We just did the World of Color and Fantasmic dining packages this past Thursday and Saturday and really enjoyed both of them.
Blue Bayou and both the shows were a priority for us, so the cost wasn't a big issue, and to be honest Carthay Circle's food and cocktails (ice spheres!) were probably the most enjoyable experience of it all.
Not sure if it would be as cost-effective or fun with 2 kids in tow; I guess it depends on your kids.
You will still need to arrive early to each show, even with a dining FP for them, unless you're visiting a very uncrowded time
Not
as early, though. More like 30 minutes instead of an hour and a half.
Also, it really pays to know where you're supposed to go to line up for your premium seating area.
Frontierland and New Orleans Square became a chaotic, poorly-lit, gridlocked pandemonium before show time, and most of the cast members we asked seemed confused as to where we were supposed to be lining up. I would hate to try to navigate this mess with small children. Eventually we found someone who pointed us on the right direction: the Blue Bayou dining package people queue to the far, far left of the area, in a disorganized mass near the Harbor Galley restaurant, though this could certainly change by next year.
If we had known, we would have spent the time before we were told to show up to queue in Critter Country, rather than halfway across the park, but as our dinner was
very early, like 4:30, we had drifted quite a bit.
The World of Color reservations we got from Carthay Circle were much easier to use, as the viewing area at Paradise Pier is much better organized and easier to navigate, since it's not a long, winding strip.
