How and when do you find out if Fireworks, WOC and/or Fantasmic are cancelled due to winds/weather?

[thewelts]

We are heading to DL on Saturday for 3 nights (VGC). We have a BB F! dining package booked on Saturday (1st show) and WOC dessert party booked on Sunday.

I have read that show cancellations have been common with the fires and Santa Ana winds... How and when do you find out if a show is canceled?

 

[minnieralyks]

It's more likely that fireworks will be cancelled than Fantasmic or World of Color. It has to get pretty bad for either of those to get cancelled (not even in light rain does Fantasmic cancel). We were there this past weekend and the fireworks had been cancelled both Sunday and Monday and were cancelled the past 7 days prior. You'll find out about 15 minutes before, give or take. They'll get on and announce a possibility of not running due to "winds at higher altitudes" but to stay tuned. Then they'll come back on 10-15 mins later and say that they can not be presented due to winds. People will boo and hiss (as if it's Disney's fault there's wind, but that's a different topic entirely). Then there will be chaos from everyone trying to get to their destination after the fireworks. It's very much a routine!

If you're planning any nighttime entertainment, stick with Fantasmic. That's you're best bet.

 

[BayouQueen]

I also wondered how people know about the fireworks. We were also in the park this past Monday night and left early -- about 8:00 -- to head back to our hotel. We were surprised that thousands of others were also heading to the M&F tram at the same time. I told DH, "They must have cancelled the fireworks," but we sure never did hear any announcement that early. How the heck did everybody seem to know?

 

[chickapin parterre]

I always look at the palm trees, if they are swaying back and forth late afternoon at sunset, then a really good chance of no fireworks. You will never know until that 15 min time window. It would be interesting to take a poll on the % of WOC closures after a fireworks cancellations. My visits are four nights long and if I see the trees sway, I head over Radiator springs and take in the lights knowing I have other nights to catch the fireworks.

 

[minnieralyks]

I also wondered how people know about the fireworks. We were also in the park this past Monday night and left early -- about 8:00 -- to head back to our hotel. We were surprised that thousands of others were also heading to the M&F tram at the same time. I told DH, "They must have cancelled the fireworks," but we sure never did hear any announcement that early. How the heck did everybody seem to know?

We were there the same day. We had guessed, mostly because it had been cancelled the past 7 days previously and it continued to be windy higher up. We looked at the flag on top of the crane in future SWL and it was moving about continuously. We had high hopes and waited for about an hour, but they were ultimately cancelled. The low crowds after the fireworks got cancelled were incredible, though.

 

[22Tink]

We were there for a week in August and they cancelled the fireworks almost every night we were there. I don't remember there being any announcements or anything though. I just noticed the silence every night and assumed they were cancelled. One night they had fireworks but only for about 5 minutes. I remember commenting that was the shortest fireworks show ever and the CM I was chatting with said they probably decided not to continue. I was in line for BTMRR and was hoping for a ride during the fireworks! I don't think Fantasmic! or WOC were ever cancelled though, at least not on the nights we watched them.

 

[thewelts]

Yikes... it is not looking good for Saturday night (Dec 16) -- High wind warning for Saturday evening into Sunday.

Fingers-crossed for Fantasmic and hopefully fireworks!

 

[GatorChris]

Like they've said above, F! and WOC hardly ever get cancelled. F! has very low report with the fireworks, and no one's house ever burned down from giant water jets. Plus....With all those dining packages they sell for them, Disney will find ways to protect those shows.

As for Fireworks, you just never know. Often about 5-15 before the show, the voice-over will come on and say "Due to high winds, tonight's performance MAY be cancelled." The crew will continue to send up test balloons (mickey balloons that flash) until the very last minute. If it still looks bad, they announce the cancellation right at the start time. However, I've been there when they said they may cancel it, then actually start the fireworks show, and then cancel it 4 or 5 minutes into the show. So a cancellation can come at any time.

For reals, Fireworks at DL gives me anxiety. I just never know when they'll stop out of nowhere.

 

[ParkHopper1]

The presence of Santa Ana winds greatly increases the chances of fireworks cancellation. When winds blow from the ocean or the NW which is the prevailing winds, that keeps the fallout within the park perimeter. Since the launch site is right in the NW corner of the property, they have a VERY low threshold of winds aloft when the winds are blowing from the South or East as it causes the fallout to land outside the park which is not permitted.

As a pilot, I can tell ya ground indicators are not very relevant. Unless it is super gusty, what the winds do at the surface and just a few hundred feet up can vary drastically in speed and direction from the ground...which is why it is often not till the last seconds that they make a go/no go decision.

All of that is not just speculation...I got to do a lunch seminar with the DL Pyro team a few years ago at an industry event.

 

[Albort]

Yikes... it is not looking good for Saturday night (Dec 16) -- High wind warning for Saturday evening into Sunday.

Fingers-crossed for Fantasmic and hopefully fireworks!

weather is so unpredictable, the day my friend went, it says afternoon was suppose to be like 20+mph wind, night time was a nice 4-5mph wind... turns out, it was the other way around. haha

 

[rowan1813]

With the construction of SWL, I have started looking at the flags on the construction cranes to judge the possibility of fireworks canceling. When BFFs and I were there for MHP, it had been fairly breezy all day on the ground but I started watching the flags on the construction cranes - those things were whipping around like crazy!!!! I even told my friends to just be prepared that the fireworks would be canceled and sure enough, they were.

I have seen the expected fallout zone for the fireworks (where they are supposed to land with no wind) and it really is a very short distance away from the onstage portions of the park and the non-DLR sections of Anaheim. It's funny - in the fallout zone, there is a very large parking lot/structure for CM & TDA folks - there are signs reminding people that their vehicles need to be under cover an hour (I think?) before the start of the fireworks.

 

[pjhorton21]

Parkhopper1 nailed it - Santa Ana winds means no fireworks almost every time. Check the flags atop the buildings on main street; if they are blowing towards the entrance you are sunk. And even if they're not moving, there may still be winds higher off the ground that would blow the sparks towards the park. Late fall and winter are notorious for these winds.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can also check the local weather reports (e.g. abc7.com) for red flag warnings and forecasts for santa ana wind events. Those can give you some idea a few days in advance whether you will need a back up plan in case the fireworks get cancelled during your visit. These help us a lot when we need to prepare youngsters for the possibility that we may end up doing plan A or plan B.