DAK Nighttime Magic-Dining Package or FastPass?

[jsmla]

What are y'all planning to do? We have an evening at AK planned in order to see/do the new nighttime attractions. We'd definitely do Tusker House if we go with the Dining Package route. We're not into characters and I'm not really a buffet person but DH took one look at the Tiffins menu/DP price and put the kibosh on that. Tiffins is out, non negotiable.

The thing is we'll have a $25 credit at Yak and Yeti that we could use and I know we'll both like the food there. It would also be a LOT less expensive.

Any rumors out there re the FP vs DP seating? I much preferred our DP seating at Fantasmic to the FP area but it has been a while since we've done anything like this.

Thanks!

 

[PeasandCarrots]

I decide on dining packages based on asking myself "do I want to eat at one of those restaurants anyway"? If the answer is yet, dining package it is! If no, then I do a FP. Also, it depends on if I know for sure I want to say out late that night - I don't always feel like it so I hate how a package makes me feel obligated to go that night. However if I know I'm going that night regardless then again the dining package is OK as long as I was wanting to eat there anyway.

 

[AngiTN]

Both on our first trip.
We plan to eat at Tiffin's no matter what so we got a DP there
I want to compare the seating areas so we also have a FP on another night.

The seating locations for both areas are known. What isn't known is what it will actually look like while sitting in those areas. No one has seen the show yet

 

[Accident]

What are y'all planning to do?

Being opening night and I really wanted to try out tiffins, I went with the dining package. If your using the meal plan, it's the same price to eat or get the dining package so why not get it!

The show didn't exist last week, nobody knows where the seats are and which the better place to be is. Nobody knows how many standby seats there are. I wanted to eat at tiffins so we got the dining package to ensure we got to enjoy both the restaurant and the show the first night that both are going..

I honestly think it's going to be center seats for packages, dino side for standby and ee side for fastpass. but that theater really is tiny now that I see it with the construction walls down so it's gonig to be how early are you willing to get in line without fp+ or dining package.

I did originally have a fp+ for the second show but I didn't want to take away the chance for someone else to say "We saw it opening night".

 

[jsmla]

Thanks for the replies.

To be perfectly honest, if I used the "Do we want to eat at one of these restaurants anyway?" criteria we wouldn't eat at most of the WDW venues. We're just not huge fans of their food, it's okay but kinda lackluster for the price. This would be purely for the RoL package. There's no way in heck DH is going to wait in line for hours!

 

[jsmla]

Being opening night and I really wanted to try out tiffins, I went with the dining package. If your using the meal plan, it's the same price to eat or get the dining package so why not get it!

The show didn't exist last week, nobody knows where the seats are and which the better place to be is. Nobody knows how many standby seats there are. I wanted to eat at tiffins so we got the dining package to ensure we got to enjoy both the restaurant and the show the first night that both are going..

I honestly think it's going to be center seats for packages, dino side for standby and ee side for fastpass. but that theater really is tiny now that I see it with the construction walls down so it's gonig to be how early are you willing to get in line without fp+ or dining package.

I did originally have a fp+ for the second show but I didn't want to take away the chance for someone else to say "We saw it opening night".

I would LOVE to hear what you think about the seating after your visit! No meal plan. We're at Ft Wilderness and plan on most meals at the camper. We also only have 1 full Disney day and MVMCP planned.

 

[CAS239]

We'll do FP or standby..and with multiple shows nightly, standby won't be hours of waiting. I think a lot of people are thinking that if you don't have dining plan or a FP that you won't see the show if you don't want 3+ hours. I don't see that being the case at all

 

[jsmla]

We'll do FP or standby..and with multiple shows nightly, standby won't be hours of waiting. I think a lot of people are thinking that if you don't have dining plan or a FP that you won't see the show if you don't want 3+ hours. I don't see that being the case at all

This has definitely not been our experience either with Fantasmic when it first opened or World of Color and Paint the Night at Disneyland last month. We're going during a slowish time and I'm thinking they may cut back on the number of shows. I really, really wanted to see Paint the Night at DL so we did a Dining Package at Blue Bayou and I'm soooooo glad we did in spite of the ho hum meal. Folks were staking out spots hours ahead of time. We did a desert party for World of Color and enjoyed it very much. The FP area for WoC was very much inferior to the Dessert Party view.

Just looked at menus and with our credit at Y&Y we'd be paying about $80 more for Tusker House with the reserved RoL seating.

 

[AngiTN]

We'll do FP or standby..and with multiple shows nightly, standby won't be hours of waiting. I think a lot of people are thinking that if you don't have dining plan or a FP that you won't see the show if you don't want 3+ hours. I don't see that being the case at all

I think for while this will be a long wait for stand by.
Between it being new, so no one has seen it and a small theater there is going to be very high demand.
Until it is known just how many seats are taken by Dining packages or FP it is going to be very hard to determine what the stand by wait will be.
I don't think it's outside the realm of reason to think it will be 3+ hours, at least at first.

I've been at HS when there was only 1 F! showing and seen a line stretch all the way down Sunset, to the main intersection to the head to the exit, 2 hours before showtime. And this wasn't the FP line, that was elsewhere

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for the replies.

To be perfectly honest, if I used the "Do we want to eat at one of these restaurants anyway?" criteria we wouldn't eat at most of the WDW venues. We're just not huge fans of their food, it's okay but kinda lackluster for the price. This would be purely for the RoL package. There's no way in heck DH is going to wait in line for hours!

If you are doing it purely for the seating then I would pick the cheapest option you like. Which would be TH (as long as you like the food), until they add in the Flame Tree option (if they ever do)