I’ve had a photo with this info up on Flickr for awhile, but that service seems to be going sideways today now that they’ve changed their policy on storage. So, just copying that info here where it will probably be easier to access anyway.
Map of Where we sat for Happily Ever After fireworks in Magic Kingdom
First Some Notes
HEA was scheduled for 9:00PM that night.
TP CL estimate was a 7, (actual ended up being a CL 8.)
(Was a very slightly drizzly, so may have kept some people away, but the hub was pretty full by the show.)
If I were using this technique again on a similar day and crowd level, I would probably get to the hub (with snacks and drinks) by 7:45PM to insure I got that railing spot, if at all possible.
May 2019 Update: Just wanted to throw in here that several reports on TP chat over the last few months have said they’ve arrived somewhere around 75 minutes before HEA on CL 6 to 8 days and found that the railing spots were mostly (if not completely full.) So, you may want to check in over there before a trip for more up to date reports, or just block out some extra time to be there.
I think for me, a 90 minute wait in that spot makes it a little less appealing to me - although if I consider that down time to be a well-earned rest in the middle of an awesome day, I suppose I’d be good. Plus, I love HEA.
The Theory
Get to the hub early enough to score a spot standing directly behind the rail of one of the hub gardens. It is valuable real estate for a clear view of the HEA fireworks AND castle projections.
Because the ground slopes forward you don’t have someone standing in front of you for at least 15 feet, so you get a clear view of the castle even for little ones. Also, if some guy on the other side of the garden decides to hold his 73" iPad Pro over his head or hoist his 6-foot-tall 3-year-old wearing a Goofy Hat onto his shoulders in front of you, the view still should be fine.
While I didn’t mark multiple spots on this map, you can obviously choose to stand on the back rails of any of those hub gardens.
There may be some light fixtures to work around, but in my experience they become semi-invisible to your brain once the show starts.
See our view of the castle from this spot about 45 minutes before the show in this photo.
You can see what the crowd looked like about 15 minutes before the show here.
A video I took that night is on The YouTube here.
Yes, I sometimes take my own videos of shows even though people make careers of posting 4K surround sound videos online.
In the future, my family can watch a recording of the exact show we were at and hear their own responses while reminiscing with tears in their eyes "Oh, Dad, you Disney geek. You lugged that camera everywhere. and now we have documented evidence of all the fun that was had and minor infractions we committed that annoyed you so."
