Hoop Dee Doo- Pay for Seating!?

[Mickey28]

Disney is really punishing those of us who do our research and prepare for our trips! It use to be that when you called to make a ressie for HDD you were assigned your seat by first come first served. The earlier you called the better seat you were assigned. No more. Now you just need to pay a premium for a good seat, and even some of those are not great. They have cat.1 seating all the way at the back of the room and your ticket will cost you almost $10 more per person. So from now on you don't have to be early and be rewarded for planning you just need to pony it up. It will cost my family of 4(2 kids 4 and 8) $180 to get a cat.1 seat and we may be at the very back of the room! Sorry, Had to vent a little.

 

[MissionMouse]

I believe it still remains that each category is on a first arrive, first seated, so it still pays to show-up early for your category.

 

[DaisyD]

Cat 1is the front half of the floor. Cat 2 is the back half. Cat 3 is upstairs. I am happy they changed this. We were stuck with the upstairs once and it was horrible. We vowed never to go again til they changed the seating. It it worth the few $$$ to be able to sit downstairs.

 

[Mickey28]

Cat 1is the front half of the floor. Cat 2 is the back half. Cat 3 is upstairs. I am happy they changed this. We were stuck with the upstairs once and it was horrible. We vowed never to go again til they changed the seating. It it worth the few $$$ to be able to sit downstairs.

According to the seating chart on this site cat. 1 is the whole first floor not under the balconies except the last row. And it is not when you arrive it is when you order your tickets that they assign your seat. I just think it is wrong to charge more for seats that use to be all the same price. Nothing about the seating has changed. Before, if you wanted good seats you just needed to plan and call at the earliest possible time. So, if you were one of those people who planned ahead it doesn't matter now, they're just going to charge you more.

 

[Zooey72]

We lucked out Big time when we went. We showed up late and saw a HUGE line. Went over to the tickets and said we had reservations. They were nice and said "oh, you don't have to wait in line. YOu have 4 in your party? Follow me". They walked us past all the other people waiting right into the place and seated us front center right in front of the stage! It was cool as heck, like we were royalty or something! This was even before the category seating.

 

[Christine]

I always did HDDR under the old plan. This year I went under the new plan (last minute) and Category 1 was not available. I was "happy" to be able to chose between Category 2 and 3 and knowing I wouldn't get placed upstairs.

I don't see the big deal with the change. If you call early and plan ahead, you will still get Category 1. I don't think that the prices are that much out of line either.

 

[mabenoab]

I called late...only 11 weeks before our trip, and got Category 1 seating. Does that mean we have bad seats that we paid top dollar for?

And ours was over $200.00 for a family of 4. I'm gonna eat a LOT of chicken!

 

[jumoo044]

We sat upstairs last time and I thought the view was great! I would not hesitate to sit there again.

 

[Luv4Disney]

I don't think it's that big of a deal. It kind of make sense. It's like when you go to see a show, you pay more for the better seats. That's just my take on it though. We love the HDDR, so we don't mind paying a few extra dollars for better seats.

 

[fishy_mouse]

Can you get cat 1 seats if you are using DDP/ (2TS)

 

[sunlover13]

We have category 3 seating and have never been to Disneyworld before. We are using the Dining Plan (2 TS credits). Is it worth it to go if we have category 3 seating or should we cancel and use our 2 TS credits elsewhere?

 

[Pumbaa_]

If using TS credits, you have Tier 2 or Tier 3, based on availability. Tier 1 is cash only

 

[Christine]

We have category 3 seating and have never been to Disneyworld before. We are using the Dining Plan (2 TS credits). Is it worth it to go if we have category 3 seating or should we cancel and use our 2 TS credits elsewhere?

All the seats at Pioneer Hall are EXCELLENT. Of course, Category 1 is better in that you are right up front and you won't have a waiter walk in front of you.

For this past trip, I sat in the back of Pioneer Hall for the first time (Cat 2). And I mean WAY in the back. I couldn't get over how excellent the seat still were. I saw and heard everything perfectly. There were two times during the show where I waiter had gone to a Cat 1 table to give them some more food, and my view of one of the actors was momentarily blocked. That's it. In Cat 2 and Cat 3, there are some seats at your table where your back might be to the show. These seats swivel and they have timed the show so that you really don't need to turn around while you are in "active" eating.

 

[InLoveWithTheBeast]

You can get Cat. 1 with the premium and platinum plans if you are using their dining. I reserved it a couple of weeks ago on premium and got cat 1 seats for our family.

 

[Disney's Fab 4]

Can you get cat 1 seats if you are using DDP/ (2TS)

No.... I already asked!

You used to be able to a couple of years ago, but not anymore.