F! Premium River Belle or Blue Bayou?

[fly girl]

On a off chance this morning I logged to the DLR website to see if I could get the Blue Bayou F! dining package for my trip over Thanksgiving. (I had checked for days after the 60 day mark in hopes of it dropping, and I believe it finally did yesterday but I couldn't get on fast enough.) Of course, no luck.

However, to my amazement , there was an opening for the RBT Premium package. I took it. But I have read so many conflicting reviews, and of course I went back after booking to see if you could book another reservation for RBT Premium and they weren't any, so I think we are the last table which according to my research means we will be the crummiest table. I'd love the chance to sit, but if I am in a back row with limited visibility and crummy food is it worth it?

I have a 5pm regular Blue Bayou reservation that I was hoping could get converted to F! dining package, but I haven't heard back from Disney yet.

So here I am debating on what I should do. Is the RBT Premium worth it? What if I can get BB F!, go for that instead? WWYD?

 

[starlite_]

Personally, I wouldn't do RBT premium, what's the point if you are so far away??

 

[PaladinButters]

RBT is the only Disneyland restaurant I've been to that I wouldn't ever go to again so..... how badly do you want that seat?

 

[fly girl]

RBT is the only Disneyland restaurant I've been to that I wouldn't ever go to again so..... how badly do you want that seat?

YIKES!

I don't think that bad.

 

[fly girl]

Personally, I wouldn't do RBT premium, what's the point if you are so far away??

If I could get a decent view without having to jockey for a position without wasting hours holding my spot would be nice.

And I am short. That's why I always splurge for WOC Dessert Package, what's the point in standing if a 6 foot guy is going to be in front of me.

 

[starlite_]

If I could get a decent view without having to jockey for a position without wasting hours holding my spot would be nice.

And I am short. That's why I always splurge for WOC Dessert Package, what's the point in standing if a 6 foot guy is going to be in front of me.

I'm short too haha. You asked for opinions, and I gave mine. If you are this defensive about it then I think you want to do RBT Premium anyways, regardless of the view. If you wanna splurge for the seat despite crummy food and crummy table (in your own words) then you should do it. I'm just saying that if the view is the important part, you might not get a good one despite paying extra money.

 

[fly girl]

I'm short too haha. You asked for opinions, and I gave mine. If you are this defensive about it then I think you want to do RBT Premium anyways, regardless of the view. If you wanna splurge for the seat despite crummy food and crummy table (in your own words) then you should do it. I'm just saying that if the view is the important part, you might not get a good one despite paying extra money.

I wasn't getting defensive at all. Sorry if you read it that way. You asked what's the point, so I answered honestly. Yikes.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

If I could get a decent view without having to jockey for a position without wasting hours holding my spot would be nice.

And I am short. That's why I always splurge for WOC Dessert Package, what's the point in standing if a 6 foot guy is going to be in front of me.

The regular Fantasmic dining package sections are seated on the ground. It's great for us because I have little kids. The view is better from the regular dining sections than from RBT, but at RBT Premium you do get a chair. I would google Fantasmic views from this area to see what your view would be like. You might be on the railing or in the back.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

On a off chance this morning I logged to the DLR website to see if I could get the Blue Bayou F! dining package for my trip over Thanksgiving. (I had checked for days after the 60 day mark in hopes of it dropping, and I believe it finally did yesterday but I couldn't get on fast enough.) Of course, no luck.

However, to my amazement , there was an opening for the RBT Premium package. I took it. But I have read so many conflicting reviews, and of course I went back after booking to see if you could book another reservation for RBT Premium and they weren't any, so I think we are the last table which according to my research means we will be the crummiest table. I'd love the chance to sit, but if I am in a back row with limited visibility and crummy food is it worth it?

I have a 5pm regular Blue Bayou reservation that I was hoping could get converted to F! dining package, but I haven't heard back from Disney yet.

So here I am debating on what I should do. Is the RBT Premium worth it? What if I can get BB F!, go for that instead? WWYD?

Fyi I cancelled a BB regular ressie last weekend for this weekend. After cancelling I went and looked and the ressie came back...but only as a F! dining package. If you can't get DL to convert it to the package, if you do cancel, maybe check to see if it comes back as the F! dining package

 

[starlite_]

I wasn't getting defensive at all. Sorry if you read it that way. You asked what's the point, so I answered honestly. Yikes.

It was a rhetorical question, I didn't expect an answer at all hahaha. All good, my point still stands, do it if you wanna do it. I see lots of ppl wanting to do it so who knows maybe you will luck out and get the best table.

 

[fly girl]

It was a rhetorical question, I didn't expect an answer at all hahaha. All good, my point still stands, do it if you wanna do it. I see lots of ppl wanting to do it so who knows maybe you will luck out and get the best table.

We are lost in translation ... I am on the fence. That's the point of my posting this thread. I was hoping to get some feedback from others that have done the premium package and their experience. I don't know if it is worth it. The only benefit is not having to hold a spot to watch the show, and having a seat. Not sure if they are worth it. That's why I originally wanted BBF! package.

 

[egxflash]

We are lost in translation ... I am on the fence. That's the point of my posting this thread. I was hoping to get some feedback from others that have done the premium package and their experience. I don't know if it is worth it. The only benefit is not having to hold a spot to watch the show, and having a seat. Not sure if they are worth it. That's why I originally wanted BBF! package.

I have no issues sitting on the ground for the length of the show so I thoroughly enjoyed the BBF! package when we did it. Last time around, we did the Hungry Bear one and those were still fantastic seats IMO. You don't necessarily want to be right at the very front anyway because you'd have the railing blocking your view. I think at the very back of the preferred seating is best - you're still VERY close, you don't have to crane your neck as much and you have the wall to lean up against in some parts.

 

[Pluto468]

I have a bad back so there's no way I can sit on the ground to wait or watch fantasmic. We've done the premium package twice. The last time was in June and was much better than our 2019 dinner. We were allowed to order off the regular menu, which was a nice change from 2019. We all enjoyed our meals, and the bread basket was very good. Our server was attentive and came back to give us refills almost more times than we needed.

I don't think when you book necessarily means you will get a crummy table. In 2019 we were in the 3rd row, but that was good because it meant we could stand up if we wanted to get a better view. My kids were little then, so that came in handy. Last time we were in the second row and had a great view from there, too.

The main drawback that I noticed last time about the RBT premium package is it takes a long time. We checked in at 7:15 and were done around 9:30, after the fireworks (they let you stay at your table to watch the fireworks afterwards). So if you only have one day at the park, that's a big chunk of time when you could be doing other things.

The view is kind of off to the right, but we could easily see all of the floats and the dragon, projections etc. There are a few threads about the premium package that include pictures of the view and people's meals. If you search for that you'll get a good idea of what to expect.

 

[foolish_mortals]

RBT: if you want an actual chair with an okay view and mediocre food.
BB/HB: if you want a better chance at a good view and but both have mediocre food.

I think all the options have mediocre food so it comes down to cost/comfort/view

 

[RoseColored97]

We have this booked and are really looking forward to it. I'm most drawn to the fact that we don't have to line up 1.5-2 hours in advance of the show to make sure we get a decent spot. When we've done the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package in the past, the areas can become very crowded and it can be difficult to find a good spot/any spot in the last 15 minutes-half hour before the show. I wanted that dedicated area that is ours and reserved so that we can enjoy a more relaxing trip. I've read the view isn't as good as being *right* next to the fence, but that's fine with us if we can have the other perks.

Also - you aren't necessarily guaranteed to have an unobstructed view of Fantasmic even when sitting down by the fence. We've had people come in and sit in front of us at the last minute who were fairly tall torso-wise when seated. This ended up blocking our view, obviously we could just keep bobbing back and forth to see what was being obstructed directly in front of us, but it was kind of a bummer.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

RBT: if you want an actual chair with an okay view and mediocre food.
BB/HB: if you want a better chance at a good view and but both have mediocre food.

I think all the options have mediocre food so it comes down to cost/comfort/view

Personally, I found standard RBT food to be quite good and that is not even my preferred “type” of food (southern comfort food). The portions are also quite large after three courses. The viewing section is great and I did not have to line up 1.5-2 hours before. I found 30 minutes ahead more than sufficient. I have eaten there twice and found it to be a good value if you want to sit to watch Fantasmic.

 

[starlite_]

We have this booked and are really looking forward to it. I'm most drawn to the fact that we don't have to line up 1.5-2 hours in advance of the show to make sure we get a decent spot. When we've done the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package in the past, the areas can become very crowded and it can be difficult to find a good spot/any spot in the last 15 minutes-half hour before the show. I wanted that dedicated area that is ours and reserved so that we can enjoy a more relaxing trip. I've read the view isn't as good as being *right* next to the fence, but that's fine with us if we can have the other perks.

Also - you aren't necessarily guaranteed to have an unobstructed view of Fantasmic even when sitting down by the fence. We've had people come in and sit in front of us at the last minute who were fairly tall torso-wise when seated. This ended up blocking our view, obviously we could just keep bobbing back and forth to see what was being obstructed directly in front of us, but it was kind of a bummer.

No one with a dining package is lining up 2 hrs before the show.

 

[foolish_mortals]

Personally, I found standard RBT food to be quite good and that is not even my preferred “type” of food (southern comfort food). The portions are also quite large after three courses. The viewing section is great and I did not have to line up 1.5-2 hours before. I found 30 minutes ahead more than sufficient. I have eaten there twice and found it to be a good value if you want to sit to watch Fantasmic.

I definitely agree that RBT is the best value from the amount of food and the chair alone is worth it, especially compared to BB but I really like Southern food and wasn’t too good. It was a do once and we’re good for us. It was just okay my biggest issue was their BBQ sauce was is everything and seemed to have just one flavor: sugar.

 

[starlite_]

I will advocate for their Mac n Cheese and Vegetarian dishes.

 

[RoseColored97]

No one with a dining package is lining up 2 hrs before the show.

We did? With a Blue Bayou package...

If you weren't lining up at 7pm for the 9pm Fantasmic viewing then you were far back in the line to get into the viewing area. If "no one" starts lining up 2 hours before Fantasmic, then what time do they start lining up in your experience? I'm asking seriously.