That seems to be a fairly commonly asked question…and the short answer is yes, if you’re willing to accept a less-than-optimal fireworks view.
For those of you who aren’t as familiar with the Disneyland parks…at Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) Disney’s Electrical Parade (DEP) begins at 8:45, and the Remember fireworks at Disneyland (DL) start at 9:25. That’s a pretty tight time schedule, but since the two parks are right next to each other it’s quite easy to go between them, at least under normal circumstances.
On a recent Friday night visit Lee and I decided to try to see both shows. First step was to see the DEP from some place closer to the beginning of the parade (which starts at Paradise Pier) rather than the end – we chose a spot near the Golden Dreams Theater, which is right next to a walkway that goes around Grizzly Peak and past Soarin’ and then out to Sunshine Plaza. The last float of the DEP passed us at about 9:10, and we were off and running (well, ok, walking quickly, but many people tell us we might as well be running!). The parade was still going at Sunshine Plaza (it was about halfway through) when we scooted by and out the exit. (As we have Annual Passes we didn’t have to worry about handstamps.)
I don’t know if we just managed to get out early or if it just wasn’t very crowded that night (or maybe a little of both) but we arrived at the entrance to Disneyland and there were only a few people in line at the turnstiles – we walked into the park at 9:21 and found a spot on Main Street near the candy store which had a clear view of the castle. Unfortunately it turned out not to have a good view of the fireworks – they were going off to the left of the castle instead of over it, and our view was blocked by a big tree. 🙁 Oh well. We had a good view of all of the changing lights on the castle and were far enough back on Main Street to really appreciate the perimeter fireworks that go off from the buildings on Main Street.
So, you CAN see both the Electrical Parade and the Remember fireworks in one evening, but you have to plan it right and get a little bit lucky with the number of people who have the same idea…and you have to realize that you won’t get a great spot for the fireworks. As an alternative, we saw a number of people sitting in the Main Entrance Plaza between DCA and DL who were planning to watch the fireworks from there – but of course from there you can’t see the castle or hear the music. I’ve also heard that the Mickey and Friends parking structure has a good view of the fireworks – though it has the same lack-of-castle-and-music issue.
Laura
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