Fantasmic confusion!

[LucyR]

I want to see Fantasmic, but can't seem to figure out the cost issues. Which restaurants participate in the 'dinner & show' program, so I can compare menus and prices? Birnbaum's says Brown Derby and Mama Melrose "and other eateries". Which ones? Do they change often? I'm going in mid October. Are the lines for Fantasmic likely to be very long without the dinner deal then?

Help, I'm sooo confused! TIA

 

[whiplash]

Have always gotten our package from Hollywood/Vine. Always great food/nice people and fun place. I'm sure there are others. When you call Disney dining, just ask. That's there job. Yes the lines are long if you dont have the package. Have a great time, it's a terrific show!!!

 

[LucyR]

I just looked at the menu - looks nice. A question though... I have a very picky 10-year-old. Is the children's dinner buffet different than the adults, and do you think they would let her in at the child's rate if she made her selections from the children's buffet?

 

[Windy City Heather]

The kids menu is really good. I remember Mac & Cheese, bbq meatballs, chicken nuggets. I think they had 6 things all together.

If they know she is 10 they will charger her as an adult.

 

[serendipity]

I believe the participating restaurants include The Hollywood Brown Derby, Hollywood and Vine and Mama Melrose's. However, I wouldn't suggest doing the dinner package. We decided against doing the package and showed up to the show an hour and 20 minutes early, but there ewas no line as you were immediately lead into the stadium to find seating on a first come first serve basis. We were right in the center of the show and had wonderful seats. I was suprised to find that the reserved seating for the dinner package was off to the far right and far left and so many people were participating that the seating went all the way to the last row- so literally the worst seats in teh house! I would have been very angry if we had purchased the tickets.

The wait was worth it, even if it was long!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I just looked at the menu - looks nice. A question though... I have a very picky 10-year-old. Is the children's dinner buffet different than the adults, and do you think they would let her in at the child's rate if she made her selections from the children's buffet?

No, because it's really all in one area. The children-oriented foods may be marked as such with a sign, but there's no separate childrens area set up for food.

 

[mana'olana]

If you want to do Hollywood and Vine you might want to call now. I just wanted to add about the 1 hour + wait. For us the Fantasmic pkg is the way to go. We have a 2 year old that isn't going to wait an hour to do anything, let alone wait an hour plus for a show and then sit for a show. Depends on the age of your kids. If you have younger kids you might want to get the package.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I believe the participating restaurants include The Hollywood Brown Derby, Hollywood and Vine and Mama Melrose's. However, I wouldn't suggest doing the dinner package. We decided against doing the package and showed up to the show an hour and 20 minutes early, but there ewas no line as you were immediately lead into the stadium to find seating on a first come first serve basis. We were right in the center of the show and had wonderful seats. I was suprised to find that the reserved seating for the dinner package was off to the far right and far left and so many people were participating that the seating went all the way to the last row- so literally the worst seats in teh house! I would have been very angry if we had purchased the tickets.

The wait was worth it, even if it was long!

I don't think there are any bad seats for Fantasmic. We've done the dinner package twice and both sides ended up on the far right about 1/2 way up -- I never felt like I was missing anything. A lot of the "action" is on the water and is repeated several times (e.g. several water screens showing the same thing etc . . . ) some of it is on boats that travel across the water, and some is on the stage area which is set up kind of like a theater in the round.

As to the wait, for our family, an hour and 20 minutes is a long time. There's really nothing else at WDW we'd wait more than 20 or MAYBE 30 minutes for. I agree that Fantasmic is a highlight of our trip, and if there wasn't a FDP we'd probably suffer the wait, but not having to is wonderful, and if the price is having to eat yummy food from Mama Melrose's and pay a little more (it's really not a big extra cost) I can live with that.