FP wishes viewing is a joke

[nilla]

You can enter about an hour ahead of the scheduled time. We show up about 15-30 min before celebrate the magic starts

This is EXACTLY why I got FP+ for Wishes in June. Other years, at much less crowded times, we were stuck trying to shove into spots if we weren't there long before the show starts.

Time will tell if it was worth it. We were in the Rose Garden area last year thanks to a AAA bonus, and it was wonderful.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

didn't use wishes FP to watch the fireworks, you can see those anywhere. It was to watch without people in your face. Or coming up right before the show to let you know why they deserve that spot you've been holding onto for an hour far more than you do.

I think I'm going back to watching just outside Gaston's Tavern.

 

[eeyore45]

I think your point of view is by in large bang on. However we've found that with an autistic child, having a decent spot waiting for us where our son could sit down and not feel cramped for space was somewhat priceless. It made wishes an enjoyable time for our son.

This is what I'm hoping for our DD - one year we were packed in front of Caseys (hard to remember exactly, but there were trees blocking the view, and the CM's were trying to keep a moving sidewalk area behind us - it was awful, pushing people, screaming kids, strollers ramming in to people... awful... we have since made reservations for places like California Grill, or Ohana's, but we really wanted to see the pre show so I made a FP+

if its crammed like OP stated, we will not stay, it will not work for dd

 

[theheartonfire03]

There's a walkway in front of the Wishes FP East Viewing.. that has a section where anyone can stand. It was the best place to stand, there was enough space to hold your arms out, while the FP viewing areas and main street were PACKED.

 

[joannamet]

DD and I had Wishes FP last summer and it's one of my best Disney memories. We stretched out on the grass and relaxed. It was such a nice way to watch the fireworks. Totally worth a FP.

 

[mom2rtk]

DD and I had Wishes FP last summer and it's one of my best Disney memories. We stretched out on the grass and relaxed. It was such a nice way to watch the fireworks. Totally worth a FP.

It's not in the same spot any more.

 

[PatMcDuck]

We had FP+ last week, on Tuesday April 28. We were on the side in front of Crystal Palace. It was GREAT!! NOT crowded at all. We did put DS in the front, behind the fence, in his WC. But, when ELP came by, we went over to watch that on the side. Another guest had said, GO ahead, leave the chair here, I will watch it. (DS can walk for short periods). After ELP, we went back to the WC.

I would absolutely do this again. We never stay in the parks for the fireworks, because of the difficulty with the WC, and I get frustrated trying to see the castle projections dealing with the whole "kids on shoulders" issue. Even that was much better, because right in front of the fencing, the CMs keep it clear as a walkway, so no kids on shoulders are RIGHT in front of you, they are 8 feet away at least.

We did stay in the front of the FP+ area, but on this night, people did not crowd the front, they were pretty spread out. I think most people did stand, not positive, as they were all behind us. Other families near us had family members with behavior issues, mental or physical problems that made this FP+ area a huge bonus.

 

[delmar411]

We used a wishes fp on saturday the 25th and while the entire main street and hub area was packed in tight, the FP area was nice and roomy. My kids even sprawled out on the ground the whole time.

 

[cakebaker]

We used a wishes fp on saturday the 25th and while the entire main street and hub area was packed in tight, the FP area was nice and roomy. My kids even sprawled out on the ground the whole time.

This is what I'm hoping it will be like when we try it. It would be so nice to finally not have to fight those terrible crowds.

 

[mikepizzo]

Our last trip (late Feb/early March), my girlfriend and I decided to try something different. Instead of getting as close to the Castle as we could, we walked to the end up Main St and up the stairs to the Main St Train Station. Then we stood against the rail facing the Castle. It was a great view. Nothing obstructed as you can see the Castle down Main St and the fireworks were well over the Main St buildings.

We got there about 40 minutes early. Next time we go, I think we are going to try and grab that spot of the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

 

[elaine amj]

We tried to see it from that bridge over the very busy time and the CM's were so rude. The place was packed & my DD was in tears. We could not get fast passes and the park could not handle the crowd to see the fireworks. I suggested they should have two shows on the very busy nights.

Biggest disappointment of our trip.

Fireworks on a busy night ...is busy. We were there for Christmas week and a good spot at the Hub was important to us. So we got there over an hour and a half early and were able to have a really good view. I wouldn't count on an awesome view if you try to show up 15-30 mins before fireworks. it's rather a madhouse unless you find less-popular spots. I've always heard the train Station is a good, low key spot.

 

[CookieRobot]

We watched them yesterday from the west side fast pass viewing area. We arrived 15 minutes before the Castle Show and spread out on the grass. It was not crowded at all towards the back half of the area. Towards the start of Wishes everyone started crowding towards the front and it was pretty crowded up there. We watched from the back area leaning against the rail and had a wonderful time. With two small ones it was priceless to have spot saved.

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks for the latest update- hope it continues to be this way!

 

[swooshbear]

We had FP set up for Wishes last Friday, May 1st. The day before I check the app and Wishes is gone, in it's place was something that said please choose a new FP experience from a select list. I went to a FP+ kiosk and talked to a CM that said all FPs that day for Wishes were cancelled due to a glitch. She put Wishes back on my list and the "extra" FP was still there. I'm not sure if this issue made the area less crowded but we did enjoy all the extra space around us.

After the fireworks, we used the "extra" FP on Pirates and the CM did not seem to know what it was but we got in. After the ride, the FP was still there so we think this might have been some kind of unlimited FP? It was too late to test it out and see if we could get on another ride, the list was limited to rides except the big ones - 7D, Space, Splash, Big Thunder. Here's an image of what it looked like:

 

[Ava]

Has anyone here tried moving from the MSEP FP+ area to the Wishes FP+ area? We had the MSEP FP last year and it was so nice not to have to stake out a spot an hour early. At the time this area was in the hub so we just stayed there for Wishes; it was a bit too close to the castle to see all the fireworks well but Celebrate the Magic was great from there. Now that the MSEP FP is down by the flagpole I'm wondering how difficult it is to do both. Could we cut through the shops after the parade passes us?

 

[Hummingbird]

I would absolutely do this again. We never stay in the parks for the fireworks, because of the difficulty with the WC, and I get frustrated trying to see the castle projections dealing with the whole "kids on shoulders" issue. Even that was much better, because right in front of the fencing, the CMs keep it clear as a walkway, so no kids on shoulders are RIGHT in front of you, they are 8 feet away at least.

This is exactly why we opted to get Wishes FP+. Myself and both my daughters (17&18) are all 4'10 & under. We always always end up with people much taller crowding into us at the last minute and putting kids on shoulders. It's usually like we are in a cocoon and barely see anything other than someone's lower back & butt. So for us, it's worth it. Just an arms length of space between us and people in front of us makes our view better. For that I'm willing to sacrifice earlier FP+ usuage.

 

[beck00]

To be honest, I had not considered a Wished FP+ at all for our group of 7....until now Last year was brutal defending our spot we staked out over an hour early to people who wanted to walk up last minute and squeeze us out. Brutal! One lady snapped at my 5 year old and another little girl my daughter had befriended during the wait.

 

[gunderda]

I have some high hopes of getting at least a couple really awesome photos of the fireworks, so much that i think i might give myself incredible anxiety the moments before waiting because since this will be our first and only time at MK I have no idea where I need to plant myself so that I can set up my tripod (which is pretty minimal and not bulky) and hope to not have someone step in front of me at the very last minute.

 

[lustergirl]

I didn't use my FP for Wishes. I got there early and got the rea right in front with a spot to sit down at. When it was time I just stood up.