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EeyoreAdorer
12-28-2003, 07:06 AM
I'm taking my daughter to DL to celebrate her 18th birthday during the the New Year's Holiday, including of course NYE. I've heard it's really packed at that time, so I guess you could say that I really love my daughter ;) !!

I've heard various suggestions for the best spot to view the fireworks. But, does anyone know the best spot for the fireworks and all the pre-fireworks that I've heard about? Is Main Street really "not the place to be"?

I'm not sure if I'll ever be going to DL at this time of year again, so I would like to experience all that I can with my daughter this time.

Do they have any kind of special seating like they do for the Fantasmic show?

I'd appreciate any little tidbits of advice that I can get. We're complete Disneyphiles, but this will be a whole new experience for us. :)

CoasterMatt
12-28-2003, 06:50 PM
Hey there,

My wife and I go every year, it's really quite a blast. I don't know if I'd recommend the "style" of our visit to everybody, but we get to the park for opening, and don't head home till they're kickin' everybody out. The biggest thing is, head there NOT expecting to ride much of anything at all. Head there to spend time having fun with friends and/or family, and when things get a little too hectic for you, head some place a little quieter (one of our favorite spots to take a break during the day, is the lower level of Hungry Bear restaurant) - in previous years, we've brought card games, board games, and trivia games for something else to do. For riding, get fastpasses when you can, and take advantage of single rider lines at Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones. If you can endure, Fantasyland close to closing can be quite fun. I might be semi-easy to spot this year - just look for a lunatic wearing a leopard print jacket, and his wonderful wife with a monkey on her back. Feel free to say hi, and have fun.

As for the big countdown, my wife and always head for the front of the castle, pretty early, because that's the cool spot where you can see the big countdown clock, and the start of the fireworks is simply stunning...

Morrigoon
12-28-2003, 07:03 PM
My best friend and I made the mistake of heading to the castle about an hour before midnight. We got stuck on the bridge from Frontierland, with no one in front of us moving, and more people pushing from behind. It was at least an hour after midnight before we could move. The lady next to us kept asking her kid if he could breathe (that's how pressing the crowd was).

Nope, I do not try to be on Main Street for the countdown. If I did, I would probably take the train from some other part of the park and be happy with whatever part of Main St I got to.

EeyoreAdorer
12-28-2003, 07:09 PM
Thanks CoasterMatt,

I had planned on packing a game or two for our hotel room during down time (haha). I can just stick one in my purse to carry to the park. What a great idea!! The lower level of the Hungry Bear "is" usually pretty quiet :). We can always plan our ride-time for the other days. It should be quite an experience.

I will keep an eye out for your leopard print jacket. I'll be wearing a jean jacket with a cream scarf during the day and a black jacket with a lavendar scarf at night; my daughter will be wearing a black sweater or jacket and has curly black hair that goes on for days (lucky girl). I guess those will be our only really distinguishing items. If I see you, I'll definitely say "Hi".

Thanks again for the advise. It really helps alot. My daughter is counting down the minutes now, and is driving me nuts ;) Who'd know that she was going on 18?!

TrekkieDad
12-28-2003, 07:35 PM
We'll be driving down from Norcal that day and arriving around noon. The only place we intend to be for certain is the Fantasmic! buffet for the 12:05am show. Guess we'll be counting down from the balcony.

I have no idea what we'll be wearing other than the khaki fedora that goes everywhere with me when traveling. (Think Indiana Jones.)

The following day we have lunch "reservations" at the Blue Bayou.

TD

mystycalchyk
01-04-2004, 10:02 AM
Originally posted by CoasterMatt
I might be semi-easy to spot this year - just look for a lunatic wearing a leopard print jacket, and his wonderful wife with a monkey on her back. Feel free to say hi, and have fun.



Ohmygosh, that was YOU?! I saw you, I talked to you, I just didnt know it was you. cool.

EeyoreAdorer
01-05-2004, 07:21 AM
Thanks all for the advise.....

My daughter and I took the Monorail from DTD and went to check out the area in front of It's a Small World around 9:30 pm on NYE. We slowly worked our way towards the "stage" area where the two emcees were hosting (along with various DL castmembers).

We read earlier that Dick Clarks Rockin NYE would have a camera on this area at various times during the night. We had originally planned on being at the Hub for NYE, but once we got to IASW, we ended up staying.

I am so glad we did!! We ended up close enough to be on camera (and on TV) a couple of times during the night. My husband, who had opted to stay home for this trip, called me on my cell around 12:30 to say that he saw us on Dick Clarks Show!! :cool: My daughter is hoping that some of her classmates saw her (she's gloating big time). Of course, it would be great if some of my friends saw me, too. ;)

All in all, it was a great trip. DL was packed for NYE, but it was sooo much fun, and I am totally exhausted. The rain on Fri. was a bit of a bummer. But the sun on Sat. made up for that.