The Best Places to Watch Magic Kingdom’s Fireworks… Other than Main Street

Watching the fireworks at Magic Kingdom can be the perfect end to your day at the park, but dealing with the crowds on Main Street and in the hub can be pretty stressful. Fortunately, there are a lot of great places both inside and outside the Magic Kingdom to view Wishes, HalloWishes, and Holiday Wishes where you can completely avoid the Main Street crowds.

Inside Magic Kingdom

In Front of Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland

I discovered this great viewing spot by accident. We had a 9:15 reservation for dinner at Be Our Guest, and they were running a bit behind. While we waited outside the bridge to Be Our Guest, Wishes started. To my surprise, most of the fireworks get shot off behind Beast’s Castle. Thanks to a brilliant bit of planning by Disney, Beast’s Castle provides a great view of the fireworks. Some of the fireworks still get shot off from Cinderella Castle, which is behind you if you are looking at Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland. I actually enjoyed this, as it makes the experience of the fireworks surround you in a really cool way. Thanks to the great view, this spot is my second favorite place in the park to watch the fireworks.

Liberty Square

Liberty Square provides some great views of the fireworks, especially because the fireworks appear behind the Hall of Presidents. Very patriotic. Also, you can still see part of Cinderella Castle from this view, which is a nice bonus. My personal favorite spot to watch the fireworks in Liberty Square is between the Riverboat entrance and the Liberty Bell replica. I find that’s far enough back to get a good view of everything. Almost every time I’ve watched the fireworks from here, there’s a very small crowd gathered around. It’s fairly easy to run over to Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain or Big Thunder afterwards to go on those rides with minimal lines.

Between Cosmic Ray’s and the Tomorrowland Speedway

Another spot I stumbled upon on a recent trip to Disney World. Right before the fireworks, I thought that the area next to Tomorrowland Terrace by the Tomorrowland entrance would be a great spot for watching the fireworks. After all, this was right next to the Fireworks dessert party. Must be a great place to watch, right? I was so very wrong. It got pretty crowded, and the view was almost completely obstructed (I’m sure the view inside the dessert party is much better). Defeated, I decided to walk through Tomorrowland to get away from the crowds. Once I got to the area between Cosmic Ray’s and the entrance to the Tomorrowland Speedway, I stopped because I suddenly had a really nice view of the fireworks. This definitely is not as picturesque as the last two locations, but if you just want to see the fireworks and avoid crowds, this is a good option.

Outside Magic Kingdom

California Grill (Contemporary)

If you dine at California Grill, you can get a spectacular view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the top of the Contemporary. They even pipe in the music. Also, you don’t need a reservation near the time of the fireworks. My sister recently had dinner at the California Grill at 5:30, went into the park for a few hours, and returned to watch the fireworks at 9:30.

The Beaches of the Polynesian Village Resort

Another personal favorite spot. For me, it’s become a birthday tradition to enjoy a Lapu Lapu at Kona Cafe and then watch HalloWishes from the beach of the Poly. This view is really great, as they sometimes shoot off fireworks around the lagoon that you wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate from inside the Magic Kingdom. This creates a really great panorama. If you get to the Polynesian’s beaches early enough, your party can grab a few beach chairs. Lounging while you watch the fireworks. What’s better than that?

Grand Floridian

If you are dining at Narcoossee’s, the restaurant offers some great views of the fireworks. If not, try viewing the fireworks from the boat dock at the Grand Floridian.

The TTC

Finally, an unlikely candidate for having great viewing of the fireworks. But the boat docks at the Ticket and Transportation Center are great for watching the fireworks. You’re all the way across the lagoon, but you can still get a good view of the castle and the fireworks behind it. Being so far away from the fireworks brings a different perspective, but it was also a great new way to watch Wishes.

That wraps it up for this list of alternate places to watch the Magic Kingdom’s Fireworks. Main Street is still a great place to watch the fireworks, and you also can watch the projection show Celebrate the Magic beforehand. However, I like to mix it up and try to watch from an alternate angle at least once during my Disney World trip.

What are some of your favorite places to watch the fireworks other than Main Street? Anything that isn’t on this list? Let me know in the comments below. I’ll be sure to update this article with any good suggestions from y’all.