RoL - Standby vs. Dinner Package

[bettymae1121]

We'll be at WDW the last full week of April 2018, and this week is my 180 day window so I'm trying to get my dinning reservations figured out. Two notes:

• I don't want to do FP+ for RoL as I'd rather use it for something else and have the option of getting more FP later in the day once we use the first 3.
• We would only do the 1st show (if multiple shows are offered) as we don't want to have our 5 year out so late

We plan on doing a sit-down dinner at AK regardless. My preference is Yak and Yeti but am open to Tuskar House (Tiffins is just too pricey for the package) if I decide to go the package route.

So the reason I'm considering the package is so we don't have to kill our whole evening waiting in line and then waiting some more once seated for the show to start. That said, if we don't have to get there super early to snag a seat then I'd rather just eat at Yak and Yeti.

So, if we do standby, how early do we need to head over to RoL for the first (or only) showing? I'm not looking for the best seat in the house, we just want to make sure we can get in to the show. And I do expect to have to wait some, I know I can't stroll in 5 minutes to show time, like I said earlier I just don't want to kill our evening waiting around. Been there/done that with Fantasmic/Illuminations/MK fireworks and I'm over it! I'd rather have a less than ideal viewing spot or pay for a package if it means I'm not saving a spot or waiting in line for 90+ minutes.

Any insight is appreciated!

 

[ajwolfe]

Following because I'm toying with the same scenario for May.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I can give you a perspective on the ROL package (we did it in mid-September). We did Tusker House for dinner with the latest time available, 4:30. It was probably my favorite dinner of our trip! That early time worked out great as it was nearly empty when we arrived and didn't have to deal with any lines/crowds at the buffet. The food was also super fresh. The characters were great and spent a lot of time with us, especially considering how we were only 2 adults. I can't recommend TH enough!

For the show itself, we showed up very late due to a delay with a FoP FP. Even though we got there less than 10 minutes before the scheduled start, we still got seats in the center section, just in one of the higher rows. Worked out great for us, as we still had a great view and also no one ended up sitting in front of us so we weren't crowded in.

I would absolutely recommend the TH package, and if I was going to see RoL again I would probably do the same thing.

 

[bettymae1121]

Anyone else? I'm all ears!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I can only relay what we experienced when we went to ROL in late August. We had a FP+ and were fairly late getting over to the theater, though we were still within our FP+ timeframe to get a seat. As we were heading over (we went through Dinoland, past Nemo and EE to get to the FP+ entrance) we could hear the CM's yelling to the standby crowd "It's is standing room only". So, I'm not sure how many standby people even got in that night. To play it safe, I would just book the TH package.

 

[mckennarose]

We did a Tusker House dining package for breakfast in May. When we were walking to the dining package entrance that evening we passed people standing in SB line about an hour and 15 minutes before the show started. That's how early I saw them lining up.

I love the food at Tusker House and would recommend it, even without the ROL dining package. But if you're looking for a guaranteed seat without using a FP+, I think it's a good way to go. Breakfast is cheaper too, if that's a concern.

 

[bettymae1121]

We did a Tusker House dining package for breakfast in May. When we were walking to the dining package entrance that evening we passed people standing in SB line about an hour and 15 minutes before the show started. That's how early I saw them lining up.

I love the food at Tusker House and would recommend it, even without the ROL dining package. But if you're looking for a guaranteed seat without using a FP+, I think it's a good way to go. Breakfast is cheaper too, if that's a concern.

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. The last thing I want to do is line up that early for a spot. Ugh, maybe I'll reconsider the FP+ for RoL. I'm sure the food at TH is good, I'm just not a fan of buffets - for my daughter and me it's such a waste of money because we don't usually eat more than a single plate of food. Then again DH can eat his weight at a buffet so that might take the sting out.

Thanks to those that have answered, and I'm still open to additional opinions and experiences!

 

[Klayfish]

That wasn't our experience with standby. We did it in July. We heard all the hype about wait times so we showed up, with a FP+, about 50 minutes before show time. What a waste. We could have showed up 20 minutes ahead and still gotten a seat. Granted it was standing room only, but we did see a bunch of people walking in as the show was just about to start.

Add that to the fact that we were pretty disappointed with the show, and we agreed we wouldn't do that again. If we do RoL again, it'll be last minute standby if they have the room.

 

[Wubar]

Booked Tusker for 10:40 am for our January 2018 trip. Just checked too many boxes for us not to, was a no brainer for us. Time frame should bridge breakfast and lunch so we should be able to try items from both menus, designated seating for ROL which means I save time not waiting in standby as well as not having to use a FP+ for it, and it's also a character meal so my son gets to see some popular characters! After rope dropping Navi and hopefully getting a FP+ for FoP, it will be nice to sit down, take a break and have a meal, and it being a buffet makes me feel I can get more value from it if I'm particularly hungry that morning.

 

[mckennarose]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. The last thing I want to do is line up that early for a spot. Ugh, maybe I'll reconsider the FP+ for RoL. I'm sure the food at TH is good, I'm just not a fan of buffets - for my daughter and me it's such a waste of money because we don't usually eat more than a single plate of food. Then again DH can eat his weight at a buffet so that might take the sting out.

Thanks to those that have answered, and I'm still open to additional opinions and experiences!

I would think you have a good chance of getting FP+ since most people (?) will be trying to get FP+ for the Pandora rides.

I'm kind of in the same boat again for our upcoming May trip as we will have someone with us who has never been to AK and wants to see the show. I am afraid to book a TH breakfast package bc I'm not sure we will even get FP for FOP at 60 days out, and if we have to rope drop it I don't know if we would make a TH breakfast ADR time. From what I've seen, chances are slim for FOP FP even at 60 days out, or if I can get FP it could be for any time during the day. Makes the rest of planning difficult!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

That wasn't our experience with standby. We did it in July. We heard all the hype about wait times so we showed up, with a FP+, about 50 minutes before show time. What a waste. We could have showed up 20 minutes ahead and still gotten a seat. Granted it was standing room only, but we did see a bunch of people walking in as the show was just about to start.

Add that to the fact that we were pretty disappointed with the show, and we agreed we wouldn't do that again. If we do RoL again, it'll be last minute standby if they have the room.

That was us. We had fast passes. But right before the show they were still allowing people to come in and get a seat. Or to stand as it got really close to the start.

The show was okay. There were some cool parts.

But overall? It was really just okay.

 

[CJN]

Booked Tusker for 10:40 am for our January 2018 trip. Just checked too many boxes for us not to, was a no brainer for us. Time frame should bridge breakfast and lunch so we should be able to try items from both menus, designated seating for ROL which means I save time not waiting in standby as well as not having to use a FP+ for it, and it's also a character meal so my son gets to see some popular characters! After rope dropping Navi and hopefully getting a FP+ for FoP, it will be nice to sit down, take a break and have a meal, and it being a buffet makes me feel I can get more value from it if I'm particularly hungry that morning.

We did the 10:40 Tusker House thing back in April and it worked great. Personally, I liked the dining package because it took all the stress out of deciding when to line up, etc, without using up a fastpass, or even worse, preventing us from getting additional fastpasses.

 

[jmkjr72]

Here is my thoughts don't book a fp for the show till later In the day
After you use your three fp you can add another
We don't do shows for fp or book late unless that's all we can get

Some of the buffet at disney aren't typical we love tusker booma Askerhouse because they have other offering

 

[bettymae1121]

Thanks again for all the feedback, I decided to just go ahead and book the RoL package at TH for dinner, and I'll just have to try not to let my eye twitch when DD only eats half of a PB&J...

I really want this trip to be as low stress as possible. We really, really need a relaxing fun week away (WDW or otherwise) - the last six months have just been stressful beyond belief (I'll spare you the details). Things are fine now, but this trip is really important to us as a family (although DD doesn't know we're going yet...shhh!) and me stressing out about RoL the whole day is just not going to be relaxing