Which night time shows are a must?

Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
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!
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
My #1 is always Illuminations, but of course, the new HEA and ROL must be done! Have you seen Fantasmic before? If you haven't, it definitely comes to mind when people are describing a 'nighttime spectacular' but I've personally seen it so many times that I'm cutting it this trip to watch Star Wars fireworks instead.

I've also seen HalloWishes multiple times from outside the park and it was a GREAT experience. The whole thing kinda blew Wishes out of the water for me pyro-wise (though obviously not as much of an emotional experience ;)).
 
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becca_

becca_

Well-Known Member
I personally have 1. never seen Hallowishes, and 2. I don't like Fantasmic :p

I'd stick to Hallowishes if it were me - but no matter what you watch it'll be a great birthday because you're in Disney!! :happy:
 
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Herdman

Herdman

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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JoMarch

JoMarch

Active Member
I'm a little bit in the minority here. Here's how I'd rate them if I had a tight schedule.
1.) Happily Ever After
2.) Toss up - "Fantasmic" or "Illuminations" - The score to Illuminations is beautiful. The story and effects to "Fantasmic" are quintessential Disney.
3.) Far, far 3rd - "Rivers of Light."
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
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.
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M

MissingDisney

Well-Known Member
JIMINYCR said:
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.
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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.
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
If you've not seen Fantasmic then I would put that at no. 2 on the list, after HEA.

Then Illuminations, even though that is my favourite.

Then ROL and / or Hallowishes (not seen either). If you are a Star Wars fan then that would go ahead of both these.
 
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Tom 55

Tom 55

Well-Known Member
In addition to the night time shows I find that most of the thrill rides have a much different feel when you do them at night. Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain and RR are the ones that come to mind at MK.
 
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Allym146

Allym146

Well-Known Member
We also have limited time and are prioritizing HEA and then Star Wars and possibly Halloween party fireworks from the poly on the day we arrive but we aren't committed to that.
 
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awhit066

awhit066

Well-Known Member
Just did all the nighttime shows last week, except the Star Wars one (not a big SW fan). HEA is by far the BEST of the bunch for me. It was my first time seeing it and I was blown away. Absolute MUST DO!

I would do RoL next, especially if it's new to you (and if you've seen the others before). I think it could be improved but I really liked that it was a nice break from Disney characters. My one main complaint is how uncomfortable the bench seating is (like Fantasmic). There is no back rest, so it was hard to sit there after a long day of standing in the parks, and the rows are so close together that my knees were hitting the person in front of me and/or I was being kicked/kneed by those in the back of me.

For me Illuminations and Fantasmic are both passable (as I have seen them both a couple times now). The soundtracks for both are great but I found some of the scenes in Fantasmic (i.e. Pocohontas) to be dated and the globe scene in Illuminations feels quite boring. We showed up close to the start of Fantastic and sat in the stands at the back (which made it better by not having to sit and wait as long and were not crowded around like in RoL). We also "lucked" into being seated for our ADR at Tokyo Dining about 50min late and got to watch Illuminations while eating some DELICIOUS sushi!

As for Hallowishes from outside the park.... I've never seen Hallowishes, but did watch HEA from the train station after HoopDeeDoo one night. It was nice to hear the music and see SOME of the fireworks, but we didn't see any projections. Nowhere near as cool as from inside the park.

Whatever you choose I'm sure you will enjoy!!
 
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Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
belledream said:
My #1 is always Illuminations, but of course, the new HEA and ROL must be done! Have you seen Fantasmic before? If you haven't, it definitely comes to mind when people are describing a 'nighttime spectacular' but I've personally seen it so many times that I'm cutting it this trip to watch Star Wars fireworks instead.

I've also seen HalloWishes multiple times from outside the park and it was a GREAT experience. The whole thing kinda blew Wishes out of the water for me pyro-wise (though obviously not as much of an emotional experience ;)).
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Where did you watch Hallowishes from? That's the other thing I'm trying to plan out. It'll be on my birthday, so some place to get a cool drink and godson can relax.
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
Minnie1986 said:
Where did you watch Hallowishes from? That's the other thing I'm trying to plan out. It'll be on my birthday, so some place to get a cool drink and godson can relax.
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We've watched from both the observation deck at Contemporary and Polynesian Beach. Both are great views, but I think Poly is much more relaxing. Grab a beach chair, a snack, and sit back and enjoy the show. Contemporary you may have to stand and also you're very aware of all the people standing around you. Still spectacular though!
 
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