Free Viewing of Wishes

[tjohnson99]

Is there a way to view the Wishes fireworks for free without having to buy tickets? My wife and I love the fireworks show but are only visiting Orlando for two night and wanted to drive to Disney one of those night to view them. Any ideas?

 

[myhouseofmouse]

Yes, Go watch it at the beach at the POLY

 

[tjohnson99]

We are driving and do not have a reservation. How do we get to the poly? Is there a way we can park at downtown Disney and ride over there.

 

[bxccah]

Drive to downtown Disney and get a bus there to the Poly, use the Disney buses.

I know you're not meant to unless you're a resort guest but they never check. watch the fireworks and go

 

[tjohnson99]

Thanks, I had heard that you could do that. Thanks for the info!

 

[Alesia]

Parking at DTD is a nightmare.

You can probably park at the Poly. If not just pay to park at the TTC.

 

[djmeredith]

You can also see the fireworks from the beach at Fort Wilderness Campground (NOT Fort Wilderness Lodge). We did this for July 4th. You can park for free, then you take an internal campground bus to the beach. Allow yourself at least 30 minutes to take the bus from the parking lot to the beach. I would also recommend taking folding chairs or a blanket/towel to sit on. If you get there early enough (I think 8:00), you can do the campfire/smores/outdoor movie with Chip and Dale.

 

[GaTech]

Another good spot is at the Contemporary. Take the elevator to the 12th floor and walk out onto the fire escape stairs towards the MK. YOU NEED SOMETHING LIKE A SHOE TO PROP OPEN THE DOOR OR YOU WILL BE WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS TO EXIT. There is no alarm and several people do this on each floor. You are closer than the Poly and the fireworks are at eye level.

As for parking, pull up to the guard(Poly or Contemporary) and show ID and say you are there to watch the fireworks. We have never been turned away.

 

[wiigirl]

Yes, Go watch it at the beach at the POLY

My favorite place to watch.

 

[AntFarm]

The beach at the Poly. Just tell the parking lot attendant you are there to eat at Captain Cook's or something, they will just ask for your ID and won't turn you away.

 

[tjohnson99]

Thanks to everyone for your comments. We went to the Polly tonight and had a great time! We ate at Kona Cafe at 7:30 and finished up with just enough time to walk out to the beach and see the fireworks. After that we rode the monorail to the grand Floridian and spent sometime looking around. After a fun trip around the lagoon we went back home.

Thanks everyone for a all your advice. You all helped us have an awesome time!

 

[themillerman]

Beach at poly and you can also see the water pageant

 

[Roccosmom]

I may get flamed for this but here goes...

The OP isn't staying onsite and doesn't have a ticket to a Disney park! Why is everyone giving advise on how to "beat the system"?

The people who are giving this advise will be among the first in line to complain that the Poly beach is too crowded or that the buses are too crowded.

I just don't get it.

 

[HiMagicFan]

I may get flamed for this but here goes...

The OP isn't staying onsite and doesn't have a ticket to a Disney park! Why is everyone giving advise on how to "beat the system"?

The people who are giving this advise will be among the first in line to complain that the Poly beach is too crowded or that the buses are too crowded.

I just don't get it.

Well first off there are plenty of people who dont stay on site but love to go to the resort for dinner and then they stay for fireworks. My friends visit family dont get tickets but do one dinner at disney for them time (so they dont get annoyed by or annoy their relatives). So i dont see it as beating the system.

Disney is for spreading the wonder and the magic...who knows what may be going on in their life.

I realize people might abuse things but sometime people just need a little pixie dust.

 

[Alesia]

I may get flamed for this but here goes...

The OP isn't staying onsite and doesn't have a ticket to a Disney park! Why is everyone giving advise on how to "beat the system"?

The people who are giving this advise will be among the first in line to complain that the Poly beach is too crowded or that the buses are too crowded.

I just don't get it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what the OP wants to do. Why try to stir up trouble where the isn't any?

 

[Roccosmom]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what the OP wants to do. Why try to stir up trouble where the isn't any?

Not stirring anything- honest. And don't get me wrong- I dont think there is anything wrong with wanting to watch the fireworks for free.
But I do think there is something wrong with people advising the OP to use Disney transportation if they are not staying onsite.
Per the Disney World website:
"Complimentary transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort—including transportation to and from Disney Theme Parks and Disney Water Parks—is available to Guests of select Walt Disney World Resort hotels."

 

[Alesia]

Not stirring anything- honest. And don't get me wrong- I dont think there is anything wrong with wanting to watch the fireworks for free.
But I do think there is something wrong with people advising the OP to use Disney transportation if they are not staying onsite.
Per the Disney World website:
"Complimentary transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort—including transportation to and from Disney Theme Parks and Disney Water Parks—is available to Guests of select Walt Disney World Resort hotels."

You will find a lot of errors on the Disney website. It's one of the least reliable resources (second only to phone CMs.) Disney transportation is open to everyone.

 

[tjohnson99]

Well, if it makes you feel any better. We did not use any Disney transportation at all. (Ok, we may have used some disney transportation because we did ride the monorail loop one time just for fun. But it was not crowded and it gave us a chance to feel like we "experienced the magic.") We called the dinner reservation number, got a reservation for dinner at the Polly and then drove our car to the resort where we parked. We had dinner and then watch the fireworks.
Don't get me wrong, my wife and I are huge Disney fans and go often, but this trip we didn't have the time or the money to visit Disney while in Orlando.
My intent in starting this post was not to learn how to cheat the system or anything. My wife and I just wanted to enjoy a cool date night at Disney. Sorry for stirring something up and possibly upsetting some people.

 

[traylorc]

Not stirring anything- honest. And don't get me wrong- I dont think there is anything wrong with wanting to watch the fireworks for free.
But I do think there is something wrong with people advising the OP to use Disney transportation if they are not staying onsite.
Per the Disney World website:
"Complimentary transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort—including transportation to and from Disney Theme Parks and Disney Water Parks—is available to Guests of select Walt Disney World Resort hotels."

Just so you know, I did not interpret your original question as "stirring up trouble". I had the exact same concerns/questions when reading through this thread. You asked your question in a tactful manner that did not attack the OP or other forum members. Last time I looked...this was public forum and everyone is entitled to express their opinion.

 

[smidgy]

the WDW transportation system is available to any guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort... this includes all 48? acres (was 55?)

you do NOT need to be staying at a WDW owned resort to use the transportation. (ask all the guests staying at swolphin or bonnet creek!)

even those guests staying offsite may use the WDW transportation to get from one park to another, or to a resort. disney encourages "day guests" to visit their resorts, dine there, shop there. perhaps get an "itch" to stay there in the future! (you just can't use the pools)


the OP actually had dinner at Kona cafe, so they were well within their rights to use the transportation and view the fireworks from the beach. (although the dinner wasn't necessary)