WOC with kids?

[HappyGrape]

My son is 11, and not particular tall. What is the best option to experience world of color? I was thinking perhaps the dessert party but the price for 11 year old, not drinking is still 80 usd.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We've done all three options (free FP, Dining Packages, and Dessert Party) and enjoyed them all. It really just depends on how much time and money you are willing to invest to see the show. If you are willing to invest the time waiting for a good/great viewing spot, then a free FP (we prefer the yellow section) can be a solid option. I'm not tall by any means, and we've always had great viewing with free FPs when we've invested the time to wait for a spot. (Does your son like getting wet/misted? Being up in the wet zone could be a very fun experience for him -- super immersive and up close!) If you were planning on eating at one of the restaurants with a WOC Dining Package (CCR, WCT, or Ariel's) anyway, then go ahead and eat there and get your FPs, too! WCT and Ariel's section will be up front and center; CCR's section will be center and farther back (just next to the Dessert Party section). While we loved the Dessert Party, we found the Dining Package at CCR to be a better deal because it wasn't that different in price and we got more food. There is no wrong choice here. It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend (Dining Packages or Dessert Party), how much time you're willing to wait (free FP), and whether you must have an actual chair (Dessert Party). All options will require at least some wait time and all options do come with at least some risk of a less than stellar view. There are no golden guarantees with WOC. It just comes down to what works best for your family and how much you will spend or wait to get it. Hope this helps.

 

[mom2rtk]

Honestly, unless you do the dessert party, your best bet is to just get there early. I bet the 11 year old would love to stand right up close in the wet zone. It was my favorite viewing experience. Honestly, I liked the view from there a lot more than from the dessert party area.

And I probably wouldn't spring for the dessert party for him. We don't drink so it's hard to justify the price for us as well.

 

[Winnowill]

We did the dessert party last month with a 7 and an 8 year old, and they LOVED it. Yes, it's pricey, but we got tons of desserts and we grazed on them for a couple of days afterwards.

 

[mom2rtk]

We did the dessert party last month with a 7 and an 8 year old, and they LOVED it. Yes, it's pricey, but we got tons of desserts and we grazed on them for a couple of days afterwards.

You must like macaroons more than we do.

 

[Winnowill]

You must like macaroons more than we do.

That shortbread with the raspberry filling? Yum! The chocolate Bundt cake? Yum! Cheese and grapes! I gave the macaroon to my DD, because I don't do coconut, but otherwise enjoyed almost everything.

 

[Nevada Jen]

With the dessert party the kids get a giant light up cup that glows with the show. The first time I saw WOC it was with 2 adults. I swore I would never pay the money for kids. The next time it was Christmas and I had some extra money so I figured we might as well do it with the kids. It was a million times better with them! My 11 year old DS was mesmerized and absolutely thrilled to be sitting while everyone else was cramming in to stand. There really doesn't have to be any wait associated with the dessert party, which is another huge benefit. I don't have any doubt that it is the closest to the best gaurunteed view with the least wait. The issue is more whether you are willing to spend the money. Trust me, the skimpy amount of alcohol is not what makes it worth it for adults either!

 

[mom2rtk]

With the dessert party the kids get a giant light up cup that glows with the show.

That really depends on the age of the kid and possibly on your server. I think technically it's something like 12 and under.

 

[Frozen2014]

We've done all three options (free FP, Dining Packages, and Dessert Party) and enjoyed them all. It really just depends on how much time and money you are willing to invest to see the show. If you are willing to invest the time waiting for a good/great viewing spot, then a free FP (we prefer the yellow section) can be a solid option. I'm not tall by any means, and we've always had great viewing with free FPs when we've invested the time to wait for a spot. (Does your son like getting wet/misted? Being up in the wet zone could be a very fun experience for him -- super immersive and up close!) If you were planning on eating at one of the restaurants with a WOC Dining Package (CCR, WCT, or Ariel's) anyway, then go ahead and eat there and get your FPs, too! WCT and Ariel's section will be up front and center; CCR's section will be center and farther back (just next to the Dessert Party section). While we loved the Dessert Party, we found the Dining Package at CCR to be a better deal because it wasn't that different in price and we got more food. There is no wrong choice here. It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend (Dining Packages or Dessert Party), how much time you're willing to wait (free FP), and whether you must have an actual chair (Dessert Party). All options will require at least some wait time and all options do come with at least some risk of a less than stellar view. There are no golden guarantees with WOC. It just comes down to what works best for your family and how much you will spend or wait to get it. Hope this helps.

Not OP here but this is good to know. The dessert party sounds great but very pricey for 4, and like OP, we're coming with kids so even less worth it for cost.

So for dinner packages, WCT and Ariel have better seats (need to look up what WCT is...lol). If you do the dinner package, how early do you need to line up?

 

[BriannaRuth]

Not OP here but this is good to know. The dessert party sounds great but very pricey for 4, and like OP, we're coming with kids so even less worth it for cost.

So for dinner packages, WCT and Ariel have better seats (need to look up what WCT is...lol). If you do the dinner package, how early do you need to line up?

WCT is Wine Country Trattoria. You don't get seats for anything but the dessert party. The others are standing room in a reserved section and you can end up with people right in front of you, which is why you still need to arrive early even with those reservations. Someone else will have to answer how early ... it's been a while since I did it that way.

 

[agamble]

If there are two shows then see the later one. I would think with an 11 year old this may be a possibility for you. Also, during the first show the rides will have shorter lines so you can get a few more in. I also say watch from the splash zone. You will get misted throughout the show, but we had a much better experience when we saw the second show in the front row compared to when we saw the show with FP crowded together in the midst of people waiting for an hour plus and then having heads in the way the whole time.

ETA: We had FP for the late show too, it was just much less crowded than when we saw it with an early FP on another trip a few years later. We've only seen the show 2 or 3 times. I can only remember the two times, but then I am sure we also saw it with my parents.

 

[ktlm]

We did the dessert party last summer with DD 10. The Made with Magic sipper cup they give to kids 12 and under is $25 in the parks without a beverage and $28 with a beverage. DD started asking for it the first time we saw it in the park. The dessert party to us was worth it. WOC is standing only, except for the dessert party. With the dessert party we got seats, a decent view, you really did not need to line up before they opened the area (we did, but our table was already assigned and people that came in after us got better tables); and wait time was spend eating and drinking from a chair. For us, it was worth it.

We have done the WCT dinner package with DD, multiple times in the past. If you don't want to spend the money on the dessert party, it is a good option- BUT you still have to put in a good amount of time unless you want your child (and me because I'm short) to be looking at someone's back. We usually went 45 minutes to an hour ahead of time to that area. We also planned for the wet zone (and learned after the first time to bring ponchos). Getting in line/walking in at that time would still not give us the prime spots where we did not have people standing in front of us outside of the wet zone. It did; however, give us a spot on the rail in the wet zone so we could watch with no obstructions.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Think of the dessert party as paying $79. for a reserved seat. Don't think about the food you get. In fact, last time I was there, most people left most of their food uneaten. I take mine home and do graze on it for a couple days. I think the dessert party is worth it, just for the reserved seat. I have never watched WOC until they introduced the dessert party. I don't like lining up for a show that I have to stand to watch after walking around and standing in the park all day. Others have more stamina than I do and get nice areas to stand to watch the show.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Get there early and get a spot upfront on the rail. My kids (9 & 10) are now too big to sit on my shoulders for more than 5 minutes and are too small to see over the crowd and they were bummed the last time we saw WoC because they couldn't see much.

 

[Disney Rose]

If you don't go the dessert party, get there 45mins to 1 hour early so you can get a spot right up against the rail. We've done both the Cathay Circle package and the dessert package and they're both good - it really comes down to personal preference. I preferred the view in the CC viewing area (but we got there super early and had spots against the railing for an uninterrupted view.) I also liked the atmosphere of standing in a crowd.

The dessert package was great too, but the food wasn't really our kind of food. We thought of it as buying a seat. They day we did the dessert package they were short staffed so it felt a bit disorganised and we didn't have very good service (it took us a very long time to get seated, server was nowhere to be found, and we almost completely missed out on drinks). We all still loved it though.

 

[HappyGrape]

Think of the dessert party as paying $79. for a reserved seat. Don't think about the food you get. In fact, last time I was there, most people left most of their food uneaten. I take mine home and do graze on it for a couple days. I think the dessert party is worth it, just for the reserved seat. I have never watched WOC until they introduced the dessert party. I don't like lining up for a show that I have to stand to watch after walking around and standing in the park all day. Others have more stamina than I do and get nice areas to stand to watch the show.

We have done Fantastmic, Wishes and Illuminations, Star Wars Fireworks and Hallowishes, Electric Parade at WDW and honestly my son didn't really love any of them. I am glad we did them but not overly keen to repeat either of them. We are all more morning people and usually the crowds leaving are really not his thing. I am not sure if we will do it this time

Regarding 79 usd for reserve seating. For similar amount I got tickets for Coldplay home for 2 hours live music of his favorite band. We are just not dessert people I really find it hard to justify the price. We dinner package for Fantasmic at WDW but we get seating with that, and the meals are good.

I need to have a think about it and decide. It looks very different to anything we have seen and very cool so perhaps paying for the package and not sweat it too much over is it worth it or not is good plan

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You might watch a video of the show on YouTube together to see what you think. WOC is now back to the original show. You can see how you both like it and where you think you would want to view the show. Our oldest and youngest both agree that up front in the wet zone was their favorite view, with CCR viewing section coming in a reasonably close second. The Dessert Party was fun, but we felt that the view could not compare with being right up by the water.

 

[HappyGrape]

I would imagine the wet portion of it adds to the experience, on warm June night

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I would imagine the wet portion of it adds to the experience, on warm June night

Depending on the wind direction and force that night, you can get misted or drenched. It doesn't hurt to have ponchos, just in case.

 

[HappyGrape]

All the comments make me so excited! 70 days to go