Explain to me about Fantasmic...

[cali2gagirl]

After continued reading...I was thinking of booking a Fantasmic Dinner Package at HollyWood n Vine...does the 19.99 buffet include the Fantasmic price? That is our anniversary...and I don't want to miss it..thought maybe it'd be worth the dinner price to get a decent seat

 

[gumdrop]

The 19.99 price at Hollywood and Vine includes dinner and passes to enter Fantasmic at a special designated area for those who take advantage of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. There is no seperate *charge* for Fantasmic--you could see the show for free without using the dinner package. Keep in mind too that the special reserved seating for dinner package guests is all the way off to the right of the ampitheater. Though I have heard there are no bad seats, I have read a few complaints about people being seated in the section. This will be my first time seeing Fantasmic as well, so I can't comment. I was planning on doing the 10:30 show, and from what I understand, the dinner package is only good for the 9:00 show. I'm still researching this too, but I think I'm going to skip the package and wait for the second, less-crowded show for the chance of better seating.

 

[philaround]

Originally posted by gschmerl
There is no extra charge on top of your meal. Each person has to order a dinner entree. The restaurants are Hollywood and Vine, The Brown Derby, and the name of the last one escapes me...it's Mama something.

The last restaurant is Mama Melrose's [We did the Fantasmic package there the end of May]. On the Fantasmic package you have a limited selection of entree's [at least at Mama Melrose's] unless you are on one of the resort package plans [Silver or Gold], then the entire menu is open to you. All alcoholic beverages are extra.

 

[gschmerl]

Originally posted by cali2gagirl
After continued reading...I was thinking of booking a Fantasmic Dinner Package at HollyWood n Vine...does the 19.99 buffet include the Fantasmic price? That is our anniversary...and I don't want to miss it..thought maybe it'd be worth the dinner price to get a decent seat

There is no added charge for Fantasmic. Just be SURE to book in advance and say you are booking the Fantasmic Dinner Package. You can't just walk in and eat and say ,"Oh, by the way, we want to dinner package."

 

[timbud1]

Our first Fantasmic experience was in May, and it was sort of scary! I had read these boards, but of course I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I found I didn't have some info that would have been helpful.

We got to the entrance of the path to Fantasmic about one hour and 15 minutes to showtime. Utter chaos everywhere! People crowding the snack vendors - 40 people deep in line, restroom lines out the wazoo, etc.. It was panic out there and I got caught up in it thinking we'd "never get in" . Well, the actual walk to the stadium was nuts - I held onto my kids for dear life, but it thinned out the closer we got. Once up there, I was pleasantly relaxed. Lots of breathing room, lots of empty lines for snacks and restrooms, and PLENTY of seating. In fact, I watched the last section fill about 5 minutes to showtime.

We were there with moderate crowds, and I feel we could have waited until about 30 minutes to showtime and gotten good seats. Oh! I brought my own glowsticks and necklaces for the kids from the Dollar Tree - great surprise for them and I didn't spend $15!!! Have fun!

 

[il-gander]

Originally posted by gumdrop
Keep in mind too that the special reserved seating for dinner package guests is all the way off to the right of the ampitheater. Though I have heard there are no bad seats, I have read a few complaints about people being seated in the section. This will be my first time seeing Fantasmic as well, so I can't comment. [/B]

When we were there the first week of June, the dinner package seating was not all the way to the right. There are five sections, and the dinner package guests had the entire section directly right of center (facing the water), but not all the way to the right. We thought it was great - we breezed in with 30 minutes to showtime, and had plenty of elbow room because we didn't have to keep scooting to the middle like the rest of the guests who obviously had been there quite a while at that time. We thought the view was just fine! HTH-

Carla

 

[peachgirl]

Well, the actual walk to the stadium was nuts - I held onto my kids for dear life, but it thinned out the closer we got. Once up there, I was pleasantly relaxed. Lots of breathing room, lots of empty lines for snacks and restrooms, and PLENTY of seating. In fact, I watched the last section fill about 5 minutes to showtime.

You describe what it's like to arrive early perfectly! Only once (our first time to see Fantasmic) did we line up early. At least early enough that there were a ton of people behind us.

It's crazy and in the summer the heat can be unbearable, especially once you're in the walkway section of Fantasmic where there's no breeze and people are packed in like sardines. When they do open the theatre, the people pushing and shoving trying to get in can be a little scary, especially if you have little ones. I just wouldn't do it, period.

It really, really, really isn't neccessary to go through all that. I don't know what the Fantasmic schedule is now, but when we were there in June there were 2 shows nightly. During our trip for Christmas/NYE, there were 3. Go to the latest showing possible and it's just not a problem.

We did notice that the reserved seating was just off to our right. We've tried it both ways.....sitting off to the side and sitting dead center. The best seats, imo, are dead center about half way up the rows, any lower and you get sprayed with a fine mist of water. In the summer that can be a relief......unless you're like me and wear glasses or if you have sensitive video equipment!

 

[gumdrop]

Carla thanks for that info about the seating! That makes me feel better about it! Do you know if you are locked into that special reserved section, or can you wander off if you happen to find better seating. I'm sure that won't happen, but I was just wondering!

 

[il-gander]

I'm sure you could wander if there were better seats available. I've read posts here about others doing just that during slower times of year. The dinner package guests get a card at dinner that they then take to a "special entrance" (near Oscar's at the park entrance) where they basically send you the back way to the stadium. Once you're there, though, you should be able to choose whatever seat works best for you!

Hollywood & Vine wasn't our favorite buffet of the week, but it was really nice not to have to show up very early and/or worry about having a seat!

Carla

 

[BarbaraMB]

Is it just as crazy leaving the show as it is getting into the show? I guess this is the best time for anyone staying at an Epcot resort!!

 

[peachgirl]

Is it just as crazy leaving the show as it is getting into the show?

It's never as bad leaving as entering, but it doesn't have to be crazy at all. You can fight the huge crowd getting out or you can sit back for 5 minutes and relax. That's really all it takes, just a few minutes and the crowds have thinned out and it's easy to make your way out.

If you go the the later show, it's really nice to wait 10 minutes or so and enjoy strolling through a nearly empty park as you exit.

 

[Mike Jones]

We loved fantasmic.... best tip I can pass on is to take something soft to sit on ... a small child for example..!! seriously, we always seem to cart a great pack of 'might needs' around the parks -- one of our more inspired and well used choices was a camping sleeping mat (dense expanded foam) cut into 18" x 12" pieces... no weight to speak of and superb for taking the ache out of the bleachers, or even the concrete floor around parade routes.

Mike

 

[erikthewise]

Just a couple comments:

I've done the dinner package twice and both times the theatre was about 70% full! (slow times of the year, I guess).

Don't concern yourself too much with location. The show is designed to be seen in its entirety from every seat in the theatre. The dinner package seating was quite a bit off center (last year), but it didn't affect anything -- as far as I'm concerned there is little if any advantage to sitting in the center.