Originally Posted By Ursula Like millions of other people, The Husband and I wanted to see WOC. But, we are not the "stand at 5 am to get tickets" people. (Okay yes, I said WE, not ME.) When Disneyland announced that one could get dining packages with reserved seating, we jumped at the chance. We arrived at the Resort area at 9 am. Got a locker, dumped our stuff and waited to get into DCA with three hundred or so other people. At 9:30 am, they opened the gates and many people RAN, running over anyone in their way to get a Fastpass for WOC. We, on the other hand, headed to Soarin' for a FP and then waited in the line for TSMM. I think some crowd control action needs to take place. It was a free for all when an orderly line could have prevailed. We did get to the ride and nearly walked on as the lines were moving through the queue well. After that, we waited all of 15 minutes for Screamin'. Then, against every bone in my body, we headed to the former Sunwheel of Death. I would only go on a stable car, so take that! HA! It was lovely seeing lemisfan so howdy-do! We really enjoyed the new swings. I have advice: if you are wearing a longer skirt, it CAN be done!!!! I just ducked under the drop-bar, stepped over the connecting belt, and demurely pulled it up and latched it, all the while tucking in my skirt. The openness (is that a word) of the Silly Symphony Swings is TERRIFIC! I love flying like that and the music was rather well done. We ate briefly in Bug's Land and had chicken and fries and apples. I LOVE that they still offer up apple slices. Nice way to have a qs lunch but without fries. We headed for Disneyland and overall, LOVED that the crowds were few. I could really see a difference in the level of people being there since two of the APs were blocked. It made for a very pleasant day. Did the usual rides; don't wish to bore you! I have ONE comment. If you are in line for the HM and your kid makes a pooh in his diaper, please notify a CM and walk away and change your child in a restroom. No one wants to be stuck in a stretching room with that. And yes, I did HEAR you tell your spouse you didn't want to bother. Seriously, next time, bother. Then we headed to the Monorail for a break at the DIsneyland Hotel. We enjoyed the Lost Bar, and really, really took time to take in the Waterfalls and the Rose Garden Gazebo. Being as we were married there, we needed to take it all in before the construction starts to take it all away. I still don't have confirmation that the Gazebo will be gone, but you never know. I just LOVE the DLH and I really don't care for the removal of the balconies. We headed back to DCA to suss out the crowds for dinner at Ariel's. This was me being overly paranoid because there were no crowds. Yes, there were a lot of people, but we got in at 7 pm for our 7:10 ressie and were seated just long enough afterwards to enjoy a cocktail at the Cove Bar. Dinner was amazing. I highly suggest the Tri-Tip. The Husband is from Santa Maria and was just waiting to critique it. He didn't have to. Someone in Ariel's knows what they are doing and cooked it over oak. I thank you. I was impressed by the desserts. We were given a nice platter of assorted desserts, much in the vein of Club 33 desserts. The passion fruit one was grand. I enjoyed the flourless cake. Be wary of the green one. And I ate the tiramisu cup. Whatever the chocolate square thing was with the tiny rice crispy round bits was DIVINE and we fought over it. * * Yes, I am on a diet. Yes, I ate dessert. Yes, I knew about it in advance and planned accordingly. When we finished, I couldn't but help notice the bill. The things I read about the WOC dining had said that the Prix Fixe meals were $29.99 Ariel's and $39.99 at the Trattoria. Our tri-tips at Ariel's came to $36.99 each. I just figured that they start at $29.99 and change depending on your entree. I do not recall seeing any such info on the menu. The Husband wanted to know why I cared and I told him it was because some people on LP are on budgets and might find this useful. I hope you found this useful. The Fastpass tickets come with your final receipt, and on the tickets themselves, it does not have a color listed. We had Dining Reserved. I don't know if that is an actual color...? I posted a picture on LP live so people could see the ticket. After getting jackets at the locker, we proceeded to do exactly what the ticket instructed...we waited in front of the Trattoria. Except there are three check-points first. You have to show your pass to get near the line. Then you show your pass to get to the line area. Then, you have to show your pass to get sorted. One line is smaller and is for the dining people. The other line is much longer and packed and is for the regular pass people. The only thing I was disappointed in is this: I avoided all photos, all video, all recordings, all write-ups of WOC ahead of time. And since we had tickets for the second show, guess what? Yes. I heard the whole thing from where we were queued up. NOT the way I wanted to first experience the show. I looked away and did the la-la-la-la-la song but it didn't help much. When it was time, we were escorted to the prime viewing spot (again, I don't know what color) and we had the rail. Just below us was the splash zone. It is indeed awkward. You are lined up looking straight at TSMM from the viewing park, but the show is really at an angle to your right. When the show started up, this lady behind me decided to shove her video camera in my face in my line of sight. Now, I am one to share and all, but this didn't sit well with me. I wanted to see the show, not her video screen of the show. I did the only klassy (with a k) thing I could think of. I started singing. (Those who have enjoyed a Tiki Room meet are now in on the joke.) I sang AT her camera, loudly. I do know most of the words after all. It took her about seven minutes to realize what she'd get on her recording and moved. See? I can be diplomatic. I will leave show reviews to others. I loved it. After it was over, we walked over to the Rave Party. I mean the Neon Zone. I mean the hideous in the daytime but cool at night party thing. It was dull. They were just closing it up and had shut the bars. Booo. I bet if we went there between the first and second shows, it would have been fun. It looked like it could have been fun. The two video screens were a hoot so we played until the lights came on. And then we drove home. The End.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 Sounds like you had a very good day overall. I would also be annoyed at the woman with the camera and having to hear the entire show while waiting in line for my first viewing. I haven't seen it yet, myself and know it will be fabulous but I have been avoiding most spoilers and really want it to be special when the time comes. Good to know about the dinner prices too. I will budget accordingly when we do this later on in the year.
Originally Posted By ksargen The price for Ariel's, to my knowledge, has always been listed as what you paid. That's what we paid for all our adult dinners. The kid's dinner may be 29.99 (I'd have to go dig out my receipt for it)... Sounds like you had a good time. I'll be excited to go back when the crowds die down...
Originally Posted By Ursula Well, I stand corrected. I would have sworn that the prices were 29.99 and 39.99, but on the Disney webpages it does list it as 36.99. Maybe I read an earlier price report and those stuck in my mind. Maybe (gasp) I picked it up from someone's report and they were wrong. Ah well. The food was surprisingly good. The last two times I dined at Ariel's I truly hated it. We had heard they overhauled the menu and we are pleased with the results.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Sounds like great fun. If this continues on our next trip, we may try Ariels or the Trattoria.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Thank you so much for your fun review Ursula. I really appreciate all the details as we are planning to do this in August. LOL! about singing for the idiot's video I'll have to remember that one. I also thought the 2 restaurants had a set price for the meal, no matter what you chose. I think it was posted as such on some of the very early info. So you had 7:10 reservations and received tix for the 10:30 show, right? If you did it again, would you choose an earlier time?
Originally Posted By 999HAUNTS I've heard her sing. Poor lady. LOL! Glad you had fun. I might want to do this soon, too. Do you think if I dine solo there would be way too much food wasted?
Originally Posted By Ursula Yes, Amazed. When we made the reservations, I was told what was available. The first showing was technically full. But, at the restaurant, the family next to us was also assigned the 10:15 pm show and they asked nicely and were given the 9:00 pm show tickets instead. I would not chose an earlier time. I figure the families with munchkins need the space for the first show. I also thought the first show was uber packed out compared to the second show. I'm not really good in a large crowd, so the first show isn't for me. At the second show, we were only two deep at the rail. There was TONS of space behind us. 999, no food would not be wasted if you just dined yourself. (But hey, let us know, we'd go again in a jiffy!). They tune up or tune down the platters based on the amount of people there. The family next to us had double of the starters and dessert, for example.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Thank you Ursula. We were going to choose the 2nd showing for the same reasons, we'll stick with that plan
Originally Posted By csgoofygirl Thank you so much for the helpful information. You answered the questions that I had. I hope to go in August.
Originally Posted By Lady Starlight Thanks for posting Ursula. What a fun adventure you two had! << Do you think if I dine solo there would be way too much food wasted?>> Not if you invite ME!
Originally Posted By disneylandfan8 Thank you so much for the detailed, entertaining trip report! I can't wait to do the dining pkg at Trattoria on July 18th! And, yes, I admit... I have watched just a couple of videos, but I know it is NOTHING like being there.
Originally Posted By Rsey103 What does "TSMM" mean..and what kind of music do they play at the Silly Symphony Swings?
Originally Posted By Ursula The music is The William Tell Overture* by Rossini. It is also the song that is from the short, The Band Concert, of which the ride is based. *aka The Lone Ranger Theme.
Originally Posted By Terminus I have ONE comment. If you are in line for the HM and your kid makes a pooh in his diaper, please notify a CM and walk away and change your child in a restroom. No one wants to be stuck in a stretching room with that. And yes, I did HEAR you tell your spouse you didn't want to bother. Seriously, next time, bother. ============================ The scariest part of the HM, I bet. Sounds terrible!
Originally Posted By Lady Starlight Lazy parenting. That makes me feel so badly for the little ones. Ohh and Ursula too.. She's delicate like a dainty little flower, don'tcha know!
