Wishes from Poly?

[mandis77]

We are having dinner at 'Ohana and considering watching Wishes on beach instead of going back into MK. How exactly does that work? Can you watch even if you aren't staying there? Is the music piped in? Can you still see the projections on the castle? It might be our only Wishes viewing of the trip so I still want it to be magical! TIA

 

[hswillia07]

Hi there,

We did this in January 2015 and it worked out very well for us! We had our then 3 year old and 9 month old daughters with us and I didn't want to deal with the crowds leaving after Wishes at the Magic Kingdom. We had dinner at 'Ohana and then headed to the beach to watch the Electrical Water Pageant followed by Wishes. There were only maybe 10 of us on the beach watching, but not enough chairs which was a bit of a bummer, but not a big deal. The music was piped in and the show was fantastic. I can't remember seeing projections on the castle...the castle is pretty far away, so you see the fireworks, you can see the castle all lit up, but you can't see the more fine details of the show. I would do it this way again for sure. Have fun

 

[JBeaty0507]

I've went and only had a meal at the quick service there and still watched from the beach. It's actually quite nice because you're not having to deal with so many people all around you. We had a great time! I don't believe we could see the castle projections because it was so far away, but you do get the music piped in and the water pageant. We are thinking about doing this again in May!

 

[valerie160]

We will be doing the exact same thing this May. We have an 8:30 Ressie at O'hana and hope to be able to be done by 10 so we can watch Wishes and the Water Pageant from the beach at the Poly.

 

[misskitkat]

We did this a couple of weeks ago and the beach was very crowded and we could barely hear the music. We have done it in the past with no problems but the bungalows take up so much of the beach view everyone watching was jammed into a much smaller space to watch. It sounded like the music we did hear was coming from inside the buildings and most of the time we couldn't hear at all due to people talking. It used to be one of our favorite things to do so I hope it works better next time.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If the beach is crowded, you can also see the fireworks from Trader Sam's outdoor patio, they pipe the music in there. You can also stand along the marina (in front of the Tonga longhouse) and get a good view of the fireworks and hear the music from Trader Sam's. For a less crowded beach, head to the luau cove beach at Poly. They don't pipe the music in, but the beach is usually quite empty. You cannot see the projections on the castle from Poly.

 

[Babsy]

You do miss some of the close up parts of Wishes like the projections on the castle. When we have done this in the past, it has not been crowded on the beach and the music was piped in. However, we haven't done this since the bungalows were built, so that would certainly make a big difference, IMO.

It is a lot easier to deal with going back 'home' afterwards when you do not need to deal with the huge MK crowd all trying to exit the park with you. Personally, I much prefer watching Wishes from the Poly to watching within the park. It all depends upon what is the most important to you - comfort of fewer people around or seeing every bit of Wishes.

Good luck choosing!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

One great thing about the Poly location is that it's possible to make the park vs. beach decision pretty much on the fly, assuming you have a reasonable amount of time between when you'll be done with dinner and Wishes. If I were you I might "plan" to just watch from the Poly beach, but if the stamina of the group is high after dinner and the mood strikes you to pop back over to the MK, go for it! Nothing beats an evening stroll down Main Street and the slightly lower crowds in September make it an arguably easier time to navigate the Main Street / Hub areas during things like Wishes (I'm assuming you are asking about the planned Sept trip).

On the other hand, if the natives are restless and irritable, just enjoy Wishes from the Poly beach and make a quick getaway! Hard to go wrong either way.

 

[mandis77]

Thanks for all the replies! I want to plan on watching from Poly that night and hope to watch again inside the park on either our first or last day. That way we can have both experiences.

 

[Kimberly9701]

One night we watched the electrical water pageant and wishes from our balcony at the Poly. Another night we were swimming so walked out to the beach..there were not any chairs left and it was annoyingly crowded, so we ended up just going back to the pool..can still see them from there and being a cool photo opp lol. The person who mentioned the Luau cove is correct. We stayed in a tpv in Tuvalu which is next to that beach and it's very rarely crowded.
*edited* In my opinion it would be better if the main beach was reserved for Poly guests during fireworks, and have the other beach open to people with dining reservations. This would help with the crowds.

 

[dansdad]

In my opinion it would be better if the main beach was reserved for Poly guests during fireworks, and have the other beach open to people with dining reservations. This would help with the crowds.

Officially, all the Poly beaches are reserved for Poly guests only. They just choose not to enforce this except for New Years Eve, July 3rd and July 4th.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Officially, all the Poly beaches are reserved for Poly guests only. They just choose not to enforce this except for New Years Eve, July 3rd and July 4th.

Oh lol. I didn't know that. Not to sound like a jerk, but for example we are staying at CR on our next trip in conjunction with our cruise. Poly was first choice but I'm unwilling to pay over $800 per night for that week. I debated not doing a tpv room..just was worried that my son would be disappointed. That being said- if I would have done a different room, not able to watch fireworks from my balcony, and paid their obscene thanksgiving prices... I would have been very upset with overcrowded beaches due to non guests.
I'll add that I'll admit I'm a little jaded lol. Last time I was at Atlantis I emailed them concerning their obnoxious crowds as a result of greediness. I've been there 16 times..I understand that isn't exactly frequent flyer status.. But I informed them that I won't be back. When you charge the prices they do for rooms etc..they then shouldn't sell aquaventure tickets by the hundreds. It's overcrowded and just in my opinion- ridiculous.

 

[Sue M]

Hi there,

We did this in January 2015 and it worked out very well for us! We had our then 3 year old and 9 month old daughters with us and I didn't want to deal with the crowds leaving after Wishes at the Magic Kingdom. We had dinner at 'Ohana and then headed to the beach to watch the Electrical Water Pageant followed by Wishes. There were only maybe 10 of us on the beach watching, but not enough chairs which was a bit of a bummer, but not a big deal. The music was piped in and the show was fantastic. I can't remember seeing projections on the castle...the castle is pretty far away, so you see the fireworks, you can see the castle all lit up, but you can't see the more fine details of the show. I would do it this way again for sure. Have fun

It's even more of a bummer when you're paying to stay there and can't get a chair on the beach.

 

[Kimberly9701]

It's even more of a bummer when you're paying to stay there and can't get a chair on the beach.

I think the luau beach is fair compromise..or Disney needs to enforce it more when high crowd times.

 

[Sue M]

I think the luau beach is fair compromise..or Disney needs to enforce it more when high crowd times.

I think so too. There's lots of beach between Poly & GF for Wishes viewing for people not staying at Poly. It wasn't even high season, it was last August, and we never were able to get a seat on the beach. It wasn't so much of a problem before, but after bungalows went up, the usable beach space and available chairs got a lot smaller, to just a small patch of beach before bungalows start to sit and view Wishes.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I think so too. There's lots of beach between Poly & GF for Wishes viewing for people not staying at Poly. It wasn't even high season, it was last August, and we never were able to get a seat on the beach. It wasn't so much of a problem before, but after bungalows went up, the usable beach space and available chairs got a lot smaller, to just a small patch of beach before bungalows start to sit and view Wishes.

Sorry that happened to you. I know it's one of Disney's advantages to be able to visit other resorts, but the crowds in lobby and beach should never effect the resort guests. I don't think there's any hope for the lobby..lol.. But maybe still hope for the beach.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Btw- the bungalows are the main reason that I won't stay in the lagoon view DVC studios.. I haven't personally been in them, but I when I was there a few months ago it looks like the bungalows would block the view of the studios..and concierge lake view/tpv as well. When you go back request Tuvalu, or the other building on that side. I LOVED the views and it was a quiet place to be with quick access to the boat dock. We only used the monorail to MK once.

 

[Sue M]

Btw- the bungalows are the main reason that I won't stay in the lagoon view DVC studios.. I haven't personally been in them, but I when I was there a few months ago it looks like the bungalows would block the view of the studios..and concierge lake view/tpv as well. When you go back request Tuvalu, or the other building on that side. I LOVED the views and it was a quiet place to be with quick access to the boat dock. We only used the monorail to MK once.

Yes, that stay I was thinking about Fiji marina view, but when I checked in, no balcony was avail in Fiji so we switched to Samoa 3rd floor facing volcano pool. Fantastic view all the way to GF.
I miss the sweeping panoramic views from the beach before bungalows. We were supposed to stay at Poly a couple of years ago but moved to GF when Volcano pool closed. In August :-0. So we returned to Poly last August. I still love it, but I agree with you about the views being blocked. The bungalows are quite intrusive, and there's a lot less usable beach now. No more hammocks either. Guess they don't want people on the beach in front of the bungalows as they've taken away the chairs and hammocks?

We like using the monorail to MK, and the boat back! Love the boats. This August it's back to GF! But planning on several Poly visits for Tonga Toast, Kona & Dole Whips!

 

[Kimberly9701]

Yes, that stay I was thinking about Fiji marina view, but when I checked in, no balcony was avail in Fiji so we switched to Samoa 3rd floor facing volcano pool. Fantastic view all the way to GF.
I miss the sweeping panoramic views from the beach before bungalows. We were supposed to stay at Poly a couple of years ago but moved to GF when Volcano pool closed. In August :-0. So we returned to Poly last August. I still love it, but I agree with you about the views being blocked. The bungalows are quite intrusive, and there's a lot less usable beach now. No more hammocks either. Guess they don't want people on the beach in front of the bungalows as they've taken away the chairs and hammocks?

We like using the monorail to MK, and the boat back! Love the boats. This August it's back to GF! But planning on several Poly visits for Tonga Toast, Kona & Dole Whips!

This is making me sad that I'm staying at the Contemporary on our upcoming trip I really am going to miss Tonga toast and the Dole Whips! We are having breakfast at Ohana one day..maybe we'll have to stop in again for a dole whip float . I think my son's favorite part of the trip was the volcano slide.. Probably went down 100 times..no joke. I had planned on mid day park breaks for a nap, but they ended up being midday swim breaks.

 

[Sue M]

This is making me sad that I'm staying at the Contemporary on our upcoming trip I really am going to miss Tonga toast and the Dole Whips! We are having breakfast at Ohana one day..maybe we'll have to stop in again for a dole whip float . I think my son's favorite part of the trip was the volcano slide.. Probably went down 100 times..no joke. I had planned on mid day park breaks for a nap, but they ended up being midday swim breaks.

Well, it's only 2 monorail stops away! That's the bonus of being on the monorail! We also plan on going over to CR for a bite to eat at Contempo Cafe, and visit the shops!