La Hacienda!

[AppleSister1]

Hi! We are just back from our semi-annual Christmas trip, and have decided to go again week after Easter. We love eating in WS, but wanted to try something new, so we have adrs at Via Napoli for the first night and La Hacienda for the last night...8pm, so we can be there for Illuminations. Question: if we are seated away from the windows can we get up to view like you can at say, CG? Thanks!

Any other thoughts on both restaurants are welcome. I'm seeing mixed reviews on both, so...fire away!

 

[sdwrdt]

We ate at La Hacienda the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was practically empty when IllumiNations came around. One family actually left about 15 minutes before IllumiNations began saying they wanted to see the fireworks show. We ended up moving to their table because it was closer and lower!

I would think you could ask at the front desk to see if they could try to seat you at a front window.

We really enjoyed the food there.

But being fireworks nuts, this wasn't the same experience as being outside.

 

[catne]

we liked both restuarants ...have actually eaten at Via Napoli twice now.

People do get up and go to the other section of La Hacienda for Illuminations, but it's not like Cali Grill where you go out on a deck to watch. At La Hacienda, you're crowding in-between people's tables. The way it's set up, about 1/3 of the tables at La Hacienda have no view of Illuminations. We were seated at 7:45 and had requested a window seat. Well we got the window seat, but in the section that has NO view of the Illuminations lagoon (actually has a view of just about nothing...the walkway that goes on towards Norway...during Illuminations, that's like looking at a brick wall!) About 1/2 the people seated in our section did get up and go stand in the other section to watch Illuminations. We didn't really care enough to stand between other people's tables for 20 minutes (there is not a designated area to stand, you just stand wherever you can behind the other tables. Personally I don't think I would have enjoyed Illuminations if we did have a table in there because people were crowding around to watch the fireworks

 

[sdwrdt]

We ate at La Hacienda the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was practically empty when IllumiNations came around. One family actually left about 15 minutes before IllumiNations began saying they wanted to see the fireworks show. We ended up moving to their table because it was closer and lower!

I would think you could ask at the front desk to see if they could try to seat you at a front window.

We really enjoyed the food there.

But being fireworks nuts, this wasn't the same experience as being outside.

 

[WEDWDW]

we liked both restuarants ...have actually eaten at Via Napoli twice now.

People do get up and go to the other section of La Hacienda for Illuminations, but it's not like Cali Grill where you go out on a deck to watch. At La Hacienda, you're crowding in-between people's tables. The way it's set up, about 1/3 of the tables at La Hacienda have no view of Illuminations. We were seated at 7:45 and had requested a window seat. Well we got the window seat, but in the section that has NO view of the Illuminations lagoon (actually has a view of just about nothing...the walkway that goes on towards Norway...during Illuminations, that's like looking at a brick wall!) About 1/2 the people seated in our section did get up and go stand in the other section to watch Illuminations. We didn't really care enough to stand between other people's tables for 20 minutes (there is not a designated area to stand, you just stand wherever you can behind the other tables. Personally I don't think I would have enjoyed Illuminations if we did have a table in there because people were crowding around to watch the fireworks

I concur with this great info.

I was "Pixie Dusted" with a GREAT "IllumiNations view window table" at Hacienda during my trip last month.

It was AWESOME and since it was FREEZING outside it was more "awesomer" to watch from indoors as I enjoyed a great meal.

It was really cool-they pipe in the IllumiNations music.At the moment that the Narrator "blows out" the Lagoon Torches,the lights in Hacienda are dimmed.

Although I had a GREAT experience,as mentioned,ther are VERY,VERY few "prime" tables.

Hacienda just isn't "set up" very well to provide a great IllumiNations experience for A LOT of Guests,only a FEW.

I would not encourage anyone to make a Reservation there JUST for the IllumiNations experience,unless the Guest goes in with a "if we get a "good" table,fine,if we don't,fine" attitude.

 

[AppleSister1]

Excellent info! We've seen Illuminations about 346 times goodvibes) so I don't think anyone will cry if we don't get a prime table. If anyone wants to see and can't, I suppose they can always go outside!

And maybe Tink will send some pixie dust our way!

Thanks so much!