July 4th question - Downtown Disney

[Revan]

We are planning a 2 week road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, we'll be at Huntington Beach on the 2nd through the 5th. I'm not planning on a park visit due to the crowds over that weekend, but was wondering if it would be worthwhile to drive over to see Downtown Disney and activities on the 4th, otherwise we'll stay at the beach and watch the fireworks at the pier. Will DTD be as crowded or more crowded than the park?

 

[starry_solo]

as crowded and no free parking, not even for two hours on July 4th

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For the past 2 years or so, Disney has been charging a flat $20 fee to park in the DtD lots for July 4th. I think if you had a validation from the movie theater or from a TS restaurant and you left within your alloted time frame, you could get a refund.

 

[Plaid Princess]

And just as an FYI, traffic in and out of HB is extremely challenging on the 4th. I would recommend staying put, as there are plenty of things to do right there, and lots of road closures nearby.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Not sure if 4th fireworks show is something you are interested in. But we've been in DTD before during the DL fireworks (not on the 4th...usually during Christmas) and never found a good place to watch the show. All we could ever really catch was a few glimpses above/between buildings. Maybe I'm missing something here, and there is a place in DTD for a good view of the fireworks. But whenever we've been on the ground we haven't seen much.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Not sure if 4th fireworks show is something you are interested in. But we've been in DTD before during the DL fireworks (not on the 4th...usually during Christmas) and never found a good place to watch the show. All we could ever really catch was a few glimpses above/between buildings. Maybe I'm missing something here, and there is a place in DTD for a good view of the fireworks. But whenever we've been on the ground we haven't seen much.

You can see pretty decently if you're in the esplanade between DL and DCA, but that's really the only place. They shoot the fireworks pretty low at DLR due to the residential areas nearby.

 

[figment_jii]

As the PPs have said, the most popular location to view fireworks outside of the parks is in the Esplanade, but you'll only see the higher fireworks (you won't see the effects on the castle or any of the other lower level elements of the show). Others have also said there is an okay view from the Parking Structure and on Harbor Blvd (up towards Ball Rd). I've watched the fireworks from the Esplanade and while an okay alternative view, they did not pipe in the music so you'll miss out on that show element as well.