Which night time shows are a must?

[Minnie1986]

Hey guys!

I'm now at the 29 day mark (yay!!) and am trying to finalize my plans. Since I will only be in WDW for 5 nights/4 days, I'm trying to decide which night time shows to prioritize. Thus far my plans are

-Rivers of Light on night 4, since I managed to snag the dining package deal
-Happily Ever After on night 3 (we'll be park hopping from HS for this)
-Watching Hallowishes from outside the park on my bday (night 2)
-Illuminations on night one since we have an ADR at Via Napoli for dinner

Thoughts on this? I'm torn between watching Hallowishes or park hopping to HS for Fantasmic on night 2. Any suggestions, etc. would be great!

 

[Minnie1986]

I'm not sure if it's the fact you have to stand for Iluminations or if sometimes it can be hard to hear, but that's the one nighttime show that I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't see it. We almost always do, but it just doesn't do it for me like the others. We will be seeing RoL for the first time on our next trip in May.

We'll actually be able to see Illuminations from the restaurant hopefully.

I'm not sure if it's the fact you have to stand for Iluminations or if sometimes it can be hard to hear, but that's the one nighttime show that I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't see it. We almost always do, but it just doesn't do it for me like the others. We will be seeing RoL for the first time on our next trip in May.

im very excited for RoL. This will be my first viewing as well. As far as Illuminations, it'll be too difficult to parkhop after our ADR.

 

[Minnie1986]

We never miss Illuminations. Hallowishes is fantastic as well but one day you MUST see it from inside the park. You miss a lot by not being there in front of the Castle. The Halloween projections of ghost, pumpkins etc. on the castle add a lot to the show.
.

I actually saw from inside MK two years ago. It was indeed amazing. Also, the Sanderson sisters show was phenomenal.

 

[Minnie1986]

Second the Hallowishes thoughts. It's awesome from inside. Not sure of the experience from afar. If Fantasmic is a favorite of yours, I'd probably see that and get the best experience.

I do love Fantasmic, but it would be difficult to squeeze in unless we skipped HEA, and I'd rather see the new show.

 

[Tuvalu]

We'll actually be able to see Illuminations from the restaurant hopefully.

You said you are eating at Via Napoli? That restaurant is in the back of the Italy pavilion nowhere near the lagoon. You won't see any of Illuminations if you are in there when the show is performed.

There are a few tables outside (obstructed view) that you *may* be able to see the tops of a few fireworks, but that is all.

Service at Via Napoli can be very slow. We had an ADR an hour and a half prior to Illuminations, which we thought would be plenty of time to eat our pizza and then grab a spot for the show. It wasn't. We were leaving during the first "booms" and had to quickly make our way to someplace we could see (a challenge because of the crowds already lined up to watch) and missed several minutes of the show.

We love the pizza at Via Napoli though.

 

[Minnie1986]

You said you are eating at Via Napoli? That restaurant is in the back of the Italy pavilion nowhere near the lagoon. You won't see any of Illuminations if you are in there when the show is performed.

There are a few tables outside (obstructed view) that you *may* be able to see the tops of a few fireworks, but that is all.

Service at Via Napoli can be very slow. We had an ADR an hour and a half prior to Illuminations, which we thought would be plenty of time to eat our pizza and then grab a spot for the show. It wasn't. We were leaving during the first "booms" and had to quickly make our way to someplace we could see (a challenge because of the crowds already lined up to watch) and missed several minutes of the show.

We love the pizza at Via Napoli though.

This is why I love this board; these things hadn't even occurred to me. I think I got it into my head that because I was able to see the show from Monsieur Paul two years ago, it would be the same; without considering the logistics. Thanks for the heads up about leaving EXTRA EXTRA amounts of time to get to a viewing point. I'll move up our Via Napoli ADR.

 

[Minnie1986]

This is why I love this board; these things hadn't even occurred to me. I think I got it into my head that because I was able to see the show from Monsieur Paul two years ago, it would be the same; without considering the logistics. Thanks for the heads up about leaving EXTRA EXTRA amounts of time to get to a viewing point. I'll move up our Via Napoli ADR.

So now we're going to Via Napoli for lunch, since we'll be in the World Showcase around that time, and it was be less of a time crunch. Any dinner suggestions? My general game plan for the day is to use 8AM EMH and hang around Epcot until about 4ish, take my godson back to the pool for an hour or so, change for dinner and see Illuminations. Would you all advise still going to dinner somewhere in Epcot? We're on the dining plan, so I'd like maximize it as much as possible, as opposed to eating a QS dinner at AS Movies.