Harambe Nights...Sat June 14...Rain backup plan ...not good!

[Disneyglobegirl]

Just back from our trip and it was pretty rainy most of the week. We were able to get everything we really wanted to do and tried not to let the rain ruin too much for us, that said we did Harambe Nights on Saturday June 14 and as much as we tried to stay positive and have a great time Disney really dropped the ball on this one.

We knew going to it that there was going to be some storms coming through that evening...we checked the radar map and saw they were heading our way...why on earth can't they monitor this at Disney. It was like they didn't know it was going to rain and they were totally lost and confused on what to do with everyone.

At first it was ok...got to the park at 5:30....got our wrist bands and they did give everyone a rain pancho just incase, at this time it wasn't raining. We walked around the park and the girls got a couple rides in while waiting to be let into Africa. Once in it was really nice, face painting , lots of drinks stands and food stands spread out..it was nice. The food was good and drinks were plenty

We didn't rush to the theater so were seated higher in the bleachers for the performance , which we did enjoy and it was nice but would really have liked to see more live singing and dancing ...they did a good job...while watching the show it started pouring down as the show was over this is where it got really unorganized....they had to move people to 3 separate areas....some were moved to Tusker House, Pizzafari and the rest stayed in the theater...we were the "lucky ones" to stay in the theater....The people who were moved to the other venues got to eat and enjoy characters while we all sat around waiting and waiting for the tables to be set up and for the food and drinks to be brought in, we couldn't get up from the bleachers until they were done setting up....by the time we got to eat the others were done and heading back to the theater because that is where they were going to set up the DJ...no fun eating while others are crowded in and sitting in the bleachers ...also a few seemed to be helping them selves to more food while we are still waiting our turn for our table to be called to go get in line....

We did get to see Timon and Rafiki but missed out on Minnie and Mickey...maybe they showed up after for the DJ but by this time is was 10:30 and we had enough and headed back to the room.....I was really looking forward to this and didn't mind spending the money however I am very very disappointed in how this was handled...definately did not get our money's worth out of the experience......We really tried to stay positive and we know it's Florida and it will rain this time of year but seriously it was like the cast members and organizers were surprised about the rain and totally unorganized on what to do with everyone....So if you're going be sure to watch the rain forecast.....get into the theater EARLY so you can be moved to one of the other venues to eat and drink so you don't have to sit and wait and wait your turn to eat......We did get some good pics and it wasn't a complete loss but there were many many unhappy guests that evening.....

 

[erij11]

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear this didn't go so well for you. It's an expensive event and I agree they should have prepared for rain! I'm attending on July 5th so I really appreciate your review. Unfortunately, my guess is the last few events will be the best as they will have worked out all of the kinks by then.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear this didn't go so well for you. It's an expensive event and I agree they should have prepared for rain! I'm attending on July 5th so I really appreciate your review. Unfortunately, my guess is the last few events will be the best as they will have worked out all of the kinks by then.

Thanks ...we were pretty bummed and I wanted to make sure that others have a heads up and can be prepared if they have rain for their night....I know this was only the second showing and hopefully they will have a better plan and things will run smoother for others but I still am very disappointed because of how expensive these tickets were and how unorganized it was....I doubt I'll ever talk my hubby into doing another event like this because of this experience

Best wishes for a dry and fun event

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm sorry that didn't work out...everyone was so ecstatic that it didn't actually rain last weekend. I guess if you are going in the future keep an eye out for rain!

 

[sunnygal041]

I was there with 2 of my friends. We got moved to Pizzafari and it was awful. We were seated towards the top of the giraffe section. I enjoyed the show, but as for the rain, it really caused chaos. The CMs were totally disorganized and I agree, they need to have a better back-up plan. I felt like a second class citizen. Oh well.

 

[niclodn]

I agree with everything you've said! I was one who got moved to Pizzafari and would've much preferred to stay in the theater. Even though you had to wait for food, at least you were where the entertainment was. No one at Pizzafari knew what was going on. It was super crowded around the food (and they were slow to replenish), we had no drinks other than soda for the first 30 minutes or so and no entertainment at all for almost an hour. Then all we got were some African dancers and Mickey for a few minutes. We eventually decided to walk back down to Harambe and it was only then that we realized everything was still going on in the theater. Totally missed out on the DJ and most of the characters. We did get to see the band for about 45 minutes before the party ended. I did not like the show at all -- I could've watched the movie and listened to someone read from a script at home for free. For a show touted as a "theatrical production", it failed miserably in my opinion. Although the orchestra was amazing I had hoped that the street party would make up for what the show lacked. And I think it would've had the cast members been better prepared/educated on the procedure in the event of rain. Honestly, the rain didn't ruin the party for me -- the lack of information about what was happening and where did. As a result, we missed out on a lot and really felt like 2nd class citizens.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

So the other areas were just as bad.......so sorry to hear that and yes I agree we felt like second class citizens too.... I just can't believe there was no plan and it was so unorganized....we knew it was going to rain before we got there but we figured Disney would have a plan for rain.

Did you all get the survey? I just got one in my email for Harambe Nights and I left a very long detailed reply with it and how unhappy we were with the event and lack of a decent rain plan and how terribly unorganized it was.

We did the sparkling dessert party at Epcot earlier in the week and they had a back up rain plan that worked really well ...no complaints about that one.