Will I regret missing Spectro?

[nosy parker]

Ok, so my entire schedule and ADRs is all good except for one glitch. I have been able to schedule everything in except for Spectro. It is only being done 3 times during our stay. One night we're at Cali Grill (scheduled it to see the fireworks) and the other night we're at Coral Reef (with menus and diver). So I really can't change those without basically giving them up because they would be impossible to re-schedule. The last showing is on our last night, which will undoubtedly be crowded because of Jersery Week (it's an 8 at UG). I have dinner reservations at Yachtsman at 8:15, so I would have to see Spectro at 7:00 and then rush out (not seeing Wishes) to make it for dinner. It' s a bit late with kids (6&7) and I'm wondering if I should just not bother running to MK at all and schedule my dinner at a more reasonable hour? Will I be really sorry that I missed Spectro? I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out a way to do it, but I can't. At least not without a lot of rushing and stressing. Last thing I want to do is freak out and be yelling "we gotta go, hurry up" at my family (been known to do that ) just for a parade. It's our first trip so we'll have no idea what we'll be missing.

Also, can I make it from a 5:50 ADR at Narcoossee's to Wishes at 8:00? I figure I can arrive early for dinner since the restaurant opens at 5:30 and we will not actually be waiting for a table to be clearing at 5:50. So maybe they will seat us earlier than our ADR.

Thanks for reading through and any advice!

 

[jensen]

I would... Spectro is one of my favorite things. If you have a car, I'd say you can make it work, but if you are depending on Disney transportation... No way. Just make sure you put it at the top of your list for your next trip because it's really great!

 

[jpeltier]

It's very pretty. If this will be your one and only trip, I'd cancel Cali Grill and see the fireworks and Spectro in the Magic Kingdom. The food at Disney is not worth missing the night time parade.

 

[Bobo912]

I would regret it. Spectro and Wishes are must sees for me on every trip.

 

[therealgoofy]

It's very pretty. If this will be your one and only trip, I'd cancel Cali Grill and see the fireworks and Spectro in the Magic Kingdom. The food at Disney is not worth missing the night time parade.

I 100% disagree with this. California Grill is one of our top experiences at WDW. If you somehow are able to work in Spectro I would not exchange it for this night.

 

[dreamergirl78]

SpectroMagic for me is a must see! Even my husband who was not a fan of Disney (this last trip turned him to my side of the force) said it was one of the coolest things he had ever seen. He even video recorded it!
Since Spectro is not shown every night, you MUST get there early for good seats. Some people stake their claim an hour or more before. If any night has 2 Spectros, go see the second one. If not, plan on getting your seats EARLY!!
Narcoosee's is not a meal to be rushed through. It was one of our most enjoyable meals on this last trip. Mostly because we lft our kids at the Neverland Club and there were very few kids there which was nice for us! It took us about 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish. You would be cutting it SUPER close.
Just decide what is important to you. The experience of the food or the parades and fireworks? Some members of our traveling party rolled their eyes too when I mentioned parade. But after they all said how awesome it was!!!
You know your family best so good luck with your decision.

Ok, so my entire schedule and ADRs is all good except for one glitch. I have been able to schedule everything in except for Spectro. It is only being done 3 times during our stay. One night we're at Cali Grill (scheduled it to see the fireworks) and the other night we're at Coral Reef (with menus and diver). So I really can't change those without basically giving them up because they would be impossible to re-schedule. The last showing is on our last night, which will undoubtedly be crowded because of Jersery Week (it's an 8 at UG). I have dinner reservations at Yachtsman at 8:15, so I would have to see Spectro at 7:00 and then rush out (not seeing Wishes) to make it for dinner. It' s a bit late with kids (6&7) and I'm wondering if I should just not bother running to MK at all and schedule my dinner at a more reasonable hour? Will I be really sorry that I missed Spectro? I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out a way to do it, but I can't. At least not without a lot of rushing and stressing. Last thing I want to do is freak out and be yelling "we gotta go, hurry up" at my family (been known to do that ) just for a parade. It's our first trip so we'll have no idea what we'll be missing.

Also, can I make it from a 5:50 ADR at Narcoossee's to Wishes at 8:00? I figure I can arrive early for dinner since the restaurant opens at 5:30 and we will not actually be waiting for a table to be clearing at 5:50. So maybe they will seat us earlier than our ADR.

Thanks for reading through and any advice!

 

[FayeW]

Here's the thing...if you've never seen it, you won't know what you are missing, so "regret" is probably too strong a word.

Having said that, Spectromagic is my very favourite thing in all of Orlando. I could go to MK and see NOTHING but Spectro and Mickey's Philharmagic and think that I got my money's worth. (I even bought the Spectro CD!) On the other hand, I think Disney dining is highly overrated, so if I had to choose, I would choose Spectro over dinner at the Yachtsman, and just have something in Magic Kingdom instead. But that's just me.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Personally, I would not miss Spectromagic. It is my very favorite thing in all of WDW. I am listening to the soundtrack from it right now. Without seeing it, you would not know what you are missing and whether you would like it or not. I personally think that 6 and 7 y.o. kids would much rather see Spectro than eat at a Siggie Restaurant esp that late. I am by no means saying that your children are not well behaved. BUT, many kids at the end of a Disney day are out of patience/energy/etc...to enjoy the time it takes to eat at a Siggie Rest. If the trip is for the kids, I say see Spectro as they will love it. but if the trip is for the adults, go to the Siggie rest, unless you are truly a kid at heart.
Don't get me wrong, I have truly loved many of our dining experiences at WDW. But something like Spectro cannot be experienced anywhere else. There are lots of great restaurants everywhere.
Go have fun, enjoy your trip. I'm sure you'll be fine with whatever decision you make. Heck, you'll be in WDW.

 

[angelmav]

Were in the opposite camp, its just a street parade with the characters wearing a bunch of christmas lights. Its kind of cool to see once, or if you really like parades, but we hardly find it to be a must see event.

 

[dalt01]

it is worth watching

 

[selina4disney]

FayeW, you said exactly what I feel. First thing I do when we plan a trip is make sure we go to MK when Spectro is running. My all time favorite parade. But...I've seen it so I know what I would miss. During the August trip our night at the MK seemed empty...missing some magic...because Spectro wasn't running while they fixed the Liberty Square Bridge.

 

[nosy parker]

Thanks everyone! I guess I have to see Spectro!

I think what I may do is feed the kids at MK (maybe CS) and then stake out a seat for the parade. After Wishes DH and I can go to Yachtsman and enjoy dinner. My eldest DD19 will be with us, so she can either take the little ones back to the resort, or if the kids are up to it, they can bring their word search puzzle books/Nintendo DS (with earphones) and join us but only have dessert. I've never let them have video games at the restaurant, but I guess I can make an exception. They are very well-behaved. We were out last night and had a lady come over to them and remark at how incredibly well-behaved they were. She told them that she rarely sees even teenagers this patient and quiet! They were quite proud of themselves and I must admit so was I. They just quietly talked/played with each other and did their word search puzzle books (they love those!).

I keep telling DH I have to extend my stay because I've run out of time for the restaurants - darn it!

 

[nosy parker]

Actually, does anyone know if there is a kids club at the YC/BC?

 

[Clotho]

Also, can I make it from a 5:50 ADR at Narcoossee's to Wishes at 8:00? I figure I can arrive early for dinner since the restaurant opens at 5:30 and we will not actually be waiting for a table to be clearing at 5:50. So maybe they will seat us earlier than our ADR.

Sounds like you have made up your mind on the other issue, so I will address this one!

Seating times are not only dictated by tables being open. They help structure the influx of customers for the servers. In restaurant lingo we call it "getting slammed" when a large number of tables are all seated at once--the server can't take care of them all at once, and the kitchen can't make all that food at once. You will find that while yes, at 5:30 all the tables in the restaurant are free, they don't take reservations for all the tables right at 5:30 to make sure that seatings are spaced out reasonably.

That isn't to say they won't seat you early--they very well might! But don't count on it being a sure thing. it will depend on how many reservations are already on the books for 5:30, and if the servers will be able to take another table in that timeframe and still offer good service.

 

[playswithstars]

Let me start my saying our family is not parade watching people while at Disney. We don't like to stop in the afternoon and go watch a crowded parade.

Last time we were at late at night MK the park was getting ready to close and EEMH were just beginning. Everyone was crowded around this one area as we walked through it and we asked a security person if something was happening. We ended staying to watch Spectro. since we were there and it wasn't crowded. It ended up being really awesome and I took a bunch of pictures of the floats. Probably the most pictures of anything during the trip.

So I would def. not want to miss it but I guess you have to decide what you would regret not doing more.

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

We missed it. Well, we were late getting toward the route, and we stopped at the bridge just to the side of the castle to watch. We decided after about five minutes to go ride some rides while everyone was watching the parade. I don't regret it, but I do hope we get to see it on this trip.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I have never seen Spectro and it is a must see for me on this trip! There will only be one showing of it during any of the days that we will be in MK. We have ressies for 5PM at Tony's TS that night and Spectro is at 7PM. Do I need to change my res time or will I be ok?? If we miss it, I will be very dissapointed!

 

[pickles]

Personally, I would not miss Spectromagic. It is my very favorite thing in all of WDW. I am listening to the soundtrack from it right now. Without seeing it, you would not know what you are missing and whether you would like it or not. I personally think that 6 and 7 y.o. kids would much rather see Spectro than eat at a Siggie Restaurant esp that late. I am by no means saying that your children are not well behaved. BUT, many kids at the end of a Disney day are out of patience/energy/etc...to enjoy the time it takes to eat at a Siggie Rest. If the trip is for the kids, I say see Spectro as they will love it. but if the trip is for the adults, go to the Siggie rest, unless you are truly a kid at heart.
Don't get me wrong, I have truly loved many of our dining experiences at WDW. But something like Spectro cannot be experienced anywhere else. There are lots of great restaurants everywhere.
Go have fun, enjoy your trip. I'm sure you'll be fine with whatever decision you make. Heck, you'll be in WDW.

I agree with this 100% you can eat out anywhere, you can't see spectro anywhere. I am NOT a parade person, but this one and the Halloween parade are worth it.
You have a lot of sig restaurants..that may be asking a lot of such young kids, especially after a day at the parks. I would plan for them to do something else while you eat at these places. Do the kids a favor, they may be good hearted and quiet, but for a kid at Disney a long quiet dinner- that isnt much fun
you are at Disney, do Disney

 

[nosy parker]

I agree with this 100% you can eat out anywhere, you can't see spectro anywhere. I am NOT a parade person, but this one and the Halloween parade are worth it.
You have a lot of sig restaurants..that may be asking a lot of such young kids, especially after a day at the parks. I would plan for them to do something else while you eat at these places. Do the kids a favor, they may be good hearted and quiet, but for a kid at Disney a long quiet dinner- that isnt much fun
you are at Disney, do Disney

Yes, I think you are right. Actually it seems that there is the Sandcastle kids club at the Yacht Club/Beach Club resort, so I will feed them at MK and stay to watch Spectro & Wishes. We can then drop them off at the kids club and enjoy a quiet dinner while the kids have fun.

 

[mdoc]

This is a tough one. Spectro is a very cool parade, and a lot of fun to see. But ultimately, it's a parade. If you like parades, you would definitely regret missing this. We did not see it on the first trip we took after Spectro started, but we didn't know what we were missing, so we didn't regret not seeing it. We saw it the next couple trips and thought it was great. The last couple trips we've skipped it because it didn't fit well into our plans, and we didn't regret it because we'd already seen it a few times. Even though I'm not a huge parade person and I can go to WDW without seeing Spectro, I personally would see Spectro over dining at Cali Grill, but that's because I'm less into Disney dining than I am into parades.