WOC for the cranky

[Brancaneve]

I have been wrestling with the same decision for months. Do we spend the time and money to see this show?

This thread has helped us make a final decision, along with these factors:

We have watched a video of the show on line.

We only have two days in the parks.



No WoC for us

Thanks OP!

I think I'm with you on that one! I don't even think paying $60 for a picnic is what I want to do. Thanks OP for your honesty

 

[kelmac284]

We went in June the first time like RIGHT after it opened and we did AG and while I felt the meal was good and even though most feel it is overpriced I feel that MOST of Disney's food is overpriced so considering that we prob would have paid even more for the SAME meal with the princesses I thought that part was OK. I didn't really like having to pay the full price for my 10 year old but otherwise I thought it was OK! That part aside we got to the line as soon as we possibly could and then when we entered the viewing area our big mistake was we stood behind a railing but back a ways because we didn't want to be up front and get wet. BIG mistake. We thought if we were up against a railing with a planter between us and the viewing area no one could possibly stand in front of us. What we didn't know was that down below us people would stand ON the stairs and block our view and people would put their children up on that cement fence thing even though they were told NOT too. RIGHT in front of us! So even after paying all the money. Getting their HOURS early and waiting we could see NOTHING. So THIS time I am going to try ONE more time but THIS time we are going STRAIGHT to the front. We will take our chances with getting "wet" but it will be worth it if we can actually SEE! And honestly I wouldn't have even done it again but my dh didn't go with us in June and he wants to see it so this is our second attempt and I am hoping we fair better this time! The only thing I am worried about is we are going the sat before Christmas and I am really worried about it being packed to the gills so I hope we don't have too many problems with crowds but I guess we will just have to see.

I CAN say that good or bad this will prob be the last time I mess with it. As much as I think it is prob a neat show I don't know that the expense of the meal and all the time and hassle is worth it.

 

[ter-moo]

We went to WoC in August when there were 3 shows. From what I've heard, the FIRST show is actually the most hassle-free so that's what we did. We ordered the picnics, picked them up around 6:30 with blue FP's and ate them in the area near WCT by the round planter of red flowers (right near the bridge).

I talked to several CM's as we waited, trying to get a handle on what would be happening. I got several answers, but the answer I got the most often was that they would discourage any type of line-forming until about 7:15, and that's exactly how it went. They used these purple barriers at that point to sort of "glob" us behind (not unlike a rope-drop) and then gradually "V'ed" the barriers to funnel us in when the time came. We were about 3 rows back from the front of the barriers, went for a spot that wasn't available to our group (although we'd been told earlier that it WAS) when they let us in, and then had to find another spot. We still managed to get against a railing with a very good view. I think the secret is to have a spot in mind (and an alternate spot, just in case) and go for it.

I found that some people were complaining through the process, but there were far more who were humorous about it. Actually, I found it to be fun to be "sharing" the whole experience with all these people--there was a Disneyesque lightheartedness about it all, and it made my experience a positive one overall. In fact, I thought it was comparable (if not easier) than having to stake out a spot hours ahead for Fantasmic and dealing with the blanket people who take up WAAAAAAYYY more space than they need to.

My husband and 19 year old son kept questioning me throughout the process (Is this REALLY what we need to be doing? Is this worth all this waiting? etc., etc.) They are both introverts and don't enjoy people as much as I do, so maybe that's the dividing line on how people's experience plays out...

Anyway, the BEST part of the whole thing was hearing them say afterwards that the show was worth it!

My sister and her family went a week prior to us with picnics and did the second show. They HATED the experience, as they were in line for hours. As we came out of our show, we SAW the line for the next show. I can see why that would be miserable. Our wait time was mostly just people milling about--we were able to sit and people-watch and not be crushed by a crowd. THEY were made to stand in a confined area and wait for over an hour. Plus we got the pre-show, which was fun.

I'll be going again December 1, with the AG dinner package. We'll see how that goes, in comparison.

 

[Tiggerholic]

The only seating for WoC is on an ECV.

They had some seating in the "disabled" Blue section, last night. Granted it was only 4 or 5 park benches, but it was something and it allowed for the family, all 10 of them, of a guest with an ECV a place to sit with the disabled individual. I think Disney needs to seriously rethink their policy of allowing EVERYONE to join the disabled.

MY BEEFS

#1 - why do they ALWAYS put disabled in areas off to the side, in front of permanent objects that block ANY view, and of course put behind everyone else who is standing up

#2 - Please have the CMs REALLY check the tickets to make sure "Blue section" people and only "Blue section" people are allowed in the Blue Section. We had reds and yellows, non-disabled, up with us in the disabled Blue section last night. The "guilty" individuals were also quite pleased with what they had done and were going to get their friends

#3 - Since they let everyone in so early, PLEASE make people form a single line to get in so I don't run over your kid with my ECV because you dragged them right in front of me to hurry and get the best standing place.

As with other concerts and other entertainment type things, I got exactly what I expected. To be shoved off to the side, behind a ton of people standing, which allowed me to enjoy the music and ONLY the music

 

[JustAKid]

Wow, so it's confirmed then that this special waiting area for diners is a VERY new thing, then? Because either that or the CMs when I went were grossly misinformed. We double checked many times and SHOWED them our preferred viewing fastpasses and they continued to assure us that we were supposed to stand and wait along with the masses, not somewhere else. We thought it was ridiculous and a little suspicious, but what can you do? I really had no idea how the whole thing worked and was completely dependent upon the CMs for WoC protocol info. This was Monday, October 4th and there was only one show.

It seems that both of the people who encountered the meeting area saw the second, or later showing (10:15). Perhaps that has something to do with it?

 

[Goofy_Mom]

I have the same delema. I'll be in the parks the 24-26 (Thanksgiving). I booked a AG?WOC dinner for the last day. I explained to my DH that how it stands right now is 1)eat dinner, 2)wait in line for an hour to have a better chance of getting a good spot, 3) be hearded like cattle into an area and wait for another hour for the pre-show (45 min), and 4) stand for another 30min and possibly have to crane your head and put the kids on our shoulders so we can all see. We have to do all this with a very wormy, energentic 2 1/2 year old boy and hope we don't tick off the people around us by running into their feet with our stroller or decking a stranger for pushing aside one of our kids. He is a very big guy and can look scary when he wants to (maybe we'll use it to our advantage).

I booked on the last day because I wanted to see what it's really like the day before so we kinka have an idea. If it looks even remotely scary, I'll cancel my PS and we'll see WOC next year when they've got all the bugs worked out.

 

[durantigger]

We did WOC on Saturday, October 23rd with preferred dining at Ariel's. I, like many others here, was debating even doing WOC because it sounded like such a mess to deal with. I have heard such glowing reviews from family & friends that I decided we had to try.

We had dinner at Ariel's at 5:20pm. Just me & DH, and we are fast eaters, so we were out by 6:30. The appetizers were OK, salad was good; we got the appetizer with cheese & no seafood. We both had the tri tip, which was fantastic. They do not give you a steak knife, but it is easily sliced with the wimpy knife they give you -- 'nuf said there. The mashed potatoes are PHENOMENAL!! And DH even ate the veggies, which is UNHEARD OF. The dessert tray was awesome, we ended up taking some of the dessert to go because it was just too much food.

Our fastpasses were for the 9pm show & said to return 8:15 to 8:45, which I thought seemed late. From reading the boards, I had learned to come 30 minutes before the early return time. So we had time to watch the opening of ElecTRONica, walk around there for awhile & returned at 7:45. It was one mass "grouping" of people at the barricades waiting to get in. No way to tell who had what color. They opened it up at 8:15, and I walked VERY briskly to the preferred dining area -- I was 3rd person in & easily secured spots at the rail! Woohoo!!! The area right behind us (from rail to stairs) filled up within the next 5 minutes. We sat on the ground with our backs resting on the rail until about 5 minutes before showtime.

When everyone stood, a man behind us asked if his daughter (maybe 6 or 7 yo) could stand in front of DH, who of course said yes. I thought the show was stunning. All I can say is WOW. Photos & video just so do not do it justice.

IMO, totally worth the dining package. The food was really good & extremely plentiful, and I don't think it is unreasonably priced for theme park food. The fastpasses were a great bonus feature. I would do it again.

 

[PAL_1]

I took my son to WOC in July. I didn't care to fight crowds or line up hours in advance for a standing-only show, so I booked the AG dinner package.

We enjoyed the food. I didn't feel it was out of line with any other overpriced Disney dining.

Rather than stake out a spot, we casually headed over to the premium viewing area around 8:15 (first show started at 9). Unlike the other viewing areas which were packed like sardines, only the first tier of the premium viewing area was full.

Blessed or cursed (take your pick) with long legs, we quite happily settled in on the rail of the 3rd tier center, where we sat comfortably, without the least bit of crowding.


We didn't stand until the lackluster preshow started, then easily scooted out after the show 'cause we had nothing but elbow room.

I don't know what we missed by watching the show from farther back, other than crowding, stress, and the joy of standing for hours. Yes, I'd spend the money on the AG dining again.

Good luck. I know things may have changed since we saw the show. As long as you don't feel the need to be in the front row, it is possible to see the first WOC without hassle or aggravation. In fact, we were out of there so quickly, we not only saw most of the fireworks from the base of Main Street, we found a reasonable spot to catch the second Fantasmic. I love it when a plan exceeds expectations!

 

[Spixydust]

Oh Noooo!!!! I had not been following along on this thread and believed eating later would give us less standing time and we would still get a good spot.

We have 8:30 reservations for dinnerat WCT, for the 10:15 show on Friday November 18th.

Now I am really worried we will be stuck in the back somewhere..

 

[pokee99]

Wow - I am so glad I read all these posts. I didn't even know what WoC was until I saw all these cautionary tips in the Ridemax software I bought.

I will NOT be watching this show. I have a 5 and 7 year old, and the poor things will probably barely be able to stand in line for more than 15 mins at a time (hence the Ridemax purchase) without collapsing on the ground in an exhausted heap, so I could not imagine loitering around (and potentially having them pummeled - as the OP stated!) for hours and then STANDING to watch a show I can barely see while each of us has to carry/hold a 45-55 pound child so they can catch a glimpse. I am literally dragging a grumpy hubby to Disneyland (crowd hater!), so he would easily change his flight and leave early after such an experience.

Shame on Disney for creating this hideous mess. I'll be catching the show on You Tube, thank you very much...

 

[HydroGuy]

Shame on Disney for creating this hideous mess. I'll be catching the show on You Tube, thank you very much...

In partial defense of Disney they are dealing with a "good problem" of one million+ annual pass holders - for example see "The Psychology of the DLR Annual Pass Holder" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2244322.

I would in no way call WOC a "hideous mess". IMO DCA is doing as best as can be reasonably expected under the circumstances. The viewing area design is flawed. DCA CMs have never had to deal with these kind of crowd control issues before. Eventually the viewing area must be redesigned to incorporate the "lessons learned".

WOC is an awesome show IMO with a viewing situation which is flawed and that creates a lot of frustration - understandably so. Even under ideal circumstances it is hard to please everyone. Current circumstances are far from ideal.

Hopefully Disney will improve the viewing experience by the time you are ready to see it. And then the whole thing will be positive for you.

 

[skiingfast]

Oh Noooo!!!! I had not been following along on this thread and believed eating later would give us less standing time and we would still get a good spot.

We have 8:30 reservations for dinnerat WCT, for the 10:15 show on Friday November 18th.

Now I am really worried we will be stuck in the back somewhere..

I can understand your concern. However if I was you I would be more worried about you dining experience when you feel rushed.

With some strategy you can find a good spot to view. For the majority of WoC viewers they don't know what they are doing and just show up excessively early and head as close to the water as they can when the veiwing area opens, as they can.

Check out the World of Color Superthread, the link is in Hydroguys signature a few posts up.

Also try to move your reservation forward so you don't eat as fast as you can and panick when the service is slow at dinner.

 

[Spixydust]

That's a good plan, thank you! I decided I am just going to plan on enjoying it regardless and hope for the best. I surely dint want to rush through my braised short ribs!!!

 

[pokee99]

In partial defense of Disney they are dealing with a "good problem" of one million+ annual pass holders - for example see "The Psychology of the DLR Annual Pass Holder" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2244322.

I would in no way call WOC a "hideous mess". IMO DCA is doing as best as can be reasonably expected under the circumstances. The viewing area design is flawed. DCA CMs have never had to deal with these kind of crowd control issues before. Eventually the viewing area must be redesigned to incorporate the "lessons learned".

WOC is an awesome show IMO with a viewing situation which is flawed and that creates a lot of frustration - understandably so. Even under ideal circumstances it is hard to please everyone. Current circumstances are far from ideal.

Hopefully Disney will improve the viewing experience by the time you are ready to see it. And then the whole thing will be positive for you.

That's certainly a very positive spin on this situation. I suspect there's no rush to redesign - since design flaws involve customer satisfaction and not safety issues.

Our trip is planned for March 2011...I am not holding my breath that there will be any changes by then. The next time we visit, I'd suspect the attraction could be gone...

But...I am not disappointed. You cannot get your heart set on any one ride when you are arriving from out of town. You really have to just enjoy what you can (and are able to tolerate) when you are there. The fact that grumpy DH is even considering going to DLR is a miracle. I need to thank my lucky stars for that!!!

 

[HydroGuy]

That's certainly a very positive spin on this situation. I suspect there's no rush to redesign - since design flaws involve customer satisfaction and not safety issues.

Our trip is planned for March 2011...I am not holding my breath that there will be any changes by then. The next time we visit, I'd suspect the attraction could be gone...

I would not expect any changes to the WOC viewing area until 2012 at the earliest. The show it too popular now to take it down for a few months to re-build the area. Stepping back, that DCA has a popular night time draw is a miracle in and of itself. DCA is usually dead at night. Since June it has been hopping. All of that is a good thing and bodes well for the future.

I have zero idea if or when Disney would do this. But is somebody forced me to guess I would say early 2012 before Cars Land opens. Second guess would be early 2013.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

We went in October... we did AG (for dinner, did it again for lunch & the princesses too)... loved the food (chicken skewer for dd and the tri-tip for me. Good food, good service... in and out in just over an hour.

We meandered over to the holding pen area at 6 pm for the 8:15 show... it became the real holding pen around 6:30... prior to that it was just people milling. DD sat in her stroller the whole time we waited. I guess I should note we went potty right before we joined the masses... she is 6, so I knew she could wait till 9 to go again.

At 7:00 (officially 30 minutes of waiting), they shifted us into more organized groups with barracades between the groups, to ease the checking of the FPs, then at 7:15 on the nose they started checking passes and released us to find our section (aided by signs that were displayed high in the air.)

We were about the 5th group to the preferred dining section. We initially considered the section in the back--right in front of VIP--but DD wanted to be close... so I had her jump out of her stroller (it is steps all the way down to the front if you are making a beeline.) And we headed for the front rail. No problem... got there, sat down, and snacked on cotton candy (the glowing kid of course!) for the next 50 minutes till the show started. We used the time to call grandma and chat with the people around us. Since there was no preshow we sat until there were 10 minutes left. Then I manuevered the stroller sideways, so dd could stand in it (put her just under my eye level) and watch that way. We had an excellent view. No obstructions.

Basically, other than the 2 hour wait (which I was prepared for) I have no complaints.

 

[Spixydust]

I changed our reservation to 7:20 so we could have a nice leisurely meal, enjoy a glass of wine (or two) to help mellow us out and prepare for the crowds, and be prepared to be thrilled!

Still looking forward to those short ribs!!!

 

[FlameGirl]

Well, we have officially decided to skip WoC for this year and cancel our PS at AG. As a consolation prize, we have decided to eat at Napa Rose. I am SO excited as this is our first time there. Yay!

 

[BlueBayou]

Okay - I am on DIS and I SHOULD know how things work. But I have kids and they have their own thoughts about how things should be.

We were there a couple weeks ago and we got FP (from GRR area) for the first show of two in the red area (extreme stage left). Of course on the way to be seated the kids (ages 10 and 7) were "starving" (nevermind we had a 2pm ish lunch Wine Country Trattoria which was yummy) and so we grabbed picnic meals on the way to the show which gave us 3 'better' passes to the late show (we were 4 people, but DH and I were not 'starving' so we shared).

As we went into our red area - my DD10 saw the 'wet zone' and decided that is where we needed to be (Okay we are DIS geeks and had watched the live Disney coverage of the first show online - so my DD was familar with the wet zone). I explained that mid-way back - up against a rail was the way to go, but wet zone was too appealing to her. Did I mention it was in the lower 60s or upper 50s? We stayed a little stage left of a pole - so we were not totally soaked - but we were very wet. More wet than an average splash mtn ride but less than a GRR ride. It was a misting vs a splashing. And the view was not great - but the girls loved feeling like they were part of the show. The heat from the fire really excited them.

We were wet and cold and did not plan on staying for the second show - and interestingly, we could not give away our FPs. We ended up going to elecTRONica and closing down Flynn's. My DD7 was practically dragged out by security while playing DigDug. She got good at that game very quickly. She looks younger than she is, so I think security was hesitant to toss her.

I am not sure about the prefered dinning (AG has always disappointed us in terms of food) but we loved our picnics. The kids had the cold fried chicken and my DH and I split cheeses with a little meat. If you are not wanting to spring for a sit down meal - I think the picnic was a good alternative.

I did not notice any pushing - but we were in the 'wet zone' so a couple of families actually left after it started. I don't think they knew what they were in for (babies in strollers getting soaked etc). We had our space to eat comfortably.

Overall - we liked our WOC experience. Was it how I would have elected to do it? No. But this is a family, not a dictatorship.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Just wanted to comment on that part of your reply...

I was just there for my birthday last Sunday and won't be back in Disneyland or DCA until 2012, so I thought long and hard if I wanted to see WoC and decided against it.

I've just heard too many negative reviews and didn't want to deal with long waits, pushy people, or huge crowds. I also really do not like the idea of standing for the show. I can walk all day long at Disney, but for some reason standing in one spot just kills my legs! I just don't understand why seating of some sort wasn't put in.

Anyway, I don't regret my decision not to see it. I know it will still be there in 2012 when I go back and hopefully by then they will have all the kinks worked out and it will be a smooth, fun experience.

This is exactly what we have decided for our January trip. We are going with my brother and his family and we want this trip to be very stress free. This way, we'll have something new to look forward to when we go back in 2012 or 2013 and maybe they will have figured out a better system. Until then, I am fine with waiting to see it or never seeing it. I also know my brother and his wife well enough to know this entire process would not be something they'd want to do and I am more interested in spending time with them and their girls than spending time waiting for this show.

Only Disney can get away with a dinner show package that doesn't give you VIP treatment for the show!

Also I am a fireworks kind of girl, and since Remember will likely only be showing two of our nights, I'd rather see that and Fantasmic.