Fantasmic or Illuminations?

[kelly01]

Hi: We will be at WDW for 6 days in June. I have three 13 year old boys, and we have been to WDW before, but mainly only short trips for a day or two. In the past, we have not been big "nightime show" people...more getting started first thing in the AM and riding/seeing all our favorite attractions. Because we have more time on this trip (staying at BC) I would like to see Fantasmic and Illuminations. However, it is sometimes hard to motivate the rest of the family to take time out to get a good spot, etc at the end of the day. If you had to pick 1 to see first, which one would it be? Thanks in advance, I really appreciate all the great expert advice that is given on these boards!

Kelly

 

[twokids0204]

Hi: We will be at WDW for 6 days in June. I have three 13 year old boys, and we have been to WDW before, but mainly only short trips for a day or two. In the past, we have not been big "nightime show" people...more getting started first thing in the AM and riding/seeing all our favorite attractions. Because we have more time on this trip (staying at BC) I would like to see Fantasmic and Illuminations. However, it is sometimes hard to motivate the rest of the family to take time out to get a good spot, etc at the end of the day. If you had to pick 1 to see first, which one would it be? Thanks in advance, I really appreciate all the great expert advice that is given on these boards!

Kelly

F! Simply because you don't have to motivate the family to get to a good spot, it is in an amphitheater, and all views are good. Get in line 45 mins - 1 hour pre show, and you will have a good spot.

Oh, and it's an AWESOME show.

 

[ajjollie23]

Fantasmic...Awesome show, def one of our favorites. My two yr old doesn't like loud noises and fireworks so he isn't a big fan but my 5 yo and I always go at least 1x/trip. Illuminations is pretty, but not at all the same thing. 13yo boys would lke Fantasmic much more

 

[DisneyLaLa]

Fantasmic is amazing! We did the preferential seating dinner package at the Brown Derby 2 years ago. We are doing that again this summer, but with Mama Melrose.

 

[CHES94]

Fantasmic all the way! Mdaybe it was an age thing, but my DS (6&8 at time) got a little bored with the story behind Illuminations. They were riveted by what was going on with Fantasmic.

 

[Book Belle]

Fantasmic is my absolute favorite nighttime show The special effects are amazingly cool and the storyline is classic Mickey beats the bad guys with a little magic twist

 

[Rose DiVerona]

Definitely Fantasmic! It is magical.

 

[kelly01]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will look in to the availability of the priority seating option, as I think Mama Melrose is one of the places we want to eat at anyway.

Really love this board. We will try to see Illuminations as well, but I hadn't thought of the fact that Fantasmic is in an amphitheatre, so not as much guesswork with regards to seats, which makes things easier.

Thanks again for the quick replies.

Kelly

 

[Minniemouse07]

See now I'm going against the crowd. Illuminations is my favorite hands down. Don't get me wrong, Fantasmic is great but if I had to choose between the two it is definitely Illuminations.

 

[WizardLarz]

A spot in France, Canada, or the UK pavilions for Illumination will have you near the International Gateway for a quick exit when it ends!

Also you have a relaxing boat ride after Fantasmic!

what ever you do; Enjoy the Magic!

 

[Belleandtinker]

Illuminations!!!

We just saw F! for the first time and was completely disappointed. I was trying to stay positive then finally after 5 minutes I turned to my DH and said "I don't get it." He agreed. The theme/story is extremely poor and not to our Disney standards. The special effects were special effects nothing out of this world. We got great seats, but we were in line and walking in 90 minutes before the show. I just had a feeling a 20 minute show couldn't be that amazing to wait 90 minutes, plus the hassle of the crowds, bathrooms, and exit. Sorry to rant, but I'm trying to save you an evening (which we lost).

Please go see Illuminations!

 

[pdchris]

See now I'm going against the crowd. Illuminations is my favorite hands down. Don't get me wrong, Fantasmic is great but if I had to choose between the two it is definitely Illuminations.

I'm with you and 'lizard,' Minnie. Illuminations. However, the OP didn't state the ages of the kids. That, imho, would have a lot to do with whether Fan or Ill.
Also, I agree with another poster. The Priority Seating option at Fantasmic is great if you don't mind being seated on the side instead of the middle.

 

[twokids0204]

I'm with you and 'lizard,' Minnie. Illuminations. However, the OP didn't state the ages of the kids. That, imho, would have a lot to do with whether Fan or Ill.
Also, I agree with another poster. The Priority Seating option at Fantasmic is great if you don't mind being seated on the side instead of the middle.

I believe she said 3 - 13 year old boys.

 

[nytimez]

I'd vote for Fantasmic, too -- I agree that it's the best nighttime show in WDW. I haven't seen it in a few years, though... my daughter (now going on 5) is afraid of fireworks/pyrotechnics, so Fantasmic won't be in the cards for me until she outgrows that!

 

[cbg1027]

Although I think both shows are amazing, for you I would recommend Fantasmic.
I think the boys would enjoy it more. Since you have bleachers to sit on while you wait, it's easy to bring something in to entertain them while waiting. I took a magazine last time. I would suggest you arrive 1 hour or more prior to showtime.

 

[jayduk]

Fantasmic!!!!!!! It's not just some fireworks! It has everything.

Everyone on here says arrive 45mins but last year in Sept/Oct we went to ride TOT 45mins before and didn't go in until around 20min before and got great seats. Just ask the staff when they think you should go in before it's too late to get a seat...they know what they're talking about and generally seem to prefer people to get their late rather than creating stupidly long queues that are unmanagable all the way down the street!!

 

[padlock]

Illuminations!!!

We just saw F! for the first time and was completely disappointed. I was trying to stay positive then finally after 5 minutes I turned to my DH and said "I don't get it." He agreed. The theme/story is extremely poor and not to our Disney standards. The special effects were special effects nothing out of this world. We got great seats, but we were in line and walking in 90 minutes before the show. I just had a feeling a 20 minute show couldn't be that amazing to wait 90 minutes, plus the hassle of the crowds, bathrooms, and exit. Sorry to rant, but I'm trying to save you an evening (which we lost).

Please go see Illuminations!

I completely agree. Both my wife and I found Fantasmic completely underwhelming, and frankly boring. It seemed like 90 % of the time, you're just just watching film clips.

We love Illumninations and Wishes.

 

[thorphin]

Illuminations, hands down. In fact, we're skipping Fantasmic altogether this year, and doing our usual two showings of Illuminations of our week-long trip.

Fantasmic is not a terrible show, but, to, us it just pales in comparison. ROE really draws you in, whereas F! seems like a stage show. And you do spend a lot of time watching obscured film clips. ROE seems much more powerful.

More importantly for you, though, is that I think ROE is much more accessible.

I really think that you need to arrive to F! at LEAST an hour ahead of the show, especially in June to make sure that you get a seat. You can manage to find an acceptable spot for ROE up until 20 minutes or so beforehand, which means more time for attractions. Depending on when you are going, Fantasmic also only shows on maybe half of the nights in a week, if you're lucky. You really have to do some planning to make sure that you're trying to see it on a night on which it exists.

 

[twokids0204]

I completely agree. Both my wife and I found Fantasmic completely underwhelming, and frankly boring. It seemed like 90 % of the time, you're just just watching film clips.

We love Illumninations and Wishes.

But Film clips on a backdrop of a waterfall and mist. I was quite impressed when I First saw that.

And fire on water ? - where I come from those 2 don't mix well together.

 

[thorphin]

And fire on water ? - where I come from those 2 don't mix well together.

Certainly a nice highlight! Don't forget about the inferno barge fireball effect in ROE, though!