fireworks cancelled

[never2muchdisney]

Friday, April 14: the only day of our four day trip that it rained. It rained hard most of the afternoon, and sprinkled off & on during the evening, with a bitter breeze all day.

The fireworks show was scheduled to start at 9:25pm. The crowds start packing into Mainstreet at 8:00pm.

All the cast members working on Mainstreet between 8:00pm - 9:24pm were asked the same question every twelve seconds by hundreds of different guests, "Are the fireworks going to be cancelled." Their friendly response: "There will be an announcement over the park system as to the status of the fireworks. A committee will make the final decision as to whether the show will go on."

9:25pm: announcement over the park system
"Due to high winds, the fireworks will be delayed."

9:35pm: announcement over the park system
"Due to the high winds, the fireworks show will be cancelled this evening."

9:36pm: The crowd groans. 40% of the children start crying. 60% of the crowd starts heading towards the exit gates, grumbling with disappointment after fighting the wet weather all afternoon. 100% of the show performers, employees, and park guests were safe from any injuries cased by blowing fires, sparks, and cables.

9:37pm: Wrote down another grand day at Disneyland, even in the rain.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I love your report.


I just picked up my dd & her friend from Disneyland, and she was in another part of the park tonight & wasn't sure if the fireworks went off or not since she didn't hear or see anything. It was breezy, so I'm not sure if they went off today, either.

 

[CamColt]

Great Post! You certainly have the Disney attitude.

 

[Janomi]

The resort plans seemed to have issues yesterday (4/16). The Main Street Electrical Parade started late (about 20 minutes), and even with the delay, certain costumes and floats had defective lights, making whole panels dark. After the parade, the mad rush to get into DL ensued. Unfortunately, when lots got inside (including me!), people were leaving the park. So much for the fireworks! Still had a blast and enjoyed the night at DLR. Sorry to those who weren't able to watch the fireworks!

 

[LucyKate]

I suspect it's not the employees at risk from fireworks, but guests and surrounding residential areas, as high winds would make it hard for them to predict where the debris might come down.

But they do seem to have a bias towards cancelling them - 2 of the 4 nights we were there they were cancelled. Once night it as a little bit damp, but no wind that I noticed or even saw on the flags. The other night there was a bit of breeze, but nothing strong.

 

[taeja71]

sorry about the rain.

 

[CMsWife]

You're right, LucyKate. My DH is one of the cast members who works the Remember show. He's one of the guys who sends Tink out of the top of the Matterhorn for her flight over the castle. If winds are blowing to the south at as little as 5 mph, they'll cancel the show because that will put the fireworks fallout mostly over Main Street and Disneyland patrons (not good, clearly). It can blow up to 12 mph if the wind is going north before they'll cancel, and up to 10 mph if blowing east or west because the fallout will likely go towards the freeways or other non-problematic areas. He says there are a lot of variables, though...and they're not gonna let the show go on if there is even the *slightest* risk of anything going wrong, obviously. They send up a few balloons before the show to test the winds and, if you're observant, you can see them as they let them go (they're usually white balloons, though, and can get lost in any clouds pretty quickly). It's an awesome show, though, when it does go on!

 

[dletz]

You're right, LucyKate. My DH is one of the cast members who works the Remember show. He's one of the guys who sends Tink out of the top of the Matterhorn for her flight over the castle. If winds are blowing to the south at as little as 5 mph, they'll cancel the show because that will put the fireworks fallout mostly over Main Street and Disneyland patrons (not good, clearly). It can blow up to 12 mph if the wind is going north before they'll cancel, and up to 10 mph if blowing east or west because the fallout will likely go towards the freeways or other non-problematic areas. He says there are a lot of variables, though...and they're not gonna let the show go on if there is even the *slightest* risk of anything going wrong, obviously. They send up a few balloons before the show to test the winds and, if you're observant, you can see them as they let them go (they're usually white balloons, though, and can get lost in any clouds pretty quickly). It's an awesome show, though, when it does go on!

Thats what we do, we look for the test balloons. We always know if they are going to cancel them or not before the announcement.

Also I've seen the fireworks in low cloud cover (like after a rainstorm) and it's really a waste of money for Disney to shoot them off. You can't see any of the actual fireworks, but rather the whole sky lights up different colors. Interesting experience, but the last time that happened to us, the next night was the same way, and they didn't even bother having them.