fantasmic ?

[essmom]

Need to change around some plans-currently have FDP but friends want to do something else- so what are chances of getting in Fantasmic on a night when there a 2 shows w/out FDP- is it really that great????

 

[all4fun]

I think a lot of it depends on what time of year you will be there. When is your trip?

 

[essmom]

NEXT WEEK- That's the problem

 

[simzac]

Just make sure you get in line early.

 

[pixiepower1971]

Are you trying to go to the 1st or 2nd show?

I have never had a problem getting a good seat for the 2nd show 30 mins before show time. I try to never go to the 1st show if I have a choice.

 

[Maine-iac]

Need to change around some plans-currently have FDP but friends want to do something else- so what are chances of getting in Fantasmic on a night when there a 2 shows w/out FDP- is it really that great????

We love Fantasmic! I feel it is a must see if you have not seen it before. The second showing is usually less crowded than the first showing I think. Seeing the show in the center is the best but it is still good viewing from either side. The closer to the top you are the quicker you get out at the end. Try to get a seat about 1 hour or 45 min. before the show starts if you want to sit in the center. At Easter time we walked in about 30 min. before the show started and there were still seats on either side available. Bring your drinks and snacks in with you as the lines at the concessions inside Fantasmic are long

 

[brer rabbit 28]

this is a must see show.We managed to see it twice on our trip (end of june).We got into the early show and the late show on 2 different nights,got there about 40 mins early and had great seats in the centre both times.

 

[Robo]

No one can predict EXACTLY how large the crowds will be or how early you should go to find a seat for Fantasmic! on any given day.
It has totally to do with the whim of the crowd at MGM on that day, and the general crowd LEVELS.
How much time you wish to "invest" in waiting is a personal decision. We never do the formal Dinner Package, and have always seen the show (dozens of times).

(Take all of these as "average" numbers, sometimes the crowd will be MUCH greater and the theater can fill up much sooner.)

VERY Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 75-120 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
45-60 minutes before: Good seats
20-40 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests.

Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 50-60 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
40 minutes before: Good seats
25-35 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests. (The crowd of "last-minute" arrivals can be slow to get seated before show-time.)

Off-Season (not busy days):
You should be OK to enter by 10-20 minutes before, but you'll likely be seated to the outer edges, and/or way at the back.

If you do the dinner pkg. you can enter 30 minutes before (or a bit later) and still be guaranteed "pretty good" seats (not my "first choice" area, but fine), regardless of crowd-levels.

If there are TWO Fantasmic! shows in one evening, the second one will have lower crowd level than the first one. You can arrive a bit later and still find a seat.

Be aware that the second show waiting area will LOOK like the show is "too crowded".
That's because they HOLD the 2nd crowd outside the theater while the CMs CLEAN it after the first crowd has exited.

Then, they will let those waiting together in that big group IN... all at once, and there will be PLENTY of room.

(The theater holds 10,000 guests!)

We like to eat our evening "meal" while waiting for Fantasmic! to start.
You can bring in items from the counter-service places in MGM, or they DO have concession stands at the rear of the theater serving "baseball stadium-type" food and drinks. Yes, even beer, sold strictly ONE-at-a-time, one-only-to-a-person, so a single person can't go and buy beer for other members of a group... all guests wanting to buy a beer must be present in-person at the counter.
We have a hot dog, maybe a pretzel, later some popcorn or cotton candy (Disney Health Food).

 

[essmom]

THANKS- We have a 7:10 ADR for Sci Fi which we may just not do - plan to go over and wait in line for 1st show at 8:30(if we do SciFi) and maybe we'll get a seat-if not we'll try another night- there will be 2 shows this night and if kids aren't tired we'll try the later one- really don't want them being up late every single night- we're doing Wishes the night before and Illuminations the night after Fantasmic!!

 

[byoung]

It's a fantastic show.

 

[disneygirlatheart]

We were just there last week and did not do the dining package. We arrived 45 minutes before the first show at 9:00 and had good seats. By show time every seat was filled up and the rest were standing. I would say it would be worth seeing. We really enjoyed it.