Fantasmic....pros and cons

[disneyczy]

Hello !

We have five of us going, myself, hubby, parents and our 8 year old. We go on an annual trip once a year but I must admit we have never seen Fantasmic. Mostly becuase I have hesitated because of some of things I have read about the show being really loud and somewhat scary. I want everyone to weigh in....should we or shouldn't we. Also any thoughts on Hollywood and Vine food would be great as well.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Fantasmic! is my favorite show on property. I think it is amazing. It is intense at times for kids. Our DS was a little leary about seeing it again, but when he would go see the characters, they would keep asking him if he was going to watch it, so he decided to. (he will be 5 next month)

As far as Hollywood & Vine, it is not one of our favorites. We have done it twice as part of the dining package for Fantasmic! but decided last time, it would probably be our last. We would maybe try for Brown Derby or Mama Melrose next time. We really enjoy the 50's Prime Time Cafe, but that is not part of the dining pacakge.

Have a super trip!!

 

[CuteKatCar]

Fantasmic itself is worth the price of admission to MGM. My girls have seen the show 3 times, beginning when my little one was 5. They are not scared-type kids, so they were fine with it. I think your 8 yr. old should be ok with it, unless he/she is scared of dragons. If you get the dinner package, you will be way up in the back corner, so it shouldn't be as scary back there. It's a great show.

Can't help you out with the restaurant.


Anna

 

[bytheblood]

I truly think that if your child can handle Snow White or the Haunted Mansion, Fantasmic will be nothing.

Anybody that can handle Small World, can certain handle it.

I would say "go 4 it" and if your child starts moving into panic mode....leave.

 

[laceemouse]

It is our favorite nighttime show at all of WDW!!! We have seen it 3 times. The first time my youngest was 2 years old and she loved it. My kids are not scared of the dark, fireworks, loud noises, or villians. We did the BD dinner once and were not impressed. A couple of weeks ago we did the H&V dinner and we LOVED it!!! It is a new favorite for us. We have 4 kids and found the buffet was a great way to please everyone. We had good service too. You do get seats over to one side with the package, but it still beats waiting IMO. This last time we sat on the front row and my kids loved feeling the warmth from the fire!!! I think an 8 year old would most certainly be fine, but sit farther back if you are not sure......Lacee Also, I have never once seen kids being carried out crying, and the place is packed with kids.....JMO

 

[DisMN]

I dislike the seating at Fantasmic as well as the theme of the show. It's based around all the evil characters and I never enjoyed that type of storyline anyway.

I guess too, compared to other shows at Disneyworld, this just didn't do it for me, performance-wise or creativity-wise.

It's about the last thing I'd put on my vacation schedule, with the Electrical Light Pageant not far behind.

 

[newcomer52]

We really like it. Have done the dinner package twice at Mama Melrose's and certainly would again during a busy time.

 

[AimeeM]

my three kids, ages 11, 9, & 3 have never been scared of Fantasmic and we have been watching since my girls were 3 & 5. Our son started going at age 3 months and has been there 5 times already. He's never been scared of it either. I think while there are villians in it, its not ALL villians. The floats that come past arent villians; Belle & Beast, Snow White and Prince, Ariel & Eric, Indians, animals, and the final boat coming out with the twirling sparklers is great!! Its about good verus evil, and in the end good wins. I know the dragon part might be scarey for some, but thats one of my favorite parts! THe sprays of water show mostly good charcters. I Love when the morph them into the next character. Id say give it a try. There are some fireworks, nothing major.. the catch the lagoon on fire, but thats pretty cool. If your kids hate it, then you can just leave. But you never know, they might love it like mine did, and still do. We are trying Hollywood & Vine for Thanksgiving. Im hoping its good!!

 

[dixiegirl]

This is a must-see for DH and I - we just love it. I have seen kids of all ages at this show - my only suggestion would be maybe not to sit too close up front since there is a large dragon on the stage at one point and there is also some fireworks and pyro-technic effects as well.

 

[flyball]

I hate to give a dissenting opinion, but we saw Fantasmic for the first time this September and were not impressed. My 13 year old didn't like it because the story didn't make much sense. I didn't like it because it was LOUD and the lights blaring in my eyes before the show really bothered me. My 11 year old and DH thought it was okay. I also think Wishes and Illuminations are beautiful and joyful compared to Fantasmic. I realize Fantasmic has a happy ending, but the "story" is pretty dark. I'm glad we finally saw it, because now I'll know what we're missing when we don't revisit. Sorry to disagree!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My DH fell asleep during the show... OK, he can fall asleep easily and he was tired, but it didn't hold his interest enough to keep him awake. It was my second time seeing Fantasmic. I think that everyone needs to go at least once.

T&B

 

[Disnutty]

You should absolutely go to fantasmic!!! Its a terrific show. Your eight year old will be fine and will probably want to buy one of the spinning glowing toys that they sell there. (Have Grand mom or grand pop spring for one of the glowing spinning things as they are about $15 to $20). There are more kids than adults watching the show. We always try to end the WDW trip with this show, as there are many of the Disney characters in the show and what can be better than Mickey saving the Day.

Hollywood and Vine is a buffet so there are many options for dinner. The food is good (not great but good) and the variety is plentiful. Your 8 year old will love the soft serve ice cream station where you can make a sundae with all the trimmings. If you are going to eat there anyway, make sure to get the Fantasmic package. It does not cost you anything except you have to give them a credit card number when you make your PS reservation. However the package insures you that you will get a Fantasmic seat (over to the right side as you look at the stage) and you do not have to wait in line for an hour or more to get in. It is well worth the hassle of making PS for the Fantasmic package because you never know if the show will be crowded. If the show is not crowded then you still get to walk right in and you can move to any section thats open. Its a good deal. Just remember that the Package entrance to Fantasmic is over by the MGM main entrance. You go in at the Oscar's gas station.

 

[alloyd1170]

Ive seen it every time Ive gone, and took my then 2 yr old on our last trip. He was scared in the 3d movies and Haunted Mansion, but Fantasmic didnt seem to bother him much. He did look away when the fire shot out, but its pretty bright. Theres so much going on that I dont think he saw everything. The characters are far enough away that they might be hard to see through a little ones eyes, plus he doesnt know many of them. He probably focused on Mickey most of the time. My son loves flashy upbeat shows too. As for dinner, cant say anything about H&V but we did do the package at Brown Derby once. The food was pretty good. If I remember right, it was a little loud in there???? We found that the dinner package isnt really worth it though. You pay more, and the seats for Fantasmic are all the way over to the right of the stage. Instead, what we did last time was to head over there after the parade (it was Feb-Presidents Week so the show was earlier than summer), grab some food at the vendor stand and get our seat in the middle and mid way up. By the time we finished eating, it was filling up pretty quickly. Our son was fine as he was watching everything. I think we waited 45 minutes before the show started. If youre going at a not so busy time of year, skip the dinner package and get your own seats. Otherwise, go early to stake them out. The view was much better in the middle vs the right side. I could see more, and the boats lit up towards the middle of the stage (they are dark until they get towards the middle and you cant see the characters). If its windy, dont sit up front as you may get some water spray. The heat from the fire can get warm too!

alison

 

[lovethattink]

Fantasmic is my all time favorite night-time show. I love it because it is filled with all the characters. My ds, however didn't share my love until he was older. His first experience, he was scared to death. The loud noise and villians were too much for him. As he got older, he began to love it as well. My husband likes the show, but he prefers Wishes or Illuminations. The 3 of us absolutely hate the mass exodus at the exit as everyone tries to get out. Usually we are very tired by then, and to be lead out like cattle is not very magical. As mentioned in another post, the bugs can get bad at times too. We always bring our Off and usually end up sharing with people around us who didn't bring theirs. When we go to see Fantasmic, we make sure we sit near the back. As for exiting, we either leave early, or stick around and wait until most people have exited.

 

[ainmama2001]

Fantasmic was the best thing I've seen at Disney. I took my two and a half year old and she loved it. It is a little loud, but the firework effects just overtook her and I don't think she even realized it was supposed to be scary. I bought the soundtrack and it arrived yesterday. She wants to listen to it constantly. She was more afraid of Mickey's Philharmagic. That scared the begeebies out of her.

 

[2ofUs]

Alison: I have a question regarding --
what we did last time was to head over there after the parade (it was Feb-Presidents Week so the show was earlier than summer), grab some food at the vendor stand and get our seat in the middle and mid way up. By the time we finished eating, it was filling up pretty quickly. Our son was fine as he was watching everything. I think we waited 45 minutes before the show started. If youre going at a not so busy time of year, skip the dinner package and get your own seats. Otherwise, go early to stake them out.

I thought everyone had to stand in line until a certain time and then all went in together? Did they not have a waiting line when you went? We are going the first week in February which is a slower time, but I really don't want to 'fight a crowd' in line, so we were going to do the package. Can you explain a little more what you did, please? Thanks, Pam

 

[Brian Noble]

My kids were 3 and 5 when they saw the DL version. They loved it. Unless you have an unusually sensitive 8 year old, you should have no problems. It is one of those things that is worth the price of admission alone (and we sprang for the reserved seating, which at DL, is big bucks---and it was still worth it!)