Fantasmic-age??

[mrsgoose8]

I tried a search, hoping someone can answer me more quickly than I found an answer!

I've never seen Fantasmic, but I remember hearing somewhere it might be too scary for small kids? What age do you recommend for it? My almost 5 y.o. is the one I worry about... my two year old is pretty much fear free.

What's scary about it-- noise? Or the actual villains?

TIA!

 

[figment_jii]

I tried a search, hoping someone can answer me more quickly than I found an answer!

I've never seen Fantasmic, but I remember hearing somewhere it might be too scary for small kids? What age do you recommend for it? My almost 5 y.o. is the one I worry about... my two year old is pretty much fear free.

What's scary about it-- noise? Or the actual villains?

TIA!

I hate to give such a vague answer, but you know your children the best. It really depends on what kinds of things normally scare or upset them. I would suggest watching the show on YouTube and seeing if you think that your 5 year old would be okay. Just remember, at the show, things are "bigger", louder, and more intense than in a YouTube video.

In terms of the show, it's a combination of mist screen projects, live characters, and fire/firework effects. There are periods of darkness and loud noises. There are also fire effects and fireworks. How does you 5 year old normally react to these types of things?

You can read a description on Allears:
http://allears.net/tp/mgm/m_fantasmic.htm

 

[jj1403]

It can be pretty loud. I have those sound muff things. My younger kids usually wear them in the beginning and it helps. All three of my kids tend to be a bit sensitive to really loud noises though. Depends on the kid.

 

[cheesemouse]

This is such a tough call. My kids were all scared of Fantasmic, some longer than the other ones. Ages 1-3 they were all scared. Ages 4 and 5, still moderately scared for one of them. The other one was fine at 4.

The problem is that the show is very loud and some aspects (such as the villain part) are intense. It might help to watch a Youtube video of it first. But, you also lose some of the magic by seeing it in advance.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I tend to be a kid watcher and have seen some pretty varied reaction. My boys have never been scared by it (one DS was 5 on one trip) and neither were particularly brave and one has a huge fear or Haunted Mansion. I have seen many preschoolers love the show, and some 7-8 year olds have to leave. It is outside at night, which tends to add to the intensity level a bit too. Of course good always defeats evil, but the fight can be a bit scary.

 

[iheartbuffy]

Depends on the child. My 6 yr old nephew gets scared easily and Fantasmic was no different. My sister made sure we weren't going to see it this April trip when I take him.

But...he gets scared a lot lol

 

[ses1230]

Look it up on youtube and watch it, then decide.

We went a few weeks ago and my 5 year old, who is a ride daredevil, was really scared, mostly of the snake and dragon.

 

[dishguy1977]

My DS5 was 4 almost 5 when we went this past October and he refused to go on several rides despite having been on them several times during past visits when he was younger. He seemed to develop some fears as he got older. We also had to leave Fantasmic about 10 mins in when he suddenly remembered what it was and that there were "bad guys" coming.

 

[SunTravels]

My 2.5 year old loved it! And my 1 year old clapped through the entire show. I thought she would dislike the loud noises but she wasn't bothered. My 2.5 year old is starting to find things scary but he wasn't bothered by anything in the show.

 

[Dis703]

I don't think age matters so much as personality. My oldest has seen it at 26 months, 4 years and again at 5. My twins saw it at 22 months. Nobody was scared. I always explain any scary parts ahead of time which may help.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

When my youngest was 6, she was ready for the fastest and tallest rides around. But, Fantasmic reduced her to tears. She covered her face and ears and begged us to leave. Her hiccup is "creepy" and Fantasmic is creepy with a capital C.

I mean, the basic premise is, "what if Mickey had a nightmare?"

 

[mrsgoose8]

Thanks all! I think as much as *I'd* like to see it, I'm thinking that it might not be good with my kids.

We will be back to Disney. Plenty.

 

[cel_disney]

My kids have seen it yearly since birth - now they are 3 and 7...

My youngest is quiet and reserved but has never had an issue.

My oldest is the scaredy cat in the family - he has had some moments with fantasmic where I had to calm him down - but he LOVES the ending so he knows he wants to stay for that!

We do spend alot of time discussing and watching villians in this house (I might be a big fan of them! Ha!) and we also watch the castle show alot (in real life and in videos) which is also about nightmares (Donald's!) so they have some comfort level with the characters and the context.

Of the 25 minute show, I think it's about 5 minutes that's really 'scary' vs just showmanship...

 

[mrsgoose8]

My little girl is quite the drama queen- even if she could enjoy the rest of if, much of the time would be spent dealing with hysterics. Not my idea of a vacation!