Good Seat for Fantasmic

[wwaleye]

Along with my previous thread about how long the wait is for Fantasmic, or should it be, how early should we get to the theater to get good seats? I was wondering just where is a good seat for Fantasmic?? Thanks

 

[bumcat]

We always get there about 30-45 minutes before it starts. We usually end up in the middle section towards the bottom. The way it is laid out I think you can see pretty good no matter where you are.

 

[newcomer52]

I'm not sure you can choose you seats. We've been to it three times and there have always been CM's there directing us where to seat. If you are at the beginning of the line, you'll be to the right of the middle, but not clear to the right side (that side is reserved for the package holders). The end of the line will be to the left of the stage. Others may have a different experience than this, but this is how it was for me.

 

[DemonLlama]

Well, we devoted two hours to get railside center seats two years ago. We were at the rope at 4:00 when they let people in for the 6:00 show (first of two that night). We went down to the rail and had one of the small benches in the very center. We filmed the show and have enjoyed seeing it over the past two years that it was more than worth the wait. The middle section was being seated by CMs first that evening, so the early birds were in the center, but were asked to scoot down to the end of the center rows so it could fill up orderly. I don't know if this is the case now, though.

We won't give two hours of park time away again, but we will get there about 40 minutes before the show.

 

[lulu71]

Whatever you do, do not sit in the first 4-5 rows! You will get wet. My DH grabbed seats in the front last year and we had to put our ponchos on!

 

[cdntourguide]

I have sat in nearly every section to watch Fantasmic and IMHO there is no bad section: I could see all the action from everywhere in the theatre. I now usually sit in the reserved section as I no longer wish to wait in line for up to two hours to get into the show. Plus I get a good dinner and do not have to spend megadollars on fastfood before the performance.
I concur about not sitting in the first five rows, but I would go back at lease to the tenth row as I have felt the spray all the way at the top of the back row. The wind direction and velocity will play a big part on how wet you may get. Plus IMO the higher up you are the better the view (as long as a very tall person does not sit directly in front of you.)
have fun, I will be with you in spirit at least

 

[Hippychickali]

I plan to go with the Fantasmic Dinner Package and was curious about the reserved seats. I assume they are good seats but could someone who's actually been there tell me for sure.

Ali

 

[tjkraz]

I'm not even remotely a fan of the dinner package seating. Yes, you can see all of the action on the stage (and screen), but the point of view really impacts the total effect.

The dinner package seating is to the far right of the theater. From that POV, you can see many of the backstage elements before they actually are supposed to be in sight. You are also off-center for much of the action on the stage. And, if the showtime overlaps with the Epcot fireworks, you'll be able to clearly see the Illuminations bursts going off in the background.

On the brighter side, you'll have no problem seeing the video portion of the show. There are three "screens" stationed around the theater. And obviously you'll save 30 minutes or so by using the dinner package entrance.

But having seen the show from a middle view and that side view, IMO any seats more toward the middle enhance the overall effect by leaps and bounds.

 

[Hippychickali]

That's good to know. I think we will still go with the package because I don't want to wait any longer than I need to....especially not in July.

Ali

 

[LuvN~Travel]

We went to the 6:30 pm show this Wednesday and all of the seats looked good. We were actually in the back in the wheelchair area, but centrally seated. We got there a little before 4:30 and it was filling then. By about 6:05 all of the sit down seats were taken. It was standing room only then.
Kim

 

[DisneyMan1016]

I agree. Go for the Dinner Package. You'll love saving valuable park time and going through the Cast Member Entrance to the Amphitheater.

BTW, we tried Hollywood and Vine, we'll be back.

 

[tjkraz]

Just to add to my prior post, someone who has never seen Fantasmic will probably not sense a real difference regardless of where seated.

But, speaking as someone who has seen the show multiple times, I really was disappointed with the dinner package seats. If you take one of the backstage tours or read into the history of Walt Disney World, one of the concepts often discussed is the importance of "show" in the guest experience. Every controllable aspect of a day at WDW is carefully choreographed by the staff to make for the most enjoyable guest experience. For example, there's a very good reason that you will never see a Space Mountain CM wearing a Tomorrowland costume walking through Fantasyland: To do so would ruin the "show" in the same way that it would be inappropriate for Buzz Lightyear to make an appearance in Beauty and the Beast.

Anyway, there was one part of Fantasmic in particular that really stood out when we were seated in the dinner package section. Toward the end of the show there is a large boat that appears and makes its way across the lagoon. The appearance of the boat is synchronized with the soundtrack--at a given point, the boat is illuminated and the entire stadium erupts in applause. Well, there are also pyrotechnics involved in this portion of the show. These effects were clearly evident to those of us on the far right of the stadium about 15-20 seconds before they were really meant to be part of the show.

This is a perfect example of what Disney would call "bad show."

We could also see performers moving around back there and, as I mentioned, we had a perfect line-of-sight for the Epcot fireworks. Next time someone asks for a great location to watch Illuminations, I think I'll tell them to try the reserved seating section at Fantasmic.

For those travelling in the summer months, try to pick a night that has two showings of Fantasmic and catch the second show. Even with the dinner package you MUST arrive 30 minutes before hand. At the 30 minute mark they open up the reserved section to anyone. Practically speaking, this means you need to be at the gas station entrance about 45 minutes ahead of time as it can easily take 10 minutes to get from that gate to the reserved seating section--more if you need to park a stroller.

On most nights with two shows you can arrive 30 minutes ahead for the second show and get a great seat more toward the middle.

 

[wwaleye]

Thanks for all your posts. This will really help!