Quick! I have a Disneyland dilemma..

[DisBabe94]

Hello my Disneyland friends!!

I have a friend coming into town and I am taking her to Disneyland, tomorrow!! She has a one day park hopper pass no extra days unfortunately.

So a little background: She wants to spend most of the time in Disneyland. She got the parkhopper added on as a gift from her dad, she just wants to do a few rides over there Soarin, California Screamin, etc.

Okay so here's my problem: I was really really hoping to surprise her with a reservation at Blue Bayou! and I got... two of them!! One is for 9:50 pm, so that kind of sucks cause the park closes at 11 and that is very late to be eating.... One is for 6:50 pm which is perfect dinner time EXCEPT that means I can't take her to see World of Color! But then again I'm not even sure if she will even want to spend that long in DCA to see world of color since the show isn't until 8:15.

If you were a relative newbie to the Disney parks and had never seen World of Color or been to Blue Bayou, what would you rather be surprised with? A showing of World of Color and a late dinner (so late we will be eating the last hour that the park is open)? Or more time in Disneyland and a dinner at Blue Bayou at a reasonable time?

HELP!!!!!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I'd rather use that last hour to get on rides with shorter waits, so I'd probably opt to skip WOC.

Just a heads-up that DL will probably be a bit crowded, especially in Tomorrowland, because of the "May the Fourth" crowds - just something to keep in mind when planning out your day.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I would keep checking for more reservation times to open up because people might cancel today to be within their 24-hour cancelation.

 

[Susie63]

If you could swing it you could do the WOC dessert party. See the show and save time. You will ride POTC and you could show her the restaurant.

 

[DisBabe94]

I'd rather use that last hour to get on rides with shorter waits, so I'd probably opt to skip WOC.

Just a heads-up that DL will probably be a bit crowded, especially in Tomorrowland, because of the "May the Fourth" crowds - just something to keep in mind when planning out your day.

Thanks for the input!!

Thanks for the heads up, I'm very familiar with the park but as a local I must say I'm not used to the commando touring we are going to be doing!! I am planning to do Star Tours, Astro Blasters, then Space FP first thing before heading over to the other side of the park to hit BTMRR, Splash, HM and PoTC! Then we'll come back ride space, get FP for matterhorn, ride alice, and it's a small world, then matterhorn, then dole whips and tiki room before we head to DCA ... I'm so excited to be taking her!!!!!!

 

[tinklvsu]

Personally, I'd opt for World Of Color. Eating (no matter the time) at BB, will take up a good amount of time. You could make a list of "not to be missed!" snack items at both parks, and try them out together! Catch WOC or just have the extra time for rides? Either way I think she will LOVE it. How could you not?! Have a great time!!!

 

[ktlm]

If it were me and I only had one day, I would pick WOC over Blue Bayou. In fact, if we only had 1 day, we would not do any TS meals-- it takes too much time. My first adult DL/CA trip, was on a business trip and DH came with me and we went out early and spend a day at the parks. We got there at opening went at fast speed all day; ate only CS because we did not want to spend time sitting at TS; hit the Aladdin show, but skipped any other shows or parades, and had a fantastic time! This was before WOC- I adore WOC and Aladdin is gone- so if I was doing it again- I think my one show pick would be WOC! Has she mentioned wanting to eat at Blue Bayou? I know you want to do it as a very nice gesture- but I know if I had one day at DL/CA I would just be edgy sitting in there eating when I could be out exploring! If it is something on her dream list, Blue Bayou might be her priority

 

[Angrose]

People will have different opinions about WOC. I have seen it once and thought it was just OK. I personally LOVE Blue Bayou and believe me, after running around the park all day it will be so nice to sit down and have a relaxing dinner. I did just this with one of my good friends from Ohio just last month. We didn't even get to the park until 2:30pm, rode POTC, Dumbo, IASW, BTMRR, then had an early dinner at Blue Bayou, single rider for Indy, did some shopping then found our place for MSEP. Fireworks were cancelled and she was tired, so we called it a day after that. It was so fun and she loved it! Have fun with your friend!!

 

[Nevada Jen]

I would do WOC dessert party if you can get it. Blue Bayou is awesome and special for us Disney addicts, but I suspect its really just a super dark Outback Steakhouse to newbies. On the other hand, us addicts are jaded, WOC is absolutely amazing to newbies. If you could somehow manage to get a RSR ride in after dark (single rider?), I think that would be awesome. When you head over to DCA, you should still be able to grab a Soarin fastpass. I would get that first. Oh and assuming you are there at rope drop, get a fastpass for space before riding any rides.

 

[DisBabe94]

You guys are all reading my mind, I keep typing replies and then get more answers with more great insight! Thanks!!

I am starting to lean towards World of Color over Blue Bayou, and just cancelling both ressies. I agree with a PP who said WoC is just meh to me but I looove Blue Bayou, but my friend is a newbie so I'm really not sure she will even be that interested in a meal Blue Bayou.. And World of Color might totally blow her away? Plus, she recently turned 21 so maybe she would be more agreeable to spending more time in DCA?

 

[pblack]

Why not casually ask her and see what she says? Something along the lines of..."What do you think about catching the WOC show?" Or "What do you think about a nice sit down meal in the evening?" At least then you'd know what she wants to do. Personally i'd rather spend my time sitting for a meal then standing around waiting for WOC.

 

[Niltiac]

Personally on my first trip, I enjoyed WoC much more than Blue Bayou. That said, with only one day, I might opt for neither. It depends on her personality. If she likes to take her time and isn't going to be worried about doing all she can, then she might enjoy one or the other as a break. If you're definitely going to take her to dinner, I would choose the earlier time because the last hour before closing is a magical time to run around without crowds. I wouldn't do both dinner and WoC because that eats up the entire evening.

Are there any lunch options? For someone doing a commando-style one-day trip, a late lunch might be a good time to rest and gear up for the evening. Do you know if she would like a sit-down meal? On my first trip sit-down meals were purposefully limited because we had a list of treats and snack foods we wanted to try so we didn't want to eat full meals.

 

[DisBabe94]

Okay, Okay, What do y'all think about this: I cancel both Blue Bayou Ressies. We get the World of Color Fastpasses so we can see it IF we are feeling up to it when the time comes, then if not we can just go back to DL and hit more rides. And I get a late lunch reservation at Carthay Circle? (can't find any lunch at Blue Bayou)

 

[DisBabe94]

I picked up a lunch reservation for Carthay Circle at 1:50!

 

[Susie63]

And since she just turned 21... a table with drinks at WOC might be perfect. Close to the same price at BB but you could just stroll up half an hour before the show and sit down. It all depends if they have any reservations available of course

 

[Newstarr]

I love BB but if I only had one day I would want to make sure I rose all the rides. And got some great Character Photos (my favorite activity). I could watch fantasmic 10,000 times but WOC isn't really my thing. I think your plan sounds amazing and you are a fabulous friend for planning it!

 

[DisBabe94]

And since she just turned 21... a table with drinks at WOC might be perfect. Close to the same price at BB but you could just stroll up half an hour before the show and sit down. It all depends if they have any reservations available of course

I wish I had thought of this sooner! I'm not finding any availability

 

[disneychrista]

Honestly, with only one day to do the highlights of BOTH parks I would skip both Blue Bayou & WoC. With one day I would not want to waste time eating or dedicate 2 hours to one show.

 

[Midnightred]

Honestly, with only one day to do the highlights of BOTH parks I would skip both Blue Bayou & WoC. With one day I would not want to waste time eating or dedicate 2 hours to one show.

I agree totally! I think if you only have one day you just want to experience as many rides as possible!

Midnightred

 

[kristabelle13]

I picked up a lunch reservation for Carthay Circle at 1:50!

Convert it to a WoC reservation! Better value* and then you can just slip into a good viewing of WoC closer to show time!

I legit think it's a wash when I did the math for the three courses + non-alcoholic drink to have the WoC option plus you get the prime viewing.