My World of Color experience :-(

[Disney Dreams]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience. I think it's very sad that it was not ruined necessarily by the set-up of the viewing area, but by the rudeness of an inconsiderate fellow guest. When we saw ELP on the next-to-last night, they were VERY specific that the front 2 rows were to remain seated. Three minutes after the parade started, a gentleman directly in my sight-line stood up to record the parade. The entire parade various guests around him asked him numerous times to sit down. He didn't care.

Thoughtfulness for others' Disney experience is sadly something many just don't seem to understand. Sad, but true.

I hope the rest of your trip was enjoyable,
Dreams

While the man with the child on his shoulders was a jerk, it is still a problem for many people to view the show. To see as it was, we had to lean towards the main screen. We got there 20 minutes early to line up before even our lineup time. Still we wouldn't have gotten a rail spot had it not been for the kindness of a gentleman who waved us over. I would argue that people who PAID for a reserved seating Fastpass and lined up that early ought to be able to have their children see the show.

As I said, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I agree with you that EVERYONE should be able to see the show. I still believe that the rudeness of fellow guests is sad to read about, as in your post. Not sure why you singled out my reply, but I think we are more in agreement than you believe.

- Dreams

 

[Eeee-va]

I'm sorry for your bad experience, kelmac284!

I don't think the picnic people are generally put in that same area as the Reserved Dining area. Maybe sometimes, and maybe on accident some CMs let them through, but I've seen photos of Picnic FPs that clearly said "Blue" or "Yellow", whereas the Reserved Dining ones say "Reserved Dining."

 

[kelmac284]

I don't know but what I DO know is that the preferred dinning WAS the blue area and I know that a lot of the people that I have talked to that did the picnics said they had blue. Now if I got yellow I guess I would be ticked but if I got blue then it is def the same as where we were. Ours did say preferred on it but it was in the "blue" area. But regardless having done the preferred it was NOT worth what we paid and I am sure anyone who was in that area that night would have agreed. Unless you were extremely tall or up at the VERY front with an unobstructed view you could NOT see anything. So at this point I don't know if there is ANY truly good place except for whatever color is in front of the blue at the VERY bottom. I was looking at the seating chart and it seems there is a section even below the front of the blue that is RIGHT on the water. I suppose if you got THAT section and got at the very front where no one else could possibly be in front because the only thing truly in front of you is water then THAT truly would be the best spot!

 

[iKristin]

Dang...I think i'll just avoid the seating area and just look for a nice place along the pier to stand instead cause I'm only 4'11"...no way can I see with people in front of me

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm sorry for your bad experience, kelmac284!

I don't think the picnic people are generally put in that same area as the Reserved Dining area. Maybe sometimes, and maybe on accident some CMs let them through, but I've seen photos of Picnic FPs that clearly said "Blue" or "Yellow", whereas the Reserved Dining ones say "Reserved Dining."

I saw the same thing for the opening show on the 11th. I was floored when I saw people eating their picnics after the semi-fiasco I'd just been thru at WTT so I went and asked a CM about it. All she knew was that she let people in who had the preferred dining. She also showed me other dining passes that I think were with picnics. But there were some picnics that got the preferred in the blue area. The CM had no idea why some got preferred and some got the others.

 

[nunzia]

I don't know but what I DO know is that the preferred dinning WAS the blue area and I know that a lot of the people that I have talked to that did the picnics said they had blue. Now if I got yellow I guess I would be ticked but if I got blue then it is def the same as where we were. Ours did say preferred on it but it was in the "blue" area. But regardless having done the preferred it was NOT worth what we paid and I am sure anyone who was in that area that night would have agreed. Unless you were extremely tall or up at the VERY front with an unobstructed view you could NOT see anything. So at this point I don't know if there is ANY truly good place except for whatever color is in front of the blue at the VERY bottom. I was looking at the seating chart and it seems there is a section even below the front of the blue that is RIGHT on the water. I suppose if you got THAT section and got at the very front where no one else could possibly be in front because the only thing truly in front of you is water then THAT truly would be the best spot!

Dang..maybe watching it from the VGC is the best deal...sideways not clear view is better than no view at all...

 

[Eeee-va]

I don't know but what I DO know is that the preferred dinning WAS the blue area and I know that a lot of the people that I have talked to that did the picnics said they had blue. Now if I got yellow I guess I would be ticked but if I got blue then it is def the same as where we were. Ours did say preferred on it but it was in the "blue" area. But regardless having done the preferred it was NOT worth what we paid and I am sure anyone who was in that area that night would have agreed. Unless you were extremely tall or up at the VERY front with an unobstructed view you could NOT see anything. So at this point I don't know if there is ANY truly good place except for whatever color is in front of the blue at the VERY bottom. I was looking at the seating chart and it seems there is a section even below the front of the blue that is RIGHT on the water. I suppose if you got THAT section and got at the very front where no one else could possibly be in front because the only thing truly in front of you is water then THAT truly would be the best spot!

We were near the "fountain" area, solidly between Blue and Yellow, but definitely not IN Blue.

If you through the post at http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37079245&postcount=43 we were right between the two light poles in the section labeled "green" (Preferred Dining View)--actually, under the word "Preferred" probably! We were right by the rope for a walkway area, and people were not allowed to stand there, so we got an excellent view. I'm not sure if that was lucky or if the CMs were/are careful there. While some Picnic people might have been assigned there the first day, I don't think they are there now, and the area was definitely not labeled blue (or yellow, or green, or anything) at the time we went.

Again, our experience was the opening night; I know things change.

 

[franandaj]

To the OP, I was there the same night as you in the 9:00 show. We did the dining package at Ariel's and everything went well until we got in the the viewing area. We ride scooters, so we were in the handicapped section, same as people who paid for the picnic package! I kept hoping that the water screens would be high enough to see over the crowds. Even if I could have stood up for the whole show, I'm only 5'2" and probably couldn't have seen much.

Well as soon as the show started, some ******* hoists his kids on his shoulders. The kid was at least 10 or so, and now we had a 10 ft tall person blocking the left character in most of the animation in the first part of the show. He was across a planter box and a walkway, there was no chance of "tapping him on the shoulder". We hollered, "Down in front", "put the kid down", but either he didn't care, or couldn't hear us. Halfway through he put the kid down, but by this point we were so pissed and disappointed, it was hard to "save" the show. And we paid $100 per couple for four of us to get this view.

They really need to fix this problem because I've read many other accounts of this on other threads. I'm reluctant to post a report just because I was disappointed with the show. Here was my view:

 

[jodeja]

We also did the dining package at Ariel's Grotto on 6/18 and had viewing problems at the 9pm show.
We were standing at the front of the fountain/circle with one row of people in front of us and then the stairs in front of them.
There were people eating their picnics right next to us. I was very surprised that those who paid half the price for their picnic meal had a viewing area with those who paid for premium viewing. But, there were several people eating their picnic meals right there while waiting.
I could see reasonably well because the woman who happened to be standing in front of me was about an inch shorter than me (I am 5'4") but my kids had a very hard time seeing and that really ruined it for me. For the entire first half of the show I couldn't stop thinking "I just paid $120 for the dining package and my kids can't even SEE!" We did the F! dessert seating the night before and even though it was almost twice the price for just dessert, and my kids didn't even like most of the items in the dessert box, it was a FAR better value because we got front row seats for F!. I thought WOC was a big disappointment in comparison.
There were two women (read: grown ups) standing directly behind me who kept asking their husbands/boyfriend to lift them up so they could see!
There were a few kind people who tried to move over so my boys could see around them, but there was one woman who ferociously defended her kids' view. Her family was at the top of the stairs and before the show started my kids tried to stand about halfway down the staircase and she yelled at them. So, she really had the entire section of the staircase blocked so that no one could stand in front of her kids. I didn't think she needed to yell at my boys, and we weren't trying to block anyone else's view - but anyone with kids was trying desperately to find a decent view for them.
A nice family that we befriended on our trip had one person in a wheelchair so the entire family got to sit in the wheelchair section. They had a perfect view. Right down front and center on the rail. I think I remember that there were about 3 rows of benches for the wheelchair seating.
Before WOC actually premiered, many people were saying that the view wouldn't be such a big deal because the show is up high in the air. I did not find that to be true. The projections are not that high and the smaller, circle projection screens as well as many of the water effects are quite low. I don't think any of the projections were higher than Mickey's chin on the fun wheel. The water does at times shoot higher than that, but that is not the majority of the show.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I suppose I would give the show a 7 or 8 because of the stress of the viewing situation. If my kids would have been able to see, it would have been a 10 for sure. I asked my sons what they thought it was on a scale of 1 to 10. My younger one said "I thought it was a 10, but if I could have seen the whole thing it would have been a 20!!"

 

[kelmac284]

After looking at the chart I see that on the "chart" the preferred viewing is labled as green but I think that they call it "blue". I heard it referred to as blue anyway when I was there but irregardless we stood to the left of the fountain in the green area that goes off to the left by the fence if that makes sense. There is the round area and then the one long area that has the planter box and the box stage thing in front of it. We were right there behind that box thing. We "thought" it would be a good spot because like I said we were told if we went to the front of the circle we would def get wet and I see now by the picture that there is lower areas (yellow and blue) below the bottom of the green. So it seems that no matter what you could STILL have tall people standing in front of you at the front of the green even. It seems the very BEST part of the viewing would be the lowest blue or yellow section RIGHT on the water. I don't know how you guarantee getting in THAT area but I can tell you after having paid what we paid I was REALLY upset as some of the others have said.

If you see in the photo there is that wall thing with the lamp next to it to the left of the circle well people were leaning against it and eventually put their kids up on it. Once they did that I could no longer see. So like the last poster said it just made it impossible.

My kids said they could see but I honestly don't see how and ALL I could see was the very TOP of the screens. Like the tops of the heads of the cartoons and SOME side stuff. I would say I only saw maybe 1/3 of the show at best.

I think between having to wait in horribly long lines to get fast passes and then NOT being able to see it is just really poor all the way round. I think perhaps eventually if they maybe let everyone sit down and just restrict how many people can be at the show or whatever. I don't know but standing is NOT going to work and I gurantee they are going to get a lot of complaints. Esp from the people paying for those meals!

 

[Eeee-va]

That's awful, kelmac284! It sounds to me like they should cut off that whole area from "Preferred Viewing"--there's a huge mass of people in-between you and the show, and since the wall is directly in the viewing area, it's very difficult to prevent people from using the wall for support/viewing for their kids. Every parent wants their kid to see the show, and some either can't lift their kid to eye level, or in some cases, don't care if others can see.

The very front (viewer left) of that "green" section probably would have been unobstructed, unless someone did the kid/shoulder thing, though hopefully so close to the water, they wouldn't.

Our area worked just fine, but I'll admit that if a single person had put a kid on their shoulders in the "yellow" area on that map, our view would've been somewhat obstructed (not awful, but not as good).

 

[kelmac284]

And I don't blame people one bit for wanting their kids to see. I had my kids with me and obviously I wanted them to see as well BUT I would NEVER do anything so that MY kids could see that would obstruct someone else. My thinking is I would try to get their early enough to get the best possible place and hope that it was "good enough" so that it wasn't obstructing anyone's view. Like at the movie theater we try to get there early to get a good seat and then it is SO rude when some huge person sits in front of the kids. I ALWAYS look and if I see a little one behind me I try not to sit in front of them. I guess being a mom myself I think about that stuff.

As someone else said you would certainly be dissapointed after having waited in a long line or having paid for the picnic but to pay a couple hundred bucks and still see nothing is pretty bad. That is why I think at least for THAT section they should have seats or something like F! I said a few times to my mom that at least with F you are guranteed a good spot to see AND you get a seat! And to be honest the food at Ariel's was OK but certainly not 200 bucks great and we looked at it as paying for the "seating" not necessarily the food so obviously when we then couldn't see it was a MAJOR bummer.

Like I said it "seemed" that the very front of the circle might be good but it is really hard to say how the people in the front yellow and blue sections work out. I never thought anyone would stand on those stairs at the bottom of the circle either but when you get a 6 foot plus man standing ON stairs directly across from you, well forget it! And then like I said the whole wall fiasco. I thought it was funny too because the cm's kept telling people to get off BEFORE the show but then once it started they just let it happen. THAT is when they need it the most but I guess they don't want people milling around and possibly stepping on people or what have you???

Mom even said that this was an "experiment" this first time since basically the first time you go you don't know WHERE to stand but it was a pretty expensive "experiment" and one I am not sure I wish to repeat.

 

[houseful of boys]

We saw WOC last week. We pre-ordered picnics and were seated in the yellow section for the 9:00 show. We didn't get there until 8:05 or so. So everyone was pretty much packed in already. Because of this we decided to make our way down to the wooden "wet" section. We were able to stand directly against the railing all the way in the front (so no one was in front of us) in the yellow section which felt very centered right next to the red section. I have 4 kids ages 13,10,6, and 2. We loved, loved, loved it!! We did not get wet although if the wind had been blowing I could see how we could have been drenched, we were very close to the water! But we were lucky. I understand that higher up maybe we could have gotten a better idea of the different color patterns but where we were everyone could see and it took my breath away, it was so amazing!

Interestingly, we also saw Fantasmic this trip. I took a blanket and "reserved our seat" 2 1/2 hrs beforehand in the seated section. Not only did I hate having to sit on the hard concrete but my 6 yr. old cried for the first 5 min because he couldn't see. So finally , I had to sit him on my knee so he could see. Then I was sitting cross legged on concrete with a 55 lb. 6 yr old on me. Uncomfortable!!! And not the best view. So from my personal experience I much preferred the seating at WOC than Fantasmic.

 

[emacat]

Rude people drive me crazy. I do think they need more cast members controlling and dealing with that type of problem.

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. The show really is wonderful, and hopefully you can try again when all the insanity calms down. I'm only 5'2, and my daughter is shorter that that, so I understand what you're saying. We were at the top of the steps, which was great for the most part, but there was a guy two steps below who had forced himself in on everyone, and he had to be at least 6'4. There's no reason he needed to couldn't stand on the landing, as he could obviously see over everyone. He was taller than the two of us on the top step. RME

 

[emacat]

The CMs do let the adults carry their kids during the show where the child head is about the same height. But they will not let the kids be on the shoulders of the adults. We seen a lot of CMs walk into the crowds and ask the guests to put them down where there head level is at.

I have to say that I've never noticed this when we've seen WOC, Fantasmic OR the fireworks. They've asked them before hand, but during the shows, I've looked aorund wondering where a CM is to deal with it, and they're all just standing around talking, looking bored, or watching the shows.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I have to say that I've never noticed this when we've seen WOC, Fantasmic OR the fireworks. They've asked them before hand, but during the shows, I've looked aorund wondering where a CM is to deal with it, and they're all just standing around talking, looking bored, or watching the shows.

You are correct that the CM during the nightly shows ask people to do the followings, but when the show starts, they don't care about other people around them as long as the whole family with young kids can see the show. I barely seen any CM go into the crowds and ask the families to put their child down at head level.

When I was there during the first two days of WoC debut, during the show I have seen some of the Disney park security CM went into the crowds and have asked the adults that had their kids on the shoulders to put them down or carry them head level. I did not seen any other CM's in ride operator uniforms go into the crowds and asked the guests to put their kids at their head level. The ride operator CM's were just walking around and like what you said just sitting around and watching the show. To correct what I said in my PP, just the CM security was the only one going into the crowds, not the other CMs. Maybe they were strict that week during my visit on the opening.

I can understand the guests who have young children and want to see the fireworks, WoC, and F! in full view. It is not appropriate to block other people who are there to watch the shows and block someone else. I have got that before and I didn't like it. I'm just 5'5 and it is hard to see with tall people in front of me and putting their kids on the shoulders just make it even worse.

 

[letitsnow]

i just don't understand why they make everyone stand? also they should do it first come first serve without the fastpass. what a waste of tickets. we actually wasted ours because by the time we got to line it was pretty long already and being as short as we are knew that we would not get a good view anyways so we watched it next to the zephyr which was pretty good since no one was in front of us.

i did love the show but i don't think its something that we will be back for next time. we watch F! and the fireworks every time and try to even watch it everyday that we are there...but WOC seems to be a one time thing...even my kids except for one isn't as interested in it as the other shows and parades.

 

[Leshaface]

i just don't understand why they make everyone stand? also they should do it first come first serve without the fastpass. what a waste of tickets. we actually wasted ours because by the time we got to line it was pretty long already and being as short as we are knew that we would not get a good view anyways so we watched it next to the zephyr which was pretty good since no one was in front of us.

I'm assuming they make everyone stand for emergency purposes; if something were to happen at the park (fire, earthquake, etc), there's less of a chance that people would get run over when they are sitting down vs standing up...i agree though; it would be sooo much easier for everyone if we could all just sit down!! There would be no height issues! Unless you have like a 8 foot person sitting down right in front of you!

Reading this whole thread really deters me from seeing WoC. I was so stoked on seeing, even doing the whole meal thing, but really it sounds like too much of a hassle...I'll probably wait a looong time before seeing the show..I'm really hoping they can solve the viewing issue...it would be a lot less people for Guest Services to deal with, that's for sure!

 

[toonaspie]

This is why I spare myself the trouble and just watch the show on Youtube.

Depending on who filmed it, you're likely to get a better view than any visit to the park.