River of Lights - standby vs dining package

[goofy4wdw2]

Thoughts on ROL standby vs a dining package mid/late August? How is the seating with or without the package? How far in advance should we arrive if we don’t do the package? Thanks!

 

[Bete]

If you have two shows then maybe by going to the later ROL show you can skip the dining package. Seating will depend on how early you arrive. I would give it 45 to 60 minutes ahead of the show time.

With the dining package I feel you get a good viewing area. Again, you still need to arrive early if you want the best seat in that section. There are poles in the seating area. You do not want to be near a pole; it really blocks your view.

 

[goofy4wdw2]

Thank you. Are there poles on the standby seating area also or just the dining package area?

 

[cuteinnocent]

Don't need dining package. When we went plenty of regular seats and all views seemed great to me. People were even arriving right before start, but maybe at that time might need earlier.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We got the dining package and will not do that again. A lot of seats available.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

The dining package will get you a more centered view at a later arrival time. If that's something you value, get it. If not, go Stby or pick up an FP late in the day. We did the dining package and I'm happy we did. But we also all liked ROL and lots of people don't so that plays into it too.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We went spring break (crowd level 10), saw the late show, and walked in 10 minutes before. WIDE OPEN seating. I felt silly even getting there 10 minutes early

5 or 6 entire sections stayed completely empty.

If there are 2 shows, I would see the second and skip dining package or FP.

 

[Bete]

All areas have the poles/pillars. It's the way the stadium is set up.

I agree with the previous poster. There are those who really like ROL and others who are not impressed.

 

[Shanti]

Thoughts on ROL standby vs a dining package mid/late August? How is the seating with or without the package? How far in advance should we arrive if we don’t do the package? Thanks!

We had great seating with the dining package.

 

[CAS239]

If you already plan to eat at one of the two restaurants, then do the dining package. If you didn't plan on eating at one of the restaurants prior to thinking about the package, do standby or fp

 

[gharter]

I wouldn't do the dining package just to get the seats. There usually are plent of open seats unless the park is extremely crowded.
However, if you are going to eat at the restaurant anyway, the dining package isn't a bad deal.

 

[mckennarose]

We did the Tusker House breakfast package last year and it was great. Last week we got a FP for the second show (10:30 PM) while walking through AK around 7PM. We wanted to see Pandora at night first and the time slot worked great for us. Plus the show was nowhere near crowded and we had a good pick of seats.