Fantasmic! Dinner Package ?

[mckim]

I called this morning to make Fantasmic! Dinner Package reservations for June. I was offered to make priority seating for dinner between 4-4:30pm. Is this correct? Why do they make you eat so early when the show is at 9pm, right?

 

[FatCow]

Fantasmic package is for 7pm show.

The 4:30 seating means you'll actually start eating at approximately 5pm. You'll eat leisurely until 6pm, you ask for the bill, yadda yadda, before you know it it's about 6:25pm.

About another 5 minutes to get to the amphitheatre (go from the green door near MGM entrance).

It's perfect timing, really.

 

[mckim]

Will there be a later show? We are going on a Monday night on June 7th. I know they sometimes have 2 shows.

 

[FatCow]

During the time we went (2 weeks ago), the shows were at 7pm and at 8pm (IIRC) but the dinner package is for the 7pm show only.

 

[mckim]

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me. It makes sense now.

 

[chilihead]

You may want to check the disney site or call and talk to a CM about when your Fantasmic show is. We are going to Fantasmic on May 11 and the only show is at 9pm. But we still have to eat at 4:10. I'm seriously considering canceling our package and just taking our chances at the crowd entrance.

 

[BrerMama]

Actually, in June Fantasmic is usually at 9. It has to be dark to hold Fantasmic and in June it won't be dark by 7. My theory as to why Disney only offer Fantasmic Dinner Packages between 4-4:30 is that this is a way for them to fill a restaurant at a time when it otherwise wouldn't be and offer us a bonus at the same time. We plan to just snack during the day and then have an early dinner on our FDP day. That way we'll be nice and hungry and get our money's worth out of the package. After we eat, we'll hit some attractions while everyone else is standing in line waiting to enter the stadium. I figure that Disney is offering the special seating and they have the right to choose the times it's offered. I'll make it work for us.

 

[grammagail]

We are going 6/22 - 6/28/04 and have been reading a lot about this show. Is it really worth booking the dinner package? I know it will crowded when we go - and I'd love to see this show.

What's the chances of seeing it if you don't have the dinner package? Are there several restaurants to pick from? How expensive?

Thanks.

 

[mckim]

I haven't been to WDW since 1995, so I haven't seen the show yet. I have doing a lot of research for trip in June, and from what I can see, it should be pretty crowded. We are going with 2 other families, having a total of 4 small children with us. So, to not have to stand in line as long, it is well worth the extra few dollars to me. The restaurants that participate in this are Hollywood & Vine (buffet for $21.99 adult/$9.99 child), Mama Melroses (Italian, not sure of the price but a little more expensive the H&V), and then The Brown Derby which is the most expensive.
Hope this helps!

 

[grammagail]

Any response/comment helps. Think I'll think about it. Already have one PS for Donald Breakfast at AK and HDDMR one evening.

 

[alloyd1170]

Dont miss it! We did the dinner pkg the first time a few years ago at Brown Derby. It was good and nice not to have to wait for a seat. HOWEVER- I was disappointed when I got to my seat. The rsvp seats are to the far right of the stage. Theyre not bad seats, but I thought I missed out on seeing some things. Boats come from both sides of the stage and usually dont perform/have lights on until they hit the middle. I much prefer sitting in the middle so I can see it all (and I found those seats much better). So its well worth taking an hour out and getting a seat early. There are food and toy vendors at the top and walking around. We grabbed dinner there (and a snack once we got back to the hotel). For those with kids who cant sit still-bring some games, feed them, or walk around while one parent holds seats. My 2 yr old who cant sit still for a minute did fine. He was buys checking everything out around him. One note of caution-you might want to avoid sitting too close to the stage........the flames can get a bit warm (might be nice if its cool out) and you might get sprayed a bit (especially if its windy). I could feel the heat mid way up! Enjoy it-its an awesome show. Too bad they dont have a video of it!

alison

 

[hyzdufan]

I booked the dinner package for early June, and got a reservation for 4:30pm. I think it's good to have it a little earlier than the show, so you don't have to rush when eating. After you eat, you still have your Fantasmic voucher, so you can come up the exit ramp and get into the show without waiting. While everyone else is waiting in line earlier, you can be hitting all the popular rides with little or no wait time. We booked Hollywood and Vine. I think I ate there 8-9 years ago, but can't recollect completely. I think they had really good baked chicken, but I'm sure the menu has changed since then.

 

[hyzdufan]

Self-bump!

 

[momoftwins98]

We are going June 3-7th. Do they have Fantasmic every nite? I was hoping to do this Sunday, June 6th (my b-day). I really don't want to do the dinner package because my DD's are pickey eaters and I really don't want to waste $20 something on a meal they won't eat.

If they do have this on a Sunday, will it be extremely crowded?

 

[shatzjsl]

I booked my dinner package this a.m. at Mama Melrose's. This is the middle priced one. I would have gone to Hollywood & Vine but nothing on thier menu looked appatizing to me.

The package will work well for us because it will be our 1st day at WDW and we will be tired from flying out of Dallas at 6:30 a.m. so we can eat, enjoy the show without standing in line, and head back to ASMu for a good nights sleep.

 

[jimmiej]

Now that I've read this, I may rethink doing the package. It's somewhat expensive & last trip, we had no problem getting a center seat about one hour prior. Plus, I want to do the late show. Thanks for bringing up this subject.

 

[jcemom]

I am trying it next time. We went in early February when crowds were almost non-existent, for example waits at TOT and RnRC were around 10 minutes in the middle of the day! We got to Fantasmic almost an hour ahead of time and were in seats equivalent to the package but on the opposite side! The difference was that people with the package were coming in 20 minutes before the show (as opposed to 60 for us) and getting the same type of view I had! I don't know where all those people came from, I had read of how easy it was to get seats during slow times. Well, you could have come in 20 minutes before show time and gotten *A* seat, but it would have been on the far edges. I would have preferred to save our wait time (with three kids sitting for an hour on cold bleachers with nothing to do isn't fun). We have to eat anyway, right? lol

edited to add: Not to mention that the exit is right behind the package section! So not only did they save time getting there, but they got out MUCH faster than I did!

 

[crystalrp]

We have used the Fantasmic Dinner package twice before and I just booked it again for our upcoming trip. When I called, I wanted H&V for the meal. The only night available was on our arrival night. Since the CM had tried every other night of our trip for availability, I was thrilled to get anything! There are two showings of Fantasmic the night we are there. 8:30 and 10. Our PS at H & V is for 6:30, but the CM did say it was for the 8:30 showing. Since I have read about the early dining times, this seemed a tad odd to me. Has anyone else gotten late dining times on the Fantasmic package when there are two showings?
Also, I have to agree with the person who mentioned being able to exit quickly. The seats seemed fine to me, but since being the very first ones back to the bus, now I LOVE those seats!
As someone had written, be careful sitting too far to the front. Our first time using the FDP, when we arrived we thought the reserved seats were bad. We thought we had gotten very lucky when we were able to nab seats way down front. WRONG!! We were soaked from the water screens by the end of the show, plus we all wear glasses and could hardly see every time the water screen came up.

 

[diathoney]

I booked the package for our trip next week. It's Spring Break here and I don't know how the crowds will be. We have a 5:25 seating and Fantasmic is at 7PM - hopefully we'll have enough time!