Illuminations- last minute viewing locations

[anorman]

I will be in Disney in 11 short (hopefully) days.
This is our third trip down to Disney with the kids and I was wondering, is there any last minute decent (or good) viewing locations to see illuminations? We are not really "stake out" kind of people and just like to show up 15 minutes before the show to enjoy it without the long wait beforehand. Does anybody know of any less well known locations where we can see the show well even though we are arriving at the last minute? without treading on others toes, of course.)

 

[bicker]

Of course, how much it matters depends on the time of year, but you'll practically always benefit from staking out a good viewing location. The last-minute viewing locations do tend to be much worse than the ones that folks stake out in advance. When we've arrived too late to stake out a spot, we tend to find ourselves behind other (often taller ) folks, or with our view blocked by trees. My best suggestion, if you choose not to arrive early to stake out a good viewing location, is to aim instead for a good departure location - a place where, even if you aren't able to see parts of the show, at the end you're best situated to depart the park (assuming that's your intention). So for most folks, that would mean aiming for the area between Canada and Mexico, and for folks walking back to Epcot resorts, the area between Morocco and France.

 

[anorman]

We are not particularly in a rush to leave after Illuminations, so is there a spot in the back of the park that would work for last minute arrival? Perhaps an elevated area that is relatively unknown?

I am not necessarily looking for lakeside.....I do realize that that would be an unreasonable expectation for a last minute arrival. I just don't like "wasting" time sitting when we could be out enjoying ourselves and taking in the wonderful sites of Epcot World Showcase.