Back From a Mini Vacation
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (122615)
Gainesville, Florida
July 7, 2023 7:33pm CST
I hope all of my American friends had a wonderful and safe Independence Day earlier this week! I know I had a blast (pun intended). Against my better judgement, I headed out to Disney World for the 4th of July celebrations and decided to hang around the theme parks for a couple of days. Of course, it was hotter than Hades outside, and it rained every afternoon right on cue. But that didn't stop the fun! I'm glad we made the trip despite feeling like we were going to melt into the pavement.
We really wanted to see the Magic Kingdom's 4th of July fireworks, but by the time we decided to make the trip, the theme park was booked solid. So we opted for Epcot instead. In the end, it worked out in our favor.
Epcot, not really known for its fireworks shows, had one planned for 9:00pm. I had no idea of the magnitude of what they were about to unleash. Think of the greatest fireworks finale you have ever seen, and multiple that by twenty solid minutes. It felt like they accidentally lit all of their fireworks at once, but of course it was all completely planned. Very intense (and loud). So glad we got to see them.
But the biggest surprise was leaving Epcot at 9:25 and heading out to our car in their massive parking lot, which sits to the north of the theme park. Coincidentally, the Magic Kingdom also sits to the north of Epcot, and so at 9:30pm when MK's fireworks started, we had the perfect unobstructed view from the Epcot parking lot. Their show lasted for about 30 minutes, but was much more choreographed to music, lasers and whatnot. But still an amazing show. So we got two fireworks shows for the price of one!
That made up for the fact that we got drenched (again!) from some hellacious thunderstorms.
For my American friends, did you catch any great fireworks shows in your community?
The photo is not from the 4th of July, but from the next night when we were having dinner at the top of the Riviera Resort, which sits to the south of Epcot. We had the perfect view to look north and see Spaceship Earth (the signature landmark at Epcot) and the regular nightly fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom, which sits even farther to the north than Epcot. From our vantage point, it looked like the fireworks were from Epcot, although they were much further away at Magic Kingdom!
20 people like this
19 responses
@just4him (318962)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Jul 23
The fireworks look amazing. I'm glad you got a two-for-one show.
I've seen some good finales, but that one sounds awesome!
I'm staying home these days. I don't mind the crowds, but I mind how long it takes to get back to the car and how long it takes to get home. So, the next best thing is television. Our local station televised the local fireworks from four cities. It was awesome.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul 23
I will agree with you that the worst part of fireworks shows is getting back to the car and trying to fight all that traffic to get home. Such a hassle. That’s one of the reasons I love seeing fireworks at Disney, because we always stay at a resort on property, so it’s very quick and simple to get back to our hotel room afterward.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jul 23
@just4him There’s three resorts at Magic Kingdom that you get to by monorail, and a handful you can get to by boat, but the majority of them you get to by bus. Disney has over 400 buses in their fleet and they run every 15 minutes. There’s close to 30 resorts at Disney World now, and bus service is the fastest, ost efficient way to get everyone to their on-site hotels.
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@just4him (318962)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
19 Jul 23
@moffittjc I'm glad it's easy to get back to your hotel room. Is there a tram to take you from the hotel to the park and back again? When I visited Disneyland in 1972, we heard about a hotel tram.
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@DaddyEvil (141062)
• United States
8 Jul 23
Every year, the fireworks in our city start a week before the 4th and the police won't make people stop. The air was hazy with smoke until the 5th of July... That doesn't help our allergies, so we stayed in the house for that time. (I couldn't see anyway so it didn't really matter to me. Pretty didn't want to go out in case opening the door allowed the smoke from the fireworks into the house.)
I'm glad you had fun.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
I was really surprised this year, I expected there to be lots of backyard fireworks going off all weekend long before the actual holiday (since the 4th was on a Tuesday), but I didn't hear a single bang anywhere around my neighborhood. That was kind of weird, because it always seems like all hell breaks loose around here as the holiday approaches. Honestly, this is the hottest it's been in many years, and I wonder if it was just too hot for people to want to be outside.
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@DaddyEvil (141062)
• United States
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc Two early teenaged boys in our neighborhood were setting off mortars at midnight every night leading up to the 4th. The elderly couple next door called the police and were told "boys will be boys". 
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
@DaddyEvil As much as I hate the late night shenanigans with loud explosives, I never call the police because I know it is just people having some innocent fun (well, hopefully it's innocent).
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@Tampa_girl7 (51336)
• United States
9 Jul 23
You and your family are so fortunate to go so often to Disney World.
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@Tampa_girl7 (51336)
• United States
10 Jul 23
@moffittjc the last time that I was at Disney World we had a heavy downpour. It caught us off guard and we got drenched.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jul 23
@Tampa_girl7 I usually won’t go to Disney during the summer for that very reason. We always get caught in the rain. Plus, it’s always miserably hot. But for some reason we’ve been going to Disney a lot this summer.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jul 23
Yes, we do consider ourselves fortunate. But I will say we are 3-for-3 for heavy rains on our most recent trips. Lol
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
I can only imagine the size of the army of workers Disney hires to put on such magnificent shows each and every night.
Did you know that Disney World is the second largest user of explosives in the world? Can you guess who is first?
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@JudyEv (345858)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc I wouldn't have any idea but I hope you'll tell me. I can't imagine who it would be if we're not counting countries at war.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 23
@JudyEv The United States' military is the largest user of explosives in the world. Followed secondly by Disney.
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@LindaOHio (183879)
• United States
8 Jul 23
Wow! You sure got your money's worth. Sorry it was so hot...and rainy. We didn't watch fireworks; but we heard plenty of them. Enjoy your weekend.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
Thank you! I plan on having a nice, relaxing, and quiet weekend. Well, except for all the household chores I need to catch up on!
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
@LindaOHio That’s what I have been saying every day for the last 2 weeks!
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@LindaOHio (183879)
• United States
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc You're very welcome. The chores will still be there tomorrow!
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@hillhjill (23761)
• United States
8 Jul 23
Sounds so amazing and I'm glad that you got to see both shows for one, bet it was so amazing!!
We had a good show where we went as well and it was a cooler night so we didn't melt into the ground.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
If it wasn't for the heavy downpours earlier in the afternoon and evening, I would have been melted into the pavement by the time the fireworks started!
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 23
@hillhjill It's been so hot here in Florida that when I am walking in an asphalt parking lot, I can feel the heat coming up through my shoes to the bottom of my feet.
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@hillhjill (23761)
• United States
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc I completely understand that!! I swear I melted the other day lol.
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@GardenGerty (162053)
• United States
8 Jul 23
Nope, we are usually in bed by the time fireworks start these days. We heard quite a few in our little bitty town.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 23
I could never go to bed early on the 4th of July holiday, no matter how tired I was. There is just too much loud noise from everyone shooting off fireworks. I am such a light sleeper that I could never fall asleep (or stay asleep) with so much loud noise going on outside.
@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 23
It definitely was a lot of fun. The only bad part was the oppressive heat, but thankfully the rain helped cool things down a little.
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Sounds like it.@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
I've seen enough this past week to last me through the next 3-5 years. lol
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@JESSY3236 (20206)
• United States
25 Jul 23
No we didn't see any fireworks. Many years ago, Chris and I went to Disney for the fourth. I loved it except for the rain showers. I would to love to go back down there.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jul 23
The fireworks display at Disney on the 4th are amazing, but two things Disney can’t control—the heat and the thunderstorms—can somewhat ruin or lessen the experience. But it’s still fun to watch.
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@Deepizzaguy (106459)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
8 Jul 23
There was some fireworks displays in the downtown Lake Charles area since I could hear the loud noises from outside my bedroom window since downtown is located about a few miles from my current home.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
Oh no, I hope all that noise from the fireworks didn’t wake you up, or keep you from being able to sleep!
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jul 23
@Deepizzaguy Lucky you! I’m such a light sleeper that I could never sleep through a fireworks show.
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@Deepizzaguy (106459)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc The fireworks were only for about one hour and my sleep was not disturbed at all.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
I love the 4th of July holiday, but I hate the fact that people blow stuff up all night long. They forget (or could care less) that people have to work in the morning.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jul 23
@RubyHawk True, we really shouldn’t complain. But you know us humans, we like to complain about the most petty things. Haha
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@RubyHawk (99404)
• Atlanta, Georgia
8 Jul 23
@moffittjc We can’t complain too much. it’s one night out of the whole year.There is New Years Eve but that’s just once a year too.
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@arunima25 (88781)
• Bangalore, India
8 Jul 23
We had experienced watching the regular fireworks at Disney land and it was amazing. During our ten years stay in the US, I did get to see few of 4th July fireworks and they all were good.
Glad that you had a good time.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 23
That's awesome that you got to experience fireworks at Disneyland, as well as 4th of July fireworks! Did you enjoy your time living in the US?
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jul 23
@arunima25 That’s great to hear. I’m glad you enjoyed your stay in he US, and that you are great at making friends wherever you go. I am the same way, I always make new friends wherever I’m at.
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@arunima25 (88781)
• Bangalore, India
9 Jul 23
@moffittjc Yes, very much. I have stayed in few countries and I have enjoyed it every where. I am good at making friends. And then I have always enough hobbies to keep me busy
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
From where I live? Disney World is about an hour and a half drive from my house.
From where the photo was taken at the top of the Riviera Resort, the Epcot theme park was 2.5 miles (4 km) away, and the Magic Kingdom theme park another 4 miles (6.5 km) beyond that.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
Fireworks is one thing I'll never get tired of watching!
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@FourWalls (71270)
• United States
8 Jul 23
I watched the fireworks near the Old Fort in St. Augustine off a live feed. That’s cool to get a two-for-one special. 
Don’t tell them or they may charge you for it! 
Don’t tell them or they may charge you for it! 1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
I used to go to St. Augustine every year to watch the fireworks. My girlfriend and I would stay at a little bed n breakfast right near the fort, and then we would take our lounge chairs and sit in the grass right outside the fort and watch the fireworks!
We always got a 2-for-1 special on fireworks then as well, as in Gainesville the University of Florida shoots off their fireworks on July 3rd. So we'd always watch those on the 3rd, then drive to St. Augustine on the 4th.
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@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
It is a tough holiday for our pets. I wish more people would understand that. We should leave the explosives to the professionals and just enjoy sparklers at our backyard get-togethers! lol
@moffittjc (122615)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Jul 23
When I lived on the eastern coast of South Florida, you could stand on any one of the numerous bridges across the Intracoastal Waterway and look north or south and see dozens of fireworks shows going at the same time. Because there are so many coastal towns and cities, it seemed like the fireworks just went on endlessly no matter which way you looked. It was pretty cool.
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