Ariel's Grotto- Inside or Patio???

[muppetfreak]

So what is the difference between inside or patio? Is the character interaction the same, just being out in the elements vs. indoors? Just wanting all the facts before I am forced to pay the newly raised prices! Ouch! I was thinking of more than one character meal, but the new prices force me to narrow it down to just the once in a lifetime one. (gonna have to talk DH off the ledge when he sees the price for this meal.)

 

[charmama4]

Yes, the prices are up but the water in the lagoon is down. Will be for awhile for construction. I am paying for the inside princess experience myself.

 

[muppetfreak]

yeah, I suppose that is a lovely view....

 

[DizNee Luver]

Interaction is no different on the patio....but you do kinda miss out on the page/squire??? coming out & announcing each princess. The view is not good right now & that's why there is a discount. Lots of construction!!

 

[mechurchlady]

The inside is better as it is a restaurant with a better background for photos. You get a better view of the princesses as they walk around and I love the decor. It used to be run by Wolfgang Pucks company when it was Avalon Cove. Very nice indoors.

Also I have in my life heard of too many random acts of bird poop.

 

[muppetfreak]

Also I have in my life heard of too many random acts of bird poop.

Whoa! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i wouldnt sit out side. its not enough diffrentce. both times we have gone we have got there early enough to be seated close to the door where the princesses come out. we were 2ed table one time an 4th another

 

[pixiewings71]

We have no problems sitting outside, none at all. We just did it a few weeks ago, Sunday the 8th to be exact. There were no bird issues (never had any and we've eaten outside more than once or twice) or bird poo issues. Sure the view isn't great but you're not really there for the view but for the food and the Princesses. When we ate there last they had a green netting around the tables so you didn't have a terrible view, you really couldn't see anything much. And we could hear the herald just fine as he announced the Princesses, in fact this is only the second time we've had Princesses announced and we eat there pretty regularly. If it's not too hot or too cold I vote for eating outside. Oh and yes, we have exactly the same interaction whether we eat inside or out.

 

[Princess_Couture]

I prefer sitting inside for Ariels grotto personally. I think you have a better view of the princesses this way and right now you wont be looking at a dirt pile in your pictures.

 

[pixiewings71]

I prefer sitting inside for Ariels grotto personally. I think you have a better view of the princesses this way and right now you wont be looking at a dirt pile in your pictures.

Again, you cannot see any of the lagoon work, they have a green netting around the whole patio area. The ONLY way to get anything unpleasant in your photos is if you stand up and take a picture over the railing.

 

[northshoremama]

for some reason, i don't remember being asked if i wanted inside or outside seating when i made my PS. then i learned of the price difference, so i called back and they said i was down for inside seating. i wonder if they just put you down for inside seating (since it's more expensive) and seat you outside if you specifically asked to be seated outside.

 

[pixiewings71]

I think they use outside seating for those without PS. The times we've eaten outside we didn't have a PS, every time we've eaten inside we do have a PS.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

I'd do inside seating. We've done outside twice and inside twice and the pictures turned out better inside. The lighting outside(sunlight and lots of shadows) played havoc with the pictures. I didn't really notice a difference in character interaction, but I did notice a difference with quality of service. I found inside to be a bit more attentive than outside. With the construction going on in the lagoon, I'd definitely chose inside seating.

 

[LuvBaloo]

We were there for lunch on the 19th, and had inside. A couple years ago we had outside. With the water gone, I prefer inside, but other than that I didn't notice a real difference.

A word of caution though, the restaurant is bad for misplacing credit cards. I paid with Visa and when they brought the little black bill holder back for me to sign the slip, my credit card wasn't in it. The server had dropped it somewhere. After a few minutes of her looking around the restaurant I was told to leave them my name & number as it was sure to show up in a day or 2. We went to leave, and I stopped in the entrance and asked to speak to a manager. By the time a manager was found, they called my cell to say they had found it. I went back down with the manager to get it, and she said credit cards are often dropped and always turn up. I was not impressed that they just accept it.

Other than that big frustration and panic attack at the end, the meal was excellent food, and the character interaction was good. I prefered it to Minnie's breakfast which we did on the 17th.

 

[northshoremama]

We were there for lunch on the 19th, and had inside. A couple years ago we had outside. With the water gone, I prefer inside, but other than that I didn't notice a real difference.

A word of caution though, the restaurant is bad for misplacing credit cards. I paid with Visa and when they brought the little black bill holder back for me to sign the slip, my credit card wasn't in it. The server had dropped it somewhere. After a few minutes of her looking around the restaurant I was told to leave them my name & number as it was sure to show up in a day or 2. We went to leave, and I stopped in the entrance and asked to speak to a manager. By the time a manager was found, they called my cell to say they had found it. I went back down with the manager to get it, and she said credit cards are often dropped and always turn up. I was not impressed that they just accept it.

Other than that big frustration and panic attack at the end, the meal was excellent food, and the character interaction was good. I prefered it to Minnie's breakfast which we did on the 17th.

glad they found your credit card before you left the restaurant! we did minnie's breakfast during our last trip, so now i'm getting even more excited about doing lunch at ariels!

 

[muppetfreak]

When I made PS they never asked me about inside or outside. Now I am wondering if I should call them to double check. I am thinking that inside would be better for us.
Do they have photopass photographers at the meal, or do I need to make sure I have my own camera handy?

 

[LuvBaloo]

Bring your own camera, there's no photopass at Ariel's.

When you first arrive, they have a photographer who will take a picture with Ariel, but its not photopass. During the meal, they will bring the photo over and you can buy it if you want. It was about $30 and it was one 5x7 and 4 little ones, plus another shot. For ours, we got a picture of our DD's with Ariel, and the other shot they included was a close up of DD4 as she was watching Ariel sign her book.

So you only see Ariel just before you go to your table. The other Princesses come around to the tables and you can get them to sign books and take photos/video of them. One word of caution. Jasmine chose to stand with our girls in front of a window so the picture had bad lighting. The others all stood on the other side of the table, which meant we couldn't get a full body picture, but the lighting was better. Next time I'll pay more attention and get them to move if the lighting doesn't work.

 

[muppetfreak]

Bring your own camera, there's no photopass at Ariel's.

When you first arrive, they have a photographer who will take a picture with Ariel, but its not photopass. During the meal, they will bring the photo over and you can buy it if you want. It was about $30 and it was one 5x7 and 4 little ones, plus another shot. For ours, we got a picture of our DD's with Ariel, and the other shot they included was a close up of DD4 as she was watching Ariel sign her book.

So you only see Ariel just before you go to your table. The other Princesses come around to the tables and you can get them to sign books and take photos/video of them. One word of caution. Jasmine chose to stand with our girls in front of a window so the picture had bad lighting. The others all stood on the other side of the table, which meant we couldn't get a full body picture, but the lighting was better. Next time I'll pay more attention and get them to move if the lighting doesn't work.

Thanks for the tip! Nothing is worse than having bad pictures!

 

[pixiewings71]

Pretty sure you'll be inside muppetfreak. I'm pretty sure they use outside as "overflow" and for walk ups. And yes, make sure you have your own camera for pics, otherwise you won't get any.

 

[Lakewood]

There's always some "characters" at the bar...