Eat to the Beat, do I need to buy a package meal to get in?

[bsusanmb]

Hoping to see David Cook and Wilson Philips. I have reservations for the package, but now I see that if it rains and the shows are cancelled you don't get a seat for another show. Is it that difficult to get into the shows? I also have Disney Visa, and see that there is a lounge in American Pavillion that hands out wrist bands to get in. Anyone know how that works? Thanks

 

[1lilspark]

If it's like past years wristbands were only on weekdays and I know David is a Sat/Sun. I had a friend who did the meal package for David last year and said she would of rather waited stand by cause the seats reserved were up back and obstructed ( though last year they also did FP+ and I don't think they did that this year)

 

[MakiraMarlena]

No you do not need the package. I've never been to a ETTB that needed that package to get in. It's a very different bird from Candlelight Processional.

You'd go to the Chase Lounge (they open at 11, if you are looking for concert wristbands it is best to get there at 11) and ask for the concert wristband. You have a Disney Visa, so they'll give them to you if they have them avaiable. When I used them last year, you were restricted to one show per day (you couldn't get bands for more than one set). They are first come, first served, so when they are gone they are gone. There will be a blocked area for Chase wristband wearers to sit. About 10-15 minutes before showtime they take off the ropes and then anybody can sit there, so if you want the advantage get there earlier.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We've seen Big Bad Voodoo Daddy over a number of years and have just walked up to the first show of the day. We ended up sitting towards the back but that was fine for us.

 

[disnut8]

Doing the Eat to the Beat shows is one of our favorite things about the Food and Wine Festival. What we (my husband and I) do is to simply sit back in the Liberty Inn outdoor seating area or stand around the American's fountain and once the lines are let into the theatre, we just join the end, or depending on how long the line is, just wait until the end of the line is up at the entrance and then we just walk in. Never had a problem with doing it this way.

 

[GoofyKrisKid]

Last year we saw Wilson Phillips. We used one of our fast passes for the later show but happened to be near the theater for an earlier show and didn't have any trouble getting seats. The seats were better with the fast pass (2nd row) but seating wasn't a problem otherwise.

 

[RoyalJay]

Is there anyone with a good report for the dining package? We're big Toad the Wet Spocket fans and are going for our anniversary on 10/23. We have the dining package booked for Rose & Crown because we want to sit up front for the show. Will this work?

 

[Missyrose]

Also, if the theater fills, you can stand at the back to watch. I also like just sitting at the American pavilion outside the theater and listen to the music.

 

[DOOM1001]

The dining package is close to worthless for the Eat to the Beat concerts,the few exceptions for this year may be Air Supply which already played and Boyz II Men who consistently year in year out has huge crowds.Also if you notice both these groups are playing on lower crowd weekdays,simply put Disney knows doing this helps bring out the crowds in the weekdays and if they were scheduled on a weekend the place would be a madhouse and possibly make the shows so full people would be shut out of the shows like at Candlelight,this never happens for these shows,there may be no seats if you get there right before showtime for a popular group or weekend show but if you get there at least 20 minutes before you will get a seat.I was there both days for Air Supply and the first day they could only play the first show as horrible thunderstorms that looked like the world was going to end started at around 6:15 and didn't stop until close to 9pm.To show you how popular they are there were people in line almost until 8pm risking their life as lightning was striking all around them which was worthless as you pretty much knew they werent going to get the shows in,I know cause I was stuck in the Italy gift shop for those two hours watching and worrying about them.I went to see the Bodeans on Thursday for their first set which is usually the busiest of the three sets and this show did get a sunshower and there were zero people watching the show that weren't sitting under the covered area of the theater,the same thing happened in one of the Air Supply shows and the uncovered area was packed,people chose to get wet and keep watching them.The point is that there's only a handful of groups that really pack the shows to the point a dining package may be worth it,there's going to be a lot of good groups playing but I would only put Air Supply and Boys II Men at the super popular level,I've heard Hanson is very popular but I've never seen them to see what kind of crowds they bring.