Remember Fireworks Viewing Guide

What follows is a detailed look at Disneyland’s new fireworks

show Remember… Dreams Come True. If you want to see the fireworks

in person with no preconceived notions or information, you should stop

reading now, or at least go no farther than the general overview.

General description and information

Remember… Dreams Come True is not a typical big fireworks

extravaganza. If all you want from fireworks are loud booms—and lots

of them—you may actually find yourself disappointed. And if it is

your first trip to Disneyland and you have not yet formed a bond with

a favorite ride, you may find yourself a bit disconnected.

This is because Remember… does two things, and does them very

well. First, fireworks are not used just to create a spectacle but to

put on a show, and second, it truly celebrates Disneyland and its history.

This show is not one that can just be transplanted to your local Fourth

of July celebration, or even to another Disney theme park. If you have

any kind of emotional bond with a particular Disneyland attraction, or

just Disneyland itself, you are going to find yourself clapping excitedly

at some point in the show.

If nothing else, you can just sit there in awe of the technical mastery

of launching gunpowder into the air and blowing it up to such marvelous

effect. For the next 18 months, giving up the time to see Remember…

should be assumed, and many people will find themselves blocking off that

time every night of their stay.

Currently, Remember…Dreams Come True is being performed nightly

at 9:25, and is just over 17 minutes long. The ambitious visitor could

watch the 7:45 p.m. performance of Parade of Dreams, get over to

Rivers of America for the 9:00 p.m. performance of Fantasmic, then

stay where they are to watch the fireworks.

The final section of this page gives detailed comparisons (link)

of several possible viewing locations around the park. Spoilers are given

in those, so if you just want to know where to go, here’s a recap:

• The Central Plaza (hub) – The show is very focused on

  being viewed from the hub, and specifically the front side of the hub

  in a spot with clear views of both Sleeping Beauty Castle and Matterhorn.

  The drawback is that to guarantee one of the ideal spots, you need to

  camp out well in advance—many people will camp out to watch the

  parade and then just stay—though you can take a chance on finding

  a spot right after the parade when things shuffle around a bit. Any

  later than that, and you are likely to get a spot more through rudeness

  than availability.

• Fantasmic seating – It will be easiest for many

  people to watch Fantasmic and then stay for the fireworks. If

  you do watch the first Fantasmic showing, there really isn’t

  much time to reposition for fireworks. Show effects local to the castle

  will generally not be visible, but it’s still a pretty good show. There

  are advantages and disadvantages to either end of the Fantasmic seating

  area, with neither side really winning out.

• Main Street Station – Park guests are allowed to watch

  the fireworks from the platform at Main Street Station for the Disneyland

  Railroad (though in a limited area). On our test night, it was possible

  to get a good spot in this location just 25 minutes before show time.

  Pretty much everything is visible from this location except for light

  projection effects on the castle. You are well away from the action,

  but the late availability and easy park exit may appeal to you.

You can see some portion of the fireworks from pretty much any publicly

available area of the park, and there are several other decent locations

that we will cover in the viewing guide at the end of this page (although,

again, spoilers abound in that section).

Areas of the park that are closed during the fireworks include:

• The walkway in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle
• Carnation Plaza and the walkway to the left of the castle
• Snow White’s Grotto (wishing well area) and walkway to right of castle
• The section of Matterhorn Way from where it forks behind Club Buzz

  to just before Alice in Wonderland (this includes the set of restrooms

  in that area)

• The area of Fantasyland behind Sleeping Beauty Castle back to the

  Sword in the Stone

• The restrooms behind Plaza Inn (pyrotechnics are launched from that

  area)

• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Snow White’s Scary Adventure
• Matterhorn
• Mickey’s Toontown (though generally it would be closed at this time

  anyway)

Detailed show description with spoilers

Spoiler alert – From this point on, this page is pretty much

one big spoiler. If you are avoiding spoilers, it is definitely time for

you to move on to another article.

What follows is a simple run through of the show’s many segments,

giving you a sense of how far into the show they occur and what generally

happens. If you are familiar with the show and just want to get to the

viewing location comparisons, click here. Note:

The segment names given are our own creation; presumably the show creators

have their own that differ from ours.

Segment 1: Julie Andrews introduction (00:45 into the show)

Julie Andrews begins the show by introducing herself and saying that

there was once a place where you could wish on a star. There are no fireworks

or effects other than lit castle.

Segment 2: “Wishes” (01:25 in)

Wishes music begins and continues with light ocassional explosions.

Segment 3: “When You Wish Upon a Star” (02:00 in)

A segment of the song, with marvelous star–shaped fireworks throughout.

Segment 4: Julie Andrew continuation (02:25 in)

Julie Andrews continues that 50 years ago a magical place was born,

and in this place lived friends who make dreams come true. Light fireworks

through this segment end around 02:45 with three large explosions forming

a well–shaped Mickey head.

Segment 5: Movie wishes (03:00 in)

Continuing on the theme of wishes, you hear audio clips from various

sources in which wishes are expresed, such as Pinocchio wishing to be

a boy, Ariel wanting to be on land, and Aladdin wishing Genie his freedom.

Light explosions throughout.

Segment 6: Tinker Bell’s flight (04:00 in)

Tinker Bell descends from the top of Matterhorn and, using new rigging, flies around the castle in various patterns. Towards the end of

this segment, light explosions begin. If you are in a location where Tinker

Bell cannot be seen, this will be dead time, except for some music.

Tinker Bell flies around the castle. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Segment 7: Walt’s dedication speech (04:25 in)

You hear audio of Walt’s speech dedicating Disneyland in 1955. Tink continues

flying throughout.

Segment 8: Main Street (05:00 in)

Tributes to Main Street begin with audio of Disneyland Railroad, ragtime

music, and the Main Street Electrical Parade. Explosions are themed to a train’s

smokestack, and you can see the parade’s iconic turtle in ball–shaped fireworks clusters.

Segment 9: Tiki Room (06:15 in)

Audio from the attraction accompanies a playful explosion, with more dramactic

effects towards end the segment once the gods have been angered by all

the celebrating.

Segment 10: Indiana Jones (07:00 in)

Audio from Indiana Jones Adventure begins with Mara projected on the Matterhorn.

Don’t bother trying to photograph this; instead, stay on the castle for

dramatic streams of flame from the castle turrets.

The Indiana Jones Adventure tribute includes flame effects. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Segment 11: Haunted Mansion (07:35 in)

Your ghost host asks if the room could possibly be shrinking, and the

highest effects of the show are launched from behind the castle and all

around the hub. If you are watching from somewhere behind the castle,

this may be the only time you want to turn around to see what is happening

behind you. For those at the castle, there are a lot of projections of

ghosts and spooky lighting on the castle walls. At almost two minutes,

this is the longest single ride segment in the show.

Ghosts project onto the castle for the Haunted Mansion segment of the fireworks show. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Segment 12: Pirates of the Caribbean (09:25 in)

This is by far the most dramatic segment, as the castle and Matterhorn engage

in a cannon battle. The effects are marvelous and tell a quick story of

battle with a satisfying climax for the segment. Stay on the castle for

the final exchange.

Segment 13: Wishes interlude (10:30 in)

There is a respite after the excitement of Haunted Mansion and Pirates

of the Caribbean.

Segment 14: Frontierland (11:15 in)

Audio for Big Thunder, Davy Crockett, and the shooting gallery starts.

Particularly during the shooting gallery sequence (11:45 in), great use

is made of synchronizing on–castle effects, sound, and lighting projections.

Segment 15: Mayhem [Critter Country/Fantasyland/ToonTown] (12:10 in)

At this point both Critter Country and Toontown seem to get covered,

but the audio is very quickly cut and the fireworks come fast and furious.

Although not in a sense of lots of powerful booms, lots of different types

are launched. The bouncing Tigger effect is amusing (though I thought

it was juggling until told otherwise) and the twirling sparklers on the

castle make for an interesting—if difficult—photo.

Twirling sparklers make quite a spectacle of the castle. Photo by Frank Anzalone.

Segment 16: Tomorrowland (13:50 in)

This is where the lasers come in, with audio of Submarine Voyage and

Adventure Through Inner Space with explosions reminiscent of molecules.

This seques into Star Tours and John Williams’ Star Wars score

opening the floodgates for some traditional big booms. The segment concludes

with a space battle, lots of lasers, and launches from all around the

hub.

Laser lights during the Tomorrowland sequence. Photo by Frank Anzalone.

Segment 17: Julie Andrews’ closing (15:40 in)

Julie Andrews returns to tell us how Disneyland has grown over the last

50 years and is loved by all.

Segment 18: Wishes finale (16:00 in)

Another Wishes interlude leads into the big finale at 17:05.

As far as big finales go, it isn’t all that impressive, but everything

that comes before makes up for it.

Viewing location comparison

On Saturday, May 8, MousePlanet gathered together willing staff members

and readers, and assigned them to various locations in the park to view

the fireworks show from different perspectives. Everybody except Sheila

Hagen had already seen them and knew what to expect and what they were

missing.

My thanks to Jeff Moxley, Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix, Tony Phoenix,

Sheila Hagen, David Michael, Tiffany Eliot, and Lisa for their assistance.

The following satellite image of Disneyland identifies the viewing locations

we used.

A satellite image of Disneyland Park is identified with labels noting

the locations where MousePlanet volunteers viewed the fireworks show.

Image courtesy of the USGS.

The largest fireworks in the show are all launched from an area behind

Mickey’s Toontown, and are generally launched to heights visible from

any area of the park with reasonably clear sightlines.

Being able to see Sleeping Beauty Castle is critical for laser effects,

as well as projections on the exterior of the castle. Other castle–oriented

effects include Tinker Bell’s flights, balls of flame, and launches from

around the Central Plaza (hub); while these are given context by the castle,

many can be seen from other areas of the park.

Matterhorn visibility is necessary to experience additional light projections

(such as Mara and a skull and crossbones) and the cannon battle during

the Pirates of the Caribbean sequence.

Ignoring all other considerations, such as wait time and crowd control,

the ideal viewing location is going to have clear views of the front of

Sleeping Beauty Castle, the south face of Matterhorn, and all the airspace

in between. If you have no other considerations, then viewing location

A is the only one for you. For everybody else, these comparisons should

help you determine if there is any other area of the park that will be

satisfactory.

Most show elements were evaluated on a scale of 0 through 5, with 0 meaning

it was completely unavailable at that location, and 5 indicating near

perfection.

Viewing Location A (Central Plaza hub)

Reviewers: David Michael, Jeff Moxley, Tony Phoenix, Alex Stroup,

Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix

On the actual group test night (May 8), nobody was actually in this location.

Many of the testers, however, had previously watched Remember…

from here and shared their comments. Before we get into the specifics,

let’s look at exactly what area we mean by Viewing Location A.

A very rough representation of the Central Plaza and its viewing differences. Image © MousePlanet.

Hopefully you’ll excuse the crudeness of this diagram. It certainly

doesn’t explicitly describe the Central Plaza (or “hub” as many

people call it), but it gets the point across. For those only passingly

familiar with Disneyland, the hub is the round area at the end of Main Street, immediately in front

of Sleeping Beauty Castle. This is where the Partners statue with Walt

Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands is.

To get to this area, you walk down Main Street from the main gates. From here, you can take any of several exits to Adventureland, Frontierland,

Carnation Garden (the band stage), walk through the Castle, take an alternate

route into Fantasyland, or go into Tomorrowland.

This Cental Plaza is the only place from which you can view every

element of the show. However, even this area is riddled with good spots

and better spots. Many trees in the area can block views of the Matterhorn,

higher firework effects, or parts of the castle. If you decide to go for

one of these spots, keep in mind what you will want to be able to see.

The safest bet is to just try for a spot at the top half of the hub, directly

in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

In the diagram, green represents areas where you should be able to camp

out as early as you want. Blue represents areas that are not available

until after the 7:45 edition of Parade of Dreams has gone through.

Finally, red indicates an area where you are never allowed to stop and

watch the fireworks, generally for crowd flow reasons.

Please keep in mind that this is a new show and crowd control policies

are subject to frequent changes that may not end up reflected in the

diagram. It is always best to try and speak to a cast member once you’ve

staked out a spot just make sure you won’t be rousted right before the

show begins (and even then it may happen anyway; try to roll with the

punches).

• Visibility of Castle projections: 5
• Visibility of effects surrounding hub: 5
• Visiblity of Tinker Bell’s flights: 5
• Quality of sound: 5
• Visibility of Stretching Room effect: 5
• Visiblity of laser effects: 4
• Visiblity of Matterhorn projections: 5
• Light pollution (1 means lots): 4
• Crowding (1 means lots): 1
• Crowd control: 2

Comments: The presence of laser effects are completely visible

from this location but being below them hides their shape, which is most

visible from Main Street Station (Viewing Location B). Generally all the

lights in the area of the hub that can be dimmed are, however some observers

were heard to comment that the King Arthur Carrousel lights were left

on and distracted those sitting in the street immediately in front of

the castle. As of May 7, attempts at crowd control in this area were valiant

but it was just a case of too many people trying to be in the same place.

To get this spot, you must either be patient (and get their very

early) or rude (show up late and force your way in).

Sample Photos

None in this section. Almost all the photos in this article up to this point were

taken from this location.

Viewing Location B (Main Street Station)

Reviewers: David Michael and Lisa

This viewing location is up at the top of the stairs for Main Street

Station for the Disneyland Railroad. This is an important distinction because the Main Street buildings will block many effects if you only stand at the

bottom of the stairs.

• Visibility of Castle projections: 1
• Visibility of effects surrounding hub: 3
• Visiblity of Tinker Bell’s flights: 4
• Quality of sound: 5
• Visibility of Stretching Room effect: 4
• Visiblity of laser effects: 5
• Visiblity of Matterhorn projections: 3
• Light pollution (1 means lots): 4
• Crowding (1 means lots): 5
• Crowd control: 4

Comments: For many people, this may actually be the best spot

from which to watch, though its quality will quickly

decline if it becomes popular. Many of the castle projections are too low to be visible and

then when they are, distance makes them hard to discern (as with the projections

onto the Matterhorn). Sound and light quality in this area was top–notch,

and it is actually the best spot for seeing the laser effects since the

elevated view gives a good angle. At least for now, it does not appear

that this location requires much camping, as it remained uncrowded until

after 9 p.m. If the fireworks are your last activity of the day, the quick

access to the exit is a definite plus. If you’re heading back in for

more rides, hopping on the train will bypass many of the crowds.

Sample Photos

Even with a fairly long lens, this location is not ideal for photography because of the ever–present flag pole. Photo by David Michael.

From this farther angle, the individual explosions in the Mickey head show some separation. Photo by David Michael.

From straight on and so far away, it is difficult to tell that this effect was launched from locations surrounding the Central Plaza hub. Photo by David Michael.

Viewing Location C (Innoventions)

Reviewer: Jeff Moxley

This little–known location was known for providing decent views

for previous fireworks shows. As with Main Street Station, it provides

an elevated view that removes buildings and trees from your sightline. If Innoventions

is closed, you can get to the location by walking up the building’s exit ramp. Cast

members made no effort to remove watchers from this location, either on

May 8 or during previous shows.

• Visibility of Castle projections:
• Visibility of effects surrounding hub: 3
• Visiblity of Tinker Bell’s flights: 2
• Quality of sound: 1
• Visibility of Stretching Room effect: 5
• Visiblity of laser effects:
• Visiblity of Matterhorn projections: 2
• Light pollution (1 means lots): 2
• Crowding (1 means lots): 5
• Crowd control: 0, none and not necessary