F1Julie said:
How long does Fantasmic last? If there is a show at 7:00 and then another at 8:30, what time should I show up for the 8:30 show? Thanks!
Fantasmic! length is approx. 28 minutes.
But a full theater takes about 20-25 ADDITIONAL minutes to empty, plus a goodly amount of MORE time for the CMs to finish cleaning it.
For the first show (or if there is only one show that evening) the theater is "opened" about 60-90 before show-time and guests can just walk into the theater and pick a seat.
About an hour before show-time is a great "rule-of-thumb" for any time of year.
If its a BUSY park, you'll still find very good seats at that time.
If its a lower-attendance time, you'll find GREAT seats (front-row or really ANYWHERE) by an hour before.
If there's a SECOND show of the evening, if you arrive a hour early there WILL be a "line".
That's because they hold guests back from entering while the CMs clean the theater after the first show.
But don't worry, once they start letting guests enter, the theater will not be full by any means. The second show virtually never "sells out" even when the park is busy.