs by IASW. With that you would not need to camp out as early.

 

[StayClassy]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but along the castle/matterhorn there are benches that are literally on the parade route so only one row of people sitting could get in front of you. You will have to camp out really early for this. The other spot would be by It's A Small World. I haven't been up there since the dining package but they have quite a few places you can lean. And there is also the dining package. The Aladdin's Oasis package is chairs by IASW. With that you would not need to camp out as early.

THANK YOUUUUU definitely going to try for these next trip!

 

[Darkbeer1]

Due to the ROA construction, a lot of speakers are not working correctly. When Fantasmic! is up and running, they do pipe in the music to the Fireworks show (they are usually timed that Fantasmic! ends, and then the Fireworks start a couple of minutes later. This keeps folks away from Main Street, which is already packed, and has them watch in the same place they just watched Fantasmic!

But the main viewing areas currently, Main Street and iasw get the music. You can hear it in the background in Tomorrowland and Frontierland, but not directly.

 

[hsmamato2]

since PTN starts from the IASW area..... does it get more crowded here than other spots along the route?

 

[Darkbeer1]

Well, there are two Paint the Night performances normally, the first starts at "iasw", and goes to Main Street, and the second performance is from Main Street to "iasw"

So the second performance the "iasw" tends to be the lightest in crowd level (but still will be busy).

 

[Wahlee]

You have to get the timing right, but one of my favorite Disneyland memories is watching the fireworks from the Storybookland Canal Boats. If you can get on a boat right before the fireworks start, you'll stay on it for the duration. They stop the ride (they don't pipe the music in, although being that close to the castle you could hear a lot of it anyway), and it was so much fun to sit on the boat and watch the fireworks. We were in a good spot when the boat stopped and could even see Tinkerbell flying a little bit (they were the Remember. . . Dreams Come True ones).

 

[rentayenta]

You have to get the timing right, but one of my favorite Disneyland memories is watching the fireworks from the Storybookland Canal Boats. If you can get on a boat right before the fireworks start, you'll stay on it for the duration. They stop the ride (they don't pipe the music in, although being that close to the castle you could hear a lot of it anyway), and it was so much fun to sit on the boat and watch the fireworks. We were in a good spot when the boat stopped and could even see Tinkerbell flying a little bit (they were the Remember. . . Dreams Come True ones).

We did this 2-3 years ago and last year they said they weren't doing the *pyro boats*. I hope its back this year.

 

[az4boys]

Disclaimer: I haven't read all the posts, so hopefully I'm not repeating.

A year ago (late November 2015) we had reserved seats for Fantasmic. After that ended we stayed in the same area along the river to watch fireworks. We were able to sit on a concrete ledge and the crowds were mostly gone. We were directly in front of the train station near haunted mansion. I think it was my most favorite fireworks show! Very light crowds and they had the sound and water screen projection going so I don't feel like we missed much by not being in front of the castle. My experience on Main Street is that it is so crowded that you can't really see anything anyway, especially for the kids. We watched from Small World once too but our view was limited quite a bit by trees. With the river construction going on it is hard to say if that is a good spot right now, but I will definitely go back when the construction is over.

 

[lorijohnhill]

My husband is a photographer and loves to find new places to get some great fireworks shots. Since Fantasmic is down you can sit in front of rivers of America and view the fireworks from there. We have also watched them from Casey Jr. while riding as well as from the seats in front of Casey facing the back of the castle. Another great view was in Tomorrowland in front of Autopia facing the Matterhorn. We took some chairs from the restaurant across the way and sat while watching. Small World is a good spot as well.

What a gorgeous picture!