Illuminations or Wishes?? And view from resort or on beach?

[TnTWalter]

I've been searching the forums and have found some information but still not sure....

Can I see Wishes from Wilderness Lodge? Would this be fun to take a boat ride from Magic Kingdom to watch one night with the kiddos? Is Poly beach better? Do they pipe music into either? I think the contemporary with 3 little kiddos might not work. Or should we view from the park?

I have kids 6,4 & 3 and was thinking of skipping Epcot or just going for 2-3 hours [to see Turtle Talk, Norway ride, Living Seas, etc.]...but I've read that Illuminations is such a great show. Is there a resort we can view from or should we plan going later in the day and having dinner there and finding a good spot by the lagoon to view??

I'm leaving in 6 days and need to be finalizing my plan. I still have 2 dinner ressies to make [because we decided to cancel Hoop De Doo and AK breakfast].

Thanks so much....

Trish

 

[DIS~n~JAN]

Great question TnTWalter,
I'm posting on this so I can keep watching the answers you get as I've been wondering the same. Thanks

 

[TnTWalter]

it! I'm hopeful! ;o)
Trish

 

[Nancyg56]

I would also like the answers.

 

[Sammie]

For Wishes definitely go to the park, you will only get a small idea of the beauty and scope of this presentation outside the park. You can see the upper fireworks of Wishes from the Polynesian beach but not anything like being there to see it with the castle up close. As to the music at the Polynesian, it seems to be a hit or miss situation. Some guests have said it's on, others have said no.

Illuminations definitely has to been seen in the park, they only thing you can see from any resort is just the upper fireworks.

In my opinion both are worth the effort to go to the park to see them. If I had to chose one, it would be Wishes.

 

[Marthasor]

Hi TnT - We stayed at the Poly 2 weeks ago and saw Wishes both in the park right in front of the castle and also on the beach at Poly - both are great, but it's like watching two different shows! When you are in the park, they incorporate the castle into the show. When we were on the beach at Poly, they were not piping the music in. I believe you either have to be a concierge guest there and sitting in the lounge at the time or eating in Ohana at the time of the fireworks to hear the piped in music. It was still beautiful, even without the music. If you watch from the beach at Poly, you can go a little earlier and even catch the Electric Light parade from the beach - it is adorable and I think would really appeal to your young kids. You can also get snacks at Capt. Cooks and eat them on the beach while watching the shows.

I think you can also view Illuminations from some of the resorts, but I'm not sure where. I saw Illuminations inside the park and it was spectacular. I think you are on the right track with only spending a few hours with the little ones at EPCOT and seeing the show - Turtle Talk is NOT to be missed! Other than that - there is not a lot for the little ones to do. My 9 & 11 year olds were bored out of their skulls. Which was too bad for me and DH, because we love EPCOT - oh well, will have to do an adult trip one of these days.

Anyway, hope my rambling helped a little. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Marthasor]

oh P.S. - if you have to choose between Wishes and Illuminations for the little ones, go for Wishes. That's my vote anyway!

 

[Rachel78]

My choice would be Wishes, if ou you have to choose....although Illuminations is also great. You would have to go to Epcot to see Illuminations, but you could always go for 2-3 hours before the show and do some other things. My son loved Epcot at 3 and still loves it at 7. You may be surprised at what your kids enjoy. I do believe that they would enjoy Wishes more. Also, if you want to see Epcot and Illuminations, you could always have a parent's night out and leave the kids in the room with a babysitter (Disney has them).

 

[Allison]

I'm going against the grain here and picking Illuminations over Wishes. It's amazing.

As someone else said, Illuminations really is not something to be seen from outside the park. You can see the fireworks that are very high but that doesn't give you the feel of the show at all.

 

[BelleNBeastLUVMM2]

I would choose Wishes over Illuminations. Through the years the Illuminations show seems like it's less and less. The Wishes is far greater. The Illuminations at Christmas time is a beter presentation than the usual show but even then Wishes is better. I agree with others in their post, go to Magic Kingdom to see the full effect of Wishes.

 

[MareSINY]

The Wishes cruise is amazing, and your young kids should love it, my nieces loved it at 2 & 4. A great place to watch Wishes from outside the park is TTC. If you stand near where the ferry launches from you get a great view of the fireworks and they also pipe in the music. My favorite place to watch Wishes is from the Contemporary, we stayed in the tower with an MK view in September and absolutely LOVED being able to watch the fireworks from our balcony every night. With young kids it was definitely the way to go. Can't wait to go back next month!!

 

[puffkin]

You have to see Wishes in the MK to get the full effect. It just isn't the same without the music. When we were at the Poly last summer, it was piped in around the pool area, but it wasn't very loud. I was sitting next to a speaker and had a hard time hearing it. I don't know if they still do this though. Definitely see it from the park.

Illuminations also must be seen from Epcot. There is a lot more to that show besides the fireworks. My favorite part is when they light up the buildings and the torches. I also really enjoy the soundtrack. You can only see the very upper level fireworks (which are few and far between) from the resorts.

Given the ages of your children, I would choose Wishes over Illuminations. They are both great shows though and will spoil all other fireworks shows for you (we don't even bother going to our local fireworks shows anymore).

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

Can I see Wishes from Wilderness Lodge?

Barely, and usually from the 4th or 5th floor on the north side. You can see even less from the beach.

Would this be fun to take a boat ride from Magic Kingdom to watch one night with the kiddos? Is Poly beach better? Do they pipe music into either? I think the contemporary with 3 little kiddos might not work. Or should we view from the park?

I would highly recommend viewing from Main st in the the park.

I have kids 6,4 & 3 and was thinking of skipping Epcot or just going for 2-3 hours [to see Turtle Talk, Norway ride, Living Seas, etc.]...but I've read that Illuminations is such a great show. Is there a resort we can view from or should we plan going later in the day and having dinner there and finding a good spot by the lagoon to view??

Definitely from in the park. If you like Mexican food, the counter service place in mexico has outdoor seating right on the lagoon, but I would suggest staking out a table about 7:30pm!

Michael

 

[Goofy4]

Given the ages of your children, I would choose Wishes over Illuminations. .

Wishes immerses you in the story (if in the park) and it's generally much easier to find a place were little ones can easily see.