Allocated seating trial at Fantasmic***Now with another new twist, see page 15, #288***

[bbjunkie]

Nope.

Not only are there no SEAT numbers, there are no ROW numbers/letters.

Can they remedy that? Yes.

Will it actually help matters for guests trying to find assigned "seats?"
Not much.

I've been to a lot of theaters. "Guests in the wrong seats" are an everyday problem.

Yes....there are row letters. We sat in the Mickey section, Row T on June 10th.

 

[Planogirl]

So did they run the trial? I wonder what happened?

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the rows were the easy part. Labeling and marking each individual seat is a much bigger task.

 

[SureAsLiz]

I guess we'll find out after tonight's show since they're supposed to be testing specific seats tonight and tomorrow night.

I hope someone reports back on how that goes.

I will be going tomorrow night for sure. I am going to try to go at least one night for each portion of the test, though I assume tomorrow will be the most hectic since it will be seats rather than rows/section (since those are at least labeled).

I might try for the 9pm showing which I never do, but it would be more indicative of success/failure compared to the less busy 10:30 showing

 

[SmithSmith]

Not sure of its authenticity, but I did read reports (on other boards) that seats were individually numbered last week.

 

[Julylady]

You are correct. We went to Fantasmic last night and all the "seats" have numbers. We joked that next time we were going to have to get a FP for Grandma, although she doesn't attend Fantasmic, because our three backsides took up four seats.

 

[julierocks]

Not sure of its authenticity, but I did read reports (on other boards) that seats were individually numbered last week.

I will be going tomorrow night for sure. I am going to try to go at least one night for each portion of the test

Will be super interested to hear what you think.

 

[Mainemama]

Honestly, I have never seen Fantasmic, because I worry about dealing with crowds, waiting in line, and then exiting with three little kids. If I knew I had a specific seat, I would feel more comfortable trying it. Curious to hear what people think of the test.

 

[SureAsLiz]

Not sure of its authenticity, but I did read reports (on other boards) that seats were individually numbered last week.

I was last there 10 days ago and they didn't have numbers then, so my mental map doesn't have them yet which should actually make this more interesting since I'll be going in partially blind.

Will be super interested to hear what you think

I will be sure to report back!

 

[JasonMouse]

I've never seen this show, because I don't want to stand in line. Can I go in last minute off season? Assigned seats sounds OK, but I park hop, so KIOSK is out.

 

[SureAsLiz]

I've never seen this show, because I don't want to stand in line. Can I go in last minute off season? Assigned seats sounds OK, but I park hop, so KIOSK is out.

I have gotten a FP for the 1030 show (and sometimes the 9 show) as late as 8:30pm in June and during SWW. There are so many FP available that it takes a lot for the kiosks to be out unless you are trying 5 minutes before.

I can't speak to the ease for walking in last minute, but I can say that the first few rows always seem to have really good availability. From the top, the seats all look full, but if you give yourself the time to go to the bottom and look up, you will find there are a lot more gaps than there seemed to be before.

 

[bluezy]

You are correct. We went to Fantasmic last night and all the "seats" have numbers. We joked that next time we were going to have to get a FP for Grandma, although she doesn't attend Fantasmic, because our three backsides took up four seats.

I read that the "seats" are 20" wide...which is the width of my dining room chairs. While that might be an appropriate size for a chair, it's a little small when you're stacking people right next to each other. I hope that if they stick with the specific seat layout that they widen the seat size.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm wondering how difficult it was for people to climb over each to get to their seats too.

20" inches doesn't sound all that big if you want to relax. I agree with bluezy that it's pretty small for that configuration.

 

[bauer1168]

Was at DHS tonight for the 10:30pm showing of Fantasmic!
We got our FP's for it around 9pm by the TOT FP+ kiosks. However it was not via the kiosks. They were covered up. Instead at the opposite end of the kiosks, there were tables with 3 laptops, 3 printers, and cms to hand out the FP's. This was the same set up they had at the kiosks by the wait time board area.
So we went up, they just asked how many in the party and printed off our FP reserved seats on a piece of card (see below pic), with a 20 minute time window 9:55-10:15pm. We were never asked to show them our cards/bands to be scanned.
We asked the cm what would happen if we arrived later than 10:15 and were told we'd have to try our luck with SB.
I thought the idea of a FP for the 2nd Fantasmic! show was a bit silly, seeing as I've never seen it full in all the times I've gone to the 2nd show, can always stroll in 10 minutes before showtime.
We watched the Frozen Fireworks then headed to the theatre (10pm). An announcement was made that the 10:30 show was full to capacity which I found to be impossible.
We got there and the theatre was only half full for the show (even when it started). So why the announcement of it being full to capacity was made was beyond me and confusing. There was a cm with a clipboard writing stuff down as he was going up the rows (maybe to check on empty seats in the rows maybe?)
I know they are testing this method to see if it alleviates congestion on sunset blvd. for when guests with FP and standby are all queuing down the street. We'll see what happens I guess.

No idea how it went for the 9pm show though.

 

[bauer1168]

Also meant to mention on the seat allocation. We weren't asked were we would like to sit. We were just given the tickets with the section,row and seat number. Although in guessing they don't ask where guests would like to sit/ show them what's available is because the line would then move very, very slowly.
The card you are given with the time/seat number etc, is about the size of a passport, slightly larger if that's of any interest

 

[bauer1168]

For anyone wandering how it works for guests with disabilities, the cm will ask you if there are any guests with disabilities in your party.

 

[mummabear]

I can see this will not be a popular opinion but here it is...

The only way I've seen Fantasmic was at Disneyland using the Fantasmic dessert package. No way am I going to to grab a spot and hour or more before a performance. I think these tests are a great idea.

We're doing Fantasmic this trip using a Brown Derby dinner package. I think even waiting 30-45 minutes to get into a show is nuts. I think it's fantastic that Disney is looking at ways to get people out of these insane lines...

Wish they'd just do assigned seating via FP+ and be done with it.

Martin

 

[mom2rtk]

Bauer1168, how full was the show?

 

[mom2rtk]

I read that the "seats" are 20" wide...which is the width of my dining room chairs. While that might be an appropriate size for a chair, it's a little small when you're stacking people right next to each other. I hope that if they stick with the specific seat layout that they widen the seat size.

If they have labeled all those seats, I honestly can't see them changing it.

 

[Robo]

Bauer1168, how full was the show?

We got there and the theatre was only half full for the show (even when it started).

.