Viewing Fireworks at PP

[flyingjay]

Hey all. My DW and I are visiting some family around Fullerton...we are from Canada. I am driving back to Orange County from San Diego tomorrow afternoon (we are hitting up the Safari Park tomorrow) and would like to watch fireworks at the Paradise Pier viewing deck.

I was thinking about sharing an appetizer or something with my wife at Storytellers or PCH (not sure if it's only buffet there) so that I can get validated parking. Then we would head over to the viewing deck at PP to get a spot for fireworks. Is there a minimum that we have to spend to get the parking validated for three hours? Can I park in the PP lot...is that a thing? I've only ever parked at Toy Story lot and Mickey and Friends before. Once we're done at the restaurant, how do we find the viewing deck at PP? Is this something that we can do?

Any tips are tremendously appreciated.

 

[TMak]

I can’t help with the parking, but if you take the elevator to the 3rd floor (I’m pretty sure that’s the pool level), you should be able to get into the viewing area just fine. I don’t remember a need for keycards for either the elevator or the pool area, but it’s been about a year and I can’t guarantee it! You definitely want to get there a little early, as it got kind of crowded the night we watched from the deck, but the view was great and it was a lot of fun!

 

[flyingjay]

Thanks for the tips. Do they provide chairs to sit in? Can you grab some from the pool deck or something? Or do you have to stand the whole time? My wife is pregnant and it's tough for her to remain standing still that whole time.

Anyone else have any feedback re: parking?

 

[Malcon10t]

Hey all. My DW and I are visiting some family around Fullerton...we are from Canada. I am driving back to Orange County from San Diego tomorrow afternoon (we are hitting up the Safari Park tomorrow) and would like to watch fireworks at the Paradise Pier viewing deck.

I was thinking about sharing an appetizer or something with my wife at Storytellers or PCH (not sure if it's only buffet there) so that I can get validated parking. Then we would head over to the viewing deck at PP to get a spot for fireworks. Is there a minimum that we have to spend to get the parking validated for three hours? Can I park in the PP lot...is that a thing? I've only ever parked at Toy Story lot and Mickey and Friends before. Once we're done at the restaurant, how do we find the viewing deck at PP? Is this something that we can do?

Any tips are tremendously appreciated.

I could have sworn last time we went, you needed a room key to access the pool area.

 

[TMak]

Thanks for the tips. Do they provide chairs to sit in? Can you grab some from the pool deck or something? Or do you have to stand the whole time? My wife is pregnant and it's tough for her to remain standing still that whole time.

Anyone else have any feedback re: parking?

There are lounge chairs and deck chairs, but that’s part of why you’d want to get there early—to make sure you get one! Again, I’m not sure about the keycard thing...maybe something to check out before dinner so that you can make an alternate arrangement (like watching from the Hub?) if it’s not accessible.

 

[Malcon10t]

I called the PPH to check and they stated you do need a key card to get into the pool area and they do check keys for the area for fireworks now.

You might consider the Esplanade? Or at the Grand, is the observation deck open to anyone now?

 

[flyingjay]

Thanks for letting us know. I will ask my server at dinner if they have any suggestions. Chances are we will watch from the Esplanade.

 

[flyingjay]

Quick update:

We had our dinner at Storytellers tonight and I ran over to PP at around 8:45 to ask if we could view the fireworks from the third floor. The front desk clerk only said "absolutely!" and encouraged us to enjoy them up there. Maybe @Malcon10t just got a really crusty front desk clerk when they called...not sure about that.

We didn't need a key to enter the outer area by the pool. If you wanted to go to the actual pool, that area was fenced off and you would need a key. We got some chairs and watched the fireworks with approx. 150 others up there. The music was perfectly synced to the fireworks. But, it was quiet. Would've been nice if it was turned up at least 10 db. Either way, it was a fantastic experience and a nice way to enjoy the fireworks.

For parking, we were told by the valet that we'd be charged $30 if we stayed beyond our three hours. We were told by the initial parking attendant that it would be $10 for every additional hour. We ended up staying under the three hours, so we can't report on who was right.

All in all, we were just happy to spend our last night in Orange County at Disneyland. And we're excited to go home to see the kiddies tomorrow.