Planning help and Fantasmic - child w noise sensitivity

[akpetz]

Help me! We will be at DL staying at the Grand Californian for 3 days (But only 2 nights inside the parks) in Sept. We are DW veterans, but this is our first DL visit, and this trip is kind of last minute. My concern is my 6 yo son has a big fear of being too close to fireworks/shows and has a noise sensitivity. He loves seeing them, and truly enjoys it and is perfectly happy if we are back a little bit of distance (and we have headphones to mute the sound for him). If we get fastpasses or a dinner package are you very close to the action? Do you just have to go straight to where they place you, or is there some flexibility there? Not sure if this is a waste of time for us or not? Any advice is appreciated. I really know next to nothing about DL at this point, and didn't realize that FP were a must there. Ack. I just need someone to tell me what shows/events not to miss if I only have 2 nights (and small children).

 

[DSNY4ever]

I do really love our Fantastic (it is better than the WDW version), but if you only have two nights I would save those for World of Color and the Paint the Night Parade and 60th anniversary fireworks since those are something that you cannot see in WDW. I think they will be easier for a child with noise sensitivity as well. Enjoy your first visit!

PS- Fantasmic is not shown nightly in Disneyland anyway, so you would need to figure out if you are going weekdays vs. weekends and what might be on the calendar for your nights.

 

[thatgrljme]

If you do end up doing Fantasmic get some protective ear muffs for your kiddo. I got some for my son this year for the 4th of July and wish I had them at Disneyland because he freaked out during Fantasmic. They sell them on Amazon, but I got mine at Cabella's.

 

[ptlycloudy]

As for the dining package seating, we were just there and there was a bit of flexibility as to where you chose to sit. If you get there early you can choose to sit in the back of the section. It is still pretty noisy though. My nephew always wore headphones to shows like that. I agree, if time is limited the World of Color and Fireworks would be my first choice if you have seen Fantasmic at the World.

 

[akpetz]

Thanks all. We are checking into the Grand Californian on Sunday 9/13 and check out on Wed. 9/16, but don't have park tickets Sunday. We plan to do full days Monday and Tues, and 3/4 day Wed before we head out of town to our next destination. So, we won't be in the park late enough for night activities on Wed.

If we are at the GC Sunday night, can you see much of the fireworks if you aren't actually in the park? We may get a partial preview that night if we all aren't crashed out from the early flight.

 

[SMD]

The fireworks are in DL, if you have a DCA theme park view you won't see them. You can see the higher ones from the esplanade, but there is some echo of the sound. You can also see them from the parking structure but they set off car alarms. In Sept F! usually only runs on weekends, so you'll miss it. Just FYI, there's giant flames in the current WOC show. They're not loud explosions, but towering flames and lots of smoke.

 

[akpetz]

The fireworks are in DL, if you have a DCA theme park view you won't see them. You can see the higher ones from the esplanade, but there is some echo of the sound. You can also see them from the parking structure but they set off car alarms. In Sept F! usually only runs on weekends, so you'll miss it. Just FYI, there's giant flames in the current WOC show. They're not loud explosions, but towering flames and lots of smoke.

Thank you! Very helpful!

 

[Geemo]

YouTube videos might give you an idea of what the programs are like.
Look for a video of WOC from the guest deck of the GCH. The distance might make it easier for your son viewing from the guest deck instead of the park.