Fantasmic FastPass Section Aggressiveness...One-off or Norm?

[CO2CA]

Funny story, but not really haha

Before heading to Galaxy's Edge yesterday, we went and grabbed a FastPass for Fantasmic for the first show later that evening. We lined up for it at 7:40pm and were the first in line. It was pretty calm at that point, a few families got behind us. They let us in to the separate holding area and we chatted with several CMs about Star Wars land, etc. All very pleasant. Then when 8:15pm rolled around, the CM let us in and walked us to the seated area. She told the group several times to walk and we were first so were keeping pace with her. All of a sudden the people behind us started to run ahead of us and then other groups did the same thing. So of course, we start running too because everyone is running in front of us.

We get to the fence and are standing at this point and this woman shoves her son (probably 9-10 years old) into us, which makes us move back from reaction. He grabs onto the fence and moves back towards her a little, so we sit down before we lose our spot that we had got to first. For reference, they were directly behind us in line but didn't enter the next holding area until they were at the very back of the group for whatever reason, so they must have ran around everyone to get to the front of the group). To be honest, we should have probably got a CM at that point but were so shocked at the whole situation that we just wanted to maintain the spaces that we waited so long for.

At this point, a minute after sitting one of our group members wants to switch seats, so stands up and this same woman kicks her backpack into the "seat". My mom said, wait a minute that's his seat. She screamed, "You are NOT taking these SEATS away from these KIDS!!! GET OUT!!!!!!!!!" and then repeated that same line twice. That obviously did not make any sense, since we were there before them and were already seated. Both of us told her to knock it off and I said I was getting the CM. I went up and got a cast member because I wasn't sure how she was going to continue to react, and she eventually backed down and remained silent for the rest of the time besides a few dirty looks from her and her kids lol (probably 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son). They had perfect seats, with the kids directly behind the fence and the mom/dad directly behind them. No reason to become so hostile.

It was the strangest thing, especially because she knew that wasn't their spot. We were in line before them, got to the "spots" before them, and were seated before she kicked the backpack. They had plenty of room before she shoved her son into us and then kicked the backpack. She really wasn't the only one who was acting so aggressive though, there were quite a few others who were running and grabbed blankets to throw down ahead of people. It was such a weird thing to us, especially since we had got out of Star Wars land with everything being very orderly and had just done the Blue Bayou Fantasmic package earlier this trip where everything is very calm and no pushing/shoving. I guess I wasn't prepared for people to literally run ahead of you and then become so aggressive thereafter. Is it normally that chaotic or was this a one-off?

We laugh about it now, because it was such a weird situation but at the time it was completely odd.

edit: FastPass not reservation

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I would send in a comment to Disney about this so that management knows that this kind of behavior is happening. CMs need to be aware, too, so that they can be on the watch for this and to prevent the running and any aggression. Maybe more CMs need to be assigned to these sections for the summer. I probably would have asked for a security CM to be called if the woman had continued her aggression. Sorry this happened to you, but at least the woman backed down.

 

[BadPinkTink]

sadly Ive experienced similar on more than one occasion in different places. In the Blue Bayou Fantasmic viewing section, Ive had space invaders run in last minute and try to squeeze a family into the space between me and another group, at World of Colour viewing section I had a mother try to push her son in front of me at the railings. There are some VERY entitled pushy mothers out there who think their kids should get preference for viewing spots over a adult. They think Im an easy target because Im a solo female on the small side and they dont like that Im not intimated by them and stand my ground and refuse to let them get their way.

 

[deedubb]

There are rude people wherever you go, and sadly, Disney is not immune to this. We have had similar experiences many times. I will make exceptions for little kids and allow them to move in front of me, but I'm less likely to do so if the parents are pushy or rude about it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I think the repetitive screaming at you is not normal. The pushing, shoving & running? Welcome to Disneyland. It brings out the best and worst in people. I always try to remind myself if they act like in public, how they act at home is probably a lot worse & that thought tends to chill the anger in me if they have kids.

 

[Lin82]

I had this happen at a Halloween party a few years ago. We sat on the sidewalk for 2 hours to have the best seats for the parade and fireworks only to have a family show up 5 minutes before the start time. The mom tried to tell us that adults in Disneyland had to give up seats if there were kids that wanted them. As bad as I felt for her child I paid $800 Canadian to watch that parade, there was no way I was moving anywhere unless Walt himself came and told me to move. She gave up for the parade thankfully, but when the CM moved us over for the fireworks she all but tried to throw my son out of the way. The CM's saw this and actually made her leave the area. I was quite impressed, but then I am always impressed with how the CM's handle themselves in bad situations.
You really should inform a CM that this is happening, they might not know or they might schedule more higher up the food chain CM's for that event so they can deal with these situations better.

 

[emmybee]

Gosh, how tacky! I always appreciate when people are nice to my girl, but I certainly do Not expect anyone to go out of their way for her. She is My princess, not yours Some people have even tried to allow me in front of them, but I decline. If they are nice enough to let my kid in front, they certainly don't need my big head in the way! I don't like showing up super early for stuff, so I have no expectation of getting the best view. I'll pay for BB F! or CC WOC, but that's it. The view I get is the view I get.

 

[midnight star]

They think Im an easy target because Im a solo female on the small side

This is partially why I don't like doing shows in big crowds solo. I'm tall, but very thin, so people always seem to try and squeeze their way next to me and I always end up being squished! Not fun! If I do shows I'm either with someone or in a group of friends.

 

[goooof1]

The fast pass for Fantasmic! is a MESS. Seriously, it is AWFUL.... worse than a cattle stampede. We have been there, in line before the holding area opened up and once it opened, all kinds of people just crowded in. CMs said there is no line !!?!! and yes, from the holding area, it was push and shove to get a spot.
LOUSY, LOUSY set up for fast pass.

 

[CO2CA]

I'm glad we're not the only ones who've had issues. I do think having more CMs monitor the line would help. Maybe if several walked in front of the group like they do/did for rope drop at Cars Land that would help? It's not going to eliminate people from being entitled, but maybe at least it would help ensure fairness.

 

[Erin M]

We had something similar happen as we were being escorted to our seats at WoC dessert party. The CM took us down the path and my husband was kind of hustling to keep up. Another parent with a double stroller and another child in tow were at the side where they could walk across our path to get to a standing room section. She perceived that my husband was some how cutting her off and screamed at him about “cutting in front” of her children. And called him a monster and then used a few profanities and said she’d “cut” someone for cutting in front of her children. Then continued to threaten us. I was so thrown off by it all I didn’t even react. The CM ignored it. It was nuts. People get really strange in stressful crowd situations. We’ve had issues at Fantasmic! dinner package areas with people moving my itty bitty toddler sized blanket that three of us share to sit on. We literally only take up the space of this tiny blanket. I just use it to keep the cold ground at bay.

 

[emmybee]

This thread has convinced me to try the "upgraded seating" at the River Belle Terrace! My husband doesn't like the food at BB, and I'm not a huge fan of sitting on the ground. Boy, do I miss the dessert seating from back in the day. Those were good times.

 

[Jairy]

This thread has convinced me to try the "upgraded seating" at the River Belle Terrace! My husband doesn't like the food at BB, and I'm not a huge fan of sitting on the ground. Boy, do I miss the dessert seating from back in the day. Those were good times.

We just recently did this for the Hungry Bear and it was well worth it. There was so much room in that section

 

[CO2CA]

We had something similar happen as we were being escorted to our seats at WoC dessert party. The CM took us down the path and my husband was kind of hustling to keep up. Another parent with a double stroller and another child in tow were at the side where they could walk across our path to get to a standing room section. She perceived that my husband was some how cutting her off and screamed at him about “cutting in front” of her children. And called him a monster and then used a few profanities and said she’d “cut” someone for cutting in front of her children. Then continued to threaten us. I was so thrown off by it all I didn’t even react. The CM ignored it. It was nuts. People get really strange in stressful crowd situations. We’ve had issues at Fantasmic! dinner package areas with people moving my itty bitty toddler sized blanket that three of us share to sit on. We literally only take up the space of this tiny blanket. I just use it to keep the cold ground at bay.

That's crazy!!! It's just so strange it's hard to think of what to do in the moment. And to actually threaten you all...with her kids in sight...

 

[Spyral]

This thread has convinced me to try the "upgraded seating" at the River Belle Terrace! My husband doesn't like the food at BB, and I'm not a huge fan of sitting on the ground. Boy, do I miss the dessert seating from back in the day. Those were good times.

I so wish they brought back that dessert seating. We did it once and it was so stress free and enjoyable with actual assigned chairs to sit in.

 

[aquamanalaska]

I have watched the the insane FP system for Fantasmic and decided to look for other options with great views. I go to the first Fantasmic show about 5 minutes before the end. This is when they drop the ropes to get ready for people to leave after the first show, I stand behind the spot I want to be in at one of the standby areas. Once the people leave from the first Fantasmic show/fireworks I step into the front of an unobstructed view. You have to stand in the standby areas which I prefer, because there is no way I could sit on the concrete for the whole Fantasmic show. The view is always amazing. You also get a great view of the fireworks from ROA. You end up waiting about 40 minutes after the fireworks till the 2nd Fantasmic starts, but for a great view and at no additional cost it seems so worth it.

The one exception that works well in the FP section for Fantasmic is if you have someone with a wheelchair in your party. They put you in the back of the FP section at the rope and the person that is not in the wheelchair gets to stand behind wheelchair. The view is great because everyone has to sit on the ground in front of you.

 

[agamble]

Having gone to Disneyland many times one year we were fortunate to be at the front of a gate on our first day. This had never happened before as we have 3 kids. So we had been standing there about 40 minutes and a long line formed. Suddenly the people in the line next to us (who were first in their line), same gate different turnstile, demanded that we had cheated all of them because they had been told to form one line before we arrived and we had formed a second. At this point every gate had two lines, one per turnstile, that backed up halfway through the esplanade. We had dozens of people behind us. If they had said something initially we would have told them they could form one line for each turnstile and stood behind someone in their line or found a different gate. But at that point we were not moving. Someone from their group went and got a CM and claimed we had cut. I explained to the CM what happened. The CM allowed the second group in the other line to move in front of ours. It was probably the most tense and bizarre interaction with other guests we've had. I didn't argue with the CM because I knew she was just trying to appease them, but it was not a happy moment. When people are in these situations they feel very vindicated in their actions. I was upset with those other people and felt we had every right to be first because we knew there should be a line for each turnstile. But they were clearly upset too because they had arrived before us and we were now going to enter at the same time as them and before the group behind them. We tend to be wrapped up in our own thoughts at Disneyland and get tense when others "spoil" our plans.

 

[DaveNinja]

The OPs story reminds me of trying to get good spots for WoC, haha. It was way too much of a battle to keep a good railing spot and way too stressful. Now I just do WoC Desert Party and Hungry Bear dinner for Fantasmic.

 

[Tasmen]

We had something kind of like this at World of Color many years ago. We saw a random stroller (note: this was the cadillac of strollers - large, in charge and double widing it.) with no one touching it and no child in it next to the fence. We were in the reservation area. We figured someone left their stroller there and went to move it just a smidge so that one of our children could stand in front it against the fence.

The minute we laid hands on the stroller, we had a guy come out of nowhere, his chest all puffed up, his eyes filled with fury. He yelled at us not to touch his stroller. When looked and saw his family was actually not even NEAR the stroller. They were a few feet to the left with people in between us.

We dubbed him the stroller mafia at that point and got a CM.

 

[CO2CA]

We had something kind of like this at World of Color many years ago. We saw a random stroller (note: this was the cadillac of strollers - large, in charge and double widing it.) with no one touching it and no child in it next to the fence. We were in the reservation area. We figured someone left their stroller there and went to move it just a smidge so that one of our children could stand in front it against the fence.

The minute we laid hands on the stroller, we had a guy come out of nowhere, his chest all puffed up, his eyes filled with fury. He yelled at us not to touch his stroller. When looked and saw his family was actually not even NEAR the stroller. They were a few feet to the left with people in between us.

We dubbed him the stroller mafia at that point and got a CM.

Oh my gosh! You have great storytelling, but now I'm too invested - what did the CM do to the stroller mafia? lol