Best spot to watch Wishes NOT in MK? Or do I splurge on tickets for just a few hours?

[Courtney1188]

Hey guys, it's been a long time sine I posted, but I could use some advice! I'm headed down to Florida tomorrow with my aunt and cousin to visit some family who recently moved to the area. My aunt has never been to Disney, and my cousin went with me and my parents once when she was like 6, but barely remembers it. Money is really tight with them and they're really not able to afford nice vacays like Disney, but my aunt has always at least wanted to see Wishes and the castle, and I'm trying to figure out a way to make it happen.

Basically, I have two options...splurge on tickets when we'd only get the chance to be in the parks for a couple of hours, or find a spot outside of the park to watch Wishes. Maybe the Contemporary or the beach at the Poly? I know they sell annual passes for FL residents where they pay a lower price but can only go in at night, but as far as I know there isn't anything like that with normal tickets, right? I'm assuming I'd need to buy three regular all-day passes even if it just those last couple of hours.

 

[nepalostparks]

You can absolutely see the fireworks and castle from the beach at Poly or from the Contemporary (head out to the landings on the North side of the tower).

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

You can absolutely see the fireworks and castle from the beach at Poly or from the Contemporary (head out to the landings on the North side of the tower).

That is exactly what I would suggest. Plus, they pipe the music from Wishes as well. Why not do dinner at the Poly? Either Kona or Ohana for a sit down, or get something at Captain Cook's, sit by the pool to eat then hit the beach for Wishes? I can't see spending money for park tickets just for the fireworks. I'm sure it will be a lovely night! :wave:

 

[mickey2008.1]

I am not sure of the parking arangements, but if you are not a guest or staying on property or have a reservation at Poly , GF, CRT, you cant park there. You however can see wishes from any of the resorts for free. You will have to pay for parking at TTC, grab boat or monorail to any of the three deluxe monorail resorts, camp out and enjoy. Or if you dont want to pay for parking, go to DTD and grab a bus to one of the resorts. This is not from experience, just from knowing the World. It will be more time consuming, but can be done. How I wished I lived in Orlando. Fireworks everynight! oh well.

 

[Courtney1188]

I am not sure of the parking arangements, but if you are not a guest or staying on property or have a reservation at Poly , GF, CRT, you cant park there. You however can see wishes from any of the resorts for free. You will have to pay for parking at TTC, grab boat or monorail to any of the three deluxe monorail resorts, camp out and enjoy. Or if you dont want to pay for parking, go to DTD and grab a bus to one of the resorts. This is not from experience, just from knowing the World. It will be more time consuming, but can be done. How I wished I lived in Orlando. Fireworks everynight! oh well.

I think we will probably make reservations at the Poly or Contemporary, we'll need to eat anyways and that way parking won't be an issue...wish I'd known about the trip further ahead of time so we could of gone to the California Grill, but they are not surprisingly completely booked for every night we'll be in Florida.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

My favorite spot is along the beach by the Poly with a drink in hand.

 

[ThinkTink721]

We like to watch from the beach at the Poly.

 

[N234MickeyMouse]

Add another vote for the Poly beach, though a CM recommended the view from the Grand Floridian as a less-crowded spot for good viewing. If you get to the Poly beach early, camp-out and snag a hammock!

 

[Goofy6294]

Cali Grill would be my first recommendation, but since that's out, I have to go with the Poly. Enjoy!

 

[ladydi]

The fireworks are nice from the GF but I don't remember the music being piped in there. I'd go to the Poly beach-but don't sit too close to the water. The music is piped from speakers by the path.

 

[steve2wdw]

Yeah...with a few hours to spare before Wishes, you could park in the main lot, take the tram to the monorail, grab the resort line and tour the monorail resorts. There's plenty to see at all the hotels and you'd get that "Disney feeling" while you're there. Another option is to disembark the monorail at the MK, then take the boat to Wilderness Lodge (its a beautiful hotel to visit), then walk to Ft Wilderness (and visit the horses) and end up on a launch back to the MK, where you could pick up the monorail back to the Poly or Contemporary for the fireworks. Don't forget about the Electrical Water Pageant, which can be viewed from any of the MK hotels. Just ask about the time that it arrives at the particular hotel you want to view it from.

PS Just realized that this was post # 700 for me!

 

[drp4video]

I have watched Wishes from Narcoosees at the Grand Floridian while having dinner, and have watched them from the Beach at Poly after dinner at Kona. Both restaurants were excellent (Narcoosees a little better), but I liked seeing Wishes from the beach at the Poly. You can also see the electric water parade from either place as well.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We always eat at Kona or Ohana and then watch from the Poly beach. We walk further down to the left, where the beach is quieter. You can't hear the music, but that's never bothered us. I think we know the soundtrack fairly well at this point. I like that there's less people.

 

[rkelly42]

Poly is definetely a great place to watch wishes from. Great to go to O'hana and then have a drink down at the beach and watcher wishes. I believe that EWP comes through the poly area just after 9pm.

 

[Lexi]

We were in Disney this past Christmas/New Years and on 12/30 MK was having a special firework show for New Years Eve. We ate dinner at O'hana over at the Poly and then started walking down along the beaches to stake out a spot to watch the fireworks. The beach in front of the main pool was packed going into dinner and was just overflowing with people when we came out. So we started walking on the beach path towards the GF and the very next beach had the same exact view and was empty. We pulled up some of the lounge chairs and enjoyed the show. There were only like 8 people total sitting on the beach and that was during one of the busiest days of the year. I can only imagine how empty it would be on a normal day.

 

[shipley731]

Narcoossee's is actually a good place to watch the fireworks. They have a deck on the water that you can walk out on & the music is piped in just like it is at the Contemporary 4th floor deck & CG.