smnornes said:
I can totally appreciate reserving a Fantasmic Dinner Package and still may do so, but is it necessary mid-week, in mid-October? I don't really want to subject my kids (5 and 7) to sitting in a theater for over an hour + to view the show. Would the Dinner Package save us some of that waiting?
Also, for those of you who have waited it out with kids, is there anything special you do with them? I can always bring a book or Gameboys with, but something more "Disney" related would be fun. Can snacks be brought into the theater?
Also, I've read that exiting can be worse than the wait before hand? Any tips here? Again, does the Dinner Package help with the exit? Thank you!
First of all, exiting is no problem for us.
We view the show in the front row (or very close).
Afterwards, we sit and wait for the mob to rush crazily out in a turmoil.
Then, in, say 10-15 minutes, we stroll out with the rest of those who know not to bother to rush.
I refuse to give up my GREAT front-row seats for Fantasmic! just so I can have a "front-row seat" on a Disney bus.
As to the waiting BEFORE:
No one can predict EXACTLY what will happen on any given day.
It has totally to do with the whim of the crowd at MGM on that day, and the general crowd LEVELS.
How much time you wish to "invest" in waiting is a personal decision. We never do the formal Dinner Package, and have always seen the show (dozens of times).
(Take all of these as "average" numbers, sometimes the crowd will be MUCH greater and the theater can fill up much sooner.)
VERY Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 75-120 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
45-60 minutes before: Good seats
20-40 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests.
Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 50-60 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
40 minutes before: Good seats
25-35 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests. (The crowd of "last-minute" arrivals can be slow to get seated before show-time.)
Off-Season (not busy days):
You should be OK to enter by 10-20 minutes before, but you'll likely be seated to the outer edges, and/or way at the back.
If you do the dinner pkg. you can enter 30 minutes before (or a bit later) and still be guaranteed "pretty good" seats (not my "first choice" area, but fine), regardless of crowd-levels.
If there are TWO Fantasmic! shows in one evening, the second one will have lower crowd level than the first one. You can arrive a bit later and still find a seat.
Be aware that the second show waiting area will LOOK like the show is too crowded.
That's because they HOLD the 2nd crowd outside the theater while the CMs CLEAN it after the first crowd has exited.
Then, they will let those waiting together in that big group IN... all at once, and there will be PLENTY of room.
(The theater holds 10,000 guests!)
We like to eat our evening "meal" while waiting for Fantasmic! to start.
You can bring in items from the counter-service places in MGM, or they DO have concession stands at the rear of the theater serving "baseball stadium-type" food and drinks. Yes, even beer, sold strictly ONE-at-a-time, one-only-to-a-person, so a single person can't go and buy beer for other members of a group... all guests wanting to buy a beer must be present in-person at the counter.
We have a hot dog, maybe a pretzel, later some popcorn or cotton candy (Disney Health Food).
