Fantasmic seating/Disneyland question

[addidisney]

I am a WDW vet. My family and I have booked a vacation at Disneyland for June 25th thru June 30th!!! We are very excited about this trip, its our first time on the west coast. My question is how far in advance do you have to book the Fantasmic seating??? (hope its showing during our stay) Also, what exactly do get with the package??? The best seats??

Another question, I know we are going in the summer, what days are best?? And any first timer tips (3 adult 1 child age 10) anything would help!!!

Again, thank you to all who helped me plan this perfect vacation for my family!!! Thank you!!!

 

[SamIAm21]

Okay, I'm just going from memory here and for more information, please visit www.allearsnet.com and click on the Disneyland link on the bottom of the page. Then you can search through there for info on Fantasmic.

There are two "levels" so to speak for Fantasmic seating. The first is a package where you can sit on a balcony in New Orleans Square and have drinks (coffee, soda, etc.) and dessert. The price is approximately $50 per person. I can't remember the exact cost.

The second tier is "premium" seating near the Haunted Mansion. There are quite a few more seats down there and apparently it also offers good views of the fireworks that follow the first showing of Fantasmic at 9:00 p.m. I think the cost for this is somewhere in the $45 to $50 range per person. This includes a box snack "dessert".

You can arrange reservations for either seating area exactly one month in advance. I tried to arrange them earlier, but they told me to call exactly one month in advance.

We'll be there at the beginnning of June. Can't wait!!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Seating for either area is $59. If you have children in the party they are given a $10 discount on the "riverside" seating. You can book for either seating one monthy prior to the date. So, say you wanted seating on June 29- you would want to start calling a couple minutes before 8am (PST), on May 29. Both areas of seating have their advantages. The balcony is a very special feeling. You are one of 21 one people out of 70K in the park that has a special seat. You look over the crowd of people to watch the show. The desserts are little higher quality on the balcony- cakes, cheesecake, fruit and cheese. The riverside seating is closer to the water- where you can feel the mist of the water and the heat of the fire. Its more the view the show was designed for. The desserts in this area are more finger food type- brownies, cookies, chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate dipped mickey rice crispy treats.

The calendar for that time period should be up at the disneyland site. There are a few dates around that time period that F! will not be showing because of the pirates premier.

 

[azgal81]

Fantasmic will be dark through June 28th so be sure to catch it on either the 29th or 30th!

 

[HydroGuy]

FWIW, here is another perspective to round things out. I am a DL vet and first timer to WDW in 12 days .

My research on WDW and seeing how WDW vets plan for parades/shows/meals is quite different than my experience at DLR in general and those of most DLR vets I discuss this with.

This is not to say one approach is better than another - so I am making no judgements here. But I am mystified by WDW vets going to DLR planning special meals/tours etc. so they can get "better" seats at shows and parades etc. IMO, it is just not necessary. I have never done it, so I cannot compare with and without. For example, I looked briefly into the Fantasmic reservations. I remember (correctly or incorrectly) the cost being $53 a person in 2005. Our family has six people, and for $300 we could afford another hotel night and extra day on our parkhopper tix. Thus the trade off for us was to see Fantasmic with a special package or stay a whole extra day at the parks. Well, that was an easy decision for us.

During August they did have Fantasmic twice each and every night, and we always go to the second one (granted that may be hard to do if you have kids thay are really young). We got excellent spots for all six of us 35 minutes in advance. I agree the first show would have required a longer time commitment (60-90 minutes).

But heck, if you are a larger family like us you can wait the 90 minutes for Fantasmic and get a whole extra day at the park for the same cost as the special reservation.

If you are doing something special for a birthday or anniversary, well I can see how that would be different. And if money is no object then by all means sign up for all of the special meals and tours you want. I just want to say that it may be a nice perk, but in general it is not necessary IMO.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I totally agree Hydro. We did the balcony seating once. It was in 1995, and it was only $30 or $35 each- roughly 1/2 the price it is now!

We dont have a problem camping out for 1 - 1 1/2 hours for fireworks to get a good spot. We try to catch the 2nd showing of F! so we dont have to wait so long. We found a good place to watch the parade, with out holding seats on the side walk for an hour.

 

[karylrocks]

Fantasmic will be dark through June 28th so be sure to catch it on either the 29th or 30th!

This is what I have been reading but the calendar on the DL website has it scheduled for the 28th. Does anyone know for sure?

 

[hlbtimes2]

Always go with the Disney site for your first line of info. Anything you read on a private board is just word of mouth.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Here's some information on Fantasmic that we have right here on the DIS


http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland-california/disneyland-fantasmic.htm

 

[HydroGuy]

I totally agree Hydro. We did the balcony seating once. It was in 1995, and it was only $30 or $35 each- roughly 1/2 the price it is now!

We dont have a problem camping out for 1 - 1 1/2 hours for fireworks to get a good spot. We try to catch the 2nd showing of F! so we dont have to wait so long. We found a good place to watch the parade, with out holding seats on the side walk for an hour.

hlb, I do not remember ever posting to you, but we always seem to agree on everything. I guess we are both right or wrong together.

 

[dornen]

i agree with hlb and hydro. also i have this to add. if you do not wish for a long day and seeing as the original poster is going for five days i suggest seeing fantasmic and fireworks on separate nights. my family always does that whenever we go for a weekend. also being dl vets of 11 years or so my mom waits after the parade gets over and finds a good spot for fireworks while dad and i and potentially anyone else going with us get fp's before the parade and go do our fav rides again. this may work for you as well if you have someone in your group willing to stick around doing nothing.

 

[addidisney]

Thank you, once again for valueable information. Do I have to call Disneyland for reservation?? Or can I go to AAA (does AAA offer a discount)??

 

[hlbtimes2]

Call Disney. If you call AAA they will have to call Disney and if they dont call first thing, then you wont get a res. When you call there is an option for F! seating in the system. There are no discounts that I know of.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I recommend calling Disney directly (714) 781-4400 is the number for tickets & reservations.

I have booked Fantasmic for a client before, and they had to fax over copies of their id, credit card, and a letter authorizing me to reserve Fantasmic for them -- with all that, it's easier to just call them. If you're staying at a DLR hotel you can call Vacation Planning, and they will make those arrangements for you.

 

[SamIAm21]

Here's some information on Fantasmic that we have right here on the DIS


http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland-california/disneyland-fantasmic.htm

Mary Jo, I have to apologize for guiding to the allearsnet web site. I often forget that DIS is way more than just a message board and has great and informative content at wdwinfo!

I need to give credit where credit is due. That is a great article about Fantasmic!

Sorry...

 

[EnnEss]

Reserving seats is well worth it, granted my girlfriend and I do not have kids so we only have to worry about paying for ourselves, 1.5 hours is along time to sit and wait to watch a show. Even in off season, such as early december or late november many many people sit and wait making it difficult to get a worthwhile seat without waiting for a long time and when I return to DLR in september i will definately book some type of seating, most likely riverside.

I do have one question though, what happens if Fantasmic is cancelled due to wind or something similar?

 

[4fosterkids]

I made reservations today for Friday night seating for the 10:30 show. She said no refunds unless it was due to weather or technical difficulties with the show.

Do they offer ANY discounts for F' seating?
As the premier is first come first serve for 50 people, how early should we get there and any suggestions on where to sit? Are all seats good?

 

[Deb & Bill]

We have reservations for the balcony. What desserts do they have? Is it unlimited (should be for the price we are paying)? We figure this is right up there with Illuminations Cruises at WDW. Pay a lot of money, have a fun time doing something different.

 

[boscoj]

For the premier seating they recommend checking in 1 hour before, however on our last trip when I checked in, there were already 8 parties ahead of us. I would say try to go at least 15 minutes earlier than we did. As for where you sit a CM will guide you to the best available seats.

As for the balcony seating, the desserts were all you can eat until the show finished.

 

[cinder-ellah]

We just got back from Disneyland and had a wonderful time (of course) !

We had balcony seating for Fantasmic last friday, for the first show. We had started out with a group of 3 going to Disney. Our group included a 5 1/2 yr old princess and my sister (who was in a wheelchair) so with a small group we didn't want to do the usual of saving a place (which we've always done before). So we splurged and got the balcony seating. It turned out 2 other adults joined in in our trip so saving seats would've of worked.......but it was fun to do something different.

Desserts were lovely.......

We were only able to see half of the fireworks from the balcony (trees obstructing the view) and the Castle and Matterhorn were not visible. Luckily we had known ahead of time that we would'nt be able to see all the fireworks and we had made plans for Saturday night to see Tinker Bell and the full show from Main Street.

All in all it was fun to do it once ! ! !