Dining Packages early November?

[ChanMom]

OK, new question . We are planning a trip to Disneyland November 2-6 2020. I'm looking at Dining Packages for Fantasmic and World of Color. We did not like the process of being on Main Street hours in advance and then still having people in front of us and having to take turns lifting our 5 year old (hip height, not on shoulders) so he could see the projections. I said never again without a dessert party or something.

Fantasmic is our favorite though so we definitely want to see Disneyland version. I want to actually be able to see though, so I thinking of doing the On the Go for this one. Then I was thinking maybe World of Color with Carthay Circle,the only table service restaurant on either dining package that I think my 10 year old might actually eat the food on the adult menu (he loves fried chicken)

I figure beyond this we'll snack, eat quick serve, and eat off-property. In two trips to Disney World we feel we've had our fill of Character Meals.

Anyhow? The question is: do we even need to purchase a dining package to get good spots for the shows M-F in early November? Is the fastpass area fine? Are our chances of getting fastpasses pretty good?

What about the Plaza Inn parade package? We did the Ton'y one at WDW last summer and the parade spot was definitely worth the dining credits.

It's no so much that were working on a small budget, I just don't want to throw away money I don't need to spend. I never had to think about a food budget in WDW because we used the dining plan which is a pretty good value when you have two children.

If you had to choose 1 of the three, which is the hardest to score a good spot for? I'm willing to wait around for an hour with snacks and minus Florida heat, but I don't want to wait longer with that with two kids and I don't want to be one of those people who have one person save a sport and show up with a whole family 10 minutes before the show. Thanks for any advice.

 

[ShoeCello]

It depends on how long you're willing to wait and stay up with your kids, as well as the entertainment schedule (i.e. if they're running F! and WOC once or twice each night). The second showing of F! is usually at 10:30 PM, and I've found that having a FastPass is sufficient - you're usually seated (on the ground) in the same section that the dining packages use for the first show (which is usually at 9 PM). When you're seated it's a lot easier to get a good view, though I still recommend showing up right after the first showing of F! or fireworks end to secure a decent spot in the Fastpass area. If this is too late for your kids or if there's only one showing of F! that night, then the FP section is standing only (for the first show), meaning that your view (and your child's view) might be obstructed if there's taller people in front. This makes the dining packages really worthwhile if you're willing to pay the money, since you'll be seated (on the ground) and don't have to worry about pulling a FP before it runs out or needing to arrive super early. If you don't get a FP or dining package and want to watch the first show, you'll need to camp out fairly early to get a good, unobstructed view.

It's similar logic for WOC, though note that there is no seating during the show for any dining package except for the dessert party. If you get the Carthay Circle dining package, you'll be standing in a different section; that means that there's still a good chance that someone taller than you or your kid will be in front of you and may block your view, and you'll still need to get there early to get a good spot. FP viewing areas is also standing, and will require waiting a fair bit to get good spots for the first show. The dessert package is the only one that includes seats and thus unobscured sight lines; it's a bit pricey ($79) but if it fits your budget I feel it's worth it (and you get desserts and both adult and non-adult beverages). Like F!, if WOC runs two shows the second show can be empty, depending on the day. For example, they've recently done two shows with the second at 10:15 PM; I've been able to walk up 10 minutes before and get a prime view without needing a FP or dining package. Your mileage may vary and this again depends on them having two shows, the crowd levels that day, as well as how late your kids are willing to stay up!

I've found it a lot easier to find a good spot for the parade, given how long the parade route is. The areas at the start and end of the parade route (Main St/Opera House and near IASW) tend to be the easiest to find spots, and like F! and WOC, if they run the parade twice I've found the second showing to be less crowded. They're starting a new parade (Magic Happens) in February, so there's a bit of an unknown in regards to how popular this parade will be, but I imagine crowd flow will be similar to Soundsational. If that's the case it should be pretty easy to get prime curb-side or even bench spots if you're willing to wait ~30 minutes to one hour ahead of time.