Fantasmic Closed in May?

[BrizMarc]

I heard Fantasmic will be closed in May, Is this confirmed and what dates?

 

[Minuet888]

Usually Fantasmic is closed in may. We usually travel in late May and it doesn't play. My son finally got to see it when we decided to travel in August instead of late may so he could see it.
Usually Fantasmic doesn't start up until the Nightastic nights start up in mid-June

 

[jlwhitney]

I am not thrilled by thise news ..more and more things arent going to be running while we are there. We are going one week before the new parade. At least world of color will be showing.

 

[pinkprincess30]

I am not thrilled by thise news ..more and more things arent going to be running while we are there. We are going one week before the new parade. At least world of color will be showing.

I'm right there with ya We can always hope for a soft opening of Star Tours 2, right?

 

[starshine514]

I totally hadn't caught on to this either. When I had looked at the previous years' schedule, I was thinking it was closed due to that big refurb they did with ROA. I didn't at all get that there would be no Fantasmic! this May.

 

[HydroGuy]

I personally have not seen any information about Fantasmic being down in May. If someone has please post it.

You cannot go with the DLR calendar this far in advance because entertainment does not get scheduled for awhile. Plus F! will not be during weeknights. And for the first weekend of May it will likely not be scheduled anyways because of the POTC 4 premiere.

 

[Disney Princess]

I personally have not seen any information about Fantasmic being down in May. If someone has please post it.

You cannot go with the DLR calendar this far in advance because entertainment does not get scheduled for awhile. Plus F! will not be during weeknights. And for the first weekend of May it will likely not be scheduled anyways because of the POTC 4 premiere.

You have given me hope that we may get to see it!!! I thought it was off during our May trip in 2009 because of the huge refurb it had. I was hopeful that it would show on the weekends during our trip. I will not be sad until official information is posted!

 

[mystic_path]

We always take our trips end of May / Early June and we have always caught Fantasmic in May, except for once when they were installing the new dragon. But every year we seem to catch it on the weekends when it plays. The other posters are correct. The schedule for May isnt up yet, and until anything is officially posted, its just a rumored speculation at this point. Prepare for the worst, but if it isnt down, then its a really nice surprise.

 

[Padrepride]

The only thing I could see that would limit Fantasmic is a possible premiere for the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie which opens on May 20th I believe. I think they held the premiere for one of the past movies on the ROA but I don't know if it would impact the Fantasmic showings. BTW this is just mere speculation, if Disney hasn't scheduled it by now, I wouldn't suspect anything.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

We're there end of May/first of June, and as we did not get to see it on our first DLR trip were hoping to see it this time. I've heard that it is considered better than the WDW version, (which we always enjoy seeing) so are really hoping that it plays at least once while we are there.

 

[Minuet888]

I'm telling you we have traveled to DLR in late May every year since my honeymoon for ten years now (we got married May 20th) and Fantasmic has never played. Just look at the last two years (go back in the threads if you can) and you will see that Fantasmic does not start until June when all the night time stuff that they advertise starts. I'm not trying to be a party pooper and I don;t have any physical proof other than telling you it was the sole reason we went in August this past year so that our son could finally see Fantasmic. When I have time I'll go back and find the last couple of years threads about this myself. I kind of feel like I'm being called a (I don't want to use the word liar here) but told to produce proof or it didn't happen

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm telling you we have traveled to DLR in late May every year since my honeymoon for ten years now (we got married May 20th) and Fantasmic has never played. Just look at the last two years (go back in the threads if you can) and you will see that Fantasmic does not start until June when all the night time stuff that they advertise starts. I'm not trying to be a party pooper and I don;t have any physical proof other than telling you it was the sole reason we went in August this past year so that our son could finally see Fantasmic. When I have time I'll go back and find the last couple of years threads about this myself. I kind of feel like I'm being called a (I don't want to use the word liar here) but told to produce proof or it didn't happen

Using these links I looked at past Mays out of curiosity and here is what I found:

May 2010 - http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=5&year=2010 F! was down because of ROA five month refurb and came back on Memorial Day weekend

May 2009 - http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=5&year=2009 F! was down all the way into early June because the show was re-designed to add Murphy the dragon, new projectors, and overall show upgrade, etc. It opened in June as the summer "Nightastic" marketing push

May 2008 - http://www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200805.asp - F! played normally - weekends since it was offseason

May 2007 - http://www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200705.asp - Fantasmic was down because of the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island rework

May 2006 - http://www.mouseplanet.com/6607/Disneyland_Park_Update#Rehabs
- F! played normally in May but was down in June - this was the year they did the refurb on the POTC ride and added Jack Sparrow.

May 2005 - http://www.mouseplanet.com/6557/Disneyland_Park_Update#Rehabs - F! played normally - this was the month Disney launched the 50th anniversary celebration.

May 2004 - http://www.mouseplanet.com/6505/Disneyland_Park_Update#Rehabs - F! played normally.

Conclusions? Of the last seven years Fantasmic has been down for most of May in three of those years. In one of those three down years it opened on Memorial Day weekend. It has however been down three of the last four years for most of May. But that is largely because of other work on ROA and NOS and not because F! goes down "every May" for fundamental reasons.

Fantasmic is susceptible to closure at DL because it depends on so many other things like ROA and PLATSI. When those are bing reworked it affects F!. Again, I read all the news on DLR and have seen zero about F! being down this May.

 

[hartj5]

I have a Fantasmic dinner package scheduled for the beginning of May. Nothing was said to me about it being closed.

 

[davidsprincess]

Hydroguy, here is what has been mentioned about F! being down:

"Also F! will be down starting on April 25th for a rehab. A heard a few weeks. It's a scheduled rehab, nothing to do with the newest incident. I actually heard about this from somone who called Disney and was asking why F! wasn't on the first of May.
Sure enough it's not on the official schedule from the 25th of April on. Even though the last week of April has longer hours, no F! on any day after the 25th but RDCT is on each night as far as the entertainment schedule goes."

Taken from this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2673137

When I was told that it would be down for a "few weeks" I was . Hopefully this is just an unconfirmed rumor and that it will get answered better in time.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hydroguy, here is what has been mentioned about F! being down:

"Also F! will be down starting on April 25th for a rehab. A heard a few weeks. It's a scheduled rehab, nothing to do with the newest incident. I actually heard about this from somone who called Disney and was asking why F! wasn't on the first of May.
Sure enough it's not on the official schedule from the 25th of April on. Even though the last week of April has longer hours, no F! on any day after the 25th but RDCT is on each night as far as the entertainment schedule goes."

Taken from this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2673137

When I was told that it would be down for a "few weeks" I was . Hopefully this is just an unconfirmed rumor and that it will get answered better in time.

I have seen SkiingFast's posts. But that is not coming from Disney or even any of the usually reliable Disneyland fan sites such as MiceAge or MousePlanet.

 

[Sinestro]

I have seen SkiingFast's posts. But that is not coming from Disney or even any of the usually reliable Disneyland fan sites such as MiceAge or MousePlanet.

And this is what my wife and I are finding so frustrating while preparing for our first Trip to DL the first week of May. There is almost no information available other than rumors about anything, and unfortunately we had to commit to the trip months ago.

Will Fantasmic be happening?

Will POTC premier be happening?

How much will we pay for our hotel (will there be an AP rate)?

We have been to WDW quite a few times and by now there would be nothing hanging over our heads and we could be going on with our lives waiting for the trip. It is great that DL caters to Local visitors but when you are flying from the East Coast to visit it is more than a little frustrating

We have friends who visit WDW and after our discussions have told us they will never visit DL becasue the lack of information would cause them to melt down becasue they are planners. Thankfully we are more go with the flow but we definitely would have picked a different time to go if we had more information.

Thanks for listening to my ranting
Scott

 

[HydroGuy]

And this is what my wife and I are finding so frustrating while preparing for our first Trip to DL the first week of May. There is almost no information available other than rumors about anything, and unfortunately we had to commit to the trip months ago.

Will Fantasmic be happening?

Will POTC premier be happening?

How much will we pay for our hotel (will there be an AP rate)?

We have been to WDW quite a few times and by now there would be nothing hanging over our heads and we could be going on with our lives waiting for the trip. It is great that DL caters to Local visitors but when you are flying from the East Coast to visit it is more than a little frustrating

We have friends who visit WDW and after our discussions have told us they will never visit DL becasue the lack of information would cause them to melt down becasue they are planners. Thankfully we are more go with the flow but we definitely would have picked a different time to go if we had more information.

Thanks for listening to my ranting
Scott

Scott, I think some WDW vets make a good thing into a bad thing. And since they are so accustomed to WDW's ways they fail to see some of WDW's weaknesses in this area.

For example, we are leaving for WDW on Friday. Here is my experience:

1. Park hours and entertainment have been posted for six months. Great, we can make ADR's and plan which parks to do on which days.

Then starting a few weeks ago park hours started to change and entertainment started to change. Everything was in a good direction - longer hours and more Fantasmic shows - but it did mess me up because I had made at least one ADR based on an early closing of DHS and then they extended the hours which now conflicted with my ADR time.

So WDW is not perfect in this area either.

2. WDW only posts major entertainment far in advance like Wishes, Fantasmic and Mickey's Jungle parade. But they do not publish secondary entertainment until Sunday. So here we are planning to visit DHS in six days (this Sunday) and I will not know when LMA is scheduled until the day I arrive. How am I supposed to plan for our Sci-Fi Dine-In ADR?

Well, one answer of course is to just plan Sci-Fi early or late and then go to the next most convenient LMA show. However, this philosophy breaks down as it gets closer to summer and summer heat - because LMA is miserable on a hot Florida afternoon.

DLR on the other hand publishes all major and minor entertainment - even Dapper Dans and Push the Trash Can - usually six weeks in advance.

So yes DLR is later in publishing hours and major entertainment than WDW, but it is massively better at publishing secondary entertainment far in enough in advance that you can actually do something with it - and make your dining plans - and have reservation slots open pretty much at any time of your convenience.

3. It is harder to do last minute trips to WDW. Frankly my family resists trip plans to almost anywhere that is more than four months in advance. We just decided in early February to go to Florida for Spring Break because we were toying with the idea of going to Central America.

Guess what? By Feb 1 many of the good ADR's places and times are taken. I knew that about WDW but it was still frustrating. Fortunately they have taken the ADR thing online and I could check to see if anything opened. And sure enough two days ago a dinner ADR at Le Cellier opened. I grabbed it. But it still required me checking online at least 10 times to see if someone cancelled before I found a cancellation.


I think rather than it being a drawback to visiting DLR that it is difficult to plan far in advance, it actually is an underappreciated benefit. No need to be on the phone 6 months to the day before your trip to get ADR's and Hoop-Dee-Doo, etc., and then also reviewing all the park hours and EMH's and entertainment prior to making the ADRs. Thank Heaven they have put this online! It used to be a nightmare of complexity calling on phones and keeping track of every confirmation number!

Wow, how cool is it that you can make a decision a month ahead of time to visit DLR (even a week ahead of time often - during high season no less!) and still get into any restaurant you want - at a convenient time - and any show you want - and know all the secondary entertainment schedules - and not have to choose which park on which day? To me WDW vets get so frustrated by DLR being different in this way from WDW that they do not appreciate how advantageous this is.

As for your comment about "no information except rumors about anything" I have to believe you are exaggerating for effect.

First off you can check reliable long range refurb websites like MiceAge and MousePlanet for this kind of info. And they are right 90%+ of the time.

There are even longer range DLR project threads on MiceChat that I cannot find anything like for WDW:

Disney California Adventure Project Tracker XI

Disneyland Resort Project Tracker II

We have May/June 2011 grad night information published since last October: "The Scoop on Grad Nights at DLR in May and June" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2298400

We have warnings posted regularly and in sticky threads about the risks of going in off-season:

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens " www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602

We have special AP crowd issues that do not exist at WDW explained in places like this:

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

DLR is a more dynamic place than WDW. A lot more new stuff is happening. It has really cool things like POTC 4 movie premieres which unfortunately do disrupt regular park visitors. Heck, John Depp/Jack Sparrow will be walking down Main Street DL on May 7! You do not get that at WDW except for maybe things like Star Wars Weekends. But all this dynamic stuff comes at a price - it is hard for Disney to get their story together far in advance at DLR.

Anyone who wants to visit DLR and not have to risk knowing the hours and entertainment has a very easy solution - go June 15 to August 20 (and have much more tolerable summer weather than WDW) or over Thanksgiving or Christmas. DLR is absolutely regular on this based on past years:

DL hours 8AM-Midnight
DCA hours - 10AM-10PM or 11PM.

All entertainment is maxed out. And maxed out every day - unlike WDW and their frustrating Fantasmic show which does not seem to show every night which means I will miss it next week.

I hope that helps. I think really you are not seeing the forest for the trees. If you had DLR information six months in advance like WDW there is not much you could do with it from a planning point of view.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

 

[Sinestro]

Scott, I think some WDW vets make a good thing into a bad thing. And since they are so accustomed to WDW's ways they fail to see some of WDW's weaknesses in this area.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Thanks for listening and the reply.

I did read through much of the items you referenced and I knew that there would be some items closed for refurbishment becasue it was not peak season.

I knew that there was construction going on.

Becasue it is non peak we planned for a weekend through the following week and beleived we would have a chance to see most of the things we wanted to.

Unfortunately because of circumstances with life (especially work) we had to commit to vacation time over 6 months ago. At that point the information about closings and such was sketchy at best. Now that we are getting closer the list of can't do's seems to be getting bigger and the whole POTC4 / Fantasmic issue seems to be pushing us to the point where we are questioning our decision to go to DL.

I am sure that once we are there we will have a great time but right now we are feeling alot of apprehension about our trip

If we lived close to DL and could drop by for a visit it wouldn't be a big deal, but since we are having to fly across the country to get there and it is probably a once in a lifetime trip it is causing a little tension at home. It also doesn't help that my wife's favorite ride - Splash Mountain will be closed. And now we probably will not get a chance to see Fantasmic which she was very much looking forward to..

If you tell me that you have not heard anything that concerns you about Fantasmic showing on the weekend then I will hold onto that until the official calendar is updated.

Thanks for listening.

Scott

 

[HydroGuy]

If you tell me that you have not heard anything that concerns you about Fantasmic showing on the weekend then I will hold onto that until the official calendar is updated.

Thanks for listening.

Scott

Fantasmic will likely be down all of the weekend of May 7 because of POTC movie premiere. I hope that is not your weekend.

If so you can look on the bright side. Go see Johnny Depp. Your wife might like that. And Penelope Cruz. You might like that. I would!

And Splash Mountain going down this Spring was known a long time ago - maybe six months. If you stopped by here and asked about long range closures before locking in dates we might have been able to have helped more. Maybe you did. There are lots of folks here who help out with this kind of stuff.

I truly hope it all works out.

 

[Sinestro]

Fantasmic will likely be down all of the weekend of May 7 because of POTC movie premiere. I hope that is not your weekend.

We will be arriving April 30th and leaving May 7th so hopefully we will have time to get things done before they start the preparations for May 7th. No matter what I am sure we will have a great trip we just need to get there. I wish we had been able to wait on the commitment to our vacation, but there is no way that my work would have let me make a decision to be gone for a week with less than 2 months notice. So we did our best guess and we will make it work and hopefully the amount of stuff that is down will be manageable.

Thanks for all of your time

Scott