Fantasmic Dining Package in Late Aug

[jamnich314]

DF and I are thinking about booking the Fantasmic Dinner Package for one of the nights during our Disneymoon Aug. 25 - Sept 3 .

1) Is it worth it to book this during late August on a weekday?

The biggest perk of the package is obviously having a reserved seat at Fantasmic and only having to show up 45 minutes early or later. BUT, at the end of August could you show up 45 minutes early and get a seat anyway without doing the dinner package?

2) Which of the three restaurants - Hollywood Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine or Mama Melrose's - would you suggest?

We have looked at all three and the Brown Derby is obviously the nicest but we aren't super eager to go to any of them .

3) How does the dining actually work?

It seems like you get a 3-course meal at HBD and MM for a flat fee and H&V is a buffet. How does this work with the dining package? We have the 1 QS, 1 TS plan.

 

[ccgirl]

DF and I are thinking about booking the Fantasmic Dinner Package for one of the nights during our Disneymoon Aug. 25 - Sept 3 .

1) Is it worth it to book this during late August on a weekday?

The biggest perk of the package is obviously having a reserved seat at Fantasmic and only having to show up 45 minutes early or later. BUT, at the end of August could you show up 45 minutes early and get a seat anyway without doing the dinner package?

2) Which of the three restaurants - Hollywood Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine or Mama Melrose's - would you suggest?

We have looked at all three and the Brown Derby is obviously the nicest but we aren't super eager to go to any of them .

3) How does the dining actually work?

It seems like you get a 3-course meal at HBD and MM for a flat fee and H&V is a buffet. How does this work with the dining package? We have the 1 QS, 1 TS plan.

Keep in mind that there are quite a few schools that are not yet back the end of August. Some wait until after labor day.

Also, it is not a reserved seat, it is a reserved section (they are stadium bench seats) and are all way to the right of the stadium.

If you want to sit in the center, I would go 45 mintues before the show. They do allow you to bring outside food in and do sell food and beverages there.

H&V is 1 TS and I believe Mama Melrose is as well. I think Brown Derby counts as 2TS for the Fantasmic Package but I may be wrong. They only have a set # of packages at each restaurant and you have to ask for it when booking. They will give you a voucher after your meal for the special seating section.

If you arrive and there are more desirable seats, you can sit there as well.

That is what we usually do. We book the meal and if there are middle seats left when we arrive we take those. Else, we sit in the reserved section.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[jamnich314]

Keep in mind that there are quite a few schools that are not yet back the end of August. Some wait until after labor day.

Also, it is not a reserved seat, it is a reserved section (they are stadium bench seats) and are all way to the right of the stadium.

If you want to sit in the center, I would go 45 mintues before the show. They do allow you to bring outside food in and do sell food and beverages there.

H&V is 1 TS and I believe Mama Melrose is as well. I think Brown Derby counts as 2TS for the Fantasmic Package but I may be wrong. They only have a set # of packages at each restaurant and you have to ask for it when booking. They will give you a voucher after your meal for the special seating section.

If you arrive and there are more desirable seats, you can sit there as well.

That is what we usually do. We book the meal and if there are middle seats left when we arrive we take those. Else, we sit in the reserved section.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

So, if we don't really care about going to any of the restaurants and the primary reason for doing the package was to have a spot saved in the reserved section, is it worth it to get the package at the end of August or do you think the crowds will be light enough that we can show up 45 prior to showtime and get a decent seat without the package?

 

[ccgirl]

So, if we don't really care about going to any of the restaurants and the primary reason for doing the package was to have a spot saved in the reserved section, is it worth it to get the package at the end of August or do you think the crowds will be light enough that we can show up 45 prior to showtime and get a decent seat without the package?

I guess it depends on what you call a descent seat. IMHO, any of the seats in the middle are descent seats, even the last rows. Personally, I prefer to sit in the middle of the middle section rather than up close to the front on the side. You *should* be okay showing up at least 45 minutes in advance of the show and not having trouble getting a seat.

 

[jamnich314]

I guess it depends on what you call a descent seat. IMHO, any of the seats in the middle are descent seats, even the last rows. Personally, I prefer to sit in the middle of the middle section rather than up close to the front on the side. You *should* be okay showing up at least 45 minutes in advance of the show and not having trouble getting a seat.

I'm the same way. I'd rather sit in the top row in the middle than in a lower row on the sides. The last time we were at HS the line for Fantasmic started 2 HOURS before showtime. I don't mind 45 minutes but 2 hours of waiting in line seems like a waste to me.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Even tho late Aug has lower crowd calander than earlier in the month, with free dining starting 8/25 you may find the park to be a little more crowded with folks booking dining in or around DHS &/or Fanstamic meals using their dining credits.

Fantasmic is a popular show but unlike Wishes or Illuminations, you have to be in the theatre to see it. It seats approx 6,500 people which sounds like a lot but not if 10,000 people want to see the show the same night as you

Your window of opportunity to get the seat you want will continue to diminish the longer you wait to get in the line before they open the theatre. If you don't have your heart set to be front & center and don't mind waiting in a long line with other hot folks at the end of the day, you will probably be fine doing stand by line - more people than not do it this way.


Speaking as someone who usually does a Fantasmic meal, what I like is:
*Fantasmic is a must see show for us every single trip - we REALLY like it
*DH (not DS) would melt down in an hour or more line at the end of a day
*we don't mind being to the right side because it's also closest to the exit out
*we like being able to walk right in and get a seat. Usually after dinner we have time to fit in one or two stand by attractions before going to the theatre.

We still go 45 minutes early, they advise this at the restaurant to ensure you do get to take advantage of the dining section. If fantasmic is really buzy, they've been known to open up the dining section seating about 45-30 minutes before the show starts IF the other sections are filled up - and often time they are when we're there early - mid August.

BTW, we usually go to H&V - DS is a picky eater and can usually fill up pretty good there. It's okay, nothing "fantasmic"

 

[CanadianPaco]

We're going about the same time. For the day we are planning to go to Fantasmic, I couldn't get a lunch Fanatasmic or a dinner one for Mama Milrose. Nothing available. Free dining effect?