Fantasmik: Young kids and how long a wait?

[MarkLem]

Will be at WDW 12/30-1/3. We were thinking of doing Fantasmik, but have 8, 6, 3 year old. Will it be too much for a 3 year old?

What about wait times? Given the time of year I am going, should I consider doing the dinner/show reservation?

 

[KathyFP]

When DD was 3 were would do two things, get counter service food and eat while we were waiting and have a few things that we could do to play games.

One game is we have her glow jewlery and we see what kind of shapes we can make with it.

Think of things you can do in the car (word games, silly songs).

I found that the wait is a nice break after a long day.

I will add that the seats are bleachers so they are not really very comfortable.

 

[tjkraz]

If you're wondering whether Fantasmic will be too intense for your 3yo, it really depends on the child. Several minutes toward the end of the show focus on the villains trying to defeat Mickey. The entire moat will be set afire, and I believe there is a large dragon that makes an appearance (although it didn't work during our show).

I would use things like the Haunted Mansion and It's Tough To Be A Bug as a barometer. If your child is bothered by any of the more intense attractions, you might consider skipping Fantasmic.

With regard to the dinner package, I don't know that it would be your best option. You are going to be at WDW during one of the busiest periods of the year. Even with the dinner package, seating in the reserved section is first-come, first-served. The dinner package isn't as big a secret as it used to be. I would really question whether you can show up shortly before the start of the performance and get a seat in that section.

Usually during the busy periods there are two Fantasmic shows each night. If you don't want to wait an excessive amount of time, I think your best bet is to shoot for the later show.