WoC - How Did You Decide?

[MattsPrincess]

So, we hit the 30 day mark today, and everything is set, booked, paid for, etc. All we have to do now is pack and get in the car, lol. However, we've been toying around with the idea of doing WoC. We've already decided we would go the picnic box route, and have even picked which ones we would get. BUT, we can't decide if it would be worth it or not.

How did you decide whether or not to see WoC? Do you feel you made the right choice?

We're just having a hard time because it seems like we would have to devote a lot of time to just that, instead of being off doing rides and other shows, etc. Plus, we are both small. DH is 5'6'' and i'm 5' even...so I have this awfule feeling we'd shell out the money for the picnics, give up all that time to wait in line, etc...and then not even actually see the show.

 

[skiingfast]

So, we hit the 30 day mark today, and everything is set, booked, paid for, etc. All we have to do now is pack and get in the car, lol. However, we've been toying around with the idea of doing WoC. We've already decided we would go the picnic box route, and have even picked which ones we would get. BUT, we can't decide if it would be worth it or not.

How did you decide whether or not to see WoC? Do you feel you made the right choice?

We're just having a hard time because it seems like we would have to devote a lot of time to just that, instead of being off doing rides and other shows, etc. Plus, we are both small. DH is 5'6'' and i'm 5' even...so I have this awfule feeling we'd shell out the money for the picnics, give up all that time to wait in line, etc...and then not even actually see the show.

I did the picnics and thought they were great. It cost about $15, but I saved $12 not buying another meal.

Get there at least 30 minutes before the return time on the FP and when they let people into the park make for the first rail spot, not neccecarily the front.

Read the WoC super thread to figure out some strategy. I thought the show was great.

WoC Superthread

 

[JustAKid]

I think that until you try it, you will never know whether or not it's for you.

But, to answer your question, we made the decision based on a few things:

Will we be visiting the parks again soon? No.

Will WoC take away from our experience or add to it? We don't know, which means that it'll be an adventure and those ALWAYS add to the experience.

Is it something EVERYONE in our party will enjoy? Yes.

Even if WoC is a bust, will the meal still be worth it? Yes.

And finally, if we left the parks WITHOUT trying to see it, would we regret it? YES!!!

Perhaps a pro/con list will help in your decision?

 

[rtravels]

Go see it. Don't cheap out on the picnic boxes--in fact, I would tell you to buy the Ariel's meal instead. You're already shelling out a lot to even go to the park--what's another few bucks? I actually enjoyed my meal at Ariel's more than I did the show. Still, it was worth seeing just to experience the latest big attraction and form an opinion.
You will probably have trouble seeing some of the show. It's not designed well for short people. But there's not much you can do about that and I wouldn't recommend getting there super early just to get a bit of a better view.
Others would disagree, but I'm not a person who shows up early to stand around waiting for a show. I'd rather buy my way to a better spot, which is what the meals do for you. We did all we wanted in Disneyland and DCA and world of color all in one day--plus fit in two sit down meals, saw some of the DCA parade and spent a couple of hours at the pool in between. It worked out really well--didn't feel like we missed out on anything.

 

[smile4stamps]

I would SO do the picnics.. They were sold out for my trip when I wanted to get them... Stood in lime for fastpasses for over an hour.. Got RED section. It was awful we couldn't see anything! I recommend the picnic option! Even if you end in the back you will be in a better spot than the red section.

 

[gethane]

We did the picnics and if I had reread the suggestions, I would have known that being up against the rail at an upper level was better than being second behind the rail at a lower level. Luckily, the people in front of us were so kind to let our children up with their children to see WOC.

Everyone really enjoyed it and it was nice to have a night activity that everyone enjoyed because my 4 year hates Fireworks but she LOVED WOC. So that was really nice.

(thanks to you Utah people if you read here btw I did really appreciate you letting my kids up with your kids, especially since you were struggling with a tired baby)

 

[c&m]

We did the WOC picnics because we were only at DL/CA for 2 days in August, and we wanted to be guaranteed to see the show, as well as to get a good spot for the show. We weren't sure that we could get the FPs first thing in the morning.

It was crowded and difficult to get a good spot to view WOC. But I attribute it to the fact we went in August, peak vacation time. However, we did manage to see the whole show in a good central spot. It was crowded and everyone got cosy, but everyone was friendly. A couple with a small child was nice enough to let our youngest DD move in front of them so she could see better.

Though we thought the picnic dinner was only so-so (we all had the miso salmon, which was cold and dry), we thought it was highly efficient to pay $14.99 to get a dinner (we all had to eat anyways) and the WOC FPs.

For our purposes, we thought it was totally worth it, and we probably only gave up 1 hour waiting for the show to begin. HTH!!!

 

[Panonim]

We debated it too, mostly since it's a late night for our young kids, and we did end up doing the picnic option for a 9:00 show. I am glad we did it. The show was wonderful, we all loved it. Our spots were so-so, but I am short too (5'3") and my view was still pretty good.

The picnic food was pretty blah, but really, you are paying for the FP, and to avoid standing in line early in the AM for this FP.

For the record, we saw Fantasmic the night before, which I have never seen before, and we both thought WOC was WAY better than Fantasmic. Miles better, in fact. I felt that waiting around for Fantasmic spots for 2 hours, then the show itself, was an evening I'll never get back. But WOC was truly enjoyable, and I am so glad we saw it. Even our 2 kids seemed to really enjoy it. It's not like any kind of show you'd see any where else.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We did the WOC picnics and were not disappointed. We were in the Yellow section about 3 sections back so we didn't get wet but had a great view of the show. It is worth it in my opinion.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We did the WOC picnics and were not disappointed. We were in the Yellow section about 3 sections back so we didn't get wet but had a great view of the show. It is worth it in my opinion.

We got the same--the picnics in the yellow section. I thought it was a show worth seeing. It really is pretty amazing the way they do it, and the music is wonderful. We got there really early (started lining up when they first put the outside ropes up around 6ish), but still didn't get a spot on the rail. People sort of pushed passed us and ran to the rail and started putting down blankets and strollers, so when we got there there were none left. That was discouraging and it was hard to see, especially for my girls. But we saw most of it, and I would say it was worth the time and effort for us.

I think the picnics are a great option, because you would probably pay that amount for a meal anyway. We picked ours up at 11:30 the day of our show, and sat down to eat them for lunch right then. There are plenty of tables in the area you pick up the picnics, so lots of people were doing this. That way you have your lunch, and put away your FP for that night.

I personally don't think the Ariel's Grotto dinner or Wine Country dinner is worth the price. I have eaten at both places, and the food just isn't that good. The picnics are much more economical, and you still get your fast pass to see the show.

 

[MattsPrincess]

Just to clarify, choosing the picnics has nothing to do with "being cheap". It's the fact that I could get a simple PB&J, which due to dietary restrictions and food allergies is the only meal option (out of all the picnics, ariels, and wct combined) that I could actually eat without getting sick and potentially having to leave the park for the rest of the day. So, I don't really see a point in spending more than twice as much (not "a buck or two") on food I couldn't eat.

We still aren't quite decided. I showed Dh one of the youtube videos so he could get an idea of what it is, and he wasn't very impressed. He's leaning toward not doing it, and i'm leaning toward doing it, lol. We have until Thursday to decide.

 

[rtravels]

What I meant was--you should pay for the picnic lunch and consider upgrading to more. Just buy it and if you end up not wanting to see the show, no big deal. Just grab the box lunch (or don't) and skip the show.
If you can't eat off other menus, the box lunch isn't very expensive and it buys you options.