Fantasmic Dinner Package - Which one did you do?

[TMM]

Hi,

Trying to decide whic restaurant to choose for the Fantasmic Dinner Package for our trip in January. It is just my husband and me going.

All the restuarants seem worthy and I just like to get opinions from those who have purchased the package.

Also, how was the seating once you got to the theater?

 

[babybunrab]

Well, DS and I did Hollywood and Vine because a) it was the cheapest and b) I thought it would appeal to him more than the others. If it's you and your husband you might prefer Brown Derby, perhaps? If you haven't seen the menus here's the link:

http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

We found the seats to be fine, though I know others have complained that they are 'off to the side,' but we didn't miss a thing!

 

[natalielongstaff]

we did hollywood and vine as well we thought it was great

good luck with your choice

 

[jlb21]

Doing H&V on 8/17.....

While one could consider the Off-to-the-side seats a negative (I won't), the big plus is yo uare that much closer to getting out the exit right to where the buses are. That's huge in my book.

 

[Drizzo67]

We did Hollywood and Vine in February and loved it. My DH was very impressed with the food considering it was a buffet (he dislikes buffets).

The seating is perfect - first one in to show, first ones out. Perfect.

 

[JujiD]

We did Brown Derby, it was excellent. Great place for a couple.

 

[marathonmommy]

We did Mama Melrose's. It was pretty good. Yes, the seats are off to the side, but you know they are reserved and don't have to show up an hour early!

 

[WDW LOVR]

We've done both H+V and Mama Melrose. The kids and I enjoyed H+V, but my wife hates buffet/cafeteria style so she liked Mama Melrose better.

I would suggest that you probably don't need to do the dinner package if you are going in January. Every time we've gone to Fantasmic in the off season you can get a better seat than the reserved section by just showing up 1/2 hour or so prior to the show and walking right in. The only time I would worry about the dinner package is during Spring Break, around the holidays or in the summer.

 

[DisFlan]

H&V. We just wanted a shorter wait in the Fantasmic line. Doesn't really matter where we eat.


DisFlan

 

[kellyf2626]

DH and I did H&V last year, and weren't too thrilled with the food. And then Fantasmic got rained out! Ah!

We did Brown Derby the previous year, and loved the food - but it is expensive.

 

[ahappydisneymommy]

We did Hollywood and Vine. I thought the seats were great and we never waited in any line just went right in. It did rain, but luckily it started right after Fantasmic ended.

 

[lonegungirl]

I did the package twice--both times at the Brown Derby and absolutely loved the dinner and the atmosphere. It was a huge amount of food however, and took a considerable amount of time--I saw the little girl next to me plop her head down on the table and nap through dessert.

The first time (end of July) it rained out and we were unable to see Fantasmic! which was something of a disappointment. The second time (November) it went as planned, but I did notice that there were plenty of seats available for people even close to the beginning of the show. I didn't do the package my last trip (June) but I was still able to get a seat reasonably close to the front even arriving ~15 minutes before the start.

 

[aubriee]

This past January I was with two very picky eaters so we did Hollywood & Vine and was not impressed. Food was just OK and it was very loud with ALOT of screaming kids. In May I did Mama Melrose and loved it. Food, service, ambience, everything was better. Saying that, I'm going back in Sept and my D-I-L doesn't like what she calls snooty places (Brown Derby), nor does she like Italian food (Mama Melrose) so we're going back to Hollywood & Vine.

Seating is off to the side, but it was fine. Just don't sit down too close or you'll get wet when the water screens come up. There was a light breeze when we were there in January, we were about 10-12 rows back and got a little damp.

 

[monami7]

We did Mama Melrose. It was very yummy and so much food.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

I always do Brown Derby. It is more expensive, but it's usually my "big splurge" of the trip. The menu isn't huge, but I've never had anything that was less than delicious, or a server that was less than exemplary.

N.E.D.

 

[LeesyUD]

Mama Melrose everytime for me!!!

 

[swankybeth]

DH and I have done the package at Hollywood and Vine 2x. We enjoyed it both times we did it. The food is good and it is the cheapest one on the list. That being said, next time we're planning to try Mama Melrose for the package because we want a change. We've tried Mama Melrose for a regular meal, but only ate flatbreads as our entrees. The Fantasmic package seems really good at Mama Melrose, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

 

[Vavasmon]

We have done H&V twice and Brown Derby once. We are planning the Brown Derby again this December.

For the 3 (DH, myself, DD) of us we prefer the Brown Derby. We lhad delicious soup, steaks, and desserts. The had a varied meal with very interesting sauces/sides.

At H&V I didn't like the buffet the first time we ate ther (April 03). The food was not well stocked and seemed of a much poorer quality that oter buffet locations. We wnt back last August in with my suster and niece - we selected this over the Brown Derby because they prefer simpler foods. The buffet was better than I remembered but still not my ersonal favorite. We had better service the first time we ate there - our server last August was working a large group and seemed to forget we existed. I obtained soda refills form other servers and gave dirty plates to the bus boys cleaning nearby tables. My sister and niece loved the meal. I will take them back there when we go again.

I like the package because for our first trip we stood in line almost 2 hours to get a seat (in December). The reserved seats are off to the one side but ithat side also seems to make exiting easier. I would never do the show during a peak period without the dinner.

 

[dphie28]

We did Mama Melrose and I was not that impressed.

 

[ChristyJ]

We did H & V and Mama Melrose for our 12/04 trip-we preferred Mama Melrose , I think it was mainly because we had already had our fair share of buffets earlier in the week, and did the H & V package on our last day, so the buffet didn't appeal as much...