Just got back from seeing WoC with BJ, took him for his birthday to a dinner and show! We both had an enjoyable time and liked the show. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we were both expecting an "awesome water effects set to Disney music clips" show and not anything particularly moving (or with a storyline).
Yes, it could have been better if it had a story, but as a tech water demonstration, there were a number of "wow" moments, like the Old Mill sequence. The parts I liked best were when they projected a backdrop and let the fountains dance in the foreground.
Show-wise we were towards the front of the reserved dining section, which was dead center. Great spot, and yes, I'm glad we got the ponchos. We also bought popcorn, which was good for about two bites, and then we realized we were eating popcorn coated in candy grape and candy cherry and candy snozberry or something, and then it just got sort of nauseating
Next time, I'd like to see it from the back and take it all in.
Dinner-wise we ate at the Wine Country Trattoria. I'd say, not worth it. Yes, you do get a 15% Premium AP discount, off of your $39.99 meal, but the price fixe menu meal comes with:
1) Bread (2 rolls each, not stale, but not great quality either) (this part is not on the menu)
2) Salad (Arugula/spinach fig balsamic vinegar walnuts and goat cheese), very small but yummy.
3) Appetizer: You get to watch the cute waiter at the other side of the room, since there is no appetizer.
4) Choice of entree: It was something like: chicken breast, steak, lamb, a vegetarian item, and one other item. I got the lamb, BJ got the steak. Reading another review on here that said they overcook the steak, he ordered it rare, and they said they couldnt do rare, but would do it "as rare as they could." It DID come pink in the center, what I would call medium rare, so they did work out whatever kinks they had.
I had the lamb, which was tasty, and came with some sort of corn polenta thing (also tasty), and some spinach/garlic thing, which was disgusting. Really, I love spinach, and I love garlic, and there was something ELSE in there, I just couldn't swallow. (yes yes, insert joke here). Tasted just awful. It went into my napkin (politely, of course).
5) Dessert: Teeny tiny chocolate cakes (silver dollar sized),like lava cakes, which were delicious, drizzled with caramel. And a small taste of some kind of cream dessert (almost the consistency of greek-strained yogurt) with "lemon gel" on top (thats what our waitress called it).
Our waitress was sweet and bubbly, but our dinners came before the salads (since I don't eat goat cheese, and BJ is allergic to walnuts, they had to make em special), and no coffee was offered at the end.
And that's all folks! 2 glasses of wine for him ($10/ea), one diet coke for me, and with a discount it was $95 BEFORE the tip. Honestly, you're paying through the nose for a fastpass here, because for $39.99 I would expect a lot more out of a price fixe dinner. Like an appetizer, non "taster" portions of salad or desserts, or, god forbid, fresh bread.
If the "reserved dining" section is the same thing for one of those 16.99 picnic packages as it is for the $39.99 Wine Country packages, I'd say, buy your fastpass with the picnic. The reserved dining section is a good area.
Hell, I'd say, if you're there all day and want to spend the money on a meal, get a free fastpass in the morning, eat early at Napa Rose, and see WoC later in the day.
The other WoC thing that was f'd up was what happened BEFORE it started. Chaos is one word to describe it. CM's had everyone lining up around the San Francisco corridor, and then it was just this mob scene around that area with NO CMS DOING ANYTHING to tell people where to go or what to do, people asking CMs where to go and we were hearing them answer "Oh.... ummm I dont know", leads just picking their butts, and then a mass of people moving forward. It was scary. Then when we were lining up for our dining package section, there were NO CMs telling anyone where their section was, and no indication where anyone's section was, so guests were directing people where to go.
Eventually they got it under control but for about 15 minutes it was nuts. My facebook profile was updated to "World of Color: It's like buying bread in Russia!" There were kids separated from parents and scared CMs running around staring blankly that didnt know what was happening. Once we got into our section the CMs were great and knew what was up, but before that point, they really need to work out the kinks.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents!