World of Color Superthread

[HydroGuy]

Has anybody had a bad spot in the Preferred Dining section??? Just wonder if it's really worth the extra $$$. We want to eat at either restaurant anyway, but it is at least $10 more pp (for what my teenagers would normally order at WCT) and we will have 6 of us. And, on the Disneyland website, it says that Ariel's is now $39.99 pp instead of $36.99. Help!

PD has many poor viewing spots IMO. The OP discusses this. If you want to get your money's worth you need to plan accordingly.

 

[smiles33]

Thanks for the note. I will add something to the OP when I get a chance. We all realize that the potentially scary scenes are just clips from Disney movies which do have some scary elements. Most Disney animated movies have scary elements of some kind. WOC reflects this.

Agreed, but I would never let my 5 year old watch Pirates of the Caribbean because I know its scary scenes are much scarier than hyenas attacking a lion (which was still scary and is a reason why my DD5 refuses to watch Lion King after the first time). From reading the OP in my countless hours of research, I wrongly assumed any "scary" scenes would be more "harmless" scary scenes like the evil witch from Snow White cackling or Ursula cackling.

 

[HydroGuy]

Agreed, but I would never let my 5 year old watch Pirates of the Caribbean because I know its scary scenes are much scarier than hyenas attacking a lion (which was still scary and is a reason why my DD5 refuses to watch Lion King after the first time). From reading the OP in my countless hours of research, I wrongly assumed any "scary" scenes would be more "harmless" scary scenes like the evil witch from Snow White cackling or Ursula cackling.

When I wrote the scariness comment in the OP I was comparing WOC to Fantasmic! which I think can be quite scary for young children. I think WOC is mild by comparison. In retrospect many of the so-called "kiddie rides" at DL could be considered scary I suppose. Toad. Snow White. Alice. Most would not call those scary. But some might and rightly so when viewed from a child's perspective.

My OP already discusses the loudness and crowds for WOC that might frighten children. To that I will clarify the potential scariness factor.

 

[smiles33]

Thank you so much for all the time and energy you put into creating these amazing resources, HydroGuy. I should have said that first before I commented re: WOC's potential for scaring timid kids. I relied EXTENSIVELY on all your threads and knew not to take my timid DD5 on any of the dark rides (Alice, Pinnochio, Snow White's SCARY adventure, etc.) and not to even try for Fantasmic because of the great information you and others have provided. Your comment re: the volume at WOC is why I purchased the noise-reducing earmuffs for my girls (which my DH scoffed at and thought I was an overprotective mom for buying) but they came in handy and he grudgingly admitted later it was BRILLIANT.

I didn't mean to be critical at all. I just wanted to "give back" a little in case other parents have timid kids.

 

[Disneyland 1951]

Minor changes continue every week.

The Yellow Hydrant is now GREEN.

TODAY

 

[HydroGuy]

Thank you so much for all the time and energy you put into creating these amazing resources, HydroGuy. I should have said that first before I commented re: WOC's potential for scaring timid kids. I relied EXTENSIVELY on all your threads and knew not to take my timid DD5 on any of the dark rides (Alice, Pinnochio, Snow White's SCARY adventure, etc.) and not to even try for Fantasmic because of the great information you and others have provided. Your comment re: the volume at WOC is why I purchased the noise-reducing earmuffs for my girls (which my DH scoffed at and thought I was an overprotective mom for buying) but they came in handy and he grudgingly admitted later it was BRILLIANT.

I didn't mean to be critical at all. I just wanted to "give back" a little in case other parents have timid kids.

 

[sonnyjane]

Minor changes continue every week.

The Yellow Hydrant is now GREEN.

TODAY

Ha!

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Has anyone eaten at wine country recently? How was the food? Deciding which dinner to book.

Thanks.

 

[greenkai3000]

How crowded do y'all think WOC will be Halloween night when MSSHP will be going on next door? I'm debating whether to see the 2nd showing of WOC the night before + the 2nd showing of Fantasmic, or wait to see the only showing of WOC on Halloween.

 

[greenkai3000]

How crowded do y'all think WOC will be Halloween night when MSSHP will be going on next door? I'm debating whether to see the 2nd showing of WOC the night before + the 2nd showing of Fantasmic, or wait to see the only showing of WOC on Halloween.

 

[skiingfast]

How crowded do y'all think WOC will be Halloween night when MSSHP will be going on next door? I'm debating whether to see the 2nd showing of WOC the night before + the 2nd showing of Fantasmic, or wait to see the only showing of WOC on Halloween.

DCA will be extra busy, the show tickets will go a faster. But with most WoC shows they 'sell" out regardless of the day. So it makes little difference what day or what show you see.

I would suggest seeing all night shows early in the trip in case weather affects it. This way you may have a second chance at seeing a previously canceled show.

 

[Hoku]

Has anyone eaten at wine country recently? How was the food? Deciding which dinner to book.

Thanks.

Went a couple of weeks ago. It's actually a really nice place, with great sunset ambience and equally great food - no cardboard here. I much prefer it's atmosphere to Ariel's, though you'll want to be sure you have a sweater.

 

[lifeguardette]

Hi,
So our family of 4 is making dining reservations at AG and we want to see the 915 show. It is for November 12 ( the Veterens Day Holiday weekend ) what time should we make the dining reservation for and do we still need to line up 90 minutes before??? Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi,
So our family of 4 is making dining reservations at AG and we want to see the 915 show. It is for November 12 ( the Veterens Day Holiday weekend ) what time should we make the dining reservation for and do we still need to line up 90 minutes before??? Thanks!

The first post answers this question...

When should I arrive to the WOC queue?

Each WOC FP or dining reservation pass lists a suggested return time to the queue. Ignore these times. Follow the times below.

For the first show here is my advice for queue arrival time. See viewing chart map shown above for queue locations.

1. If you want a slam dunk/for sure access to the best viewing spots, show up 90 minutes before the scheduled show time. Note a queue may not yet be established. Check with a WOC Cast Member on where the queue will start. And stay in the area.

2. If you would like a good shot to a good viewing spot but are willing to risk getting a poor spot, show up 60 minutes before the scheduled show time. Note that during recent shows the Cast Members guided guests from the queue to the viewing area 60 minutes before the show starts.

3. If you do not care about a good viewing spot, show up 30 minutes before the scheduled show time.

Preferred Dining guests should use the above times as guidelines. The PD queue does not setup until the Blue (#13 in the viewing chart) queue and East Yellow queue (#11) are cleared and those guests are taken to their viewing areas. As soon as that happens a Preferred Dining queue is formed by PD guests who hang around the area by the red tower (#12 in the viewing chart) and they move to the queue location (#10). It is probably OK for PD guests to show up 75 minutes in advance rather 90 to get one of the best spots at the elevated front rail.

Preferred Dining guests who want to have a relaxing dinner before the show should make the reservation at least 3 hours before show starts. This will allow you 90 minutes to be seated, order and dine - and then have enough time to walk to the PD queue and be there about 75-90 minutes early.

Note some sections have decent viewing spots in the rear that can remain open for much longer than the front sections. One such spot is the so-called fire hydrant spot in the Blue section (#9 in the viewing chart).

Second show queues are located by Wine Country Tratorria and Grizzly River Run. The FP tells you where to queue.

 

[dnamertz]

Today I was listening to an episode of the DIS Unplugged podcast, and one of the guys was giving a review of the WOC Dinner Package at Ariel's Grotto (I think the episode was from back in July). He said the dinner was worth it because "they avoided the long wait in the huge pre-show line, and they were able to arrive just before show time and get a great viewing spot in the dining package section".

I've read from others that said even if you get the dinner package, you still need to arrive fairly early (but not quite as early as the people who didn't get the package) if you want to get a good spot in the dining section package.

Which is true?

 

[HydroGuy]

Today I was listening to an episode of the DIS Unplugged podcast, and one of the guys was giving a review of the WOC Dinner Package at Ariel's Grotto (I think the episode was from back in July). He said the dinner was worth it because "they avoided the long wait in the huge pre-show line, and they were able to arrive just before show time and get a great viewing spot in the dining package section".

I've read from others that said even if you get the dinner package, you still need to arrive fairly early (but not quite as early as the people who didn't get the package) if you want to get a good spot in the dining section package.

Which is true?

I have not checked who did DIS Unplugged. I have done AG preferred dining three times. And my experience is as posted in the OP - you need to arrive early - unless everyone in your group is really tall.

 

[Bashara]

We went last Wednesday night, did the reserved dining at Ariels grotto. Managed to get a spot right in the centre of the red line (front rail elevated) Hydroguy suggested and had an awesome view. I thought it was better then Fantasmic and advise people to make the effort to see it Almost half of the red line (front rail elevated) area is now reserved for wheelchair seating. Make sure you don't stand in the chalked off area or they will ask you to move out. Just as the show starts people are allowed in there behind the wheelchairs, but your view may be impeded by their companions.

I'd advise get there 90 mins early as Hydroguy suggests and make sure you know where the corral for preferred diners is so you can hop in the 'queue' that the CM's swear doesn't exist for preferred diners as soon as they put the ropes up. The CM's wouldn't give us straight information about where the corral and queue formed for preferred diners would be and we almost missed getting a good spot despite being there well in advance to 'queue'. It was luck and a 'honest' CM meant we didn't miss out in the end, and it was the favourite show of 4 out of 5 of our family. I know I would have been annoyed after spending alot on that dinner if we'd listened to their advice that we'd all have a good view and to come back at 7.45 because theres no way known myself at 5 foot 4 in height or my kids would have seen anything if we weren't in the first two rows on a level.

If you have really small kids or are not capable of holding them up for the whole show you may prefer the front rail wet zone area, as we found a couple of really tall men stood in front of us in that area with their older kids on their shoulders and that blocked our 4 year olds view so my hubby had to lift him up and our 9 year old had to stand in his pram to see. We may have just been unlucky on our night but if you don't want to risk it I'd aim for the front rail wet zone, which is where I'd head for if we were going again.

Thankyou for the advice Hydroguy, it meant we saw an amazing show in the best possible place to view it. It really was a highlight of the holiday

 

[HydroGuy]

We went last Wednesday night, did the reserved dining at Ariels grotto. Managed to get a spot right in the centre of the red line (front rail elevated) Hydroguy suggested and had an awesome view. I thought it was better then Fantasmic and advise people to make the effort to see it Almost half of the red line (front rail elevated) area is now reserved for wheelchair seating. Make sure you don't stand in the chalked off area or they will ask you to move out. Just as the show starts people are allowed in there behind the wheelchairs, but your view may be impeded by their companions.

I'd advise get there 90 mins early as Hydroguy suggests and make sure you know where the corral for preferred diners is so you can hop in the 'queue' that the CM's swear doesn't exist for preferred diners as soon as they put the ropes up. The CM's wouldn't give us straight information about where the corral and queue formed for preferred diners would be and we almost missed getting a good spot despite being there well in advance to 'queue'. It was luck and a 'honest' CM meant we didn't miss out in the end, and it was the favourite show of 4 out of 5 of our family. I know I would have been annoyed after spending alot on that dinner if we'd listened to their advice that we'd all have a good view and to come back at 7.45 because theres no way known myself at 5 foot 4 in height or my kids would have seen anything if we weren't in the first two rows on a level.

If you have really small kids or are not capable of holding them up for the whole show you may prefer the front rail wet zone area, as we found a couple of really tall men stood in front of us in that area with their older kids on their shoulders and that blocked our 4 year olds view so my hubby had to lift him up and our 9 year old had to stand in his pram to see. We may have just been unlucky on our night but if you don't want to risk it I'd aim for the front rail wet zone, which is where I'd head for if we were going again.

Thankyou for the advice Hydroguy, it meant we saw an amazing show in the best possible place to view it. It really was a highlight of the holiday

Really glad things worked out for you!

 

[NeutralNovice]

Oh how much I absolutely LOVE this show! I saw it for the first time in July of this year. I am torn at which water show I like better... Bellagio or World of Color. They each have their merits!

 

[dnamertz]

I'd advise get there 90 mins early as Hydroguy suggests and make sure you know where the corral for preferred diners is so you can hop in the 'queue' that the CM's swear doesn't exist for preferred diners as soon as they put the ropes up.

All that money for dinner, I would think you wouldn't still have to wait 90 to get in...maybe it's just me.

Sure, you don't need to wait in line to get a FP that morning, but how long is that these days?