Advice about Cirque du Soleil please!

[mrsminniemouse]

Hi everyone,

May parents are coming on our next trip to WDW with us. They have offered to babysit so we can have an evening out to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.

We have decided to go to see La Nouba as we have never been and have heard great reviews.

We thought we might book the early show then go for dinner. We are thinking of the evening of Tues 25 August, we will be at OKW, so we will travel by boat.

A few questions:

Where is a good place nearby to go for dinner after the show? (never go to West Side so don't know the restaurants)
If we see the early show, roughly what time should we book dinner?
Is there a DVC discount for La Nouba?
Any recommendations on seats to choose?

Thanks so much for any advice. Very excited to have a date night with my hubby at such a great place!

Mandy

 

[Hunclemarco]

Hello
Yes, as a DVC member, you can get a great discount on your tickets. It's best if you went to the main building at La Nuba for better ticket selection. Just show them your Blue DVC card. If you book through member services or at the front desk at the resorts, they can only give you one option, and they themselves will mention going to the main building for a better selection.

As far as seat location, almost anywhere is a good seat. We sat on Stage Left of the theater lower level and had an excellent view. I'd say lower center and a little to each side may be your best bet though...sorry, forgot the seat number sections at the moment.

They ask you to be there 1/2 hr early...they have a small side show that starts then and carries out throughout the show.

The only place i've eaten at at DTD is Earl of Sandwich, and they are awsome in my opinion...light on the wallet and good food. Not sure what type of dinner you're looking for though. Some say that Raglan Road is nice. You also have planet hollywood not far from there too.

Hope this helps

 

[Hunclemarco]

oops... just looked at the date you're thinking of going....
you may want to call to see how long the DVC discounts are valid for. Again, i'd call La Nuba directly.

 

[LindaBabe]

House of Blues, right across the street! We made our reservation for two hours after starting time, and were a little early and still got seated.

 

[sanbornangel]

We went our first night of vaca a few years ago after a long day of travel.....not recommended...the music was so mesmorizing we almost fell asleep. Also, we sat very near the stage and had to look up (lots of good stuff happening up there, but it was uncomfortable looking up)..wouldn't sit there again. We definately want to go again on a day that we are not whipped, and we will sit on the second level. Enjoy

 

[jimmytammy]

We just went last Thurs for our first(but not last)time. The show lasted about 1 1/2 hrs. Allow enough time to get out of the building, down the stairs, etc. I would say if eating at House of Blues, 8pm would be safe.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

First off, let me say that La Nouba is a great show. I have seen it 6 times and highly recommend it. I am a big fan of all the Cirque shows and just saw "Love" (the beatles) in las vegas last month and have seen 5 of their shows. All of them are incredible in their own right. I hope you enjoy the show !!!

Now to answer your question...

Where is a good place nearby to go for dinner after the show? (never go to West Side so don't know the restaurants)

House of Blues (southern), Bongos (cuban), Wolfgang Puck Cafe (californian) are all good restaurants. Foultons Crab House (seafood) is also very good but is over on the other side at the Markeplace.

If we see the early show, roughly what time should we book dinner?

The show last about an hour and half so anytime after 730. I would say 8pm to be safe so you can take your time and relax.

Is there a DVC discount for La Nouba?

This changes depending on current promotions but there is often DVC a discount. Although, my best discounts have been Visa promotions which often go unadvertised. As someone else suggested, best pricing and tickets are found at the box office on-site in front of the theatre. I am not sure if I would risk waiting though as your celebrating your anniversary and want to be certain to get tickets for the night of your choice. I have gotten up to 50% off CAT 1 & 2 seats the day of the show using my VISA card.

Any recommendations on seats to choose?

I have sat in multiple locations/categories and would recommend CAT 1 or CAT 2 in sections 203, 204 or 205 as being the best view. There are really no bad seats as the theatre deisgn is ideal for viewing the center stage. The newly categorized "front and center" use to be Cat 1 seats and I thought they were the worst as I was constantly looking straight up and after a while it bothers your neck. Any/All of the seats (CAT 1 or 2) in sections 203, 204 and 205 are ideal in my opinion.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

Thanks so much everyone for the fantastic advice. Off to check out menus now!
Cannot wait!
Thanks again
Mandy

 

[cbilton]

Just returned from WDW and saw La Nouba on Friday night.

Stunning, breath-taking and beyond my wildest dreams. Incredible!!!!

We had section 103, row D, seats 1,2,3. Really nice view, except when the acts were up high - then too close!!! Had to crane our necks a bit. I heard people in front of us say they could barely see when the high acts were performing!

The theatre is quite small and having a good look around, I think any seat would be good. I would not choose seats in this front section again, probably tier 2 next time. And yes, there would definitely be a next time!

Have a fabulous time!

 

[dwelty]

DO NOT sit on the asile. There is a scary (and smelly) clown in the show that walks up and down the asiles. Is lack of deoderant a French thing? I know that they are French "Canadian" but come on!

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I went two years ago with my wife; absolutely loved it.

We sat in the lower level, just to right of center stage. The next day I had a spasm in my neck from looking up so much.

When we go again, we will sit in the second level as the views were probably better and cost less.

Oh, and it's not a "smelly clown"; it's a hygenically-challenged comical performer.

 

[cbilton]

FWIW: we had an aisle seat and didn't find said clown to be smelly! Must have got him on a good day!

 

[JimMIA]

Actually, one of the clowns (Balto) is French Canadian. He's the one with hair and a voice. The shorter, balding one (Sergei) is a deaf-mute Russian, but they do an incredible job of communicating with each other despite the obvious language/communications issues.

Fortunately, we haven't been close enough to either to smell them!

 

[rlduvall]

Oh, and it's not a "smelly clown"; it's a hygenically-challenged comical performer.

Always the gentleman . . .

 

[JimMIA]

We just went Wednesday night for our second time. We noticed some minor changes in timing of some of the acts (primarily expediting the "fillers" between acts), but otherwise the show was exactly as we'd seen it 5 years ago. It's a great show, and I'd strongly recommend it.

The show itself is just spectacular. As we were walking out, the Mom of the family we were with just kept saying, "OH...MY...GAWD!!!" La Nouba is that good.

The only other Cirque show I've seen in person is "O" at the Bellagio in Vegas, but we also have the DVD's of Allegria and one other show. I like La Nouba the best of the four shows I'm familiar with.

Discounts: There is a 30% DVC discount for Category 2 seats going on right now. That one must be booked through MS and you can only book that within two weeks of the show. We got Section 205, row HH, which were great seats. There are some not-so-great seats, especially those WAY to either side and down low. But our Category 2 seats were just perfect; anywhere generally in the middle of the theater is great. (We don't want stiff necks, nor do we need to smell the clowns!)

Dining: My plan was to go to House of Blues, but the family we were with didn't want to do a pricey meal. (We'd just been to Charley's on Mothers' Day, so we wouldn't have thought anything at DTD except Fulton's was pricey!) So we ended up heading toward Earl of Sandwich, which is conveniently located about 14 miles from Cirque! Fortunately, we never got there. We stopped at Cookes of Dublin and had fish and chips. Fried food, cheap...what's not to like? It was fine, but we'll do HOB next time.

 

[disgrits]

We just went Wednesday night for our second time. We noticed some minor changes in timing of some of the acts (primarily expediting the "fillers" between acts), but otherwise the show was exactly as we'd seen it 5 years ago. It's a great show, and I'd strongly recommend it.

The show itself is just spectacular. As we were walking out, the Mom of the family we were with just kept saying, "OH...MY...GAWD!!!" La Nouba is that good.

The only other Cirque show I've seen in person is "O" at the Bellagio in Vegas, but we also have the DVD's of Allegria and one other show. I like La Nouba the best of the four shows I'm familiar with.

Discounts: There is a 30% DVC discount for Category 2 seats going on right now. That one must be booked through MS and you can only book that within two weeks of the show. We got Section 205, row HH, which were great seats. There are some not-so-great seats, especially those WAY to either side and down low. But our Category 2 seats were just perfect; anywhere generally in the middle of the theater is great. (We don't want stiff necks, nor do we need to smell the clowns!)

Dining: My plan was to go to House of Blues, but the family we were with didn't want to do a pricey meal. (We'd just been to Charley's on Mothers' Day, so we wouldn't have thought anything at DTD except Fulton's was pricey!) So we ended up heading toward Earl of Sandwich, which is conveniently located about 14 miles from Cirque! Fortunately, we never got there. We stopped at Cookes of Dublin and had fish and chips. Fried food, cheap...what's not to like? It was fine, but we'll do HOB next time.

I just called today and got tickets in section 205, row HH for our trip in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the info; I'm glad these seats are good ones!

 

[nunzia]

We just went Wednesday night for our second time. We noticed some minor changes in timing of some of the acts (primarily expediting the "fillers" between acts), but otherwise the show was exactly as we'd seen it 5 years ago. It's a great show, and I'd strongly recommend it.

The show itself is just spectacular. As we were walking out, the Mom of the family we were with just kept saying, "OH...MY...GAWD!!!" La Nouba is that good.

The only other Cirque show I've seen in person is "O" at the Bellagio in Vegas, but we also have the DVD's of Allegria and one other show. I like La Nouba the best of the four shows I'm familiar with.

Discounts: There is a 30% DVC discount for Category 2 seats going on right now. That one must be booked through MS and you can only book that within two weeks of the show. We got Section 205, row HH, which were great seats. There are some not-so-great seats, especially those WAY to either side and down low. But our Category 2 seats were just perfect; anywhere generally in the middle of the theater is great. (We don't want stiff necks, nor do we need to smell the clowns!)

Dining: My plan was to go to House of Blues, but the family we were with didn't want to do a pricey meal. (We'd just been to Charley's on Mothers' Day, so we wouldn't have thought anything at DTD except Fulton's was pricey!) So we ended up heading toward Earl of Sandwich, which is conveniently located about 14 miles from Cirque! Fortunately, we never got there. We stopped at Cookes of Dublin and had fish and chips. Fried food, cheap...what's not to like? It was fine, but we'll do HOB next time.

I've seen "O" as well and thought it was amazing. We plan on going to La Nouba in January, and these suggestions are very helpful.
Thanks!

 

[Cee]

As to the "smelly", they do several shows per day and probably don't get the costumes dry cleaned between shows(dry cleaning does nothing to correct smell anyway!). You may have gone to the later show and got more than you paid for!