I've never done a dining package, but I wouldn't do it just to get a guaranteed seat in ROL. I was very meh on the show, and it really doesn't need a FP+ anyway. Just show up 30 minutes early and you'll be fine.
This is what I was thinking/hoping. I really did love ROL when I saw it in May with my sister and my bff on our girls' trip.
How upset would you be if you didn't get a seat if you waited in the standby?
On one hand in the past September has been one of the slower times at WDW,
it's during the F&W festival so people may be over in Epcot,
people will be checking out Pandora at night.
The standby line may not be that bad.
I'd be VERY upset if I stood in the standby line and didn't get a seat, to put it mildly! I don't mind standing in line 30 minutes tops, but I have a slipped vertabrae that makes standing still for any length of time pretty painful, and makes my feet go all pins and needles, so really like to try to avoid that.
I wouldn't pay a premium for this experience. But since you really loved it, that may be worth it to you.
This is my dilemma, lol. I did really love it. If I knew I'd def get a seat waiting standby, there wouldn't be an issue.
We did dining package 2 nights ago and I think I would have been just fine with stand by instead. Standby seating is near the dining package section and close to showtime overflow stand by guests were being seating in dining package section.
I'm thinking the time we're going in September should be less crowds, so standby should be okay. There's only one showing per night at that time though, so don't know if that will make a difference.
Last week we went to ROL when they had a second show and walked right in. I got a FP for it about a half hour in advance just in case and it was unnecessary.
I'm going to keep trying to get a FP for it, especially since there's only one show when we're going.
I would standby unless you also would like to eat at Tiffins
We would like to eat at Tiffen's, but not at 4pm, which is the only time available, and the latest you can get with the package is 4:30. Also, I'm not a dessert person, so hate having to pay for something I normally wouldn't get anyway.
Is the price of a dining package more expensive than just dinner? (My guess is yes).
I would just figure how much you would spend for dinner at Tiffins without the package and then see if that difference is "worth" it to you (all relative).
For some , paying extra for something that is free is not worth it, for others it is worth it to have hassle-free seating. All depends on you really.
Personally, I would MAYBE get the dining package if I had plans to eat at the restaurant anyway. I would not get reservations at a restaurant just to get the dining package. (Which is the whole point of these packages .. to draw people to eat at restaurants and pay for a perk that costs Disney nothing additional)
I'm thinking it is more expensive because normally we'd order one app and share, and not order dessert. I am getting the dining package just for the show. We do want to eat here, but would possibly do the Nomad Lounge for small plates, or lunch, or a late dinner. 4pm is just a sucky time for us. Throws my whole plan out of whack.
We were just there in July. On our first night at AK we did get a reservation for Tiffins and did the ROL package. This was our most expensive meal of the trip. We were really excited to try Tiffins, so the seating for ROL was a bonus. The seats were in a great spot. When I made the Tiffins reservation, there was only one show scheduled nightly. If I would have known, I would have just done standby for the second show and not done the dining package. We wouldn't have ordered an appetizer and dessert with our meal normally.
On our second AK day we decided to see it during the second show and got great seats and didn't have to wait long. The first showing was completely full though.
Wish they were having two showings during our trip. This is my fear, that since there is only one showing, it will fill up, and we won't get a seat after standing in line, and I can not and will not get in line more than 30 minutes ahead of time. When I went in May with my sister and my bff, we did the ROL dining package at Tusker House. This worked out really well for us because we wanted to eat there anyway, and we got great seats for the show. The line for standby was really long, and I was so glad I wasn't standing in it.
