Fantasmic Dining Package

[knieves711]

I am arriving the 2nd week of November 2015. Is the Fantasmic Dining package worth the money or should we just do Fantasmic without the dining?

 

[Robo]

I am arriving the 2nd week of November 2015. Is the Fantasmic Dining package worth the money or should we just do Fantasmic without the dining?

We have seen F! (literally) dozens of times and not even once have used the FDP.

I recommend that all guests arrive 45-60 minutes before show-time.
Most of that time you will be sitting in the theater and not standing in a line.

I suggest a FP+ for F!
On many nights you can get the F! FP+ as your 4th or 5th or later FP+ of the day.
It does not need to take the place of a DHS "ride" FP+.
I have picked up a F! FP+ as late in the day as actually on my way to the F! theater to see the show.

What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.
There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.)
On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even with a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.
On busy nights, the CMs will stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Plan Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

 

[knieves711]

We have seen F! (literally) dozens of times and not even once have used the FDP.

I recommend that all guests arrive 45-60 minutes before show-time.
Most of that time you will be sitting in the theater and not standing in a line.

I suggest a FP+ for F!
On many nights you can get the F! FP+ as your 4th or 5th or later FP+ of the day.
It does not need to take the place of a DHS "ride" FP+.
I have picked up a F! FP+ as late in the day as actually on my way to the F! theater to see the show.

What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.
There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.)
On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even with a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.
On busy nights, the CMs will stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Plan Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

WOW!!! Thanks for the great info!!! I am one for always being early to things anyway, so arriving early enough for it shouldnt e a problem for me. Thanks again!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

That post was excellent I can only add I just did this and had the best seats in the house.

Seriously if you haven't seen Fantasmic or are not a frequent WDW traveler to the parks do it.

Not having to go an hour early to get my seat was a great convience too.

In short do it!!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

If you are planning on doing a TS sometime that day anyway, then I think the Fantasmic Dining is worth it. I went to Mama Melrose, we enjoyed the meal and had great seats (showed up about 35 minutes before).

However, now with FP+ available, I would not take the time out of your schedule if you would not normally plan a sit down meal for that day and were only considering a sit down meal specifically for the Fantasmic Dining.

 

[Dano13]

We have always done the F! Dinner package and for us it is great. You get the best seats in the theater and can stroll in 25-30 minutes before the show without any waiting at all.

 

[Robo]

We have always done the F! Dinner package and for us it is great. You get the best seats in the theater and can stroll in 25-30 minutes before the show without any waiting at all.

CAUTION:
I must point out that this is not aways the case.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

Arriving earlier can provide a "cushion" for unforeseen conditions.

A WDW rule-of-thumb:
Arriving far too early beats arriving just a minute too late.

If seeing a specific performance of any show at WDW is IMPORTANT to you.
Arrive early.

If seeing the show is only of passing interest, you can arrive close to show-time and see if your luck holds.
Sometimes it does. Sometimes not.

 

[supersnoop]

CAUTION:
I must point out that this is not aways the case.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

The Fantasmic! package tickets specifically state you must arrive at least 15 minutes before the show starts, so they must hold the section for at least that long.

 

[Dano13]

The Fantasmic! package tickets specifically state you must arrive at least 15 minutes before the show starts, so they must hold the section for at least that long.

Exactly, last year we were specifically told NOT to arrive more than 30 minutes prior as they would queue us up and not allow us in.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We did it last year HBD. It was worth it.

 

[Lavitz]

If you are planning on doing a TS sometime that day anyway, then I think the Fantasmic Dining is worth it. I went to Mama Melrose, we enjoyed the meal and had great seats (showed up about 35 minutes before).

However, now with FP+ available, I would not take the time out of your schedule if you would not normally plan a sit down meal for that day and were only considering a sit down meal specifically for the Fantasmic Dining.

This is exactly how we do it. We have to eat anyways, might as well get sweet seats for F! by doing so. Sadly this year with a 4 and 3 y/o we're skipping it because the 4 y/o cried through much of F! a year and a half ago, and now we'll have two potential criers so sadly we'll do F! next trip.

 

[Robo]

Exactly, last year we were specifically told NOT to arrive more than 30 minutes prior as they would queue us up and not allow us in.

It's not true that they won't let you in.

We have arrived multiple times 60+ minutes before show-time.
The Dining Pkg. section was quite busy as we found seats directly next to it in the FP section.

If you want to show up later, that's fine.

Not me.
And, I am here to warn others of the potential downside of doing so.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Exactly, last year we were specifically told NOT to arrive more than 30 minutes prior as they would queue us up and not allow us in.

Don't know what they told you but that was not true at all...

 

[supersnoop]

It's not true that they won't let you in.

We have arrived multiple times 60+ minutes before show-time.
The Dining Pkg. section was quite busy as we found seats directly next to it in the FP section.

If you want to show up later, that's fine.

Not me.
And, I am here to warn others of the potential downside of doing so.

I was there for the final weekend (maybe even last day) of Star Wars Weekends last year. I would expect that to be a very busy day. I arrived at Fantasmic 10-15 minutes prior to the start time, and the dining section was half full. They didn't open it up to stand-by until after the performance began.

 

[CAS239]

Exactly, last year we were specifically told NOT to arrive more than 30 minutes prior as they would queue us up and not allow us in.

They must've changed it then or gave you incorrect info. Dining package and FP are allowed in around an hour ahead of showtime. I was there about 3 weeks ago and at about 30 min prior to showtime the dining area was a little more than halfway full. I'll be there again this weekend and I'll look again.

Not saying someone can't get there under 30 min and get great seats..but don't want anyone to get there that close to showtime and expect full range of empty seats to pick from.

 

[jerseygal]

We did it last year HBD. It was worth it.

We also did Hollywood Brown Derby Fantasmics package last December. We had GREAT SEATS right in the center! Got the first seating when HBD opens at Noon for lunch and LOVED IT! MAIN meal of the day..there were six of us and we all had the filet! DELIC! Still tasting it! YUM! ENJOY!

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

We also did Hollywood Brown Derby Fantasmics package last December. We had GREAT SEATS right in the center! Got the first seating when HBD opens at Noon for lunch and LOVED IT! MAIN meal of the day..there were six of us and we all had the filet! DELIC! Still tasting it! YUM! ENJOY!

This was our experience as well, except we did an early dinner. It was shockingly our best meal of the trip (We ate at a few signatures) from a food perspective. We really liked having the dead center seats as well. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show, and were center stage, about 20 rows back, on the aisle. Fantastic seats for a fantastic show. (Disclaimer, crowd levels were only about a 4 that day)

 

[amandals2007]

we do the FDP because we would eat at MM anyway, its only 1 TS credit on the DDP, and we get an appetizer with dinner and basically a FP that we dont have to try and get later. win win all the way around for us.

 

[Narawen]

We dine at the HBD when we go to DHS anyway, it's one of our favorite restaurants on property. For about the same price we'd pay anyway to get an appetizer and entree, we also get a dessert and Fantasmic seating. We nearly always do the package, totally worth it for us.