How early do folks usually stake out their spot for MK fireworks?

[Naterfan]

We'll be down there the week of the 14th and we were wondering how many minutes/hours before the show do people usually start finding their spots.

Also, is putting kids on your shoulders frowned upon?

 

[Klayfish]

Depends where you are. In front of the castle, you want to be 60-90 minutes early. As you go down Main St, you can get there later and later, but still want to be there at least 30 minutes ahead. If you don't mind being in non-prime viewing spots, such as behind the castle or in Frontierland, you can wait until the last minute.

Putting kids on shoulders isn't "wrong", but just be courteous to those around you. If you're there first and nobody is behind you, go for it. But if someone is behind you and you don't have a kid on your shoulders, I say don't put them on when the show starts. My kids are too old for that now, but when they were younger, that's the rule we followed. If someone tried to get in behind me after a kid was on my shoulders, oh well. But I wouldn't knowingly block the view of someone who was there before us. I did my best to be sure I wasn't in someone's direct line of sight. I have had to deal more than once with the flip side...a parent tries to shove in front of us and put a kid on their shoulders. Not gonna happen...

 

[BrianL]

I think about an hour should be good to get a decent spot in the hub area. You don't want to go too far down Main Street. Don't forget that the projection show is about 15 minutes before Wishes too, so try to get a nice view of the castle.

Kids on shoulders can definitely be annoying to the people behind you, particularly for the projection show. Fireworks are up in the sky, so it's harder to block the view, but the castle effects can be blocked. I'd rather see a kid on shoulders than an iPad held up in the air to film the whole thing!

BTW: I like your Oingo Boingo avatar!

 

[CAS239]

Depends on where you want to be. Some prime spots right in front of the castle you'll see people camping out up to 2 hours in advance. For a really good spot you'll want to be there 60+ minutes in advance.

As far as putting kids on shoulders..people do it and while it's not wrong, good majority do frown upon it. Nothing more annoying than waiting for the fireworks show and then right when it starts you have a kid put on their dads shoulders and blocking your view (or the dreaded person recording with an iPad)

Imo, those with small kids should camp out a little earlier to get a good viewing spot so they can avoid going on shoulders. Or if you're standing in front of someone just give them warning so they can find a new spot before its wall to wall people. Or camp out in front of a pole or pillar so the child won't be blocking views

 

[mar7967]

I think about an hour should be good to get a decent spot in the hub area. You don't want to go too far down Main Street. Don't forget that the projection show is about 15 minutes before Wishes too, so try to get a nice view of the castle.

According to kenny the pirate, The new projection show (starting Friday) won't be 15 minutes before wishes anymore, it will be 45 minutes after Wishes begins.
Source: http://www.kennythepirate.com/2016/...a-time-projection-show-for-the-magic-kingdom/

Additionally, the show is said to be no longer offered as a fireworks pre-show as the 10 minute long Celebrate the Magic was offered. Instead they will offer this show 45 minutes AFTER Wishes begins or about 30 minutes after Wishes concludes. So a 9pm Wishes would be 9:45pm OUaT.

 

[BrianL]

According to kenny the pirate, The new projection show (starting Friday) won't be 15 minutes before wishes anymore, it will be 45 minutes after Wishes begins.
Source: http://www.kennythepirate.com/2016/...a-time-projection-show-for-the-magic-kingdom/

Hmm....I don't like that scheduling at all. Wishes feels like the showstopper, plus people leave after it. Now they'll be sticking around. Boo.

 

[Naterfan]

The official Disney calendar has the fireworks at 9pm and the light show at 9:45. I would prefer the old schedule, too.

 

[kwdw]

If the kid is on your shoulders the WHOLE time you are waiting - I'm fine with it - because I will have been smart enough to not stand behind you in the first place. I'm sorry - but sometimes I am REALLY obnoxious when folks do this at the last minute unexpectedly - because now you blocked my view and it's too late for me to move. So - IMO - it's really rude. Yep - I'm rude back at these folks, too. But hey - I'm not perfect. If you are worrying about a short person having a good view - get there early and find a place that isn't going to be an issue. For this - yep - you probably need to be look more than an hour in advance. Remember this causes a ripple effect, too. If you do this - I might move some to one side or the other of my space now, too. And that then makes the folks behind me mad because now I blocked their view.

Me - 70% of the time - I'm just going to find a non-perfect view 0-5 minutes before the show. That's good enough for me and fighting for better often just makes me angry so I don't bother. However, the 30% of the time that getting a good view is important to me - I'm willing to have a 45 minute wait. I'm probably not going to get that absolutely perfect spot in the hub at that point - but since we are usually a small group of 1-3 people with no stroller and the kid isn't that picky - we usually find we can get a good view at that point. Might be angled or down Main Street a bit -- but usually still pretty good. Or - we pay for a dessert party and use that way to get a decent view. You'll never find us camping out in the hub for 2 hours.

 

[Naterfan]

Are there places to stand with a fence or wall behind you? Or even better, maybe, a place to stand with a fence in front of you? No need to have a kid on your shoulders if he/she can just look through fence pickets.

 

[mom2rtk]

If the kid is on your shoulders the WHOLE time you are waiting - I'm fine with it - because I will have been smart enough to not stand behind you in the first place. I'm sorry - but sometimes I am REALLY obnoxious when folks do this at the last minute unexpectedly - because now you blocked my view and it's too late for me to move. So - IMO - it's really rude. Yep - I'm rude back at these folks, too. But hey - I'm not perfect. If you are worrying about a short person having a good view - get there early and find a place that isn't going to be an issue. For this - yep - you probably need to be look more than an hour in advance. Remember this causes a ripple effect, too. If you do this - I might move some to one side or the other of my space now, too. And that then makes the folks behind me mad because now I blocked their view.

I feel exactly the same way about it. If I stand behind a tall person and can't see, that's on me. If I stand behind someone I can see around then suddenly at the last minute they put a kid on their shoulders, they are going to hear from me. Same thing with an ipad. If you want to stand there holding it in the air while you wait, that's fine. I know I won't want that in front of me and will stand elsewhere. If you dig it out and hoist it up last minute, I'm probably going to say a few things you don't want in your audio recording.

 

[jaysmom4285]

The official Disney calendar has the fireworks at 9pm and the light show at 9:45. I would prefer the old schedule, too.

Interesting. Ihad made reservations for the Wishes dessert party for December 12 before the castle projection show changes had been announced. I was assuming we would be able to get into the reserved viewing area in the plaza enough before Wishes to be able to see the projection show from there. I wonder if we'll be able to stay in the plaza viewing area after Wishes to watch it, with the schedule change.

 

[Klayfish]

Same thing with an ipad. If you want to stand there holding it in the air while you wait, that's fine. I know I won't want that in front of me and will stand elsewhere. If you dig it out and hoist it up last minute, I'm probably going to say a few things you don't want in your audio recording.

Yes, I'm with you on that. That's almost as bad, though they take up less space than a child. I'm not an ipad guy, but I just don't understand the idea behind it anyway. I want to see the show with my own two eyes, not through a small screen. I understand the idea of capturing memories, but to me you're missing out on the show by staring at the screen. If I want to see it on a small screen, I'll pull up a YouTube video.

 

[RachaelA]

Hold your kid in your arms so they aren't any taller then you. Putting them up on your shoulders right before it starts is rude.