My WoC expereince June 22 and 23

[ironlou]

Yes we got to see it twice while on our trip. We did Ariels Grotto on tuesday and the picnic on wednesday.

The food at ariels was nothing short of great! I was a little nervous because of the various reports at how the food was average but I guess teh cooks were all on that day! From the appetisers to dessert everything was tasty and as I put it "the food was made with love." I had the seafood soup called Cioppano - Lobster claw, pink scallops, redfish, green lip mussels and shrimp, plus Bilbao Chorizo bathed in a robust fire roasted tomato broth. Very tasty! everyone else had the Santa maria style Tri-Tip - Slow roasted over rock salt and smoked with red oakwood. served with cheddar herb mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. They also said their food was excellent.

Because we had 7pm reservations we got to the viewing area at around 750 so people had been getting spots for over 20 minutes. So I was a little bummed out because I am the tallest of our group at 5'9 and I had kids ages 9 and 11. When we got to the blue section which was the premium there was not much left to grab. Once the show started the kids were able to see the whole show which made me very happy.

The next day we had picnic tickets. The food was decent. if you do not like cold fried chicken then stay away from the all american one. I enjoyed it but Im sure there are come that dont.

We had the yellow section so I got there at 630 lol. Once I got in I got the perfect spot for me and the family. Once the show started I told all the kids in my area to come up front so they could see whic made a lot of parents happy. Im hoping that when they go see shows they will do the same and so on and so forth.

The show is awesome!! My mom desribed it best. Disney is doing fireworks with water now.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Happy to read a positive experience! We are going to Ariel's and also planning on ordering the picnic for another night. Hoping we get good viewing at one of them!

 

[1disneynutt]

Would you recommend one over the other as far as seating? Just wondering if I can get by cheaper by getting the picnic and still get around the same viewing experience.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Great report, thanks.

Jack

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks for the report!

For the preferred dining you were in the blue section? not in the center section? You were grouped with blue FP holders?

this is what I'm still confused about. doesn't preferred dining get it's own section?

 

[ironlou]

When we go again I will just do the picnic now that I know what to expect. If I had a map of the palce I would circle where I was exactly for both and with the picnic I was closer adn there was no one in front of us.

Its hard to say who I was sectioned with when I did Ariels plan. There was a lot of people there when we got there and I dont remember THAT many people eating when we were. It must have been AP holders I guess.

Ariels has its advantages because you get a great meal and a good center section to view. You just have to eat early so that you can get in line and get a good spot. With the picnic we got our lunch exactly at 2 and we got yellow. Its a give and take.

 

[ironlou]

I took this from another post so the colors might be wrong but......

On that center section you all see where that pink line starts from the top? Thats where we were for Ariels, at that light post. When we did the picnic we were in the blue area where the pink lines ends that makes a smile, right at that light post. The blue area was called yellow for us....strange.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks! So, it's still not clear on whether they are changing the color assignments nightly. Hmmm....

 

[jodeja]

Although we had problems finding a good view at the WOC show for my kids, we did like the food at Ariel’s Grotto and had a nice experience there. A poster on another thread described it as Olive Garden quality – well, we like Olive Garden!
My DS9 had the chicken on a sugar cane skewer off the kid’s menu. It was very good, but a small portion – just one skewer. I knew my DS11 would want a larger portion than the kid’s meal, and that he would share with his brother, so I ordered him the tri-tip off the adult menu. They both loved the tri-tip. But, that was all they ate – they didn’t like the appetizers, the sides, or the desserts. Oh well – at least they loved the main course.
I had the pasta and I thought it was quite yummy. Here is the description: Mafalde Pasta with Italian Sausage
Curly ribbons of Pasta tossed in a Piemonte-style Ragù with spicy Italian Sausage, Sautéed Bell Peppers, and Sweet Onions
I could only eat less than a third of it though. I wish the DLH had microwaves in the room so that I could have brought the leftovers back with me. I also read other reviews that the bread was hard, ours was crusty sourdough, but the bread was soft (I do not like bread that is too hard and I thought our bread was great! Loved the whipped butter too.) I thought the desserts looked better than they tasted but I really enjoyed the dark chocolate triangle (the kids ate the gold beads off of it).
We went June 18th at 5:20 and sat outside in the far corner out on the water. The temperature was perfect. I was over-thinking the outside v. inside seating choice, but I’m glad we chose outside.

 

[brenda1966]

Although we had problems finding a good view at the WOC show for my kids,

I'd like to hear more about this. Why did you have problems? What time did you get into the area? It's sounding to me like the preferred dining doesn't offer many good spaces for kids to see and perhaps we need to take our chances on the picnic FP's as they seem to cover more area.

 

[debdreamsofdis]

We had the yellow section so I got there at 630 lol. Once I got in I got the perfect spot for me and the family. Once the show started I told all the kids in my area to come up front so they could see whic made a lot of parents happy. Im hoping that when they go see shows they will do the same and so on and so forth.

This was wonderful for you to think of and do for all those families!! We have 4 children under the age of 8 and I'm really nervous about trying to see the show. I could handle it if I didn't have a good view, but if my kids couldn't see anything at all it would be truly disappointing. I'm sure all the parents were very appreciative. I hope we are as lucky as the people around you were.

 

[ironlou]

Thanks for the compliment.

I just hate seeing kids struggle to see while adults ignore them. Putting them in front wont hurt your viewing at all and it allows mom and dad a chance to find the right angle to watch. I do the same for Fantasmic, I alwasy tell the parents that when the show starts that their kid is moving to the front of me to see and you parents have to fend for yourself.

 

[sandgrace]

Thanks OP for all of great info! It's good to know that you had a good view with the picnics we just purchased them online for our trip in July. Do you really have to get there at 6:30 for the 9:00 show , I was hoping with the reserved seats we could get there a little later than that.

 

[ironlou]

If you want a good view then yes. We got there at 630 but were lined up behind barriers they set up outside the viewing area. Notice in that picture I posted, the top right hand corner you see barriers. When they start at 730 they tell you where to go and the cast members take your tickets when you reach your section. So technically you are waiting a little over 2 hours but the show is WELL WORTH IT!!!!

 

[KCmike]

Great info. Thanks for taking the time to report. We are going to go the route of the picnic but only because of the expense.

 

[50sjayne]

We did the fast pass one day and got yellow. Ended up all the way towards the center in the section past the soak zone. Was ok with just a couple of short people ahead of us there. Ended up with blue for our picnics the next day and was in the soak zone but we didn't get wet at all. I was behind that block thing, up the first steps no one in front of me and it was awesome! I think the blue zone is better simply because the show seems to lean more towards that direction. It could have been better projections too though because it was less windy that day. I offered to let people's kids in front of me both times- the first night the lady declined because her kids were fine standing up in the stroller, the second night I just let Dad in front of me as I was on the rail and they didn't obstruct my view at all, I just leaned forward a bit.

 

[jodeja]

I'd like to hear more about this. Why did you have problems? What time did you get into the area? It's sounding to me like the preferred dining doesn't offer many good spaces for kids to see and perhaps we need to take our chances on the picnic FP's as they seem to cover more area.

Hi Brenda1966,
Here is where I wrote a more detailed report of my WOC viewing experience:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2495596&page=2

My personal lessons learned:
1. Your view really just comes down to who happens to be standing in front of you and if they are taller than you or not.
2. Get there super early!
a. Our dining reservations were at 5:20 and we were seated promptly. However, we didn’t leave AG until 6:50; both because we weren’t rushing ourselves and our service was slow. We should have gone directly to the queue from the restaurant, but I wanted to run (sprint) to the DLH to grab light jackets and ponchos in case we were in a soak zone. We should have already had those with us, but I didn’t imagine that dinner would take an hour and a half. So we speed-walked from AG to DLH, grabbed jackets & ponchos, and speed-walked back, getting us to line by about 7:35. Our tickets said to return between 7:30 and 8:30, but the recommendations per DISboards is to be there between 7:00 and 7:15. I would definitely agree with that. As I said in my post in the other thread, we were at the front of the circle right at the top of the stairs with 1-2 rows of people in front of us. I was fortunate that the woman standing in front of me was about an inch shorter than me and I could see in between the heads in front of me. Even though we were at the top of the steps, because we’re not very tall, those standing on the stairs could still be taller than us because the steps themselves are short. I was satisfied with the view that I had personally; I was just stressed out the whole show about the kids’ view. They kept moving around to different areas trying to find a decent view for themselves that wasn’t blocking anyone else. Had we been there earlier we possibly could have got a spot on one of the rails.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks jodeja! I guess we'll have to make sure we don't consume too much ice tea before we line up because we'll be stuck in there for hours!

 

[PRomano]

Thanks for the report!

For the preferred dining you were in the blue section? not in the center section? You were grouped with blue FP holders?

this is what I'm still confused about. doesn't preferred dining get it's own section?

We had the preferred dining section, we ate at Wine Country. The Cm's looked at our fast passes and sent us to the preferred section without an issue.