Watching Wishes fireworks outside park..Where?

[orlandonewstarts]

We will be spending 2 days in Orlando before we board for the cruise. I would love to see the fireworks at Disney and have heard there are places to watch from outside the parks.

Where is a good place? Maybe somewhere to eat dinner at the same time. Mom and teen son so casual place will be best.

 

[Robo]

We will be spending 2 days in Orlando before we board for the cruise. I would love to see the fireworks at Disney and have heard there are places to watch from outside the parks.

Where is a good place? Maybe somewhere to eat dinner at the same time. Mom and teen son so casual place will be best.

You can see the MK fireworks shows very well from the TTC

(and they pipe-in clear, crisp audio from the show.)

Note: you are not allowed to stand directly in the actual Ferry loading area.

You can see them from the boat-dock and an outside

observation deck near Narcoossee's restaurant at the

Grand Floridian. Anyone can stand on Narcoossee's Deck.

The outside deck is not a part of the actual restaurant. (All serving is done inside.)

The deck is accessed from the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

Also, good viewing from the Patio overlooking the Marina.

The sound of the show is piped into these areas too.

At the Contemporary, there is viewing on an outdoor

observation area on the 4th floor.

The California Grill observation areas are reserved for patrons that day of the Grill or Bar.

(Fireworks shown above are simulated.)



At Wilderness Lodge, the "secret place" to watch the MK fireworks is from the northern area of the Cast Member (CM) Parking Lot.

At the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds Marina (angle shown on the map below,) some of the view (especially of the "Fantasyland" pyro) is blocked by the now unused Discovery Island in Bay Lake and by the high-rise buildings of the Contemporary Resort.

But, the view from the Ft. Wilderness' sand beach (farther north) is more open.

Still the tree-level can block the views of the lower-firing pyro.



Here are the angles of the views in the Bay Lake area.

Below are the angles of the views in the Seven Seas Lagoon area.

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As for viewing from INSIDE the dining area of restaurants

(you usually need ADRs for most, and they are usually busy during the shows)...

you can see (and hear) them at California Grill at Contemporary,

'Ohana at the Poly, at Trader Sam's and Trader Sam's outdoor patio at the Poly, Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian,

and (if you have access there) the Top of the World at Bay Lake Tower.

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[Skywise]

Poly beach (although it;s questionable if they pipe the music there anymore) or TTC

 

[jpeden]

We enjoyed the view from the GF dock. However, I'm not sure the music was piped in there either. It sounded like we were getting a mix of music from the MK itself and behind us from the Narcoossee's deck. It may have been and we were hearing it from all three places though.

 

[mesaboy2]

Poly beach (although it;s questionable if they pipe the music there anymore) or TTC

Still played there, but can be hard to hear depending on exactly where you watch from.

 

[SureAsLiz]

I personally prefer the Poly beach. There is music piped in, but it's fairly quiet and if you are too far down either direction from the speaker you won't be able to hear it. And if you get there early enough, you can grab a Dole Whip, find an empty chair, watch the water pageant, whatever move they might have playing that night, and then the fireworks. It's much more of an experience than the other locations.

The TTC is great as it is a head-on view, so high shots are centered over the castle, and the music is very clear. But you have to deal with people leaving the ferry during the show, and it can be very distracting.

My least favorite spot is the Contemporary deck only because it gets very crowded very quickly. It's not like the other locations where people can spread out.


This is the end of Hallowishes from the Poly. The bungalows barely block some of the perimeter shots, but have 0 effect on the rest of the show.

 

[fhtpdw20]

Bonus: If you watch from the beaches of Poly, GF, or Wilderness Lodge, stay put to see the Electric Water Parade right after the fireworks.

 

[Robo]

Bonus: If you watch from the beaches of Poly, GF, or Wilderness Lodge, stay put to see the Electric Water Parade right after the fireworks.

Well, not exactly "right after" at all of those (as that would be physically impossible.)
But, yes, the EWP will come by to perform at each of those locations at some point that evening.

 

[orlandonewstarts]

A huge thank you to everyone of the great information and suggestions. I had forgotten about the Electric Water Parade!

 

[orlandonewstarts]

A huge thank you to everyone!!! We arrived early at Poly and had 3 beach chairs to watch the movie. Followed by the fireworks and parade. It was fantastic! Everyone loved it and we are so happy we were able to attend. DIS has helped make special memories for my family again.

 

[gaexsz]

Wondering if those of you who've watched the fireworks on the Poly beach, whether on extremely busy nights (like Christmas week-level crowds) the beach fills up or whether there seems to always be more room than inside MK?

Asking because if I'm going to be shoulder-to-shoulder with people at the Poly beach, might as well be shoulder-to-shoulder inside MK.

Thanks!