Walt Disney World Vacation - Disney Shows

What part of the “World” is the most enchanting?  Well, the Magic Kingdom, of course!  Few who visit it are disappointed; you can’t help but have a smile on your face when you’re there (unless you’re there during one of the busiest times and the crowds are ridiculous and all the lines for the rides are two hours long.)  That wasn’t the case for us during our recent visit (last week of April 2010).  I don’t think it could have been a more perfect time to go.

We arrived on a Tuesday and left on a Friday, thereby skipping the two busiest days there, Monday and Sunday.  We started out at around 4:30 in the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed no waits for any ride – we nearly went on all the rides on our “must-do” list!

The following morning we arrived before the park opened for a breakfast reservation in the castle and were back out into the park at ten minutes after its official opening time.  Again, there were no lines anywhere.  We were able to ride most things twice because my girls wanted to go “again, again!” 

We returned to our resort (we rented a cabin at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground) around 2pm and rested up until dinner, which was at 6pm at 1900 Park Faire, in the Grand Floridian resort. After dinner, we hoped on the monorail and returned to the Magic Kingdom and set up camp near the entrance, facing down Main Street USA toward the castle at around 7:30pm, one and a half hours before “Wishes”, the fireworks spectacular.

“Wishes” is an incredible pyrotechnic extravaganza that is presented most nights when the Magic Kingdom is open after dark.  It’s a huge, truly eye-popping fireworks show that is set to music and narrated by Jimmy Cricket.  It is one of the biggest fireworks shows every presented in the park.  Although this dynamite (pun intended!) show can be seen from many vantage points, the ideal location for viewing is from Main Street, U.S.A. as the fireworks surround the castle, which constantly changes colors and the view is incredible.  I’m told that this show goes on rain or shine.  Easily a favorite, must-do show for most visitors. 

The show lasted about 15 minutes, and we decided to stick it out another 45 minutes for the SpectroMagic parade, especially since it started right about where we were and our front-row seats were too good to give up!  The girls, three- and five-years old, handled it quite well, even though it was already nearly two hours past their normal bedtime.  We were not the only ones (duh!) claiming our parade spots, and there was a nice couple from the UK next to us who had a small girl and boy who quickly became our girls’ new best friends – thank goodness they entertained each other during the long wait. 

We didn’t want to miss the Spectro Magic parade, which has gotten rave reviews and is on nearly everyone’s must-see list. Its predecessor, the Main Street Electrical Parade, can be seen now at Disneyland’s California Adventure, in Anaheim, California. The SpectroMagic parade uses some 600,000 mini light bulbs together with fiber-optic cables and threads to light up everything from the characters’ hair to the petals on the floats’ daisies, and everything in-between. The parade moves in perfect concert with changing light colors and sound effects to a musical score.

This Disney parade follows the traditional parade route at Disney, starting at Main Street, U.S.A. and going to Frontierland and back. You can find great viewing locations anywhere along the route, but it gets crowded early, so you should plan on staking your spots at least forty-five minutes prior and up to an hour and a half before it starts.

Also, if the park will be closing right after the parade, be aware that the funnel of people exiting after the parade will be huge and it could take an hour just to get out of the park – that’s why we chose to stake out our sports near the entrance/exit.

The parade started by us, so not only were we able to get out quickly, but there weren’t hundreds of people pushing us out because they were still waiting for the parade to get to them!

Thanks for visiting my (mostly pictures) hub. I hope that if you plan on visiting the "World", you find something here useful. I definitely recommend the nighttime shows if your plans allow; you won't be disappointed!