HEA madness

[Davey Jones II]

So we`re going to brave the crowds by hopping to MK on an HEA night, midweek in November. As insurance against the madness, I booked the following fast passes: Splash at 6 p.m., 7DMT at 7 p.m. and Buzz at 8 p.m.

Is this a feasible plan, or will the crowds around the castle make it hard to even get to our Buzz FP? Bear in mind that I will be pushing a wheelchair through this madness.

P.S.: We are planning to watch the fireworks from behind the castle, in Fantasyland, and try to hit rides immediately afterwards

 

[JessicaW1234]

I think your plan would work fine, although I’m trying to think what time HEA is in November. Last time I was there in November, I remember park times were earlier in the evening.
I think you’ll likely see crowds as you come in and try to make your way back behind the castle,but not have a problem getting to Buzz once you are back there

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you walk from Frontierland to Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, you never have to enter the hub. Just walk from 7DMT past the tea cups and speedway and you're on your way to Buzz.

 

[goofy4wdw2]

We just got back and actually rode Buzz right before the fireworks without problems so I think you’ll be fine. I will mention that a huge party of Happily Ever After is the projections on the castle so if you’d like to see that, I think you’d need to be on the other side of the castle. If you just want to see the fireworks, I’m sure that’s a great spot!

 

[Davey Jones II]

We just got back and actually rode Buzz right before the fireworks without problems so I think you’ll be fine. I will mention that a huge party of Happily Ever After is the projections on the castle so if you’d like to see that, I think you’d need to be on the other side of the castle. If you just want to see the fireworks, I’m sure that’s a great spot!

I just assumed that you would have to camp out for an hour or more to get a decent view of the projections. Not the case?

The fireworks are at 9:00 in November.

 

[im4pacers1]

Are you sure they are at 9:00? I didn’t think the hours had been finalized yet.

 

[Tksolomom]

Are you sure they are at 9:00? I didn’t think the hours had been finalized yet.

The hours for the fireworks are finalized as they have the parties before and after. It is just the MK hours that may be extended or changed.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Penmac]

I just assumed that you would have to camp out for an hour or more to get a decent view of the projections. Not the case?

The fireworks are at 9:00 in November.

It is hard to find a spot last minute, but we were able to on the corner of The Plaza Restaurant. It was actually very stressful, though and we vowed never to watch that show from the front of the castle again. I don't recommend doing it unless you are willing to camp out in a spot for a while. The crowd was totally overwhelming. We had no idea what we were about to wander into since it was the first HEA experience for us. We had ridden Space Mountain shortly before, so began making our way over from Tomorrowland. We got caught in a huge crowd, and then decided we would leave the area and head back into the park, behind the castle. Impossible. We couldn't go anywhere but to the exit. It really was a huge rookie mistake.

A nice couple moved over and made room for us. Otherwise, the CM were pushing the crowds not behind a rope toward the exits. I explained that we were not leaving the park after the show and did not want to go in that direction. He just kept replying "You can't be here", as in standing in the only space that was available to occupy at that moment. I told him we were not moving to the exit (the park was open for another 2 hours post show), and I think it would have been impossible to fight our way back in with everyone exiting after the show. I said we would be happy to move out of the way if he could show us a route back into the park and away from the hub. I was totally happy to sacrifice the viewing of HEA at that point. That was when the couple called us over and let us stand with them. It was really the only time I have ever seen Disney CM's look visibly stressed and annoyed. I don't blame them-- the crowds were out of this world. I can't even imagine what Christmas looks like.

When the show was over, there were tons of people exiting the park immediately and it was very hard to make our back in. We managed it but it was horrible. I think we were also there on an extremely busy day as well. Probably didn't help that we had strollers, too. I think if you want that amazing spot in front of the castle, understand that CM's will do everything they can to direct the flow of traffic towards the exit. We had success cutting across Main Street and heading back into the park via Adventureland. But, watching from behind the castle is a great choice if you want the freedom to head easily towards rides after it's over.

This year we used a totally different strategy and it paid off. Our youngest had fallen asleep. Our 4 year old was happy sitting in the stroller with a treat while my husband and I parked near Thunder Mountain so she could view the fireworks from the stroller. We rider swapped Thunder Mountain with our 3 oldest girls with no fastpass. The line was 10 minutes long because everyone was at the show so it was great. Seeing fireworks go off while on Thunder Mountain was the coolest ever! Such an amazing memory for my girls. I think it ranks up there as the best Disney memory we have had.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I don`t think the castle projections are worth enduring that kind of madness. Thanks for the warning, Penmac.

 

[LizGirl]

We've been pretty lucky, I guess. Our first few attempts at viewing HEA were terrible. As described above, the cast members will shove you out of the area if you are not behind a taped line.

I think you can easily catch the show, however. Ride your Buzz FP as soon as the window opens at 7:50 and then head over to the hub to find a spot inside a taped area. We like to get one that is directly behind one of the gated areas or an open walkway so the kids have a chance of seeing without someone right in front of them. I would recommend positioning yourself somewhat close to the bridge to Tomorrowland or Adventureland so you can just book it out of there once the show ends. Alternately, find a bench and wait it out.

With this approach, you can abandon the plan up until the show starts if you decide it's too much. We've had success finding a good spot only 30 minutes before showtime and that was during New Year's week.

 

[Davey Jones II]

We've been pretty lucky, I guess. Our first few attempts at viewing HEA were terrible. As described above, the cast members will shove you out of the area if you are not behind a taped line.

I think you can easily catch the show, however. Ride your Buzz FP as soon as the window opens at 7:50 and then head over to the hub to find a spot inside a taped area. We like to get one that is directly behind one of the gated areas or an open walkway so the kids have a chance of seeing without someone right in front of them. I would recommend positioning yourself somewhat close to the bridge to Tomorrowland or Adventureland so you can just book it out of there once the show ends. Alternately, find a bench and wait it out.

With this approach, you can abandon the plan up until the show starts if you decide it's too much. We've had success finding a good spot only 30 minutes before showtime and that was during New Year's week.

Sounds like a plan. I think we`ll do that, thanks!
So if we`re close to one of those bridges, we can be ahead of the crowd and headed for rides right after the fireworks?

 

[monkyby87]

I got a good spot in the hub about a half hour before.

 

[Belle's Librarian]

We were there two weeks ago and got a decent spot in the hub just over a half hour before. There were certainly spots further back on Main Street still available then. We love HEA and wouldn’t miss seeing the projections. There was a CM getting people to pack in as tight as possible and verged on being rude about it. Still a great experience overall.

 

[gharter]

Agree with others. You will be going from Frontierland to Fantasyland. You don't have to go through the hub and I wouldn't. After 7DMT, go past th Teacups and over to Tomorrowland and avoid the hub and you should be fine.
After Buzz, I would go by Tomorrowland Terrace and find an area on that side of the hub.

 

[LizGirl]

Sounds like a plan. I think we`ll do that, thanks!
So if we`re close to one of those bridges, we can be ahead of the crowd and headed for rides right after the fireworks?

Yep. The masses will be heading from the hub/Main Street and to the exit. You want to be away from the center of all of that to be able to get outta there as soon as possible!! We had a great spot in the gated area near Casey's and Crystal Palace but I understand they've started reserving that area again now? If not, we got a good spot there 30 minutes ahead of the show and then took turns running to the restroom near the baby care center. People started getting desperate for a spot about 10 minutes before show time so plan accordingly.

 

[LabMouse]

I'm just stunned that they've stopped doing MK fireworks nightly! Your thread is the first I've heard about it and I immediately had to go pull up the monthly park schedules. WOW. First the show changed from Wishes to include more projections (presumably cheaper than more pyrotechnics), and now this...

 

[CAS239]

I'm just stunned that they've stopped doing MK fireworks nightly! Your thread is the first I've heard about it and I immediately had to go pull up the monthly park schedules. WOW. First the show changed from Wishes to include more projections (presumably cheaper than more pyrotechnics), and now this...

There are fireworks at MK every night. Don't know why you think that's changed. No one has said that

 

[LabMouse]

There are fireworks at MK every night. Don't know why you think that's changed. No one has said that

So we`re going to brave the crowds by hopping to MK on an HEA night, midweek in November.

The bold to me implied that HEA was no longer occurring every night, just as people refer to "Fantasmic nights" at DHS, because it doesn't run every night.

So then I went to the park hours monthly calendars, and for both November and other months, there are certain days where the line for HEA shows "NONE" instead of showing a start time:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/november18.cfm

 

[ClapYourHands]

The bold to me implied that HEA was no longer occurring every night, just as people refer to "Fantasmic nights" at DHS, because it doesn't run every night.

So then I went to the park hours monthly calendars, and for both November and other months, there are certain days where the line for HEA shows "NONE" instead of showing a start time:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/november18.cfm

Some of the nights in November are early closings for the Christmas party. On those nights, there will be holiday-themed fireworks. I know there's nothing on 11/5 because MK closes at 4:30 for a CM party.