Rose and Crown 4th of July or Konas?

[ICan'tWait]

We're a party of 7. I was able to make reservations on the 4th at Rose & Crown but the latest I could get was 7:40. I didn't realize the fireworks weren't until 10. I'm thinking patio watching of Illuminations is not going to happen that night?? Should I just get reservations somewhere at the Polynesian? If you have dinner reservations will they let you on the beach that night? I've read somewhere that only Polynesian guests can watch from the beach that night. True?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

The exact same thing happened to us last year. We had 7:40 reservations at Rose and Crown. What I did was check in at 7:40 - we waited 15 minutes to get seated. We did get a patio table. First we ordered drinks, then appetizers, then dessert and coffee. We were upfront with the server and told him we wanted to be there for the fireworks. He was very good about spacing our courses. We tipped him VERY WELL! Illuminations was fantastic on the 4th of July!