Fireworks view and timing?

[Surgie2]

I know this has been discussed on many threads but I'm trying to decide if we want to pay for the Dessert Party Garden View (4 adults and 3 kids ages 7, 2 and 1) on a Thursday in late January.

We have just one park day and it's MK...we've reserved strollers for all (no judging on the 7 YO lol) so that we can make it a long day - hours are 9:00-8:00. Part of me wants to make it easy and know we have a reserved spot - the dessert is an afterthought really, having done this event two years ago. And part of me says save the money and find a spot on the street.

So my question is, how early would we have to be in place to find a spot with a view of the front of the castle for 4 adults with the City-Mini strollers in front of us?

 

[shocker]

I donno' a couple things to consider...

1) the more important it is to you...the earlier you should arrive. If you've seen the show, maybe multiple times, maybe you don't care if you watch from the backside in frontierland or if half your party is on one side of main st & the other half on the other side. If riding rides til last possible minute is more important with a side or back angle view not bothering you, then arrive later.

2) the time you wait does not necessarily correspond to the resulting view you get....MANY report having waited a LONG time to then have a large group of tall people or multiple shoulder kids arriving & taking residence directly in front of you.
OTOH, I was walking on the sidewalk just passing thru on the taped walkway & CM's were waving guests to walk forward on the middle walkway straight up the hub. They were pulling tape up & filling in every space at 5 min. before the show. My pics above are of front & center viewing with a 5 min wait...I'm fairly certain the guests 5 feet on my right or left maybe having waited hours had the same view as me (or worse someone 200 feet behind me), wouldn't have been happy that I got this view with a 5 min wait.

Mostly, its a decision your party should decide ahead of time & stick with your plan. If a less than desirable view or arriving earlier isn't for your group, Disney would much rather you be convinced you need to pay for a good view.

 

[Surgie2]

Thanks for your input. Yes if it were my husband and myself, we’d find a spot on Main St last minute and enjoy what we could see. We did this last year and though we couldn’t see the projections well, we had done the garden dessert party the previous year and had a great view.

But with our 7 YO granddaughter who has only seen fireworks from the Poly beach and from far back on Main St, I’m thinking we might spring for the dessert party mostly for her benefit. I guess we’d have the 24 hour cancellation if we want to reserve and think about it some more.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The MK dessert parties have a 5 day cancellation period, not 1 day. They are different than the other park parties. FYI.

 

[Surgie2]

The MK dessert parties have a 5 day cancellation period, not 1 day. They are different than the other park parties. FYI.

Oh thanks for that information!

 

[instlouis]

In late January, I would say it is pretty much a wash IMHO. You would normally arrive at the dessert party about an hour or so before the fireworks. If you went and staked out a spot in the hub an hour before the show, you can get a decent spot.