Is there anyone here who HASN'T thought that Wishes (m)

[wdwtheplacetobe]

I saw Wishes on one of the first nights in October. It was absolutely FABULOUS! Old time Disney Goosebumps from your childhood. I was lucky enuf to meet Dave and Jennifer of Passporters fame and watch it with them.

ALWAYS do "Dinner and a show" for Fantasmic!!! We have done it both ways and will never sit on the benches for 90 minutes again.

We found a great spot after dinner at the Rose and Crown (England) to watch Illuminations---but make Priority Seating arrangements BEFORE you leave home!!!!

Have a magical trip!

 

[jimmytammy]

Illum. has always been my fav but Wishes comes in a very close second. Fantasmic Ive only seen once and though impressive havent had to see it again. I think the having to wait so long to get a seat or do a special dinner package is what leaves me wanting more with Fant.
All are wonderful in their own way!!

 

[miasmom]

Thanks for all of your recommendations. We are definitely going to do Wishes. Can you see that from anywhere in the park or are there special viewing locations? If so, can anyone offer tips on where? Is it immediately following the parade? I guess information on times for both will be available through the conceirge, but the vets always have the best tips!

 

[bajanswife]

I think we might give Wishes a try, but maybe from California Grill. MK isn't high on our list of priorities, although if we get the time we'll pop in. But I'd love dinner at CG, so if we get PS for a Saturday night in October we should be set.

I know we will see Illum because we will close down Epcot one night for sure - F & W fest. here we come!

 

[laceemouse]

miasmom, you definitely want to see wishes in the main street area in front of the castle. Last week we stood near the Crystal Palace to watch it. Tinkerbell comes down from the castle, just like in Fantasy in the Sky, and they have lighting effects on the castle, it changes colors and such. You could see the fireworks from anywhere in the park, or from the resorts in the area. It is a great show....ENJOY!!!

 

[disneyfan551]

Listening to the music and watching WISHES left us with our mouths hanging open! It was truly awesome! We would never miss any of them, but I agree with others that Fantasmic is at the bottom of the list...in a good way!

Also, I would recommend watching WISHES from main street. You get the full effect and it is truly fabulous! I can't wait to see my mom watch them for the 1st time in 2 weeks!

 

[aesalsa]

My DH is NOT a fireworks fan; we don't even go see them during NYE or 4th of July. Last year we went to MK for the evening just to see Spectro and WISHES. DH was really Grumpy because he was VERY tired from playing the Paintball World Cup at the WWOS Complex. And he's very difficult to please in terms of shows and the sort. We stood near Casey's Corner and waited for Wishes to begin.

He was MEZMERIZED the entire time. He said, "Now THAT was worth coming here tonight!" He liked it so much that we went back and taped it a few days later.

I really think you'll enjoy it, especially if you are in a place where you can hear EVERYTHING. Try it and see!

 

[HBKFan75]

I'm also in that minority of people who don't really care for IllumiNations. It's cool, but very slow and it lacks that big showstopping kick. The message is admirable, but it's almost weighed down by its own self-importance, in my opinion. Most people LOVE the show to death, however, and would consider my opinion near blasphame, so maybe I'm just weird.

Fantasmic!, on the other hand, is phenomenal. I even prefer WDW's version to Disneyland's (except that the Peter Pan section is way better than the Pocahontas section). I think it's worth the wait (at least 90 minutes early) to get seats in the center. The seats you get with the dinner packages put you off to the side and the view really does make a difference, although it's a great show from anywhere. So that's something to consider as well.

Wishes surpasses even Fantasmic!. It gives me chills every time I see it. Simply amazing and not to be missed for any reason. You can almost always snag a last-minute spot somewhere on Main Street or in the Hub, too. That's the only place to see it. The Times Guide tells you that there are excellent viewing locations throughout the park. Well, that may be true to some extent, but there is nothing better than watching it from in front of the castle. It's breathtaking.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I've seen the fireworks at Disney before but haven't seen wishes. Friends were at the park last Saturday and Sunday and said the fireworks ran twice as did the parade. They saw the fireworks while riding Thunder mountain and while wandering the park. I asked her if they were spectacular or what and her answer was "it's just fireworks, ya know" She said they were good but nothing to stop touring and riding to see. She also said the spectro parade was not interesting to her family. While I know everybody has different tastes, it sounds to me like the folks on here are making much ado about nothing. We won't go out of our way to see the fireworks, if we catch them, we catch them, if not, no big deal.

Illuminations and Fantasmic are another story altogether. Both are fabulous and are must sees for our whole family.

 

[HaleyB]

I am way in the minority on this, but for us none of them are must sees. Nice to see, yes, but go out of our way, sad if we miss it, no.

 

[Pig Pen]

Didn't read the whole thread, but I can guarantee that both Fantasmic and Wishes are "shock and awe."

You must let yourself be immersed in the music and story. I don't see how people who are watching Wishes from the top of Thunder Mountain are able to fully appreciate the magic.

 

[Joyciemc]

I've never planned around the nighttime shows. I only just saw illuminations this past trip, and that was only because our server at Rose and Crown insisted we stay. I enjoyed it, but once was enough. STILL haven't seen Fantasmic, as I figure as long as I don't know what I'm missing... though I will try to do it next trip.

Ok, Wishes- great fireworks! Really really well done! BUT, the music annoyed me. It's a kid singing, and something about the voice bugged me. I can do a pretty good impression of the song, though!
I'm obviously in the minority, and I would certainly reccomend everyone seeing this show because it is good. But now that I'm thinking about it, even an annoying show at Disney has a soft spot with me because it reminds me of being there!

 

[disneyfan551]

I agree with hbkfan...The first time I saw Wishes, I thought big deal, as I was busy walking through Fantasyland. Totally different story when we stood on main street and was totally immersed in them. Truly fabulous. You just have to watch the entire show and be in the right place!

 

[palmtreegirl]

We usually have a new favorite each trip.

1- Illuminations. I really love this show and this last trip we saw it 3 times.

2- Fantasmic- Was my favorite the trip before last and i still love it.

3- Wishes- We saw it for the first time this past Feb, maybe I built it up too much in my head but I was disappointed. I don't know what it was, I just expected it to really WOW me but it didn't. We even tried seeing it a 2nd time from a different location. Maybe next time it'll get me. Although I must say it's a HUGE improvement over the old fireworks, you can't even compare the two.

 

[KimKamMom]

Sorry for sounding dumb, but what is Wishes?
I am not new to Disney, but Wishes is not ringing a bell.
Thanks

 

[disneyfan551]

In a nutshell, Wishes is the new fireworks at MK! We think it is wonderful!

 

[Michelina]

I'm in the minority too, because I liked the old FITS better than Wishes. The singing voice annoys me and there is too much talking. I do like the star shaped fireworks and the ones that shoot off from the sides though.
I'm going to try to see Fantasmic again, the first time I saw it was last August and we had sat through 2 hours of straight down pouring rain before the show. I think I was not in the right mood for it!
But I LOVE Illuminations. We're going to Universal for just 3 days this month and I'm making my DH buy me an Epcot ticket just so we can see Illuminations for my birthday. It always makes me cry and it sounds really cheesy but it fills me up with Disney magic.

 

[Del]

We love Wishes! Everything about it! We did Fantasmic this past Nov.---not crazy about it. Glad we did it though. Wasn't crazy about waiting in the stands. We did the package but still waited for 25 min. It got very smokey so it was hard to see at times. I wouldn't do it again though. My favorite hands down: The SpectroMagic Parade. I love it--i still get the goosebumps everytime i see the lights and hear the music !

Del

 

[my3kids]

Didn't care much for Fantasmic. We waited about 2 hours, as suggested, to get good seats, and people came in in the last couple of minutes and got good seats too. It was okay, but we felt it was a waste of the time, and wished we'd just gone on Tower of Terror while everyone else was at Fantasmic. We did love Illuminations.

 

[miasmom]

I just saw Wishes at MK on 4/11/04. It was my first time and thanks to the members on this forum, I knew the perfect place to watch from (on main street right in front of the castle). The show took my breath away! It was nothing short of marvelous. The light show on the castle was as magnificent as the fireworks themselves. Jiminy cricket was the "host voice" and the Disney songs made it even more magical. Hands down, my FAVORITE part was when Tinkerbell unexectedly appeared at the top of the castle and "flew" over the courtyard and down main street. I had tears in my eyes. Unfortunately, my DD had chosen to go to the Pirates of the Carribean attraction while there was no line, so she missed it. I was sad that we did not get to share that experience, but at least we didn't miss the parade, which had been cancelled earlier due to rain. Just as we were about to leave, they announced that the parade would go on after all! Awesome!