FP+ for MSEP and Illuminations?

[TwinniesNMeLoveWDW]

I am considering using a FP+ selection for the MSEP one night we are in the MK, and also for Illuminations. I absolutely hate having to stake out a spot super early, but I really want my brother, sis-in-law, and 6 yo niece to be able to see both of these. Has anyone used FP for the preferred viewing areas for either of these, and if so, what was your opinion on the view and overall benefit? We will have 2 days in each park so we'll essentially get 6 FPs for each.

[faline]

We haven't done the parade one at Magic Kingdom but we did the Illuminations fastpass a couple of weeks ago.

We found the line to get into the reserved Illuminations spot had already formed about 45 minutes before Illuminations started. When we got on line, we were about 25 folks or so back from the front of the line. We then stood in that line for about 15 minutes before we were allowed into the viewing area. The viewing area was smaller than I expected as they have sectioned the viewing area off into two sections - with one area reserved for the dessert party and the remainder reserved for fastpass guests. We were able to stand by a fence. On the other side of the fence was about 10 feed or so of grass and beyond that were bushes. Once we "staked" out our spot in the viewing area, we still needed to wait another 1/2 hour or so before Illuminations began.

Our viewing area was decent but I am not sure how decent it was for the multitude of people who came in after us. Overall, in my opinion, I could have located a decent (or maybe even better) viewing area somewhere else around the lagoon by spending the equivalent amount of time spent waiting for Illuminations with fastpass+ priority.