Fantasmic to Star Wars

[hooch11bear]

Is it possible to view both in the same evening? When we were there last year, they had the Frozen fireworks. We were able to watch the fireworks and then rush back to Fantasmic. Currently Fantasmic is prior to the fireworks. I would assume it would be the same when we're there in August. Just wondering if we have to choose one or the other.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

We just did this! We sat on the aisle on the right side of the Fantasmic! theater, got up a few minutes early to watch the end of the show while standing. Then, we left the theater and made it to see Star Wars in plenty of time to secure a decent spot! You just want to be ahead of that mob when exiting Fantasmic! This was for a 9:00 Fantasmic! and a 9:45 Star Wars.

Good luck!

 

[yulilin3]

We just did this! We sat on the aisle on the right side of the Fantasmic! theater, got up a few minutes early to watch the end of the show while standing. Then, we left the theater and made it to see Star Wars in plenty of time to secure a decent spot! You just want to be ahead of that mob when exiting Fantasmic! This was for a 9:00 Fantasmic! and a 9:45 Star Wars.

Good luck!

that was the old times. Now F! is at 9pm and SWaGS is at 9:30pm. later in August F! will be at 8:30pm and SWaGS will be at 8:45pm, no way to watch both on the same night unless there's a second F!

 

[hooch11bear]

I figured it would be impossible. We arrive on the 11th of August. I guess I can cross my fingers and hope there's a second show. Thanks for the responses.

 

[gigem_aggies]

So, we are trying to figure this out, too. We are at DHS on 8/3 and Fantasmic is 9:00 and SWaGS is 9:30. Is it possible to stand at the back of Fantasmic, hustle out, and make it to SW? Or, if not--which is better?

 

[yulilin3]

You need at least 10 minutes to walk from Fantasmic to the fireworks. Unless you leave early you won't make it

 

[yaya74]

It sucks....I am also going on a day with 9p F and 930p firework. I hope I am making the right call to choose F! over StarWar fireworks. My kids are 8 and 4 and it will b their first time at WDW. Having a seat, a FP+ , and an earlier starting time probably will be easier for me to manage....

 

[ArielSRL]

This is why I'm planning 1.5 days at DHS. One seeing F!, the other (hopefully) doing the SW dessert party.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I have been on the receiving end of the Fantasmic stampede to see the SW fireworks. (this was the previous version of SW). We were waiting for the fireworks and then the Fantasmic crowd surged into the space where we were. The CMs tried to divert them more towards the exit side if the street, but it went from crowded to packed in minutes.

 

[abnihon]

Why did they change it?
I was hoping to see both next May.

 

[Missyrose]

So, we are trying to figure this out, too. We are at DHS on 8/3 and Fantasmic is 9:00 and SWaGS is 9:30. Is it possible to stand at the back of Fantasmic, hustle out, and make it to SW? Or, if not--which is better?

Here's the problem. The old Star Wars fireworks (which was all fireworks) could be seen from many different locations throughout the park. The new show (which centers on the projections on the Great Movie Ride building) requires viewing from directly in front of the theater (and not too far back on Hollywood Blvd.), so everyone who wants to see that show is funneling into the same spot. Getting from Fantasmic to a spot from which you can see the projections seems impossible.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We were there last week and Fantasmic was at 9 and Star Wars at 9:30. We noticed many people leaving Fantasmic about 9:20. Seemed a bit disruptive for so many people to be getting up at that time in the show, but perhaps Disney brought it on by scheduling like that.

There is something even worse than missing one of them, IMO. Because of the new schedule, everyone leaves the park at the same time. The end of fireworks, Fantasmic (once you get out) and park closing all happen around the same time. That means buses are a nightmare at the end of the night. It took us over an hour to get back to AKL when we left Fantasmic. Mobs of people waiting and complaining.

They should really stagger the shows and park closing to eliminate such a mass exodus.

 

[hooch11bear]

Hopefully the time will be changed once they realize how inconvenient it is. I don't know what I'm thinking, they don't care if it's inconvenient. Fantasmic is one of my favorites. I guess I'll have to choose which one I want to see. They Star Wars fireworks look amazing though!!

 

[kj2mom]

We were there last week and Fantasmic was at 9 and Star Wars at 9:30. We noticed many people leaving Fantasmic about 9:20. Seemed a bit disruptive for so many people to be getting up at that time in the show, but perhaps Disney brought it on by scheduling like that.

There is something even worse than missing one of them, IMO. Because of the new schedule, everyone leaves the park at the same time. The end of fireworks, Fantasmic (once you get out) and park closing all happen around the same time. That means buses are a nightmare at the end of the night. It took us over an hour to get back to AKL when we left Fantasmic. Mobs of people waiting and complaining.

They should really stagger the shows and park closing to eliminate such a mass exodus.

Yes! When we were there last week I noticed a lot of people exiting the F! theater when the boat with all of the characters started to come out. I assumed it was people trying to get to the SW show/fireworks. It was a bit distracting and I remember thinking if I was going to exit early I wouldn't sit down front, rather in the back to disturb as few people as possible. We always linger at F!, let all of the crowds go ahead and then head out after. As we were making our way down the path we did see some of the fireworks and just as we got to the end (I guess we were on the back path, it came out near the exit) I realized what we saw must have been the finale because the crowd rushing towards the exit was insane. I remember telling the little 9 year old that was with us to take someone's hand because we were about to meet the rush. In the end we only had to wait for the second parking lot tram and it wasn't soo bad but yikes, that feeling of making our way down a very uncrowded path to merge into complete craziness was a bit disconcerting. I guess we should not have lingered quite as long as we did!!!

 

[yulilin3]

Over on the SW thread someone actually asked a Guest Relations CM about the times and they said that they changed it because people were running out of F! to go watch the fireworks and it was creating a safety issue. Also they wanted guests to be able to enjoy whichever show they chose and not have people leaving early or trying to grab spots last minute

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Over on the SW thread someone actually asked a Guest Relations CM about the times and they said that they changed it because people were running out of F! to go watch the fireworks and it was creating a safety issue. Also they wanted guests to be able to enjoy whichever show they chose and not have people leaving early or trying to grab spots last minute

But will they actually change the times so that guests can enjoy both? I don't think they have done that yet.

We were there in February and April and we were able to do both shows in one night.

The two best things at HS are the Star Wars fireworks and Fantasmic. They are what make the park worth a visit.

In September, we only have time for one day at HS and I have a Fantasmic dinner package at H&V and I also want to share the Star Wars fireworks with my husband (he has never seen them). We chose HS over Epcot and AK specifically because of the Star Wars fireworks. If we can't do both, I am not sure the park is worth one of our two days in the parks.

 

[ArielSRL]

But will they actually change the times so that guests can enjoy both? I don't think they have done that yet.

We were there in February and April and we were able to do both shows in one night.

The two best things at HS are the Star Wars fireworks and Fantasmic. They are what make the park worth a visit.

In September, we only have time for one day at HS and I have a Fantasmic dinner package at H&V and I also want to share the Star Wars fireworks with my husband (he has never seen them). We chose HS over Epcot and AK specifically because of the Star Wars fireworks. If we can't do both, I am not sure the park is worth one of our two days in the parks.

They changed the times so that guests cannot do both, supposedly for the reasons @yulilin3 mentioned. So it doesn't sound like they will be going back to the old way, where you can see both in the same evening. But you never know what they may decide to do.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

They changed the times so that guests cannot do both, supposedly for the reasons @yulilin3 mentioned. So it doesn't sound like they will be going back to the old way, where you can see both in the same evening. But you never know what they may decide to do.

I know they changed the time from 9 and 9:30 because of the hassle it caused of people rushing out to see the fireworks, but I don't understand why they can't change it back to how it was in February in April where guests had the opportunity to do both.

The way it was in February and April actually worked quite well. Fantasmic started 45 minutes before the fireworks began so that guests could easily do both. We sat in the very front row of Fantasmic (as we always do) so we were some of the last out. We still had plenty of time to catch the fireworks after Fantasmic.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

I honestly think the timing is intentional to make you choose one or the other. The demand for both is super high and a lot of rides close down (due to fireworks) in the evening, so that sort of forces everyone into a show. In June we were there just to see Star Wars fireworks and they canceled Fantasmic due to technical difficulties and we ended up having to secure a spot 1 hour before the fireworks started to be able to be in front of those giant boxes housing the projectors. Having experience that I can see why they are trying to spread people out. I wish they would just go back to the Star Wars fireworks from earlier this year. It was a better show with a ton of fireworks and no need to have to be front and center to see projections.

 

[yulilin3]

I honestly think the timing is intentional to make you choose one or the other. The demand for both is super high and a lot of rides close down (due to fireworks) in the evening, so that sort of forces everyone into a show. In June we were there just to see Star Wars fireworks and they canceled Fantasmic due to technical difficulties and we ended up having to secure a spot 1 hour before the fireworks started to be able to be in front of those giant boxes housing the projectors. Having experience that I can see why they are trying to spread people out. I wish they would just go back to the Star Wars fireworks from earlier this year. It was a better show with a ton of fireworks and no need to have to be front and center to see projections.

None of the attractions closes anymore due to the new show. The fireworks are launched from outside the park so no need to close TSMM or GMR. This is also why they can't have the same amount of fireworks go off, so they can't do the old show
But I do agree that the timing is to spread the crowds