Fantasmic! Fastpass!

[CassieF]

Cross posted from another fp thread...

What time did you get your gold fp? I was in blue (got mine at 1 after initially being rejected from the first machine, which apparently happened a lot that morning) and when we were in the queuing area about 10 minutes before the set time they had CMs attempting to clear people out of the walkway to avoid people lining up early. It was partially successful but we got screwed by waiting back because they ended up letting people in 5 minutes early, so despite being there before a bunch of people, then following instructions, we were behind a huge mob.

We ended up with a good viewing spot, second row, a little left of center. Good for viewing, but not great for photography because of the railing. There was a lot of confusion from both guests and CMs about where to go when entering the viewing area and they were not checking fp well. No areas were roped off, so you could go anywhere and there weren't CMs telling people exactly what was where, It also appears as if they might have forgotten to save an area for one of the reserved areas as they made a portion of the sitting blue section stand up and move while new people filled in.

I'm still not exactly sure what sections are where, but BB is front and center sitting as well as standing in the old dessert seating section. Blue was to the left of the seating section as well as standing behind and possibly over by pirates lair. I know the bridge is gold (or apparently not?). I'm not sure where standby went but supposedly they are queuing them up along the thunder trail and bringing them in shortly before the show...at least that is what we were told would happen if we wanted to go to the second show without a fp.

I'm sure once they figure it out and maybe rope off and clearly label sections things will go more smoothly. I'm sure the morning rain prolonged the fp distribution...does anyone know what time they went from blue to gold, and then into the second show? It did clear up and was a beautiful day but I'm guessing the threat of evening rain held off some people as well. It sprinkled a little around the Peter Pan segment and they did their modified routine but otherwise the show went on as usual. I'm not sure how the second show turned out. I wish you could grab FP for both...

I'm very interested to see how this develops and how it will be once it's settled. I'll be going again Monday and Tuesday so I can update if anything changes

 

[MadeToLove]

Also cross posting from another F! FP thread

I did the Blue Bayou FP package last night and saw the second performance. We sat front and center (right on the center line of the viewing area - great view).

I agree with previous posters that the biggest problem of the night was the lack of organization: CMs not knowing anything beyond their one assignment and no roped-off areas or signage (of course, they are probably waiting to drill the hole for the posts until they've worked out how much space exactly each section needs).

As for the BB package itself, there are pros and cons. The seating area is the best, and we didn't feel over crowded, but the seat cushions are a bit thin and small and the food portions were also a bit small. Admittedly I've never had dinner at Blue Bayou, but the portion size of the dinner package meal was no where near as large as the Monte Cristo sandwich portion size served at lunch. I had the Filet Mignon (which was properly sized), but the vegetables on the side were sparse (1 tiny cherry tomato, 3 tiny pearl onions, 5 tiny shoestring green beans, and the tiniest sliver of zucchini I've ever seen - it could have won an award for smallest zucchini ever - the potato portion was also small and had too much cayenne pepper). The seat cushion was cute, and the handle popped out and could be used as a floating key ring, but the cushion was thin, and I can't imagine the thicker cushions, like the kind popular for stadium seating at sporting events, would cost more than this small, thin, foam cushion cost them. Kardasian-sized booties will need two of the cushions BB hands out.

I have a picture of the seat cushions to share, but can't figure out how to insert it here.


Other thoughts on the night: It is quite nice not to have the traffic jam early in the evening by those camping out. I noticed there was a handicap section on the far right side of the riverside in Frontierland, and was told they had one on the far left in NOS as well. They also had the "former" dessert package section roped off with chairs last night. No idea if that was for VIPs or someone forgot things had changed last night. I didn't notice anyone sitting in them for the late show, but admit I wasn't really paying attention after I found my own seat.

 

[Fivers]

Also cross posting from another F! FP thread

I did the Blue Bayou FP package last night and saw the second performance. We sat front and center (right on the center line of the viewing area - great view).

I agree with previous posters that the biggest problem of the night was the lack of organization: CMs not knowing anything beyond their one assignment and no roped-off areas or signage (of course, they are probably waiting to drill the hole for the posts until they've worked out how much space exactly each section needs).

As for the BB package itself, there are pros and cons. The seating area is the best, and we didn't feel over crowded, but the seat cushions are a bit thin and small and the food portions were also a bit small. Admittedly I've never had dinner at Blue Bayou, but the portion size of the dinner package meal was no where near as large as the Monte Cristo sandwich portion size served at lunch. I had the Filet Mignon (which was properly sized), but the vegetables on the side were sparse (1 tiny cherry tomato, 3 tiny pearl onions, 5 tiny shoestring green beans, and the tiniest sliver of zucchini I've ever seen - it could have won an award for smallest zucchini ever - the potato portion was also small and had too much cayenne pepper). The seat cushion was cute, and the handle popped out and could be used as a floating key ring, but the cushion was thin, and I can't imagine the thicker cushions, like the kind popular for stadium seating at sporting events, would cost more than this small, thin, foam cushion cost them. Kardasian-sized booties will need two of the cushions BB hands out.

I have a picture of the seat cushions to share, but can't figure out how to insert it here.


Other thoughts on the night: It is quite nice not to have the traffic jam early in the evening by those camping out. I noticed there was a handicap section on the far right side of the riverside in Frontierland, and was told they had one on the far left in NOS as well. They also had the "former" dessert package section roped off with chairs last night. No idea if that was for VIPs or someone forgot things had changed last night. I didn't notice anyone sitting in them for the late show, but admit I wasn't really paying attention after I found my own seat.

I also did the BB seating last night for the first show. It was definitely a bit on the disorganized side I felt, especially for BB, but the CMs were all super friendly and as helpful as they could be. We ended up right in front of the railing in the centre as well, though that was more due to sheer dumb luck as one person in our party realized they were finally letting us in, lol. I actually think it might be nicer to cruise in about 10 minutes before they start and stand at the back of that section. There seemed to be a lot of space there, but I do wonder if that was partially due to some people cancelling because of the rain. Otherwise, I actually found the seats they gave us to be surprisingly comfortable! We have some of those type at home and these are much nicer, of all the things that went numb that evening waiting for it to start, my butt wasn't one of them

I think one of the biggest things that would help would be having signs where each section is supposed to enter. We were told three different things within a 5 minute span, finally found the right place to enter, a CM took our passes and let us in, then we were told by another CM that we weren't allowed in yet as we were headed to the section. Which clearly wasn't the case as there were quite a few people in our section already when he finally let us in. Not blaming the CMs at all, I think they handled the whole thing remarkably well, and I expect that's something that will quickly get smoothed out. But just a heads up for the near future to check where you're supposed to be fairly early! It's a little confusing with all the people in the area! Overall it was fairly enjoyable, and I'm sure in a couple of months they'll have ironed out most of the kinks!

 

[CassieF]

For the BB package, where did you enter from? They had both the gold and the blue fp entering from the same location, which of course added to the confusion.

 

[krispin41]

For the BB package, where did you enter from? They had both the gold and the blue fp entering from the same location, which of course added to the confusion.

The actual Fast Pass that I received said to meet in Frontierland. But when I asked a CM they said to wait around the area right in front of Pirates.

 

[Melgar541]

We had blue FP for Friday 8:45 and were twice told to go to the front of the Golden Horseshoe. Once we were there we were told by a third CM to head for the petrified tree, although the actual "entrance" wasn't quite so far out as that. They herded us through the (empty) gold FP section into the blue.

 

[sogy]

pros:
I liked how calm it was after seating.

Cons:
I didn't location. not sure how seating will be if there is an adhoc 3rd viewing or bad weather.
i think it really peeves be off how open the center area was.

 

[Poohcandi]

No Offense, but I am entitled to MY opinion about our trip. Please note nowhere did I state my trip was ruined. I said and stand by the fact that this is not good news for me and my family and OUR trip. And the portion of OUR visit that would have included the show is now something WE are not looking forward to due to this change and are likely to skip. Of course perhaps you may have some better insight to our feelings and planning then we do? Or perhaps not chastising someone for daring to express an opinion that does not match your own might be something you should consider.[/QUOTE

I do not understand some of the people that start fights on this board.

 

[HappiestHaunt]

No Offense, but I am entitled to MY opinion about our trip. Please note nowhere did I state my trip was ruined. I said and stand by the fact that this is not good news for me and my family and OUR trip. And the portion of OUR visit that would have included the show is now something WE are not looking forward to due to this change and are likely to skip. Of course perhaps you may have some better insight to our feelings and planning then we do? Or perhaps not chastising someone for daring to express an opinion that does not match your own might be something you should consider.[/QUOTE

I do not understand some of the people that start fights on this board.

hmm interesting take. I was simply expressing my desire to post my opinion without being attacked for it. And I do not post much, so I found it interesting that when I did, I was chastised for having a differing opinion. I am sorry that you see my defense of post as a fight. But I respect you posting of your opinion on it.

 

[bethwc101]

Any update on the F! Fastpass? If anyone has been recently has it been flowing smoother? Is Blue Bayou still in the front? I am planning to be down there for dapper day and want to do it, but only if it seems more civil and running smooth. Planning for the second show. Any thoughts please.

 

[Angrose]

So, the BB dining package doesn't include chairs to sit in, only cushions that you put on the ground?

 

[GrowUp2BaPrincess]

We just did the BB package on Thursday January 1st. We had ressies at 6:10pm and were given the choice of which show. We chose 8:45. We were given cushions and sat up front center next to railing. It was our first time to see it but we felt they were great seats and the cushions were very comfortable. We were very happy that we did the package. We enjoyed the meal very much. Four of us enjoyed the surf and turf and I had just the "turf". Hope this helps someone.

 

[theworldneedscolor]

We just did the BB package on Thursday January 1st. We had ressies at 6:10pm and were given the choice of which show. We chose 8:45. We were given cushions and sat up front center next to railing. It was our first time to see it but we felt they were great seats and the cushions were very comfortable. We were very happy that we did the package. We enjoyed the meal very much. Four of us enjoyed the surf and turf and I had just the "turf". Hope this helps someone.

Where there a lot of other people who had the BB package? Did you still have to compete within that group for good seats? I'm concerned about paying 60 dollars a person and still having a lot of people in front of me, or having to still wait a long time for a good seat

 

[figment_jii]

This thread also has discussions about the Fantasmic FP and dining packages. It seems to fluctuate about which thread has the most recent postings, but it's been worthwhile (to me, at least) to keep an eye on both of these.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3358991&page=7

 

[DahliaRW]

Where there a lot of other people who had the BB package? Did you still have to compete within that group for good seats? I'm concerned about paying 60 dollars a person and still having a lot of people in front of me, or having to still wait a long time for a good seat

Anywhere in the BB section is a good seat. For us, our return time was 7:45 (along with everyone else with BB). We got there right about then and were the 3rd people back from the railing with a great view. And it only took 30 minutes of our time prior to the show (which was at 8:15), not the 4 hours I put in last time we went to get pretty much the same spot!