WOC picnic and GCH

[nonzerosum]

We will be arriving at the GCH in a couple of weeks and I'm wondering if buying a picnic package is really necessary given that we can enter 30 minutes early to obtain a fastpass?? I've tried to follow all of the very helpful WOC threads, but just not sure about this.

 

[gatorfreud]

We extended our short weekend trip by a day, and are staying the last one at PPH - we had a dining package which I am going to cancel, and just going to go through the hotel entrance early for FP.

Now this advice doesn't exactly help, because I haven't done it yet, but after all of my reading I decided to try it with the hotel entrance FP.

When do you go? We will be there 7/30-8/2, so I can post how it went.

Good luck!
Kim

 

[kmann728]

We stayed at the GCH the last week of June and were able to get in early to get our fast passes. We were probably one of the first 100 people in and got fast passes for the blue section, which is off to the left of the center. Make sure you arrive to WOC early because we got there at 7:30 for a 9:00 show and there were already a ton of people waiting.
Personally, I thought the view was much better from our room at the GCH ( we were staying in one of the DVC villas). I'm short and there was a really tall person in front of me wearing a cowboy hat, so I didn't see very much at all.
If the dining plan gets you into the yellow section, then I would do that. That section is front and center and there were hardly any people in it until they let the ropes down 5 minutes before the show began to let the other sections in.

 

[nonzerosum]

We stayed at the GCH the last week of June and were able to get in early to get our fast passes. We were probably one of the first 100 people in and got fast passes for the blue section, which is off to the left of the center. Make sure you arrive to WOC early because we got there at 7:30 for a 9:00 show and there were already a ton of people waiting.
Personally, I thought the view was much better from our room at the GCH ( we were staying in one of the DVC villas). I'm short and there was a really tall person in front of me wearing a cowboy hat, so I didn't see very much at all.
If the dining plan gets you into the yellow section, then I would do that. That section is front and center and there were hardly any people in it until they let the ropes down 5 minutes before the show began to let the other sections in.

Does a picnic get you into the yellow section, or is it random?

 

[Eeee-va]

I think the picnic does yellow or blue section (random).

I think a lot of it depends on how flexible you can be. If your family can possibly stay up for the second show, my plan would be:
*Get the FPs early the first possible day you can do the show
*If that doesn't work out, try a second day
*If you still don't like your FPs on Day 2, buy a picnic package for the second show on the second day

If I were you, I don't know that I'd buy a picnic (though part of me has been wanting to try that Antipasto picnic since I saw pictures! ). I think I'd probably just grab FPs.