Fantasmic, World of Color or Fireworks?

[jessn0622]

My husband says they all kinda sound the same?

If we were just going to see one, which do you recommend?

Its our first time there and our daughter is five.

Thanks

 

[LynGregory]

My husband says they all kinda sound the same?

If we were just going to see one, which do you recommend?

Its our first time there and our daughter is five.

Thanks

If you were *only* going to see one I would say the fireworks but honestly World of Color is a 'not to be missed' show too and COMPLETELY different from the fireworks, your daughter will love them both.

 

[cyberjoek]

First off, they are most certainly *not* all the same.
World of Color is a ground level show that focuses on imagery
The Fireworks are a high level show that focus on synchronization (the power of sights and sound together at the same time)
Fantasmic is a ground level show that is an adventure with classic Disney Characters.

They all have the characters and the music from Disney classics but in their own ways.

There is no one right answer, here's my quick review quiz, keep track of how many points each type of answer (A, B, or C) gets

1. How important are seeing the characters to your enjoyment? (2pts)
A. Not Important at All
B. Somewhat Important
C. Very Important

2. How do you deal with loud sounds? (1pt)
A. I can tollerate them if they're far away
B. They bother me a lot
C. I'm ok with loud noise

3. Are you willing to wait around for your show? (2pts)
A. No, I need to fit in as many rides as possible
B. I don't mind as long as it's not multipul hours
C. I don't mind camping out for a great spot

4. When are you going? (1pt)
A. Off season weekend (sept - nov, jan - may)
B. May or Prime Holliday (the week of Christmas, spring break, etc)
C. Any other time

5. How do you react to fire? (3pts)
A. I prefer not to see "flames"
B. As long as it's far away from me it's fine
C. Fire doesn't bother me

6. How do you react to water? (2pts)
A. I prefer not to get wet
B. Water is ok
C. A little bit of mist doesn't bother me

7. How do you want to watch your show? (1pt)
A. Standing with a bit of room
B. I'm ok with standing close to someone
C. Sitting on the ground

If you mostly answered A go see the fireworks, Main Street is the best place to see them from
If you mostly answered B go to World of Color, be sure to read Hydroguy's tips
If you mostly answered C go to Fantasmic!

You can get to see most of the Fireworks from the Fantasmic! Viewing Area so you can get about 1.75 for the price of 1.

I'd recommend seeing all of them and this is only if you can see just one. They're all great shows.

-Joe Kavanagh

 

[HydroGuy]

My husband says they all kinda sound the same?

If we were just going to see one, which do you recommend?

Its our first time there and our daughter is five.

Thanks

IMHO the answer depends heavily on which fireworks show you are talking about. DL has four.

The only one in the same league as F! and WOC is Remember Dreams Come True which the last few years shows Jan-May and parts of Sept-Nov.

Here is a poll on popularity - with F! and RDCT neck and neck and WOC a distant third. But I have argued the lower popularity for WOC has more to do with the limitations of the viewing area than the show itself. Some people agree with me and others do not.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=41495763

In any case, F! does scare some younger children and if yours is susceptible to getting frightened by scary characters then WOC would be the best best because it is not scary. Otherwise F! might be best for your child. Unless the fireworks are RDCT skip the fireworks compared to WOC and F!.

Between F! and WOC you will not go wrong. I would say see both. They are both awesome shows.

 

[specialks]

Last year I was so excited for my girls to see WOC. We bought the picnics -- we fought the hundreds of people with only a few bruises on our feet (and the poor feet of the people I accidentally ran over with the stroller in the cattle call that is the WOC loading zone). And what did my girls think...??? Nothing. Did not care. My husband and myself and my mom thought it was so amazing and my girls had no comment. They were WAY more entranced by F! (which we had skipped). So, I don't know if it is a thing with how long they had to wait for a show which wasn't as amazing, or just the show itself, but maybe your daughter wouldn't care much for it?? One thing, if you don't mind getting sneak peeks, you could watch youtube videos of all the shows and see what is the favorite. Also, I think cyberjoek has some good questions that will also help you focus in on what you want to see. But keep in mind, they are NOT anywhere close to the same thing. Good luck in your planning!

 

[cyclenut]

I've only seen WOC once and I enjoyed it but I didn't think it was as engaging or as exciting as Fantasmic (F!).

WOC is an amazing show and very visually stimulating but part of the appeal for me (and many adults I suspect) is what they are doing with the water features. I think this is lost on most kids. They just can't appreciate how unique it is to have water shooting up, out and over in so many different ways and that aspect is a big part of the appeal of the show. Add to that the cattle call that is the WOC queue and viewing area and I'm not sure your 5 year old will enjoy it quite as much.

F! is very engaging but it can be a bit dark and scary (like a lot of Disney movies). It is sort of like a Disney movie come to life. There are a lot of special affects and in true Disney nature, everything appears larger than life. Even if your child does become scared party way through, I think they will walk away from the show happy as it ends on such a fun note. PLUS, as an added bonus, if you watch the earlier show you can usually see the Fireworks from the F! viewing area. You won't get the *entire* affect (PP suggested maybe 1.75 ... which is probably accurate) but you will see the majority of the show and you'll get to enjoy the music too. Compared to WOC, the viewing area is far superior in part because you get to sit down (albeit on the ground) and in part because there are several places nearby to go get some food and have a little picnic while you wait for the show.

 

[ktlm]

First, they are not remotely the same. Each is completely different.

Second, having seen all of them last week with a 5 year old girl, I would say Fantasmic. Actually, there is no reason you can't see Fantasmic AND the fireworks if you don't mind watching the fireworks from the Fantasmic viewing area, as they start within 5-10 minutes of the first showing of Fantasmic ending.

We actually paid to have the Fantasmic Dessert package, and we paid to have the WOC dinner package. If that is in your budget I would highly recommend it as it does cut down on your waiting time.

Fantasmic if you have the Dessert package, you will have seats (one person will have to go early to get the seats assigned). If you don't do the package, you will need to camp out to get a good spot quite a while in advance of the show. Others on here can give you a better idea of time, but we noticed people staking out spots already a couple of hours before the show. From what we saw this year and last year, most people that stake out their spots remain seated on the ground during the show instead of standing, which can make Fantasmic a lot easier for the little ones to see than WOC. DD(5) is terrified of Fantasmic at WDW, but she absolutely loves it at DL and does not find it scary at all. If your DD likes Peter Pan, there is a great Peter Pan ship portion of the show that DD adores. That is a big reason why Fantasmic gets her vote over the others. The live princesses that are a part of the show helps too. After Fantasmic, don't move and you will see the fireworks from there. We were even able to see Tinkerbell and Dumbo flying through a break in the trees. Admittedly the fireworks are more beautiful when you are facing the castle and are able to see it with the fireworks over it, but it is still great from the other area too.

World of Color is amazing; however, if you do not want to have to hold your five year old up to see the whole show, it may not be the best choice for you. While Fantasmic has real characters in the show, WOC merely has projections on the water. I say "merely", but let me say that although it might not sound impressive (it didn't to me until I saw it), it was incredible. The problem is that everyone stands for the whole show, which makes it next to impossible for the little ones to see. Last week, it seemed like there were people standing in line for hours to try to get a good spot. With the dinner package, we were able to go less than an hour before the show and get a good spot. We went around 8:20 or 8:30 which is late by the standards on this board. We were the 2nd row back from the rail above the wet zone, with DD actually having a spot on the rail (plenty of room for her without the people in front of us having to move an inch and they invited her between them, just not room for all 3 of us). The wet zone rail already had a few rows of people. Even though DD was on the rail, she was not tall enough to have a completely unobstructed view of the show between the rail itself and the group of people below that filled in the whole wet zone by the time the show started. I would have thought she would be able to see over them, but she was not happy she could not see the very bottom and that her face was rail height, so she begged DH to hold her to see better. He wound up having to hold her up the entire 20-25 minute show, and she is not light! I'm short and if we had not had a good spot near the rail, I would not have been able to see the show either.

 

[DahliaRW]

I would do F!. Then you can stay and watch the fireworks, too. F!, IMO, is the best of the 3, with fireworks second and WOC way behind those two. My kids (1 1/2, 3, and 6) loved F! and weren't scared. We saw it twice on our last trip!

 

[Disney Dreams]

They are nowhere near the same. They are each quite different in fact. I would suggest reading the summaries on disneyland.com to get a better idea of what they are.

In terms of which to see, you will get 50 different opinions if you ask 50 different people, but our favorites in order (from favorite to least) are:

1. Fantasmic!
2. Fireworks
3. WoC

- Dreams