Fantasmic experiences w/ Spectrum kiddos

[tkbbmom]

We've never done Fantasmic - my youngest kiddo loves music and fireworks so now that he's 10 we decided it might work to try it. We are doing the dining pkg bec I read that the wait time was less. We are going Nov. 12-22 so hoping that's a less crowded time. But, wondering how others experiences have been w/ their spectrum kids?

Do we all have to wait or could one of us take him to do something while the rest of our family waited?

How long once we're seated before the show begins?

We plan to bring his Ipod, headphones and DS to all parks so hoping that helps some for waits.

 

[bookwormde]

We have taken our son (Aspergers) many times. Dinner package is probably good, although we typically wait in the disability marshaling area of even just brave the crowds since it is still a mob getting to the seats.

We mostly sit high in the stadium since he tends to be sensory defensive, but as he has gotten older we have done down front even with the water mist if it is windy and the intense flames.

Hope this helps a little

 

[Kay1]

What we used to do was get dinner on a tray from Rosie's, go a bit early, and kill the time by eating dinner. You can always get up for a trip to the bathroom or to get a snack or dessert.

 

[lanejudy]

Well...I'll give the opposing view. We did NOT have a good experience with DD at Fantasmic. Maybe she was too young (5), maybe it was too late (early show but near her regular bedtime), maybe she was tired after a busy stimulating day, or maybe she just wasn't ready for it. She loves fireworks, loves music, loves Disney, but freaked out at F! and cried nearly the whole time. We did the dinner package to help reduce the wait time, and she was fine then - we did take a walk while DH held our seats, we sat at the back with her stroller as wheelchair. But once the show started, she might have lasted 5 minutes before crawling into my lap and hiding. At one point I even had to get up and walk back to the overflow area to calm her down before returning to our seats. We haven't tried F! again since that trip, so I don't know if it might go better now that she's older.

Just wanted to share our experience...YMMV.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

We've never done Fantasmic - my youngest kiddo loves music and fireworks so now that he's 10 we decided it might work to try it. We are doing the dining pkg bec I read that the wait time was less. We are going Nov. 12-22 so hoping that's a less crowded time. But, wondering how others experiences have been w/ their spectrum kids?

Do we all have to wait or could one of us take him to do something while the rest of our family waited?

How long once we're seated before the show begins?

We plan to bring his Ipod, headphones and DS to all parks so hoping that helps some for waits.

I was worried about this as well for my ASD boy, although he is only 7. I have been playing Fantasmic shows for my kids from youtube to prepare them. They all said they wanted to check it out so I just booked with a FP+. I figure if they are at least familiar with the show, they will won't be so overwhelmed when everything starts happening. I am planning to get seats farther back as well.

 

[NoleFan]

We went last year. Wait was not bad- the line moved pretty steady. We always get an aisle seat towards the back. My DS 7 does not love the sound of fireworks- sudden, loud sound. But I wanted him to try it anyway. We stayed most of the show. It was not his favorite but we are going to try it again in a couple weeks with FP +. He does not always like things the first time but I make him keep trying them. Usually, he ends up enjoying stuff after a few tries.

He enjoyed seeing the fireworks @ TOTW with the music & no loud fireworks so I am hopeful he will enjoy this with time.

 

[Vidia2]

.

 

[MadameMim]

We made it to Fantasmic for the first time in three trips a couple weeks ago. It was not very crowded...or at least not in the area we sat, which was the very front all the way to the left. We had several rows all to ourselves. We waited around 30 minutes for the show to begin and the extra space helped as my ASD kiddo could wiggle and squirm all around, crawlling up and down those empty benches. If we had been in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds he wouldn't have fared as well, but moving around kept him happy enough. And he LOVED the show. He's a very sensory-seeking soul, and it was totally right up his ally.

 

[foxxxy83]

Awwww! SO happy he had a FAB time! Wonder how the new DAS pass is going to apply to Fantasmic. Have not been selected to try FP+ so can I use normal FP or not?? Anyone know?? I narrowly missed out on getting the Fantasmic Dinner Package

 

[tinkerpea]

Awwww! SO happy he had a FAB time! Wonder how the new DAS pass is going to apply to Fantasmic. Have not been selected to try FP+ so can I use normal FP or not?? Anyone know?? I narrowly missed out on getting the Fantasmic Dinner Package

You can not use normal FP for fantasmic,but you will be at the parks before the GAC is taken away, can you not do everything that the current GAC does before it changes ??

 

[KPeveler]

For those parents who have ASD kids who will use a stroller, think about using a stroller as a wheelchair even just for this attraction. (Only if the kid in the stroller is the one on the spectrum of course) This would give your child a safe space while waiting, and would put you in the accessible seating at the back of the theatre.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We've tried a few times over the years. It doesn't typically end up happening for us. Our DD HAS to follow her typical at home schedule. It's only in the past year that she's been able to at home stay up past 8:00 without approaching a meltdown. This means that at WDW she has to be in bed by then as well. We did manage once back I think in maybe 2009 or 2010. We were able to sit in an empty handicap seating area (thank goodness there was nobody needing the area that night so a CM let us sit there using our GAC, if anybody needed it due to accessibility reasons we would have moved elsewhere). Because we had lots of room around us and we were at the back so people weren't packed in on all sides even from several rows away, she was able to cope better than she would have otherwise. It was definitely a struggle and I know now that it was due to the time (I didn't "get" her need for her regular schedule at WDW back then). We definitely struggled with the wait for the bus afterward and she was very upset with the crowd leaving the show. The show itself she handled well (she's a visual sensory seeker so she enjoys seeing shows like these) but the overall experience was a definite struggle.

Summer 2011 we got the dining package hoping that would help us to be able to show up without having to wait in line for hours. Unfortunately a bunch of stuff on top of the time being late for her added up to have her melting down before we could get to the show so we had to skip it. Sigh....

Summer 2012 we got the dining package since she's been doing better with staying up late. We showed up around 25 minutes before the show knowing that they typically open up the FDP seating to the public around 20 minutes before the show. There was plenty of seating. We brought stuff to entertain her while waiting and made sure that we sat on either side of her with a bit of room around her so she'd feel a bit more comfortable in the crowd. She was doing great until they cancelled the show due to rain only moments before the show was supposed to start.

One of these years we'll get back now that she'd better able to stay up later but even then I still only schedule 1 nighttime show per trip into our itinerary or else it'll negatively impact our whole trip.

 

[foxxxy83]

Tinkerpea - I thought GAC was just for rides. Is it for shows too?? :confused

 

[clanmcculloch]

Tinkerpea - I thought GAC was just for rides. Is it for shows too?? :confused

People have had inconsistent experiences. Generally, no the existing GAC can not be used at shows. Some people have reported being allowed to wait with those in wheelchairs rather than the regular queue but I believe a lot more (the majority of people) have been told they can't use the GAC. It's not something I would count on being able to use.

 

[foxxxy83]

OK.. might go over early and see what CM says if it's down to their discretion

 

[ratlenhum]

Our son loves Fantasmic so it's a priority event for us. We usually do a dinner to avoid the line but in the future will probably use Fastpass+ if it's available.

We usually ask for permission to sit in the handicapped area in the back if space allows, otherwise we sit in the front where no one else really wants to sit because of the water. Getting wet is better than a sensory related problem because of being seated extremely close to others.

Good luck!

Same here. We ask to sit in the back in the aisle. I always explain that my son has autism and can be hit it miss with shows like that no explain that should he freak out we would like to get up and out while disturbing the least amount bog guests as possible. We have never had a problem.