We did this on Feb 6th and really glad we did. We (two of us) got to the desert party a little later than we would have liked. We decided to ride Pirates with a FP once last time and figured we had lots of time – that slowed us up a bit as there was a slight delay at the ride. Then we didn’t account for fighting through the crowds gathering in the hub. We made it through, but it did slow us down for sure. If we did it again, we’d allow more time to travel to the location as it gets busy in the area beforehand.
We got to the party, checked in, were shown to our table, and were off to get our deserts. We got ice cream sundaes and then each got a plate full of assorted goodies. Also grabbed sparkling cider. Everything was good. The seating area wasn’t crowded at all. Lines at the buffet weren’t bad and moved quick. We didn’t really have time to go back for seconds. Really like the idea of taking a little container for some to-go treats.
When we were done eating, we grabbed some bottles of water and then lined up at the podium. We had to wait to be walked over. We ended up on the back rail and over to the left. At the last minute another group of people came over and, despite there being plenty of empty space, they tried to squeeze into the corner beside us – pretty much forcing us to either be shoulder-to-shoulder with them, or to move over. Once the fireworks started, they actually wandered off to the front. With so much space, I was a bit surprised at them crowding in on us. Guess they were determined to have back rail to the left. But there really was lots and lots of space on the night we went. Then, mid-show, some random guy jumped the fence and entered the party area – I guess the CM’s didn’t notice him entering.
All in all, we had good view. And we were so glad we weren’t out in all the craziness. We had lots of space. We did see the projection show before the fireworks, too. We didn’t stroll over to our spot till about five minutes before it began – so we were happy we didn’t have to spend time staking out a spot.
After the show, we hung around for about twenty minutes or so before heading off to catch the ferry. Overall, we enjoyed it and thought it was money well spent.