Paint the Night Dinner Package- worth it?

jenbright

Mouseketeer
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Getting ready for my dining reservations windows to open over the next few days. I know this one is subjective, but do you think a dinner package for Paint the Night is worth it? We saw PTN 2 years ago at Disneyland. I've read that the parade route at CA is longer and that it can be easier to find a spot. Is that accurate?

There are 2 Mickey Halloween Parties during our Oct stay and so we would likely watch PTN on one of the party days (since we aren't planning to go to the party).

I would love to hear the opinions of what you would do! Thank you!
 
Lots of views but no suggestions yet. Are the parade dinner packages not as popular in CA? Is it pretty easy to find a spot to watch PTN? Sorry if this is a silly question! We've never actually watched a parade over at CA.
 
We watched it in April with similar crowd level forecasts as some of October and it was easy to find great viewing spots.

I don't have quite the depth of insight as some here may but I would warn that on a party night the crowds at DCA will likely see a pretty big boost around parade hours. You'll have all the people that can't stay over at DL moving to DCA and you'll have some people who will come over as part of the "hopper" feature of the party ticket. SO, while I don't plan on needing a package to watch the parade because I didn't before and I'm not watching on a party night when I go in September, I don't know if that theory holds true on a party night.
 
I don’t think the parade package there is worth it, personally. Fantasmic, yes, dining package all the way. PTN, nah. It is a long, long route.

However, as a PP mentioned, a party night will be more crowded, so you may find value in that if you really don’t want to wait at all...
 


Thanks Brian and Skyegirl! This is what I was hoping. We will still eat at Wine Country, but this allows us to fit the parade into whichever day works best while we are there.
 
We did it the opening weekend back in April and loved it. It was our big splurge and I don't regret it. The meal was fantastic (by real world standards, not disney) and it was my 70 year old mom's first trip to DLR. Our view was great, it was such a lovely night for us and I am glad we did it. And it was a total of 6 people so it cost a small fortune. I hope the food continues to be good, a few trips ago we did the Fantasmic! Package at Blue Bayou and food was mediocre at best.
 
good to hear the food is great . . . we will be doing this in September . . . anxious to see CA it's been a while since last been . . went to DL in 2015 at rope drop and stayed til they ran us out . . it was on my bucket list of things to do.
 


... a few trips ago we did the Fantasmic! Package at Blue Bayou and food was mediocre at best.

You'll be glad to know that the food and service at BB has improved recently. We just did the F! dining package there two weeks ago (hesitantly, as a gift for friends) and were very pleasantly surprised by the improvements in the quality of the food and service.
 
We did the Wine County Trattoria package last week. I would recommend it. Loved the food, and the reserved space was nice, not required as others have said. One thing that was interesting, in the reserved area, they allowed us to sit during the parade. Everyone else across the street had to stand.
 
... One thing that was interesting, in the reserved area, they allowed us to sit during the parade. Everyone else across the street had to stand.

CMs have told us that in the regular, non-reserved areas of the parade route, on not-crowded nights, they will allow guests to remain seated, if possible, until the last minute. If the viewing areas begin to get too crowded, then CMs will ask guests from the 2nd row on back to stand. The front row/curbside row will be allowed to remain seated. This is what we experienced in the section in front of LM about 2 weeks ago. At first, everyone was allowed to stay seated. But as the section began to fill to capacity, CMs began to warn us that we might be asked to stand. Then, another CM came, told the front row to remain seated, and told everyone behind the front row to stand for the parade so that more guests could fit in the section.
 
I did the Paint the Night Parade Package for Carthay Circle on the first official launch day, they were still figuring out the menu as it was a bit tighter on choices then World of color and the manager was more then happy to allow us to make swaps. food was decadent as always but the addition of raised directors chairs in a reserved area really made us feel special. Ive done the dinner packages countless times at BB and Carthay and tbh I really enjoyed the way we were treated during the meal and being seated for the show, it makes for an enjoyable experience especially on busy Disney days
 

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I do want to say I don’t think this package is necessary. I was at the parks yesterday evening and it was extremely crowded. However, you could have found a good spot for the parade anywhere along Hollywood Blvd less than 30 minutes before the parade started. It wouldn’t have been a curb spot, but second row or right behind a bench (my favorite spot since you know people won’t be standing in front of you) was still plentiful. Meanwhile, some friends had done WCT and got to the viewing spot at 8:20, but all the front row spots were already taken. I don’t know how crowded that area would have gotten before the parade but at 9:00 (when the parade was starting on the other side of the park) I still could have gotten a spot in Hollywoodland with elbow room to spare. The CC package definitely provides for a better seating experience but I still don’t think it’s worth the extreme $$$.
 
We booked the dining package for one of our last days-- with the plan that we might try to catch the parade on an earlier night. We had seen PTN in DL, but not since it started in CA. We wound up catching it our arrival day and were happy with our view- so we cancelled the dining package. You could always schedule the dining package for that 2nd night and then if you are able to see PTN your first night you can cancel it.
 
Thanks everyone for all your advice! I actually ended up buy tickets to the Halloween Party after all :rotfl::rotfl: So we will definitely catch PTN, but not with a dinner package this trip.
 
I've booked one for next month. I deliberated as many people say it is a long route but as it is also my bday dinner I decided to just do it! Wanted Carthay but the menu did not appeal to me or my family so we are going with Wine Country.
 
Throwing in my two cents here. I did the lunch Wine Country Trattoria PTN package on Sunday, August 12, and for us it was totally worth it. First of all, that one is only $38, and you get a 3 course meal. The appetizer salad was just "eh," but I got the salmon for my entree, and it was DELICIOUS. As was the chocolate panna cotta for dessert. Also, my friend I traveled with has some rather unusual food allergies, and neither option on the dessert menu was edible for her, and the restaurant was happy to swap out a different dessert.

Here are the 3 reasons we thought this was worth it. You can decide for yourself if these were also factors for you:
1) We arrived at our reserved area a mere 30 minutes before the parade began and got front row seats. Yes, we were on the ground, but they let us sit through the parade. There was no one in front of us and no jostling for position! We did stand for the parade, but we totally could have sat through the whole thing if we wanted to.
2) We VERY much enjoyed having an hour or so break from the elements in the middle of the day. That particular day was hot and humid in the morning. The breeze picked up in the afternoon and made it better, but I actually went into lunch with a headache from the heat/humidity. I came out with no headache.
3) We wanted to eat at WCT anyway, and we would have spent $38 or almost $38 on what we wanted to eat. The extra cost was well worth the peace of mind knowing we'd have a great view of the parade even if we only arrived 30 mins prior.
 

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