Will we regret not seeing fireworks (HEA)?

[JeanfromBNA]

HEA is not just a fireworks show. The combination of fireworks, projections, Tink's flyover, and the music and narration is a complete show. I've never been excited about fireworks either,but this is different.

Does anyone know if they're doing something new for the Halloween and Christmas parties? Because those shows are going to pale in comparison to HEA.

 

[Hunterr]

You should try to see them, but if not this show, then one of the other nighttime shows will do in another park.

 

[MommaBerd]

As many PPs have said, it depends on your kids'/family's level of enjoyment of fireworks shows. At 5 & 7, most of my boys would not have cared if we missed fireworks. It would have been crowded and as someone else said, they would have been frustrated because they couldn't "see," and they certainly wouldn't have had the patience to stake out a spot an hour (or so) in advance. But boys are all different - 3/4 of mine were the wiggly, I-need-room-to-move kind at that age. We tried Wishes the first year (ages 4, 6, 8, 13) and it was a struggle. No more nighttime entertainment on that trip! If you've been to WDW once before, my guess is that you'll go again in the future...something to look forward to next time.

On a completely different note, MK on the 4:30 close day is a MUST DO! We were there on a similar day (4:30 close) last year, and it was truly the best day ever!!! There was hardly anyone there, especially at rope drop! I think we rode 7DMT at least three times that morning with very little wait.

 

[Crispity]

We've been to Disney 5 times, and did not see the fireworks until our last trip, when we stayed at BLT and could walk back. Coincidentally, that trip was the week that Wishes ended and HEA began, so we saw both shows for the first time on the same trip.

The fireworks were great, and we all really enjoyed them. However, we loved our previous Disney trips as well, and never regretted missing the fireworks. When we finally saw both shows, I actually enjoyed Wishes much more than HEA, but we had prime viewing for Wishes (dessert party); whereas we watched HEA from our room at BLT, and I think you need to be in the park for HEA to truly experience it with all of the projections.

We have young kids (5 and 1.5) and I have no interest in being packed into Main Street like sardines for a show that they probably won't be able to see very well, then fighting the crowds to get on the monorail/bus/ferry when everyone leaves the park after the show. So, we won't see HEA from MK on future trips unless we stay at BLT/Contemporary and do a dessert party.

In your situation, I personally would not regret missing the fireworks. It's hard for me to imagine that MK won't be significantly less crowded than usual on a day that closes at 4:30(!), and MK will definitely be VERY crowded on non-party nights, since the opportunities to see the fireworks are limited. I think when we're on these boards, it's easy to get caught up in things that we MUST do, but there are no "must-dos". It's a vacation. You're at Disney. Even if you miss the fireworks, you will still have a fantastic trip.

 

[DisneyOma]

We found the castle display to be so distracting that we barely noticed the fireworks! There are a few cool fireworks effects that go with the projections, but the rest are just meh, IMO. So, if you want to see the castle covered with just about every Disney/Pixar movie, and maybe notice a few random fireworks going off, then try to get there one night. But be prepared to be crammed in like sardines, with limited visibility. The CMs had us all move in, telling us to fill in all available space. Then the jerk in front of us put his kid up on his shoulders. No room to move, so I put my niece in my spot and stood behind the *******.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

Never regret not doing something. It's impossible to do it all. I've actually regretted BEING IN THE PARK for the fireworks because of the ensuing onslaught of exiting humanity.

If you don't make it, you'll have a target for your next trip.

 

[robl45]

We watched the star wars ones a couple of trips back and I think I enjoyed them better. We caught the HEA this past trip on a fluke. We happened to get there a couple minutes before 9pm and as we are walking to tomorrow land we found a decent spot to watch. We couldn't see perfectly but had a decent view of the castle. Tinkerbell flys as she has since I was a kid 30 plus years ago so nothing new. No way would we camp out for a spot though. My family personally doesn't find it that special.

 

[Disnsyncey]

The nighttime shows are my most favorite part of the day, but I have always loved fireworks. Wishes was my favorite show, and I am very much looking forward to HEA after hearing so many positive things about it. In fact, we're doing a dessert party to make sure we have a good view. I wouldn't miss it, but if you don't like fireworks or aren't interested in seeing the castle with projections then you might not mind skipping it.

I feel the same Wishes was my favorite, but it premiered while I was working at CRT so I have seen it probably at least 100 times (though that doesn't sound like much compared to some FL residents haha) and I wouldn't be sad if I didn't see it in the BEST position possible a few times, as long as I was in front-ish of the castle, I could deal....but with all the added stuff to HEA, I was worried about the crowds on a non-party night and staking out a spot (because literally we are spending as much time as we can NOT in MK that night as we saw how bad it was 2 years ago yeesh), so we went with the dessert party as well (dude, I used to make fun of people who did dessert parties hahaha) so we can have the most magical experience first and then we can go wherever in all the subsequent viewings for the next 15 years :-D haha

I would go with others have said, just switch your days around, or just get a hopper, as going for less than as full a day is kinda cheating yourself (if you don't have hoppers), and though you have the "tradition" of going to MK first and last, nothing is SPECIAL about those days in particular, I would make sure you were able to get the "special" things and see the fireworks If you had a hopper, you could do those days, even if only for a few hours, and then do something during the afternoon/nighttime, and then on the HEA nights, you could just pop over there after you did your other parks....

 

[MommaBerd]

but there are no "must-dos".

But... but...Stacey says there are!!!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Yeah, that situation requires extra planning. Have you tried staking out a spot early? Or trying to view the fireworks from different locations? Sometimes you can see better the farther back down Main Street you go.

How do you stake out a spot early and avoid having someone stand in the open spot right in front of your short kid at the last minute? The crowds we saw were shoulder to shoulder all the way back to main street. So it was not like you could just move to the side when that happens. I never saw any crowd like that at Wishes.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I guess I should edit my post to be more clear--once in a lifetime trip, HEA is a must-do. Planning to go back again many times, then you don't have to fight to fit it in this trip and you might be glad in the end that you waited.

 

[DisneyFive]

You can have an amazing time at WDW while giving up ANY single particular attraction. There is so much to do, and not seeing HEA isn't going to make or break your stay.

Having said that, we LOVE Wishes and can't wait to see HEA!!!!! We would personally regret not seeing it.

Dan

 

[DisneyOma]

You can have an amazing time at WDW while giving up ANY single particular attraction. There is so much to do, and not seeing HEA isn't going to make or break your stay.

Having said that, we LOVE Wishes and can't wait to see HEA!!!!! We would personally regret not seeing it.

Dan

If you loved Wishes, don't go to HEA! Well, maybe I'm kidding a little bit, but we were not impressed - it's sort of like one long advertisement for the Disney movies, with lots of good effects on the castle, but you can't see them when they cram you in like sardines. Random fireworks that you don't even notice as you are busy watching the overload of effects on the castle. No 'wow that was so emotional and perfect' feelings after, just kind of overwhelmed with all the stuff they tried to cram in - it's like a bunch of squirrels programmed some of it. Not enough pause between some of the segments, KWIM? You don't have time to let it soak in.

 

[AngieInOH]

Yes you'll regret it! I'm still kicking myself for letting my hubby talk me out of the Hollywood Studios fireworks! !

 

[scoobygrl79]

Aw, please try!

 

[rangerxenos]

If you loved Wishes, don't go to HEA! Well, maybe I'm kidding a little bit, but we were not impressed - it's sort of like one long advertisement for the Disney movies, with lots of good effects on the castle, but you can't see them when they cram you in like sardines. Random fireworks that you don't even notice as you are busy watching the overload of effects on the castle. No 'wow that was so emotional and perfect' feelings after, just kind of overwhelmed with all the stuff they tried to cram in - it's like a bunch of squirrels programmed some of it. Not enough pause between some of the segments, KWIM? You don't have time to let it soak in.

So they do the projection show at the same time as the fireworks, not before?

I loved Wishes, I have a feeling I'm not going to like Happily Ever After nearly as much. We'll find out in December!

 

[bryanb]

You know, I absolutely enjoyed Wishes. And I enjoyed Happily Ever After more... far more. The message of courage and self-empowerment is far superior to Wishes' passive advice to wait around for good things to happen. But the technology is far superior too.

I also think the show is very repeatable. The first time I saw it, I did feel a little overwhelmed at just how much was going on with both projections and fireworks. There's so much to see, it's not easy to take it all in. But upon repeat viewings, the details are revealed and the whole thing becomes even more beautiful.

The finale -- or really, two finales -- are some of the most impressive achievements in a nightly fireworks spectacular. I just watched it again on YouTube, and I'm blown away even by a video of the show.

If you want an inkling of whether you'll like the show, and you don't mind a tiny spoiler, maybe watch just a couple minutes of it online to get a flavor of it. Then you can decide whether it's worth watching or skipping. I don't usually advise people to do this, but it's worth doing if you're on the fence.

Finally, yes, it's all a big Disney commercial... but so is everything else in Disney synergy. I'll be curious to see what people think once they've seen it several times.

Hint: you don't have to sit close to the front. I like the view halfway back on Main Street, where you're not so crammed in and can more easily take the whole thing in.

 

[randumb0]

It depends on the person. I've been to Magic Kingdom countless times and have never stayed for fireworks nor do I care to

 

[tzolkin]

We did not see any fireworks in MK until our third trip. (And the first two trips were each 10 days in the parks). We did make a few attempts our second trip, but we were there for 12 straight days of record rains so all planning was off. Our last night we spent nearly two hours sitting in the pouring rain while the show was delayed and ultimately cancelled. I would have thought that would be a horribly disappointing experience, but it's actually one of our all-time favorite Disney trip memories.

ETA: Actually, I just remembered that I did technically see fireworks in MK the first trip when I did a mother-daughter night out with my oldest. But we were riding BTMRR at the time (which was actually a pretty awesome experience). So, even though we were in the park we did not feel it was necessary to make the fireworks a priority. This has also happened several times on later trips where we were in the park, but just walking around or doing something else while the fireworks were happening. If you're having a great trip with your family, I really don't think you are going to "regret" missing one show.

I know it's not "the same" but are you planning to see Illuminations or one of the other night time shows?

 

[DisneyOma]

So they do the projection show at the same time as the fireworks, not before?

I loved Wishes, I have a feeling I'm not going to like Happily Ever After nearly as much. We'll find out in December!

Projection going really fast, with fireworks at the same time, and they didn't seem to be in sync, at least not like Wishes.

I didn't get the message from HEA - it was actually too fast and jumbled for much to be absorbed. And if one has to see it multiple times to get the effect, that's just plain stupid.