Hi, all. I'll be in town for a choral directors convention 2/27 - 3/1 (my birthday!!! Yipee!), and am trying to help my colleagues figure out about buying tickets. We got a link to a site that sells a Twilight Convention Ticket, $35, and you can enter after 4, or 4 hours before the park closes, whichever is first. Sold by HES Convention Services. So, does anyone know if you get in and out privileges with that? I'm thinking of dashing in with them to see the 6:30 parade on 3/1, then out to dinner at Napa Rose and then back to enjoy the rest of the night. (I have a Deluxe AP, and, luckily, that date isn't blocked out) Thanks for any suggestions!

Jennie :D

PS - still considering dinner at the Bayou - have never done it, and I think it sounds so cool, even though the food may not be the best.

I would think that any ticket has in and out privileges... I guess I could be wrong, but all you need is the original ticket and a hand stamp. I don't see why one kind of ticket holder would not be allowed to leave and come back again.

Blue Bayou has GREAT food, just a small selection. I want to take my boyfriend there but I don't think that he would enjoy their food. He's more of a burgers kind of guy.

Hi Jennie,
I don't know if you can get in and out priviledges with that ticket, but I do know that if you want a full dinner at Napa Rose, it'll take a couple of hours. NR is our all-time favorite restaurant at the DLR and it takes that long to get a 3-course or more dinner. I always get 3 courses (app or soup, entree, dessert), but my hubby always gets the Vintner's Dinner, which has more courses than that. The server always times my courses to go with his, so we end up with the entree and dessert at the same time.

The restaurant opens at 5:30 pm and we're usually out of there anywhere from 7:30 pm on, just to give you an idea of how long to plan for dinner there. The best place to sit (we think!) is the "Chef's Counter". This is where you sit facing the kitchen and can interact with the chefs and other staff. It's great for seeing what goes on in a real kitchen and you may even get some "gifts" from the chef at times.

You need to get a reservation in advance for these seats and you need to specify that you'd like the "Chef's Counter", if you'd like to try it, since there are a limited number of seats for the counter. I like to choose the second group of seats that overlook the entrees and desserts. The first group overlooks the breads and salads and the last group is right at the end, looking over stacks of dishes, and into the dessert area. Those are probably the worst seats (we've never sat there, but it looks that way to us).

When we were there last Friday (once we started sitting at the counter, we've never wanted to go back to the regular seats!), I was able to order an entree that wasn't even on the menu! It was a special he was doing that night. We've taken friends who've never been there before and the chef asked them if they wanted to order off the menu, or did they want to "trust him" to make their dinner specially for them, getting their likes, dislikes, allergies, etc. It's a really fun way to go, especially if you like really great food!!

The food there is amazing, way better than BB, but if you haven't been to BB before, I guess you could go, just for the atmosphere. It's over-priced and I think it's just because you're right next to Pirates. The service is always rushed and it's very noisy there, so it's not my place to pick, if I want to have a good time and a great meal.

Noticing that you said it's your birthday then, the BB may bring you a chocolate mousse-type dessert, but they don't bring it out, or say anything about it, until you've already ordered and been served a "real" dessert. We thought that was very odd.

I don't remember what NR did for my hubby's birthday, it was over a year ago, but they have great desserts and I do remember, for our anniversary, they brought out a specially decorated dessert, with a red sparkling wine (it's not really champagne, unless it's from that area of France!) to go with it!

I hope you have a great time at the convention, an even better time at the parks and wherever you choose to have dinner! Happy Birthday!!

We share a birthday! Is this convention why the parks are open so late on the 2nd? Hotels prices are up a bit from what I thought they would be also, but a convention might explain it!

We share a birthday! Is this convention why the parks are open so late on the 2nd? Hotels prices are up a bit from what I thought they would be also, but a convention might explain it!

It is not a HUGE convention by anymeans, probably 1000 or so, and the HQ hotel is the Hyatt Regency OC, down the street. I would guess most people will leave on 3/2, as the concerts and meetings are done on 3/1 at 5:15. By the way, if you enjoy choral music, you can see some AMAZING choirs - you probably have to buy a ticket, but here is the schedule of events: http://www.acdaonline.org/conventions/2008/2008we.shtml

Happy almost birthday to US! :D

Thanks for the great tips on dinner at NR, KarenW2 - I think we'll do Bayou, as it is in the park and a bit quicker, but the counter sounds neat at NR - thanks for the insight.

You are probably right about in-and-out, it is just a different kind of ticket than I have heard of before, and wanted to double check, so as to not lead my gang astray!


Jennie