Has anyone watched illuminations from here? I’m debating about making reservations here but can only get 645pm . I know u can watch from inside but you NEED a window seat right? Do they have space to go outside during dinner to watch the show like California grill? Any information would help . Thanks . Oh and how is the food?
We watched Illuminations from La Hacienda on our last trip - it was great! You do not need a window seat, but the closer you are to a window the better. We were in a banquette/booth away from the window but still had a good view. Oddly enough, right before the show several of the parties at window seats beat feet out of the restaurant, so we could have moved closer to watch if we wanted.
General advice to get a good seat: Make an ADR for 1 hour and 15 minutes before showtime. Show up a few minutes early, ask the host if you can have a table with a good view, and let them know that you are willing to wait a little bit. When you are being seated, if you see a better table that is available or is being cleared, ask if you can be moved over to it. The staff are generally accommodating to polite requests.
Re the food, we really liked it a lot. It is upscale Mexican food, definitely not Taco Bell. We had a variety of different items from the menu, and all were very good.
I NEVER try to time dinners to watch fireworks while I eat. I consider dinner and fireworks to be two separate events and I want to be able to enjoy them both to the fullest. Even with a window seat, there are much better places to view IllumiNations (my favorite is between Mexico and Norway - up to as far as China. A 6:45 ADR would give you a chance for a relaxed dinner (without stressing over getting one of the few table seats), and then have a bit of time to look around Mexico/Norway/China, and then get a good spot to watch IllumiNations (perhaps with a La Cava margarita in your hand).
@bswan26 raises some good points, especially since your ADR time is 6:45 (didn’t notice that when I initially replied). Viewing Illuminations from LaH worked well for us for several reasons:
- We were there in a low CL time, so it was not hard to get a reservation at an appropriate time
- We had seen Illuminations before, so it wasn’t crucial to have the “best” view
- It was arrival day for us, so after travelling and park touring it was nice to have a relaxing meal and be able to watch the show without the hassle of fighting the crowds to find a good spot
Thank u. Do they have somewhere outside to go for viewing too. I just ask since we will be there in November (27/dec6 )and wondering if it would be safer crowd wise to guarantee a good spot
Not specifically. La Cantina is “sort of” an outdoors, but it’s really a separate restaurant.