I thought the MK party with Plaza garden viewing was worth every penny. The week we were there, there were only 2 non-party nights. It took 25 minutes after fireworks for the hub to return to somewhat normal crowd conditions. It was just me and my 6-yr-old DD, so staking out a decent spot where she can see (I couldn't put her on my shoulders if I was comfortable being a jerk, which I'm not) is risky since she'd inevitably need to go to the bathroom just before they started. Instead of dealing with all that, we had some snacks and desserts, she played with some kids while we waited in the garden, then she twirled all around me while watching the fireworks since everyone either moved all the way up or to the back rail of the garden, leaving us with tons of space and a great view. The hub and main street looked like mass chaos.