We really liked the nighttime viewing areas, and thought they were an equal benefit to the extra FP+'s as far as program benefits, so I'm very disappointed to see them go away. We did Fantasmic, ROL, and HEA 2 weeks ago, and thought all 3 were great and worth it. It was a little hard to find all but the MK locations, though.
For Fantasmic we were told to go in the FP and dining entrance, and the CMs kept telling us to continue ahead and we would find the location. They all seemed kind of confused at first, then would vaguely know what I meant and say keep going. I kept waiting and asking the Cm at each stop point, until maybe the 3rd one and that CM finally told us to look for the CM with a blue stick (light). That was what we needed to know, and we did find that CM who was also taking the dining vouchers. She checked our name on a list and let us into the special area. It was the last (top) 4-5 rows in the stadium in the very middle. They were good seats and it was great to have the saved so we didn't have to rush to get there, but they were far away. They never did open them for others, and it was maybe just under half full.
For ROL finding the location was a little more challenging. The entrance was a hidden little entrance kind of between the viewing areas. We waited and asked the CM at the FP entrance, and he did tell me where to go after informing me that the program I was referring to was just in its test phases and wasn't permanent, I found that weird to throw in there, since we were doing it that night regardless of test phase or not, it sounded like he wasn't a fan. We saw what looked like it might be an entrance so i explored, and there was a CM who said we were in the right place. Once we found it this location was perfect. Front row and middle, nothing in the way. They had a few rows set aside, and not many people in them. Some people came and sat behind us, and from overhearing their conversation it definitely sounded like they were CMs who weren't working that night and somehow had been allowed to sit there.
For HEA it was awesome having the reserved area. We have never stayed in the park to see the show since it changed from Wishes, and after seeing the chaos and gigantic crowds I remember why we haven't stayed. We were running late from Space Mt FPs, we had to tell a couple of CMs we had a reserved area because they were trying to route people around. However, when I told them they let us through easily. We found the area and there were maybe 3 families there, all spread out. The area was relatively small, but pretty big given the amt of people there. However, there were quite a few small trees and bushes and the fence in the front that really interfered with the view of the castle. We moved around quite a bit in the space left to see where we could get the least obstructed view. The only reason to see if from here and not the lounge at the CR to me was to see the projections, so that was a little annoying. I had to stand to see them, I tried not to block the view of those sitting behind me but again, if I had sat, I would have missed most of the projections. I'm not sure if just being back where the other families were would have made enough difference, or if they were just ok with not seeing the whole castle, I hope they weren't mad I stood but I wasn't going to miss out just so they could sit and not stand. However, despite the trees and not being able to see when sitting, I appreciated being able to walk up 10 min before the show and have a pretty good spot to see it. After witnessing the crowd, if we ever watch from the park again and they don't have this viewing we will only do it with a dessert party reservation.
. So I threw that terminology in when I was asking at ROL, I knew where I was going for HEA I just had to actually physically be able to get there through the crowds!
