DD21 and I are going to DLR in January. I have air and hotel and one ADR at Storybook thing for late breakfast one day. And that’s all I have…
I did see that there is a very reasonable F! package with Rancho del Zocalo so I booked lunch to have a spot for the first show.
But now I wonder just how helpful is it to have a package seating? We saw it twice in 2018 just walking up. I remember eating there with DD19 in 2024 and not loving my food, but she did.
Thoughts?
Since I am asking, what is a non-park dinner y’all recommend for arrival day? We are just going to hang out at DTD and check out the hotels for something to do and get a good night’s sleep.
The only easy way to see F! with a great view is with a package, in my opinion. The packages get all the front and center spots. We have done the Rancho one twice. I did not love the chaos of that place or the food, but I know Julianne and Melissa have had better experiences with it. It’s definitely the cheapest of the dining packages. I also wonder if it would be less chaotic at lunch time, at dinner they seemed to run out of things and be unable to keep up with the demand.
At DL, I also feel the Fantasmic Dining Package is the way to go. People hang out for hours to get a spit in the free viewing areas.
If you do the dining package, get a seat in the back. Someone else chime in but we had to sit for the entire show. Do the CMs still make you sit for the show? In the front, the railings got in the way. In back, you could kneel (@Jeff_AZ’s recommendation after I complained about the railings blocking my view).
Has anyone been to Broken Spell Lounge? I think DD21 would like it. It’s crazy to me that I can actually look at/consider lounges now! This mama-of-many can go anywhere with just one 21 yo kiddo!!
The DTD meal that I am most looking forward to is Din Tai Fung. Reservations open at 30 days and not on the Disneyland site. They seem to open after midnight Pacific time.
With our family we prefer to do a F! dining package. We’ve done the Rancho Del Zocalo one once and we quite enjoyed it, but they had all the options we were looking for the one time we did it and it wasn’t chaotic (as I’ve seen reports of it being since our one time doing it).
If we’re not doing a F! dining package there are still two ways we will watch the show:
If there’s a 10:30pm show on a day where there’s a bigger crowd draw to another show and/or is a lighter crowd day.
We do what DH has termed the Poorman’s Dining Package. Which is get dinner at Stagedoor Cafe 1.5-2 hours ahead of the show, find a seat somewhere in the tables, preferably close to the rail. And just stay until the end of the show and/or end of fireworks. It’s as much (or more) time as camping out for a spot in the general viewing BUT it’s a seat, we like the corn dogs (which one of the places to get them from is Stage Door) and some of the group will still take turns going to do a ride close by (Indy or Big Thunder are the 2 faves of the older kids who are most likely to break off, I’ve also taken a little to do one or two short waits in Fantasyland in that time). The view isn’t anything incredible, but we’ve also enjoyed the show plenty from prime viewing so it’s a nice way to get to enjoy it from a seat without paying a super high premium and if it’s been a day where we opted to stay in the parks over a midday break, the extended sitting at the table can serve as that reset we need to make it to the midnight park close (and on those days it’s guaranteed we’ve got one kid sleeping in the stroller at the table).
Just returned from from DLR mid-week. I’d recommend Din Tai Fung for the Downtown Disney meal. Best meal we had all week! Get the wontons! (Skip Carthay Circle)
For Fantasmic, I had the Rancho package booked but cancelled it. We weren’t sure if we were going to watch the show or not, but it worked out to see the second showing one night. We went looking for a spot 15-20 min before and truly, anyplace that looked like a reasonable spot to watch was either “reserved” or taken. The bridge in front of Pirates seemed to be a popular place but was full. They reserved so much space and often the reserved spaces were ironically not very full. I stopped and asked a CM politely where they would recommend we look that was not reserved, and they very kindly let us into a nearly empty reserved space. I would love any additional tips as well on where to look for ‘free’ viewing for next time. I’m not sure which space was reserved for which category of package but people who sat along the waterfront were definitely getting wet. We were standing behind the fence between walkway and waterfront in front of the Pirates building and it was just about a perfect view with just a little mist. I would have been upset if I’d paid extra for a viewing spot and ended up getting wet in the chilly weather.
Meanwhile, here’s @lolabear_la answering DLR questions right off the ship.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CRUISE ASAP PLEASE!
OK! I’ll look this up. With that said, my exposure to Asian food has been limited and (unfortunately) largely negative.
I just went back to my family blog to see what I had recorded about our two F! DL experiences.
I have this:
Around an hour before the show we went to the riverboat queue. The riverboat wasn’t there… that’s were the FastPass return line begins. About 30 minutes before the show, they ushered us in to the FastPass viewing area. We were instructed to sit down on the gently sloping walkway facing Tom Sawyer’s Island in the Rivers of America. (Only days later did I come to understand that we actually had gotten “upgraded” a bit to the spot that is reserved for people who purchase dining packages. They must not have sold out dining packages that day and as a result we had some of the best seats.)
The show started at 9, and it was then that I was utterly horrified that I had almost gone on a cruise this year instead of this amazing trip. Hand down this was THE best nighttime entertainment I had ever, ever, ever, ever seen. It surpassed the Disney Hollywood Studios version for so many reasons. Firstly, you are SO much closer; every piece of the projections on the water can be acutely discerned, and you feel like you are right there with Mickey as he battles his dreams. Secondly, it incorporates two boats, one of which is the Pirate ship and the actors aboard that ship steal the show. Thirdly, being THAT close, you can actually see the characters on the riverboat as they engage with the crowd. And LASTLY – THAT DRAGON! She is crazy good.
WOC was closed when we went in 2018, and F! was closed when I went with DD18 in 2024. I believe all of the PM entertainment will be running in January, so I want to make the best decisions possible for seeing the shows. I think I will keep the Rancho packages. $39 x 2 is doable.
I actually got all the photos from DH’s and DS14’s phones so I can have their pictures. DS has the newest phone for now so his are by far the best. So now I can start putting a report together!
