WDW vet back from 1st trip to DL

[PinkBudgie]

if you can get there early enough to get a blue FP then there is absolutely no advantage in getting the PS. The PS people are corralled with the others in the "pen" for an hour then you get to enter a roped off area where the view is about the same as the blue FP viewing.
If you want to try Ariel's then by all means go for it but don't do it for the PS.

Again we spent $100 less at Le Brea and had a really good meal.

We got to the rope this past summer about 45 min ahead of time because we were misdirected where to go. We had Priority Viewing and were about 5 "layers" of people back behind the rope. Everyone else was going to the other viewing areas and we were only the second family to enter the priority area. We got a spot at the railing and had an excellent view of the entire show. No one around us in either spot was pushy, but of course, that is completely luck one way or the other. So, we loved our priority viewing, I guess the trick is to get to the railing. Otherwise, it probably doesn't make a difference. I'm glad we did it once, but next time we go to see WOC we will try the picnics- I still don't want to wait in line for WOC FPs.

 

[princesslillybug]

Thanks for all the feedback on DL/DCA. So many fun decisions to make!!

 

[Cartcanuck]

I was there last week for the first time as well and also got to experience the WoC madness...

...World of Color is overrated in my opinion. Let me preface this by saying that the show itself is beautiful, everything else about it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Personally, I wouldn't say WoC is overrated. As you say, the show is beautiful. It's a great show. But I agree about the rest of it. Let's just say it was a very big challenge to my patience.

Disney should be ashamed of how it handles crowd control at this show.

I do agree.

Wrong. You still have to line up with the herd of people an hour before they let you into the show, which is another 45mins before the show actually started. Then when they let people in even if you follow the advice here (which we did) and got to the front of the crowd so you could get a decent spot people will run you over and literally knock kids in strollers over to get by you. This was easily the closest I have ever come to punching someone in the face at a theme park. I was just about to snap as someone jumped over my daughter's head when I heard someone else yell at the kid before it even registered to me what had just happened. But we were still one of the first third of people in so our view was still good right?

We got there early and got Blue FPs. We went down pretty much right at the time they tell you to line up and we were waaaaaayyy back in a line of people. And the general discussion in the lineup was one of total confusion. No one knew if it was the right lineup until people started breaking out of line to go an start asking questions. Usually there are Disney people everywhere keeping chaos to a minimum, but not here. We had to go looking for people to make sure we were in the right line. Meanwhile, I could see people starting to gather on the bridge over to Ariel's Grotto. So we could have just as easily taken one of those spots along the rail as stayed in line for a blue section, which ultimately we got stuck with a partially obstructed view and ended up behind 3 rows of people. We weren't impressed with the process.

Wrong again, I am 6'1" and I had to hold my 6yo over my head so she could see and I only saw about half of the show. My wife had to hold our 4yo for her to see.

Same here. I'm 6ft my wife is 6ft, and she was craning her neck to see anything and I had Littlenuck in my arms or on my head the entire time. Thankfully the people in front of me weren't huge people (they were a very nice and friendly asian family on their first visit as well) so between us we worked out some body positioning that worked for us all.

Again I blame Disney for this as they are usually really good about crowd control but this was a disgrace. Then on top of that there is no seating anywhere...which is also why the sight lines are so terrible. Put in seats even if it means less people will get to see the show, at least the ones who do will actually enjoy it.

I have to agree with this. I would have paid extra for seating. My wife is 5 1/2 months pregnant, so by this time of the day I would have paid any price for seating.

I thought i was just having a bad night but I heard the same complaints of several others that were sick of standing over 90 mins for a show and end up having a bad sight-line. I can't even imagine what the people who had "bad" views saw.

I heard a lot of grumbling too. Mostly about being tired of standing and just dealing with big crowds. My wife (again....she's pregnant) after standing in line with the FP's and then standing for another half hour or so needed to pee and needed something additional to eat, and she walked all the way around Paradise Pier looking for a vendor of some sort that was open, but nothing was. Boy, let me tell ya, don't piss off a 5 1/2 month pregnant woman who has been walking around DCA all day with an over-sugared 4 yeard old after Ariel's Grotto lost our reservations. She wasn't happy by this point either. Note to parents or anyone else who attends.....if you think you'll want or need snacks while in line or while waiting for the show, bring them yourself.

Again I thought the show itself was really beautiful

Totally. It was fantastic. I really liked how they incorporated Mickey's ferris wheel lights into the show as well. We really enjoyed the overall show itself and were one of the many who "ohhhh'd and awe'd several times".

but if you have small kids I can honestly say don't bother wasting your time at this show. That's right my advice is to skip it as even though it is nice it is just not worth the aggravation.

I"m torn. It was such a great show I'd have trouble telling people NOT to go see it. I just think it's worth setting appropriate expectations. With the FP I expected a shorter lineup, less wait time, and a better viewing position. I DO think it's worth seeing the show, just be prepared to exercise some patience (more than with anything else between the 2 parks). I was disappointed in the FP as I could have lined up just as early and gotten a better viewing position higher than where I was and without having to hoist my kid over my head (which I try not to do because we are suddenly blocking people behind me, but what can you do). (sidenote: just for fun, for those who go to WoC, as the music and water and colour starts, look throughout the crowd in front of you and it's a funny phenomenon....hundreds of kids suddenly appear on the shoulders of hundreds of parents... it was almost comical watching these little silhouettes appearing as the show started).

All in all, I still have to say it's worth seeing. Just be prepared to have your patience stretched.




Great trip report by the way.

 

[shmedly123]

Note to parents or anyone else who attends.....if you think you'll want or need snacks while in line or while waiting for the show, bring them yourself.

I agree wholeheartedly...for a lot of youngsters(or those carrying youngsters in your case) two hours is a long time to go without some sort of snack. I would add to be prepared to play games to keep them busy as there is no pre-show entertainment to speak of.

I"m torn. It was such a great show I'd have trouble telling people NOT to go see it. I just think it's worth setting appropriate expectations.

That is the part I struggled with the most, but in the end I decided that I had such a great experience with the rest of the resort that it mad this experience seem that much worse.

 

[Cartcanuck]

That is the part I struggled with the most, but in the end I decided that I had such a great experience with the rest of the resort that it mad this experience seem that much worse.

You know, even with all the bad weather we had to deal with (pouring rain on the Tuesday) I would consider the lineup, crowds, and poor planning around the WoC to be the low part of our trip (I'll tie that in with Ariel's Grotto losing our reservation and not being able to find a decent place to sit and have supper before WoC..........and we didn't even think of leaving CA to go to Storytellers for supper!). It was far from anything that would ruin our trip, but I do remember walking away afterwards thinking "I'm so glad we get another day in Disneyland after this because I wouldn't want to leave the parks feeling like I do right now". It's too bad because the show itself really is wonderful to watch .

 

[HydroGuy]

now here comes the part where I might get flamed...World of Color is overrated in my opinion. Let me preface this by saying that the show itself is beautiful, everything else about it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Disney should be ashamed of how it handles crowd control at this show. We had the WOC dining package as we weren't going to get to DCA early enough to grab the blue FPs so we figure this would be a great alternative right?

Wrong. First of all the food at Ariel's grotto was vastly overpriced (a family of four two being children 6 or under was over $160 with tip) and the food was just ok...by comparison we ate at La Brea in Downtown Disney the second night and the food was much much better and only about $65. But we got our "reserved dining" FPs so that was good right?

Wrong. You still have to line up with the herd of people an hour before they let you into the show, which is another 45mins before the show actually started. Then when they let people in even if you follow the advice here (which we did) and got to the front of the crowd so you could get a decent spot people will run you over and literally knock kids in strollers over to get by you. This was easily the closest I have ever come to punching someone in the face at a theme park. I was just about to snap as someone jumped over my daughter's head when I heard someone else yell at the kid before it even registered to me what had just happened. But we were still one of the first third of people in so our view was still good right?

Wrong again, I am 6'1" and I had to hold my 6yo over my head so she could see and I only saw about half of the show. My wife had to hold our 4yo for her to see. Again I blame Disney for this as they are usually really good about crowd control but this was a disgrace. Then on top of that there is no seating anywhere...which is also why the sight lines are so terrible. Put in seats even if it means less people will get to see the show, at least the ones who do will actually enjoy it. I thought i was just having a bad night but I heard the same complaints of several others that were sick of standing over 90 mins for a show and end up having a bad sight-line. I can't even imagine what the people who had "bad" views saw.

Again I thought the show itself was really beautiful but if you have small kids I can honestly say don't bother wasting your time at this show. That's right my advice is to skip it as even though it is nice it is just not worth the aggravation.

Thanks for all your observations!

I want to comment on your experience and opinions about WOC. First of all, I disagree that it WOC "overrated". The biggest reason IMO is that WOC is not rated that highly. Yes it has been promoted a lot by Disney, but a lot of people have had mixed/bad experiences with WOC.

See Remember Dreams Come True, Fantasmic or World of Color? Which is your favorite?. WOC is running a distance third, although I voted it first personally.

As for Disney doing a poor job with crowd control on WOC, I would suggest they are doing the best job possible given the circumstances. But in hindsight the viewing area design was not well done. The idea of using FP was the right one or else the viewing situation would be worse IMO.

I also would suggest anyone with a stroller at WOC find a place to leave it when getting to your viewing area. Then after you have secured your viewing area go back and get it if you really need it. When you see WOC from a good viewing location and you are not too tired, I think the rating for WOC goes way up.

As for rain and sunshine, being a native Southern Californian I agree that Californian overhype their sunshine! And when it rains you would think it equal to a 24 inch blizzard in Colorado!

 

[c&m]

In my eyes, SoCal is still the sunshine state. But then, we're from the Pacific Northwest.

WoC is a fantastic show and definitely worth at least one viewing. However, the OP probably paid too much for the FPs by eating at Ariels Grotto.

We went with the picnics for $14.99pp + the FPs and really felt we got a bargain - food (so-so, we needed to have dinner anyways), show (really good Disney quality and a good spot in the crowd), and no running to get FPs first thing in the morning.

However, if we had to pay $150+ for an Ariels Grotto dinner and then get only a crowded, standing-only spot to watch WoC, well then...my opinion may be different and may be more like the OP's.

 

[skiingfast]

As for rain and sunshine, being a native Southern Californian I agree that Californian overhype their sunshine! And when it rains you would think it equal to a 24 inch blizzard in Colorado!

Weather really is a thing desrcibed by perspective. I've looked out the window at a snow shower called a blizzard in Pennsylvania with breezes that in Florida are called hurricane force and thought it's time to get to the ski hill, conditions are going to be great.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Weather really is a thing desrcibed by perspective. I've looked out the window at a snow shower called a blizzard in Pennsylvania with breezes that in Florida are called hurricane force and thought it's time to get to the ski hill, conditions are going to be great.

Skiingfast I like your style! Australia is a land of weather extremes, especially here in Melbourne ... home of 4 season's in one day!

 

[Sherry E]

I'm not only a native Californian but I still live here (sorry Hydro - you moved out of SoCal a while ago!!). What's funny is that I don't know a single person in SoCal who either hypes sunshine to non-locals OR freaks out about rain. I'm sure there are those folks out there, but I've never known anyone like that.

In fact, whenever we say, "It's raining," or "It's flooding very badly and there are mudslides," etc., etc., it's always someone from out of state who says, "But you have sunshine all the time." Or they say, "Well, at least it's not like it is in my state [fill in the blank as to what that state is]."

So the people I know don't actually hype anything - but many out-of-state people constantly paint us out to have perfect weather year-round, even if it's not true. We say it's hot - someone else jumps in and says it's hotter where they are. We say it's cold (and you have to remember that "cold" is relative to what you're used to, so we can't help it if we don't have 10-degree weather year-round), someone jumps in and says it's colder where they are.

So I think the "hype" comes not so much from us in SoCal - that is a myth - but from the minds of other people!

ETA: I don't know anyone out here who minds the rain. Everyone I know enjoys it. The thing that they do NOT love is the damage is causes when there are mudslides galore and flooding, or leaking roofs that cannot be fixed until it stops. That is a legitimate reason to freak out about the rain (IF there is anyone out here who is freaking out about it, that is).

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm not only a native Californian but I still live here (sorry Hydro - you moved out of SoCal a while ago!!).

Not trying to one-up you! I do visit there once or twice a year and did live there for 28 years. Plus I was third generation native. Father and grandfather born in SoCal. I did live all the way from Riverside to Santa Barbara to San Diego. Wife was born in Hollywood and grew up in Thousand Oaks. We have family all over OC, LA, SD and Riverside and visited them all our lives (and still do). So I feel comfortable discussing the subject. But you are absolutely right - I no longer live there.

What's funny is that I don't know a single person in SoCal who either hypes sunshine to non-locals OR freaks out about rain. I'm sure there are those folks out there, but I've never known anyone like that.

I do. When growing up whenever it rained the school system kind of ground to a halt when it rained and everything got cancelled. When it rained for the first time each winter there were tons of car accidents because forgot they need to slow down in the rain. Maybe that has changed? And living in San Diego everyone made a big deal out of "always sunny - perfect weather". Then when marine layers locked in for weeks at a time they would pretend it was not there. When the sun came back out it was back to the "always sunny - perfect weather" mantra.

So the people I know don't actually hype anything

I saw plenty of hype - especially in San Diego. Go into a beach town store where they sell shirts and you can see the "always sunny" shirts. What symbol did Disney choose for DCA's entrance? The giant sun.

During my last summer in San Diego I remember two mornings where I woke up and the sun was shining - all summer long. The rest were cloudy. Yes, by mid-day the marine layer/clouds burnt away often. Admittedly that was an anamoly - like this summer was. But it happens - and I do not believe the statistics on how many sunny days they claim in many SoCal cities. I lived there and I question how they define sunny (sun pops out into the haze? for an hour?).

Where I live now in Colorado - that is a place with sun. FWIW.

OK, you can rib all you want now!

 

[Judy from Boise]

another So cal native here........anyone who thinks it's sunny all the time never lived through June gloom! Little girls where i lived learned early you didn't want to be a June bride !

 

[Sherry E]

another So cal native here........anyone who thinks it's sunny all the time never lived through June gloom! Little girls where i lived learned early you didn't want to be a June bride !

I agree with you and HydroGuy. I don't think it's sunny all the time at all - this is why it always amazes me when it seems that so many people think California is a perfect state, weather-wise, year-round. It's a great state for many reasons, but by no means perfect!!

Trey, about your comment regarding the drivers - I tend to see a lot of bad drivers out here anyway. To be honest, I just don't see many good drivers at all. It seems people are always driving way too fast and too recklessly or way too slow. The drivers out here don't seem to be able to find a happy medium. And that goes for people I know personally too - they aren't great drivers, either!! This is not to say that everyone in SoCal is a bad driver, of course, but there are so many of them! So I think the rain just enhances an already unfortunate situation!