Enough time for Sci-Fi and Fantasmic?

[IBLarsen]

I'm trying to make a dinner res at Sci-Fi for a Friday evening in March. I have reserved a 5:50 (family of 4), as it's the earliest avail. We are wanting to make Fantasmic which is at 8:30 (only one showing). Will we have enough time for dinner and getting to F! in enough time for good seats?
How long does the Sci-Fi experience usually take? And how early would I need to get to Fantasmic? (thinking 45 minutes before show time?)

 

[Itinkso]

I'm trying to make a dinner res at Sci-Fi for a Friday evening in March. I have reserved a 5:50 (family of 4), as it's the earliest avail. We are wanting to make Fantasmic which is at 8:30 (only one showing). Will we have enough time for dinner and getting to F! in enough time for good seats?
How long does the Sci-Fi experience usually take? And how early would I need to get to Fantasmic? (thinking 45 minutes before show time?)

Plan on an hour in SciFi from the time you get seated. It takes a full hour to watch the complete set of movie clips.

If you can get a Fantasmic FP as your 4th or 5th of the day, 45 minutes before showtime is more than enough time. If no FPs, plan on 60 minutes before Fant to find seats in the Standby section.

 

[dzneelvr]

Don't be freaked out if the line runs all the way to the corner of Sunset and Hollywood Blvds. The event can seat thousands (I saw 8,000 on another thread--can't verify it though). We got in line and thought NO WAY....once the line started moving we were pleasantly surprised to get 4 great seats center section.we've noticed folks tend to spread way way out, so if you see some space, just say excuse me and sit down. People don't need to take up space with their bags, popcorn, and cameras. If it's full, don't be in a hurry to leave. Sit and talk and people watch. within 15 minutes you'll be up and moving out.

 

[nkereina]

Of the three times we've eaten at Sci Fi, we've always been seated late and found service to be relatively slow. We love it though. Show up a few minutes before your ADR time if you can. I'd suspect you'll finish up 7-7:30, which I do think is enough time for you to line up for Fantasmic.

 

[Eliserose]

We did 5:45 dinner at Sci-Fi and 8:30 Fantasmic this summer and it worked out perfectly. We had the FP for Fantasmic and got there early.

 

[Lanie]

Do the FP have a reserved section?

 

[Itinkso]

The sections to the left of the Dining Package area are reserved for FP. After the FP return window closes, Standby guests can fill in the area.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

You should have enough time - our reservations were very similar this past November. That being said a couple tips as a previous poster mentioned they tend to run late/be slower than some other table service restaurants.

- try to arrive a little early - most of our ADR's we arrive 15-20 minutes early and were seated in 5-10 minutes, by our ADR time at the latest.
- let your waiter/waitress know that you are planning on going to Fantasmic so they are aware of time line.
- We were on the dining plan. When I ordered dessert I asked for the check to speed up the checkout process. This way when we finished dessert we didn't have to wait for them to complete the bill. So whatever your final course is ask to settle up then instead of waiting.