What are the quietest spots to view Illuminations and Wishes inside the parks?

[Crazy Kanga]

One of my sons is Autistic and has major difficulty with the noise from fireworks, but the rest of my family really loves them. Where would be the best place to view them so we can all enjoy them with the least amount of noise. I am planning to take ear plugs, but in the past, they don't seem to help a lot. I wish they would offer indoor viewing areas for our special kids.

 

[SueM in MN]

I f you just want to watch the fireworks of Wishes without necessarily hearing the music, the fireworks themselves are high and you can view them from any of the MK resorts, along the side that faces MK. A place in MK you could try would be the second level porch of the train station at Main Street (we haven't tried this, but I think you would see a lot since you would be facing Cinderella's castle where most of the action takes place). Other than that, I don't know, but hopefully you will get some other suggestions.

For Illuminations, some of the "action" takes place on the water in WS Lagoon. The highest fireworks can be seen in the air from locations at the Epcot resorts and even as far away as Caribbean Beach and OKW. But, those high fireworks are just a small part of the show. One place in Epcot that is removed a bit from the action is the area right in front of First Aid (look on the park maps for Odyssey Center. There is a walkway that goes between that and WS and between that and Test Track. You can see pretty well from the walkways, but there will hardly be any people and you are somewhat removed from the fireworks. You can still hear them, but they are not so loud. Also, there is a handy set of bathrooms right there where your person with autism can duck in if it becomes too stimulating.

 

[Juliah]

As Sue said, you can watch Wishes outside the park. Two of my favorite places to watch are the ferry boat that goes back to the TTC and the monorail--though you have to get the timing right to do this!

There are a few places outside the park where you can not only see Wishes but also hear the music--the ones I know of are the beach at the Polynesian resort near the main pool, CA Grill at CR, O'Hana's at the Polynesian, and Narcosee's at the GF. I just read on Allearsnet that they play the music at the porch outside of Narcosee's, too. (There's a great article that might give you other ideas on where to watch the fireworks.)

The loudest place at MK for the fireworks should be Toontown Fair, since they're set off near there. So perhaps you could look at the map and pick the place that looks farthest away. I heard someone say they like to watch from Adventureland near the Magic Carpet ride because it's not crowded, though they didn't say how the noise level is.

Enjoy!

Juliah

 

[Poohnatic]

We viewed Wishes from the Poly Beach in August. It was great, hardly any noise from the fireworks.

As far as Illuminations, you will get a lot of noise anywhere inside Epcot, and the worst is the end. My son has sensory issues, but he will happily watch Illuminations, with his hands over his ears for the 'we go on' section to prepare for that last BOOM. Perhaps some earplugs to minimize the noise would be a good idea if you've got your heart set on seeing it.

Suzanne

 

[pampam]

If he won't keep ear plugs in his ears, perhaps you could try ear protectors that fit over the ears like ear muffs. A small set should cost $15-$20. You might try at a sporting goods store that sells shooting supplies. People wear them for hearing protection on the shooting range.

 

[cupcake]

A great place to see the MK fireworks is the outside deck at the Contemporary. To access the deck, take the elevator to the California Grill and go forward towards the tables in the main room but take a right and follow the wall till you hit the doors to go outside. If anyone stops and asks if you want to dine, just say you are going to the outside deck (we have always been asked for our name and party size upon getting off the elevator). The deck is a long rectangle shape pointing towards the MK.

We don't end up at the Contemporary much, but when we do, we always try to go outside there. Haven't been for a few years, but the deck has been there thru many versions of the restaurant. They don't promote it at all now, but I know about it bc I went to WDW as a child (we started going the year after the MK opened) and stayed at either the Poly or Contemporary -- the only resorts at WDW then.

Warning: I have never gone outside in my wc. Bc this is a roof deck, there there's a safety railing and it's solid. I don't recall how high it is, but assume that it would be feasible to position a wc to be able to see over and up for the fireworks. Maybe in the middle of the aisle?

This is a nice place to go even w/o fireworks as the MK is very pretty all lit up.

Cupcake

 

[SueM in MN]

You might want to call Contemporary before going over. I had read that the roof area is not open for people who are not guests/not dining there.