FF+ for Festival of the Lion King?

[MAPOrocks]

I heard somewhere that the FP+ would get me special "floor-level" seating at Festival of the Lion King, but elsewhere I have read that there is no special reserved seating section for FP+ just early access. Can anyone tell me if the FP+ is worth it or not? TIA!

 

[PJ]

The only special floor level seating I'm aware of was for Harambe Nights. We just did FP+ for the regular Festival of the Lion King and all it does is have a separate line. It isn't early access - just guaranteed access.

 

[Bee2u]

Not worth it at all. Stand-by and fast pass lines enter at the same time, so the front of the standby line is better than the middle of the fp line.

 

[Deanie1]

I doubt if you will need a FP for it. Just get there 15-20 mins early.

 

[yulilin3]

Not worth it at all. Stand-by and fast pass lines enter at the same time, so the front of the standby line is better than the middle of the fp line.

This is not true. Fp line enters first and then about 5 minutes after they open the standby line. If you are getting to the fp line later it might seem that both are coming at the same time but it's not the case.
Also you pick which side you sit and what row they just ask you to move all the way down (on busy shows) and not sit in the reserved spots at the bottom.
I agree that fps not really needed for the show, especially if you go to the first one or last one

 

[ucfknight]

Not worth it at all. Stand-by and fast pass lines enter at the same time, so the front of the standby line is better than the middle of the fp line.

I got a FP+ for Festival of the Lion King last weekend. The FP+ line all entered about 15 minutes before the show. The standby line wasn't let in until about 7 minutes prior to show time.

 

[Robo]

I got a FP+ for Festival of the Lion King last weekend. The FP+ line all entered about 15 minutes before the show. The standby line wasn't let in until about 7 minutes prior to show time.

The problem with this is...

It means that guests who DO have a FP must arrive well before showtime (at least 15-25 minutes)
in order to be seated 15 minutes early.

Whereas walk-up guests don't have to get there until, say, 5 minutes early.

The whole "FP for shows," in practice, works "backwards" than it logically should.

Unless a show is nearly always filled to capacity... with guests turned away, a FP is not usually needed.
But, if you decide you DO want to go that route, holding a "FP" for that show requires you to get there EARLIER...
which is how guests who wanted to see that same show used to do it BEFORE the blasted FP+ "improvement" was implemented.

This bassackward problematic situation is also exacerbated by the "3 FP+ LIMIT" (initially) of the system.

 

[Aggiegrl]

The problem with this is... It means that guests who DO have a FP must arrive well before showtime (at least 15-25 minutes) in order to be seated 15 minutes early. Whereas walk-up guests don't have to get there until, say, 5 minutes early. The whole "FP for shows," in practice, works "backwards" than it logically should. Unless a show is nearly always filled to capacity... with guests turned away, a FP is not usually needed. But, if you decide you DO want to go that route, holding a "FP" for that show requires you to get there EARLIER... which is how guests who wanted to see that same show used to do it BEFORE the blasted FP+ "improvement" was implemented. This bassackward problematic situation is also exacerbated by the "3 FP+ LIMIT" (initially) of the system.

I agree with your assessment, but if I'm reading this right, the FP+ holders get to choose their seats if they arrive early? Does every FP+ have to have "reduced wait" as a benefit? Isn't better seating a different, but good benefit too for some people?

Every time I've been to FOTLK standby (pre FP+), I've been told exactly where to sit, even if there were better seats available. They herded us into rows in an orderly, cattle to slaughter manner. Now, I understand there aren't any truly "bad" seats in the theater, but I do like to be closer to the floor or on an end so my kids have a chance of being picked to parade around and so that there are less heads in front of them.

Honestly, I was trying to select FP+ for AK last night. There just aren't many other options for us. My kids are too short for EE, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and Kali. Nemo is too long for my young kids, they get bored after about 20 minutes. We don't need to see the Mickey and Minnie, as we have a character meal. ITTBAB is showing as not available for some reason. That leaves the Safari and FOTLK for a kid centered day (we will have a more adult ride centered day later in the trip). Might as well pick FOTLK.

 

[oliviaik]

When we went last week, we showed up about 10-15 minutes early for standby and the line was so enormous that we either weren't going to get in or we would get terrible seats. We ended up changing one of our Fastpasses to FotLK for a later showing and that worked out much better. They let us in before the standby line. Everyone sat in bleachers.

 

[kidd_freeper]

I was there 3 weeks ago.

We got FPs for Lion King because there were not a lot of other good options for an AK FP+ for our group.

The FP+ was nice to have. We showed up near the end of the window and walked right in. Not floor level seats, but we were in one of the smaller sections and the seats were good.

It was nice to not have to wait in line with the summer heat and the mob, but if you have other choices for a FP+ that you'd like to use perhaps FP+ for Lion King isn't worth it. Nice to have, not necessary.

 

[Aggiegrl]

I was there 3 weeks ago. We got FPs for Lion King because there were not a lot of other good options for an AK FP+ for our group. The FP+ was nice to have. We showed up near the end of the window and walked right in. Not floor level seats, but we were in one of the smaller sections and the seats were good. It was nice to not have to wait in line with the summer heat and the mob, but if you have other choices for a FP+ that you'd like to use perhaps FP+ for Lion King isn't worth it. Nice to have, not necessary.

So, you were still told where to sit?

 

[Robo]

So, you were still told where to sit?

The CMs always tend to "wave/herd" guests to a location in the seating.

We generally KNOW where we intend to sit** and (if the spots are still open, of course) we head right there, regardless.

(**No, not on the front row, or even in the first few rows... I know the "sweet spot" for the show.)

 

[ucfknight]

So, you were still told where to sit?

When we went last week with FP+, they were directing FP+ guests to a specific section. The first people in were directed to the right until they had filled 5 or 6 rows. Then they started directing people to the section directly across until they filled 4 or 5 rows. They they started directing people to the section on the left, etc. Each section ended up with the first 5 or 6 rows being FP+. When they let in standby, all of those folks sat behind FP+ guests in each section.

 

[Aggiegrl]

When we went last week with FP+, they were directing FP+ guests to a specific section. The first people in were directed to the right until they had filled 5 or 6 rows. Then they started directing people to the section directly across until they filled 4 or 5 rows. They they started directing people to the section on the left, etc. Each section ended up with the first 5 or 6 rows being FP+. When they let in standby, all of those folks sat behind FP+ guests in each section.

Great info, thanks!

 

[bjakmom]

The CMs always tend to "wave/herd" guests to a location in the seating.

We generally KNOW where we intend to sit** and (if the spots are still open, of course) we head right there, regardless.

(**No, not on the front row, or even in the first few rows... I know the "sweet spot" for the show.)

Robo - we also have a "sweet spot" for FOTLK we always try to sit in over the years. Is the new theater set up the same way as the old one? Are the 'floats' still the same and do they enter the theater the same way, from in between 2 sets of the bleachers? Are the bleachers still shaped the same way, in a triangle shape so the end seats stick out further than the row in front? Kwim?

 

[ucfknight]

Robo - we also have a "sweet spot" for FOTLK we always try to sit in over the years. Is the new theater set up the same way as the old one? Are the 'floats' still the same and do they enter the theater the same way, from in between 2 sets of the bleachers? Are the bleachers still shaped the same way, in a triangle shape so the end seats stick out further than the row in front? Kwim?

The theater is pretty much exactly the same. From what I can tell, they transferred the bleachers over from the old theater and slapped a thin coat of paint on them.