Fireworks time and place...

[Cadaverous Pallor]

An evening of cuddling with my husband at Disneyland, not bad

[innerSpaceman]

The theatrical value of the show is not based on the percentage of elements that you can see, but rather on the spatial arrangement of those varied elements. No one can deny the splendor of the prime viewing spot, nor reasonably conclude that the show was not designed to be viewed from there. Such elements as the Indy section and the Haunted Mansion section cannot even be decently experienced if you are outside the Hub, and many other sections are vastly improved by having a view of the Castle and way of viewing the multi-depth pyro effects "through" each other akin to a multiplane camera shot.

There are wonderful other spots. The roof of the parking garage gives you a sideways view the reveals how the show is accomplished. it's a small world has a separate set of projections and is very close to the main pryo. The train station has a great overall view, and the laser effects are at their most prominant. The parade cross near Coke Corner also provides a great overall view with minimal camping time. The Casey Jr. area requires some moving around during the show to see various elements, but has the absolute closest proximity to the main pryo. And the tiny area between Dumbo and Monstro offers a wonderful sensurround view that's really close to Tinkerbell, really close to the main fireworks, and has views of the Matterhorn and the rear of the Castle (which they show-light even though the area is closed off). During Indy, it looks as if Toad Hall is burning!


None of them hold a (roman) candle to THE SPOT in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. With wait times down to two-and-a-half hours, it's a bargain.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I thought the show was nearly as good from many different spots, but then I was treated to THE spot again at the Snowflake meet. I'm now a true believer in THE spot.

Hope you can make it,

[Prudence]

THE spot rocks! I'd totally wait there again. I'd be willing to put in the time, but I'd probably have to let my lame firework-avoiding spouse go wander.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

An evening of cuddling with my husband at Disneyland, not bad

I know I enjoyed it.

[Isaac]

I'll be watching them from the balcony of the Jazz Kitchen, as usual.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

I know I enjoyed it.

I must be the luckiest woman in the world, since all gay men want my husband.

I miss zapppop already.

[Kevy Baby]

See spot run

[Ghoulish Delight]

Damn.

Well, I grabbed the spot at approx. 6:10. Curb of the hub, dead center. It was beautiful. CP joined me a half hour later, blanket in hand. Moonliner stopped by around 7:30 to say hi, went off for a couple more attractions, came back, bought some treats, and we hung out until iSm showed up around 9. At 9:15, 3 balloons were released...all three went about as straight vertical as I've ever seen. We actually commented that perhaps the air was too calm and we'd be watching the show through a thick layer of smoke.

Then the show started...first off, crowd control had left a walkway along the sidewalk on the castle side of the street. And it remained open as the show started. This meant that the people up front who were right behind the walkway had to stand up to see. We futilely tried to get them to sit down, but it was no use, especially when the CM came by and told them all to stand up. Bugger. So we stood up to watch. Not a big deal (though definitely less indulgent than lounging), but puzzling none-the-less.

Aaanyway, as the show started, we instantly noticed things were a bit off. A lot of the pyro, most noticeble the shooting stars, seemed kinda low. The stars weren't even making it all the way across. The Mickey was waaaay off. Then, bizarrely, the skull projection on the Matterhorn was aimed low and to the right, until someone apparantly got over there and shoved the projector back into place (the Mara projection just before had been aimed just fine).

But the real disappointment came at the end of the interlude between Pirates and Fronteirland. About 2/3 of the way through the interlude, the pyro suddenly became very sparse...and then non-existent. The Davy Crocket theme came on, but zero action in the sky. Finally, the music came to an abrupt halt, a minute later the castle lighting changed, and finally the announcement was made.

Here's the odd part, the annoucement was the "Due to winds at higher elevations" announcement. Ummm, everybody kinda simultaneously looked up at the huge cloud of smoke that was barely crawling across the sky. And then, as if some CM were thinking exactly what we were thinking, one more wind-testing balloon was released from behind the castle. We watched as it once again went up, straight as an arrow. Winds at higher elevations my ass (I don't care what a certain crawfish-hating CM told us about 'sudden wind shift').

What a tease for poor Moonliner. I guess it's good that they at least got to see half of the show rather than it getting canceled outright, but it's still disappointing.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

We were soooo bummed for Moonliner and his wonderful daughter.

They'll be back at the park today, set to see Fantasmic, so we told them to stay put at their Fantasmic spot so they could see the fireworks from there. But we had the spot, damnit!

Anyway, it was fun hanging out with them and hearing about their day. Moon's daughter is a smart kid who has a full-on Disney education. How many kids living on the east coast know where Walt's Apartment is? They had a great day. At least that!

After the fireworks cancellation we ran into a certain crowd control CM who gave us Honorary Disneyland Citizen stickers to make it all better.

Ironically, after everyone stood up to watch, we were thinking of making a beeline to City Hall to complain about that...but when the fireworks quit we knew we were going nowhere near that place.