Hi Elaine!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Kudos to you for making those advanced dining reservations. My family adores
The Crystal Palace!
If you want to watch the fireworks before your dining reservation, I suggest that you check-in right at 8:10 p.m. On past visits, we had to wait a few minutes to get seated even when we had a reservation. If you check-in early, however, you run the risk of actually being seated early. It all depends on the crowds and service at the restaurant on the day of your visit. With that said, while you wait to be seated, you can wait just outside of the restaurant!
I will say that it normally gets very crowded before and at fireworks time, so be sure to be near the restaurant when you need to check-in. Although you should be able to see some of the show from just outside of the restaurant, your view could be obstructed by the many people in front of you. And, even though there are window tables in the restaurant, there is no guarantee that you could get seated at one of those tables and, even if you did, there could be folks blocking the view on the outside. Having said that, our party of four has generally been fortunate enough to be seated at a window table when we have dined at The Crystal Palace!
If this is your first time seeing the
Happily Ever After fireworks, I would suggest that you see them from directly in front of Cinderella Castle. About an hour prior to the show, we always grab a spot right before you walk onto one of the walkways to go through the castle - in our experience, there has been a Cast member with the walkway roped off but we have been able to stand near that area. Although
advanced dining reservations can be difficult to get, you may be able to modify that reservation to just after the fireworks so that you can catch the full show.
Elaine, I trust you will make the best decision for your family. The show is AMAZING!
Magic and memories,
Donyell