Where is the Worst Spot to watch MK Fireworks?

we tried to watch from a walkway leading from liberty square to the castle. we thought it was a great spot until a huge tree blocked our entire line of sight. we thought the fireworks would be over the castle but they are lower. In contrast the view from tomorrowland terrace dessert party is awesome!

Anywhere a tree is in the way.

When Wishes first came out, they let us watch from directly behind the castle. I think they rope it off now. I felt like I was in the line of fire. We were covered in ashes. But it was intense.

We watched them from behind the castle once, and it wasn't great. Most of them were exploding behind us and there were way too many trees in the way.

At home!

Standing in the middle of Main Street can be both the best and worst. We like to stand there and watch on our last night because that is where we watched it the first time and it carries for us a nostalgia value. But it can be the worst spot because of crowding and people walking right in front of you and stopping or putting a child up on their shoulders right in front of you.

Behind that guy who always gets in ZapperZ's way

TRUE!
I can't see a thing from the middle of Nebraska!

Nor from southern NH.

Ha this was totally my first thought too! Anywhere actually IN the Magic Kingdom has to be better than my attempts to watch it from my Michigan living room (well, I've never actually attempted...too many people might laugh at me... )

right on, mrhub! The view from my living room is absolute garbage! I do watch them on YouTube now and then (ok probably about once a week...), but it's just not the same.

The tree blocked views are pretty bad and they're sneaky because you think you've managed to snag some great last minute spot that no one else thought of and all of a sudden you realize why that great bridge spot with a wonderful view of the castle was still open. Not sure how many more times I need to make that mistake before I figure it out!

I wasn't crazy about the view from Top of the World lounge because like Kristen said, the angle is weird as most of the charges are actually set off from well behind the castle. (You can sort of make out the images from Celebrate the Magic which is a cool bonus over other resort viewing locations like the beach at Polynesian) It was a cool experience and I would go back for me just because it was neat to be that high up overlooking everything. I would definitely not take someone who had never seen Wishes before because I feel like it loses some of it's magic when you can see where all the charges are being set off from.

IMO it is designed to be viewed from in front of the Castle. The best places are, the hub, Main Street, the train station,the TTC. Any views from an angle, while maybe comfortable and convenient, are inferior. IMO fireworks must have an object in the foreground or background for reference and perspective. Nothing is better than the Castle for that purpose. Also viewing from the Hub, with the throng around you (including the dreaded shouldered brats and Brazilian tour groups), lends the spectacle a sense of community and drama. And the music is indispensable to the experience.

And then after, you can go on rides. No rides in my living room except the recliner.

On a side note, we were told by a Disney CM tour guide that Disney detonates $12,000 worth of fireworks every night for Wishes.

wow- I would have thoght more than that. They must get a quantity discount.

Ken, I've been trying to track down this info--thank you! I asked the CM who led our Keys to the Kingdom Tour and from his response, I'm not sure if he didn't know or if he wasn't allow to tell us.

I think it was on the Backstage Magic tour that we were told this. We were also told that Disney deals almost exclusively with one supplier and they do indeed get a huge discount. Then again, I can't think of any other company that would use more fireworks in a given day and 7 days a week at that.

Apparently, it's one of the few aspects that Disney farms out to a third party. They make practically everything else in their shops just north of MK. We toured the shops as part of Backstage Magic. It's a pricey tour, but well worth doing at least once.

I agree Colonel, and then when you add in Illuminations along with the propane budget for the inferno barge, and Fantasmic, I would wager that their nightly Pyrotechnics display budget is considerably more.

The 12K was for JUST the fireworks for Wishes only. If you include all the shows and effects at all parks, it is certainly much more.

Watching from a private boat on Seven Seas Lagoon is an awesome way to watch the fireworks. We do it pretty much once every trip. Music piped in , no crowd to deal with, refreshments on hand and a perfect view. Yes its chilly now and then, but nothing a blanket and woman to cuddle with can't fix.

And I still say the worst spot is AT HOME!

Just realized something funny--According to a recent WDWFG article by Traci C. and this newly acquired information from Ken, Disney blows up more money during Wishes every year ($4.38 million) than they spend on Iger's base salary ($2.5 million).

Base salary is a minor part of his compensation. Iger made $27mm with incentives. He probably wouldn't get out of bed for a mere $2.5mm

Oh don't get me wrong, I know that the Wishes budget is only a little over 10% of Iger's total compensation for last year. I just think it's funny that the fireworks guys could say to Iger, "hey, you know that little base salary you get? yeah...we blow up almost 2x's that much money per year..."

Does anyone have rough figures on the cost of Illuminations and/or Fantasmic?

Well the propane is about $800 a shot. They use 400 gallons a show and lowest they could get it for now is probably around $2 per gallon.

Not sure if this has been mentioned. One year we stopped to watch Wishes in MK and thought what better view was from Sleepy Hallows by the bridge. OMG. I couldn't be more wrong. The tree's absolutely blocked the view. Darn. We don't do fireworks or parades any more. When you have seen all of them once, they really don't change much.