Why I Oughta...

Some of the best fireworks at Walt Disney World are clearly New Year's Eve.  And  we've seen those from our room at the Polynesian Village Resort .  I posted about that experience  here  and  here .   That show has ruined me for just about any other fireworks show .   The second best?  Might be Hallowishes that they put on during  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party .   We went to the party one night, but we also were staying at the Grand Floridian during another night that they hosted the party and we did not attend.  We did, however, head down to the pier to catch the show from near the water and it was pretty great.  Perimeter fireworks were still great - not quite as great as being dead-on from the Polynesian - and light up the waterfront.  There was a small crowd down on the end of the pier, but we stayed next to Narcoossee's and were able to enjoy them all by ourselves.   We've experienced the various fireworks shows from Bay Lake Tower, but

If you find yourself down by the Seven Seas Lagoon on New Year's Eve, go down to the beach at the Polynesian and plant yourself.  On December 31st, they do a show early at 7 pm, then another show at Midnight.  If you're staying Club Level at the Polynesian, they set up a little seating area with wooden chairs that give you a really great view. These photos don't do the show justice, because they launch what they call 'perimeter fireworks'  so the view isn't just straight ahead, but feels like the entire horizon between the Grand Floridian and the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary.  And during the Midnight show, they also launch fireworks from this middle island in the middle of Seven Seas Lagoon.  Yeah...that one that the ferry boat goes by every time?  That one. The kids didn't make it until Midnight, but Nat and I did.  Here's a look at what we saw from our balcony in the Hawaii building.  We snapped a few photos, but there was no substitute fo

Sure... the phone and internet guide featuring Walt is cool, but you know what is REALLY cool about the Disneyland Hotel?  The headboards.  Yeah...the headboards. That photo above is what they look like when you've turned off all the lights in the room but keep the headboard light up.  When you push a button, there's a music box sound of the song 'When you wish upon a star' and the fireworks flicker a bit. Here's a video on YouTube of it happening on someone's visit . This was a total delight for not just my kids but also for Nat and I.  I can't tell you now many times I hit the button to make the song go on and have the board light up.  This is just another one of those little touches that make strong memories for me at Disney. But...it also speaks to the details they've put into the Disneyland Hotel rooms. We listen to Pete Werner and the gang on the Dis Unplugged and Pete just raved about the rooms at the Disneyland Hotel .  After that ep