A very nice debate!
Here's what I think: It's wonderful for parents to want to give their children the opportunity to look "over the crowd" and have the best view of any parade or fireworks. However, parents that stake out a great spot for themselves before hoisting their child up on their shoulders are being rude. Whether in the front or back of the crowd, the "shouldered" child will have a fantastic view. If a dad wants to increase his height to seven feet, he's going to have to do it in the back, just as a gracious seven-foot-tall person would step back and let shorter folks stand in front. I have a lot more respect for a dad who chooses to sacrifice his view for his child than one who chooses to sacrifice my view for both of them.

What MBC said.
Fantasmic has continued to pull immense crowds for the last 12 years - right up until this new fireworks show came about - and that's only because you a have to be in the hub to see this one.

As an adult, I like to be on the shoulders of children for the fireworks.

My opinion, who cares, their children, and yes the 7 and younger children do know what fireworks are and are most fascinated by them too. Its Disneyland for christs sake, the land designed for parents to take their kids to that the parents can enjoy as well. Sorry, but in my opinion, if you are an adult(18+) and without children, then you are really not the targeted market for Disneyland in the first place. But I guess its OK for a 2 to 3 foot kids view to be blocked so that all teh 30 somethings can have unobstructed views.

sorry for the possible snarkiness, seems I am in a pissy mood this A.M.

If you are so obsessed with making it kid-focused, then how about all the kids who are too big to be hoisted up on daddy's shoulders, or whose daddies aren't strong and able-bodied enough to lift them? And who at least saw SOMETHING over 6 foot heads, but whose view is utterly obliterated by 8 ft monsters?

Actually, those are the kids I feel sorry for. Those are the kids that are young enough to still be truly touched by magic, old enough to treasure the memories forever, too big to sit on shoulders, and too short to see.

[And gee, guess I'd better cancel those future travel plans. Didn't know I had to get knocked up to be a valued customer. Thanks for reminding me that I'm only important for my uterus.]

:shrug: while Disney is created for children of all ages, I believe that it is the youngest of the children(over 2 y.o.) that are most impacted by all things Disney. I know that the most impactful memories I have of visiting the parks are my earliest memories. Any visits to the parks for me now are just a trigger to remember those memories in more detail. So I truly believe anything that can enhance a young childs experience more has more value then my desire for the best views and will sacrifice my view for such an experience to be had.

I hear what you're saying. I've been to numerous kids-related shows (at Disney Parks and otherwise) where the policy is to let all of the youngsters up front in front of all of the adults. At the Pocahontas show at DAK, for example, the first several rows are reserved just for kids. That's cool.
I think that at any event that's geared toward kids (or even "children of all ages"), it's just plain courteous to allow wee ones to get in front of you.
However, if a kid's eyes need to be 7 or 8 feet off the ground to experience the show, the parent beneath the kid should step back and let the other children (and everyone under 7 feet tall) to see the darn show. Small kids in front, giant kids in back. Seems simple.
By the way, I'll bet that the current fireworks show, which appears to be nostalgia-based, is geared for grown-ups, too.

BINGO!

MAGNIFICATION anyone? Anyone under 20 would not know that reference. (Actually, probably 24 or so). And that's just one of the many.

Oooh! Perfect point! I wish I'd thought of that!

I'm finally going to weigh in on this and I don't like to. I think it's a topic that verges on trolling.

First off, most of us, when I run into you in the Park, have some kids around and manage to arrange the grown-ups in a way that the kids can see. Nobody hoists the kids up on their shoulders. If the view is slightly obstructed, it is for the adults as well. If little Johnny can't see the ducks projected on the Castle, that's life.

Second, this is a flawed show. Ever since Light Magic, they've had these shows that cause people to try to cram themselves into one specific area of the Park. It's fine for Fantasmic, but I dislike it for all the fireworks shows since "Believe."

Third, and lastly, STFU. When I was a kid, if we wanted to see the Electrical Parade without someone standing in front of us, we found a place on the curb around 7 PM. That's right, 7 PM, for a show that didn't begin until 9. Fireworks always followed immediately thereafter, you merely needed to step into the street and look toward the Castle. If you were at the end of Main Street, you could see Tinkerbell, if not, you didn't. Nobody's "magic" was destroyed.

I'm short (and fat, and proud of that), and so is my mom. For Mother's Day, we found ourselves a nice place to lean against the flowerbed railings on the Castle side of the hub. Everybody in front of us had to sit. If I could have gotten a place on the curb, I would have taken that. Is there anything preventing people from looking at the freakin' free map they got when they walked through the turnstile, asking a few castmembers some questions, and figuring out where they can, with their particular group's special needs, see the fireworks while causing minimal inconvenience for those around them?

Special note to the "entitled": Get a clue. Check your surroundings. If you're short, don't stand behind tall people. Find a family with a weelchair. Find other short people. Offer to let kids stand in front of you. Stop whining and ask the family of basketball players if it's ok to squeeze in front of them. Don't do it 5 minutes before the show, that's rude. If you really must see an unobsructed view of everything, do it the way other people do, and plan ahead. If someone is sitting on the ground, don't assume they're not going to stand up and suddenly block your view. Same with people who clearly haven't arranged space for their kids to see. Ask ahead, offer to trade places, or simply move.

I hope I've helped make your day more magical.