Fantasmic

[colleen costello]

Hi everyone. We will upgrade to annual passes when we visit in June and plan to visit MGM one night just to see Fantasmic. We have never seen it and my 5-year old son is excited about it.

Can you tell me how early we have to get into the stadium to get a good seat? There are one or two nights where it also shows at 10:30. Should I try to go on one of these nights? My hope is to get a decent seat for the show without having to sit for 2 hours first with my son asking "When will the show start?" every 30 seconds.

Thanks.

 

[ShaneV]

I highly recommend the Fantasmic Dinner Package. You get to eat and get a guaranteed spot at the show (No guarantee of rain delay). Heres the details:

If you're interested in seeing Fantasmic! at the Disney-MGM Studios, one way to avoid a long wait in line for seating is to book the Fantasmic! Dinner Package. With this special package you pay for a regular sit-down meal at The Brown Derby, Mama Melrose or Hollywood & Vine and you get preferred seating for Fantasmic! at no extra charge. Normally you need to show up at the Fantasmic! theater 60-90 minutes before the show and line up to get a seat. With the Fantasmic! Dinner Package you can walk into the theater 45 minutes before show time and have a guaranteed seat.

Note: with the Fantasmic! Dinner Package you will be seated in a reserved section (no specific seat assignments) on the far right of the theater. Most people find the view completely acceptable. However, if you are really picky and it's important to you that you get "perfect" seats right in the middle, this package is not for you. Go ahead and line up at least 90 minutes in advance!

You can now reserve and prepay for the Fantasmic! Dinner Package up to 60 days in advance by calling (407) WDW-DINE. This prepaid offer includes dinner, 15% gratuity and reserved seating for Fantasmic!. Prices (which do not include 6.5% tax) are a fair deal and of course you're getting the added benefit of guaranteed seating:

Brown Derby - $39.33 Adult, $10.99 Child (includes soup or appetizer, entree and dessert - drinks not included for adults, but included for kids)
Hollywood & Vine - $22.99 Adult, $10.99 Child (full buffet meal - drink included)
Mama Melrose - $32.99 Adults, $10.99 Child (includes wood-fired flat bread, family style salad, entree and dessert - drinks not included for adults, but included for kids)

 

[QuickGold]

Definetely go for the second showing...it's much less crowded. At any rate, arrive at least 45 minutes before for good seats.

 

[dahess]

We just booked the Fantasmic Dinner Pkg for next week. I will report back when we get home & let you know if it was worth the $$$$.

 

[colleen costello]

Thanks, guys. I should have said "This is a budget trip." No way I can spend $100 on just one meal this trip... saving splurges for when it's just me and dear hubby!

I guess since we are broke I will plan on going for one of the 10:30 times. I thought I remembered people saying the late one is less crowded.

 

[ShaneV]

For 2 adults and one child its actually only $56.97 for an all you can eat buffet. Its worth it in my opionion as I dont like to sit for 2 hours waiting. But I understand where your coming from.

 

[JudithM]

Last week we - three adults & a 6-year old - went to the second Fantasmic show at 10:30 p.m. We had gone to the MK in the a.m & early afternoon. After lunch we all took a nap & about 4 p.m. went to the pool. After our swim we had dinner at Olivia's (at our resort) before heading to the Studios. The park closed at 10 p.m. We did not go anywhere near Fantasmic until after the park closed. There was plenty of room by the time the show began. They did not fill all the sitting area. I would recommend the second show if everyone can stay awake . Enjoy!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Hi! We just saw the 10:30 showing of Fantasmic last Saturday nite. We lined up about 10:00, and after a 5 minute wait got to our seats. DH was very anxious, but after we got in, he saw that we really could have shown up 5 minutes before it started-there was no one sitting in front of us!

 

[Hadjii]

I'd have to say skip the dinner package. We did it last year and were pretty disappointed ......and we love EVERYTHING Disney. We went to Hollywood and Vine. The food was just okay but we didn't much care because all we were really interested in what we thought would be great reserved seating for Fantasmic. Ha! When we got to the stadium, we were seated very far off center to the right. It was a terrible view and we missed a lot. I would think that if you paid such a high price for the dinner, you'd get those great seats in the middle. But nope, those went to the people who got in line early and it was a first come first served type thing. They did deserve the seats though because those lines were pretty long and some people got there well before the show was scheduled to begin. Fantasmic was really amazing though and I'm so glad I did it. Next time however, I will definitely get in line without doing the dinner thing. It's really not worth it.

 

[laceemouse]

We have seen Fantasmic twice. The first time we sat for almost 2 hours with 4 kids waiting for it to start! It was very hard but they did have entertainment to watch pre-show! The next time we did the dinner at Brown Derby and reserved seats. It was worth every dime to us and we did not feel that the seats were that bad at all! There was no pre-show this time, only some CMs starting the wave, etc. Prior to both of these, we tried to see the show one time but arrived too late to get in. The CM at the gate told us to come back for the 10:30 show but there is NO WAY our kids could have made it that long! It all depends on your stamina and the crowds, but I always recommend the dinner and reserved seats. My DH would never do it any other way now!

 

[colleen costello]

This trip it will be myself, dh and the kids; that's why I balked at the expensive dinner. We eat lunches at WDW and do dinners offsite or order pizzas. I am trying to work in 4 trips to WDW in the coming year so I am "budgeting." Plus I read the threads here about how the current "deal" with Fantasmic includes a much more expensive meal than it used to. I'll take my chances with regular seating. We sleep in and stay up late so the 10:30 pm show will be great. Thank you all for the tips.