Hi Charity,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I am excited that you are already planning your dining reservations for your trip in January to the Walt Disney World Resort!
To help with your planning, you might find the
Fireworks and Nighttime Spectaculars guide useful. Although not all show times are posted for the dates of your visit yet, when I checked, Happily Ever After was scheduled for 8:00 p.m., IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth was scheduled for 9:00 p.m. and Fantasmic! was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. To check for the times of a specific show, just click on the link for that show and then click on the hours calendar located to the right-hand side of the web page.
My favorite show now is Happily Ever After. I have seen it a few times from different vantage points. On our last visit, I watched it from the front of the castle, slightly to the left just in front of the bridge that takes people through the castle. We waited until the Movie It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party was over at about 7:30 p.m. and I grabbed a spot inside the taped off area. There was a cast member standing near us who kept people from using the bridge to get to the castle. It was a perfect view! There was no one else in front of us. While I waited, I sent our girls to ride a ride. By 45 minutes prior to the show, the area was packed and it was hard to walk through the crowds.
Charity, I have also seen Happily Ever After from the dessert party viewing area - nice view and we did not have to stake out a spot an hour and a half early. But, there were lots of people in front of us. We also made reservations for 'Ohana and California Grill during the time of the fireworks and were lucky enough to get window tables. The view from California Grill was fantastic even given the distance.
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell