Fantasmic Crowd Question

[jmcalister]

Our family is doing the premium viewing for Fantasmic on our upcoming trip. I plan to line-up early and pick our seats and have the rest of our party meet-up with me closer to the show. Anyway, we did this scenario 4 years ago and all went well except for meeting up.

I'm not really familiar with the crowd control (if walk-ways are one-way, blocked, etc) for the show. My question is where is a good place for us to meet before the show and then how do we get to the area before the show? I guess I'm a bit OCD, but it's always good to have a plan of attack. Btw, we're seeing the 9 pm show if that matters.

I appreciate anyone's advice/experiences. Thanks!

 

[8lovesmickey]

We just did this last week (Saturday the 30th). They started checking people in at 8:00... The check in is right across from the Haunted Mansion and the train station. There was a podium and a small sign... I think it said "reserved seating check in" or something. The CM took all our tickets and showed us a seating diagram. We chose seats then he wrote our seat numbers on the tickets and gave them back. As long as one person has all the tickets and doesn't mind choosing seats for everyone, you don't all have to wait in line.

Also I don't know if it was an anomaly, but we got in line at 7:45 and still got 2 seats in the front row. There were actually 10 or 12 empty chairs that night. None of the seats are awful, and I wouldn't personally stand there for an hour if you don't have to!

We could sit down at 8:30, and they started serving dessert and drinks then. Also FYI the goodie box had a filled cookie, a small cheesecake, a chocolate mousse, a macaroon, two truffles, grapes, crackers, and several cheeses. The last three were new since our last visit.

As for meeting up, if you stay in Frontierland, Critter Country or New Orleans Square you will be able to meet up just fine. They keep a lane open around the back. A good place to meet might be in front of the train station (I think it's considered the New Orleans Square station, between the Haunted Mansion and Pirates). There are no lines or crowds back there so you should have no trouble finding each other. The front of the haunted mansion would also work.

Also, the actual area where you sit is easy to see and get to- you could probably just meet up by the "entry" to the reserved section which is just a podium and a rope.

Hope that helps. They don't really block anything off until the show starts, but it does get crazy crowded around the Pirates area.

Good luck and have fun! We had an awesome time (even if the Twain riverboat wasn't working and the characters were all on the island at the end... A little different).

Enjoy!

 

[blackjackdelta]

We just did this last week (Saturday the 30th). They started checking people in at 8:00... The check in is right across from the Haunted Mansion and the train station. There was a podium and a small sign... I think it said "reserved seating check in" or something. The CM took all our tickets and showed us a seating diagram. We chose seats then he wrote our seat numbers on the tickets and gave them back. As long as one person has all the tickets and doesn't mind choosing seats for everyone, you don't all have to wait in line.

Also I don't know if it was an anomaly, but we got in line at 7:45 and still got 2 seats in the front row. There were actually 10 or 12 empty chairs that night. None of the seats are awful, and I wouldn't personally stand there for an hour if you don't have to!

We could sit down at 8:30, and they started serving dessert and drinks then. Also FYI the goodie box had a filled cookie, a small cheesecake, a chocolate mousse, a macaroon, two truffles, grapes, crackers, and several cheeses. The last three were new since our last visit.

As for meeting up, if you stay in Frontierland, Critter Country or New Orleans Square you will be able to meet up just fine. They keep a lane open around the back. A good place to meet might be in front of the train station (I think it's considered the New Orleans Square station, between the Haunted Mansion and Pirates). There are no lines or crowds back there so you should have no trouble finding each other. The front of the haunted mansion would also work.

Also, the actual area where you sit is easy to see and get to- you could probably just meet up by the "entry" to the reserved section which is just a podium and a rope.

Hope that helps. They don't really block anything off until the show starts, but it does get crazy crowded around the Pirates area.

Good luck and have fun! We had an awesome time (even if the Twain riverboat wasn't working and the characters were all on the island at the end... A little different).

Enjoy!

Maybe this year will be different but this has never happened to us. It is always a human zoo in that area, moving around is nearly impossible, have to fight our way back to the chairs...but we always have an excellent time.

Jack

 

[alvernon90]

As for meeting up, if you stay in Frontierland, Critter Country or New Orleans Square you will be able to meet up just fine. They keep a lane open around the back. A good place to meet might be in front of the train station (I think it's considered the New Orleans Square station, between the Haunted Mansion and Pirates). There are no lines or crowds back there so you should have no trouble finding each other. The front of the haunted mansion would also work.

Can I take this to mean that perhaps a good way to get to the reserved seats, rather than fighting through a mass of humanity, would be to take the train from the other side of the park and get off in New Orleans Square?

 

[Spassvogel]

Can I take this to mean that perhaps a good way to get to the reserved seats, rather than fighting through a mass of humanity, would be to take the train from the other side of the park and get off in New Orleans Square?

They shut the train down during the fireworks show unfortunately. While the fireworks show was going on, we were routed through the roped off areas and only had to go slightly out of our way to get back to New Orleans Square area. There was a path, though, just keep asking CM's where to go.

 

[HydroGuy]

Can I take this to mean that perhaps a good way to get to the reserved seats, rather than fighting through a mass of humanity, would be to take the train from the other side of the park and get off in New Orleans Square?

Yes for the first show. No for the second.

 

[jmcalister]

Thanks for the info everyone! Definitely helps!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Yes for the first show. No for the second.

HydroGuy, you're so funny with your "first show only" thing you have going on...makes me laugh everytime

 

[HydroGuy]

HydroGuy, you're so funny with your "first show only" thing you have going on...makes me laugh everytime

I guess I missed the humor.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I guess I missed the humor.

anytime I see a post where someone is asking if they should go to a first or second show I always think about you saying to always go to the first show and it just makes me laugh and Im always like ah there goes Hydroguy with his first show plug...just makes me chuckle is all...

 

[HydroGuy]

anytime I see a post where someone is asking if they should go to a first or second show I always think about you saying to always go to the first show and it just makes me laugh and Im always like ah there goes Hydroguy with his first show plug...just makes me chuckle is all...

LOL, but I do not say always go to the first show. In fact I think second show is better - unless you are making a dessert reservation where you have a choice. We always do second show ourselves. Unless we do the reservation. Later this month will be our second time with a res. For the first show of course

 

[disneegrl4eva]

LOL, but I do not say always go to the first show. In fact I think second show is better - unless you are making a dessert reservation where you have a choice. We always do second show ourselves. Unless we do the reservation. Later this month will be our second time with a res. For the first show of course

i personally like the 2nd show better because 1st show always seems so crowded and if you want a good spot, you really have to get there a long time before ...whereas 2nd show, as long as you are right behind the rope when fireworks are over you're in like Flynn and the wait time is so much less