Fantasmic or World of Color?

[peaches0313]

Going in August and will be our 4th trip. Considering a show this time which we've never done as our girls go to bed early. they will be 3 and 5 at time of trip. I'm leaning towards Fantasmic due to the 9 pm start time (looks like World of Color isn't until 9:45). Thoughts on either? Also which restaurant to do w/ package(s)?
Thanks!

 

[GatorChris]

World of Color is an incredible light show, BUT you have to stand through the whole 30 minute show. And I really don't know how the new version with NP Harris doing the narrating. Fantasmic!, on the other hand, you can book a dining package before hand and sit down for the show. Yes, it's on the hard cement, but it's still better than standing - especially with little ones.

 

[DG24]

You can't go wrong with either show. I personally like WOC better, but before that came along fantasmic! Was my favorite. I grew up with it, two or three times every time we went two or three times a year. So for me, woc, but both are great.

As for dining, since you have two girls I would say arial's, the food is not the best but you will see 5 princesses while eating rather than stand in line to see 3 for over an hour. My second choice for that age would be minnie and friends at the plate, there are about 10 charactor's, minnie, tigger, pooh, eyeyore, rafiki, hook, fairy godmother, max, chip and dale, and more, definately the biggiest charactor bang for the buck, and again saving hours standing in line for them. Food is breakfast.

After that you have goofy's, storyteller and surf in, all good. I guess it would depend on what the girls like for that age. Story teller to me is good but more boyish, better food, and not as many charactors, woodland charactors. Surf in I have not done in a while, great charactor interaction, but our little one did not seem to like it as much, food different and okay. Our little ones loved goofy at that age, but did not like it past 5, I think it's just a little to much for them, more formal, more confusing and not as many charactors, food so so, it can be hit or miss. If going for food, I would say storyteller, if going for charactor I would say minnie and friends. If going as sit back and relax after a long day and want to spend at least an hour, I would say Ariel, storyteller or goofy. If going for adults more than kids story teller and goofy. All are good not great, remember most of what you pay is not for food and service but for charactor interaction.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I prefer Fantasmic!, as it tells more of a story and has some really cool features, like making use of the ships and other neat effects. WOC is a really cool water show, but it's just a water show. I like all of the other elements, including actual characters, that Fantasmic! provides.

Keep in mind, however, that Fantasmic! can possibly be scary for the little ones. If they scare really easy you may want to skip it.

 

[peaches0313]

DG24-- Are you talking about the Plaza Inn breakfast w/ all those characters? We usually do breakfast at Storytellers and my girls LOVE it. It's a tradition for us but all those characters at the one you speak of sounds neat due to the large number of different characters!

 

[figment_jii]

Given the age of your children, I would probably lean towards WoC even if it has a later start time. The show is basically water screen with images and colored lights, so it's far less "intense" than F!. As others have mentioned, the biggest drawback is that you have to stand for the entire show. There are three locations with WoC dining packages (Carthay, Wine Country, and Ariel's Grotto). I've only dined at Carthay and WCT and in terms of food, I prefer Carthay. Ariel's does not have characters when it's offer WoC dining packages (characters are present at breakfast and lunch only).

Personally, I like F! a lot more than WoC, but for young children, the dragon at the end can be pretty scary. There are more "real" elements (e.g., dragon, kaa the snake, etc.) that might un-nerve small children (along with a few low-level fireworks). For F!, at this point, there are three dining package options (e.g., Blue Bayou, River Belle Terrace, and Aladdin's On-The-Go). If you're looking to get the most benefit, I'd go with either the Blue Bayou or RBT packages.

 

[peaches0313]

Figment-- Thanks, strangely, my girls have always loved the Disney villains!

 

[figment_jii]

That will help, but I would still watch a video of F! before making a decision. Seeing something on TV or even having a toy, is very different than seeing a 3-dimensional "life-size" version of something. Not quite the same, but I went with an almost 3 year old who loves McQueen, Mater and all things cars. He took one look at the Mater meet and greet character in DCA and was completely terrified. We never saw that coming! So, even something as benign as a cars character can be un-nerving to children. F! can be very dark and loud, so it's something to keep in mind before you spend a lot of money on a dining package.

 

[DG24]

Oh I totally misunderstood your restaeraunt package deal. When we went to f! We did river bell. I never did woc with a package. River bell was good, seat was up close and front. I do not really like bb so I wouldn't go there, but others say it is good if you are going to go anyway might as well just spend the few extra bucks if not river belle was good, kids meals kind of very expensive, it looked and tasted like deluxe Kraft Mac and cheese and she only at 2 bites.

 

[Diszona]

Given the age of your children, I would probably lean towards WoC even if it has a later start time. The show is basically water screen with images and colored lights, so it's far less "intense" than F!. As others have mentioned, the biggest drawback is that you have to stand for the entire show. There are three locations with WoC dining packages (Carthay, Wine Country, and Ariel's Grotto). I've only dined at Carthay and WCT and in terms of food, I prefer Carthay. Ariel's does not have characters when it's offer WoC dining packages (characters are present at breakfast and lunch only).

Personally, I like F! a lot more than WoC, but for young children, the dragon at the end can be pretty scary. There are more "real" elements (e.g., dragon, kaa the snake, etc.) that might un-nerve small children (along with a few low-level fireworks). For F!, at this point, there are three dining package options (e.g., Blue Bayou, River Belle Terrace, and Aladdin's On-The-Go). If you're looking to get the most benefit, I'd go with either the Blue Bayou or RBT packages.

I agree with this, though it is hard to judge WOC for August until the new version is out in May. For WOC, with small children I would go with a dining package and try to get on the rail by the water for the show. You can get a little wet there (though that might not be a bad thing in August) but you will be sure to have a unobstructed view of the show.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I think it depends on how brave your kids are. I personally loathe WOC. It's just not that great to me and standing there forever can be frustrating. Fantasmic, however, came out when I was a kid, so it will always be my favorite for nostalgia reasons. But, it can be scary, especially the part with the dragon. And, you still have to stand unless you have a dining backage.

 

[peaches0313]

Beachdreamr, so if you draw a paper FP and not do a dining package, you also have to stand?

 

[Goose&mavie]

You can't go wrong with either show. I personally like WOC better, but before that came along fantasmic! Was my favorite. I grew up with it, two or three times every time we went two or three times a year. So for me, woc, but both are great.

As for dining, since you have two girls I would say arial's, the food is not the best but you will see 5 princesses while eating rather than stand in line to see 3 for over an hour. My second choice for that age would be minnie and friends at the plate, there are about 10 charactor's, minnie, tigger, pooh, eyeyore, rafiki, hook, fairy godmother, max, chip and dale, and more, definately the biggiest charactor bang for the buck, and again saving hours standing in line for them. Food is breakfast.

After that you have goofy's, storyteller and surf in, all good. I guess it would depend on what the girls like for that age. Story teller to me is good but more boyish, better food, and not as many charactors, woodland charactors. Surf in I have not done in a while, great charactor interaction, but our little one did not seem to like it as much, food different and okay. Our little ones loved goofy at that age, but did not like it past 5, I think it's just a little to much for them, more formal, more confusing and not as many charactors, food so so, it can be hit or miss. If going for food, I would say storyteller, if going for charactor I would say minnie and friends. If going as sit back and relax after a long day and want to spend at least an hour, I would say Ariel, storyteller or goofy. If going for adults more than kids story teller and goofy. All are good not great, remember most of what you pay is not for food and service but for charactor interaction.

From my understanding, Ariel's grotto doesn't have the princesses when there is a WOC package.
For F! River Belle Terrace and Blue Bayou offer dinner packages. We are debating whether to do the River Belle Terrace or Blue Bayou for our September trip. We did the River Belle Terrace dining package last time and loved our seating. In researching the Blue Bayou package, seems more expensive, but get prime seats and get a seat cushion, and a guaranteed "seated" view.

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I haven't seen Fantasmic, so I can't attest to whether it is scary or not for your kids. But I will say that based on the viewing area/wait time I would lean towards Fantasmic with a dining package. Unless you wait the absurd amount of time it takes to get a railing spot for WOC, your kids will not be able to see.

 

[KateDrake]

I would do WOC, mostly because it's my personal favorite. But my DDs are both scared to death of F!, even though my oldest likes ToT.

I think it also depends on which movies are more familiar to them. If they are into the Pixar/Tangled/Frozen era, then WOC has more of those characters. F! is more classic, with Peter Pan, Cinderella, Snow White, Fantasia, etc. So if your kids know those movies better, they might like F! better.

Really, both are great shows. F! just seems kind of dated to me, and it has a scary factor that my littles don't like.

 

[Izzy Ally]

Given the age of your children, I would probably lean towards WoC even if it has a later start time. The show is basically water screen with images and colored lights, so it's far less "intense" than F!. As others have mentioned, the biggest drawback is that you have to stand for the entire show. There are three locations with WoC dining packages (Carthay, Wine Country, and Ariel's Grotto). I've only dined at Carthay and WCT and in terms of food, I prefer Carthay. Ariel's does not have characters when it's offer WoC dining packages (characters are present at breakfast and lunch only).

Personally, I like F! a lot more than WoC, but for young children, the dragon at the end can be pretty scary. There are more "real" elements (e.g., dragon, kaa the snake, etc.) that might un-nerve small children (along with a few low-level fireworks). For F!, at this point, there are three dining package options (e.g., Blue Bayou, River Belle Terrace, and Aladdin's On-The-Go). If you're looking to get the most benefit, I'd go with either the Blue Bayou or RBT packages.

Figment, Are The WOC dining pkg viewing locations the same? We have lunch pkg at WTC but does dinner at Carthay provide a better viewing location? Thanks!

 

[Abbey1]

I say Fantasmic! all the way. It was by far our favorite show during our last trip. We did the Fantasmic! dining package at the Blue Bayou and the whole experience was incredible. I would highly recommend doing a dining package. We had a great dinner, went on a few rides and then went straight to our seating area. We were able to sit for the show and had an absolutely perfect view.

 

[Diszona]

Figment, Are The WOC dining pkg viewing locations the same? We have lunch pkg at WTC but does dinner at Carthay provide a better viewing location? Thanks!

I think they are the same. I can say that the restaurant that we always go to is WCT and the viewing area we go to is great, in the very front, on the rail dead center.